Here's the thing about the Las Vegas poker ecosystem and those who regularly inhabit it: We have a big reputation, but we're actually a small town. And in small towns, word gets around quick. So imagine there was a poker room where people were blasting away, punting stacks of cash on the reg, the promised land of poker rooms.
Golden Nugget is the only major poker room left in Downtown Las Vegas.
This decade has seen the demise of poker rooms at El Cortez, The D, and Plaza. The Binion's poker room traffic collapsed to the point that the casino abandoned its poker room and tournament area and moved a few tables to its table game pit. This left Golden Nugget as the only relevant poker room on Fremont Street.
The Golden Nugget is best known for its no-cap no-limit Hold'em games. These can be wild tables, especially on weekends.
The Binion's Poker room Going downtown to Binion's is like visiting Mecca for poker players. Binion's is where the World Series of Poker began; it's where Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek played their legendary heads-up match. For several decades, Binion's hosted the biggest cash games in the world. There are dozens of poker rooms located throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Many are familiar with the big rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. There are many smaller rooms located away from the Strip that are popular among locals and tourists in the know. There are also two rooms downtown on Fremont Street.
It spreads the Grand Poker Series every summer with a variety of games on the schedule. This is held in convention space, as the normal 13 poker tables hosted by Golden Nugget cannot handle the capacity of the Grand Poker Series.
Golden Nugget tables offer automatic shufflers, phone chargers, and free Wi-Fi. Golden Nugget validates parking for players.
Best and Worst Features of Golden Nugget Poker Room
There is no cap on its cash game buy-ins. This includes no-limit tables. This makes the games play deep. The tables can be full of action because of this. The Golden Nugget poker room is well managed. The dealers are all experienced.
The room can feel a bit cramped when it is busy. The bathrooms and sportsbook are not convenient.
There are only two cash games spread with any regularity at Golden Nugget's poker room. One is a 2/4 fixed-limit Hold'em game. The other is 1/2 no-limit Hold'em with a $100 minimum buy-in. There is no maximum.
Players sometimes buy into these games with $1,000 or more. Be prepared for that when considering whether to play and how many chips to buy. The deep tables explain why there are no regular games above the $1 and $2 blinds.
Golden Nugget rakes 10% up to $4. There is also a $1 jackpot drop.
Golden Nugget gives cash game players $2 an hour in comps when clocked in with the casino's 24 Karat players club card. This may be used for hotel bills or any restaurant owned by Landry's in the world.
There are four poker tournaments held daily. There is a $51+$19 at 11 am (except Sunday) and 7 pm. It starts with 10,000 in chips and has 20-minute levels. There is a $33+$17 daily at 3 pm and 10 pm. This tournament starts with 5,000 in chips and has 20-minute levels.
The major weekly tournament is on Sunday at 11 am. It has a $100+$25 event with a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool. Players start with 15,000 in chips. Levels go up every 20 minutes for the first eight levels and every 30 minutes after that.
Golden Nugget hosts a tournament series every summer. It is called the Grand Series of Poker. Each day has at least two tournaments. One is always no-limit Texas Hold'em. The other may be as well. However, there is often a non-Hold'em game.
These include mixed games, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, pot-limit Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, and draw games. The Grand Series of Poker buy-ins run from $150 up to $1,100. Most are one-day events.
The Golden Nugget poker room is not large enough to accommodate the Grand Poker Series. It is held in the Grand Ballroom by the Rush Tower.
Golden Nugget offers progressive high hand promotions. There are separate prize pools for royal flushes and straight flushes by suit. Every four of a kind has its own progressive payout.
There is a bad beat jackpot that triggers when a player loses four of a kind or better. Both the winning and losing hand must use both hole cards. The progressive jackpot starts at $10,000.
Things to Do at Golden Nugget Besides Playing Poker
Golden Nugget offers a large casino. Many of the games have a $5 minimum bet. There are plenty of blackjack tables that pay 3 to 2. Make sure to avoid the 6 to 5 ones.
We recommend avoiding the video poker there, as it is well below average for Downtown Las Vegas.
Golden Nugget operates an independent sportsbook. For video poker, walk to Plaza, El Cortez, or Main Street Station. Each of these casinos spread games that return over 100%.
If you are looking for something to do besides gambling, Golden Nugget hosts several great restaurants. Chart House is our favorite. Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse is another good option. Grotto is a great casual Italian joint.
Golden Nugget has the best pool in Downtown Las Vegas. You can swim with the sharks there. It also has a waterslide and other amenities.
The Fremont Street Experience is just outside Golden Nugget. It has bars in the street. There are nightly musical acts. The Viva Vision screen has a light show at the top of every hour during the evening hours.
Golden Nugget is the best poker option in Downtown Las Vegas. Its 13-table room is full of action 24 hours a day. If you need a break from it, you can check out the poker room at Binion's across Fremont Street.
Unfortunately, the Binion's poker room has seen better days. It got so slow over there that the poker tables were moved to the rear of the table game pit. There are six cash game tables, though they typically do not need more than one. The only game spread is 1/2 no-limit Texas Hold'em.
Most daily tournaments at Binion's only draw one or two tables, if they get off the ground at all. The summer poker tournament season gets more action. This is when you may find five to ten tables. This series, known as the Dog Days of Summer, spreads a variety of games.
About half of the tournaments are no-limit Hold'em. There is a variety of non-Hold'em games throughout the summer. Those include pot-limit Omaha, fixed-limit Omaha Hi/Lo, as well as some stud and draw games.
Golden Nugget and Binion's are the only two poker rooms still operating in Downtown Las Vegas. The next closest is at Stratosphere. It is about as slow as Binion's these days and probably not worth the trip.
Where Can I Play Poker in Toronto?
The best poker room in Toronto is the Toronto Poker Tournament Series with $1/$3 cash games weekdays at 7:00pm and Weekends at 3:00pm. Tournaments are Thursdays and Sundays with $80 buy-ins. They have a newly renovated poker room a poker app that you can register for games.
Finding a poker room in or around Toronto Ontario can be difficult task, there are lots of underground poker clubs and meetups but you have to know where to look. Below I've listed some of the best places in town to find a live game and the best online poker sites to play in Toronto if you can't. Daniel Negraneu learned how to play poker in and around Toronto and now plays poker online at PokerStars, there is always action going on if you know where to look.
Ontario Casino Poker Rooms - Toronto Area
Casino Rama - Rama Ontario Casino on the North Side of Lake Simcoe. With 9 Poker tables in their Poker Room – open 24 hours a day – there's always a game going on. Offering Limit and No-Limit Texas Holdem Poker with a bad beat jackpot.
Casino Rama Poker Room
5899 Rama Road
Rama Ontario
1-705-329-5804
CNE Toronto Poker Room - Casino poker room that is air conditioned with 24 tables August 21 - November 7th 2020. Features Texas Holdem and Omaha poker games, while its open its the largest Texas Holdem room in the GTA.
CNE Poker Room
210 Princes Boulevard
Toronto Ontario
1-416-263-3251
Casino Niagara - Daily poker cash games and poker tournaments. Tournaments are Mondays ($225 Deep Stack Turbo), Tuesdays ($165 No Limit Holdem) and Sundays ($385 No Limit Holdem) Buy-ins and rebuys are allowed until at least blind level 5. Offers Texas hold em limit and no limit as well as Omaha on 12 poker tables with a bad beat jackpot. The Niagara poker room is a World Poker Tour location for the Fallsview Classic Tournament.
Casino Niagara Poker Room
5705 Falls Avenue
Niagara Falls Ontario
1-905-353-7000
Woodbine Casino - Part of the One Toronto Gaming Group - 24/7 casino poker games: 3 card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker and Mississippi Stud Poker.
Woodbine Casino Poker Room
Downtown Vegas Poker Rooms
555 Rexdale Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario
1-416-675-1101
Elements Casino (Mohawk) - Live cash games and poker tournaments featuring Limit and No-Limit Texas Holdem - open 24/7. Casino poker games include: Mississippi Stud Poker, High Card Flush, Three Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Holdem.
Elements Casino Poker Room
9430 Guelph Line
Milton, Ontario
1-519-757-3306
Gateway Casino (Innisfil) - No Limit and Limit Poker cash games and tournaments - call for details. Casino poker games include: High Card Flush, Three Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Holdem.
Gateway Casino Poker Room
7485 5th Side Rd
Innisfil, Ontario
1-705-726-6770
Pickering Casino - Not offering poker tournaments and cash games for Limit and No Limit Texas Holdem - Opening soon.
Pickering Casino Poker Room
888 Durham Live Avenue
Pickering, Ontario
Poker Rooms Downtown Seattle
No phone number
Great Blue Heron Casino - The best selection of casino poker games: Texas Holdem Bonus, Mississippi Stud Poker, Let it Ride Poker, Four Card Poker and Three Card Poker. Does not offer a Texas Holdem Poker Room.
Great Blue Heron Casino Poker Room
21777 Island Road
Port Perry, Ontario
1-905-985-4888
Toronto Poker Tournaments, Clubs, Meetups & Leagues
Toronto Poker Tournament Series - Weekly Cash Game and Tournament schedules - The TPTS Player app for tournament registration, cash wait list, tournament clock and club announcements. Toronto poker app available for Android and iPhone.
Toronto Poker Tournament and Cash Game Club
1681 Bayview Avenue Second Floor
Toronto, Ontario
1-647-494-9290 (Text)
/monteopoker-56a43a0c3df78cf772815f12.jpg "Downtown Poker Rooms")
info@torontopoker.ca
Toronto Aces Poker Club - Private - poker club in the GTA with bad beat jackpots. Low rake system with tips for dealer and organizer, bad beat jackpot and monthly member bonuses.
RSVP
Toronto, Ontario
1-647-859-5511 or 1-647-479-1958 (Call or Text)
Sky Poker Club - RSVP - poker club in Toronto at the corner of Young & Sheppard. Played in a penthouse condo with hot poker hostesses and great food. Monthly $5000 freeroll tournament, poker games are usually $1 / $3 Texas Holdem and occasional $2 / $5 No Limit Holdem and Omaha.
9 Bogart Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
1-437-345-7449 (Call or Text Eric)
The Poker Place - Wing's Poker Meet-ups - Over 3700 members, some of the best poker tournaments in Toronto. Holds No Limit Holdem Monday night tournaments with buy-ins of $60/12k+$10/6k with re-buys. Daily tournaments some with bounties and unlimited rebuys. Bad beat jackpot often hits $50k.
RSVP
Scarborough, Ontario
Contact on Meet-ups page
York Region Poker League - Poker Meet-ups League - Over 1950 members, Friday night tournaments with 100% payout, RSVP by 6:55 pm. Top players in league are entered into and annual freeroll championship.
RSVP
Newmarket, Ontario
Contact on Meet-ups page
Toronto Pub Poker - Free Poker Games Sunday to Thursday - League with Over $9000 in prizes and points standings. Texas Holdem live poker nights at local Pubs in Aurora, Newmarket & Stouffville. Game time is 1:00pm Sundays, 7:00pm all other nights.
RSVP
Aurora & Newmarket, Ontario
kyle@pubpoker.ca
Toronto Poker Resources:
Toronto Poker Meet up Group - Players discussing Poker and Meeting up for games in the local Toronto Area.Ontario Casinos in the GTA - Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation casinos for The Greater Toronto Area.
Toronto Poker on Reddit - This is where you go to get in on the huge Underground poker scene in Toronto.
Toronto Poker Forum - Two Plus Two has one of the most active poker forums for toronto players.
Poker Atlas - Listings of local poker rooms and occasional poker tournaments in Toronto.
Yelp - Listings of casino poker rooms and reviews in Toronto.
Red Hot Poker Tour - Now closed, offered free entry tournaments in Toronto - Winners could win their seat for the WSOP main event.
Straight Poker Supplies - Online Poker Supplies with a Pickup in the Toronto Area at:
31 Progress Avenue UNIT 7
Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough)
M1P 4S6
Toronto Poker Underground
The Toronto underground poker scene is super exciting with cash games and tournaments nightly. With a lot going on but keep an eye open there is a dark side to it as well.
Southern Ontario Poker Rooms
While there is a serious limit to the number of good poker rooms in the GTA, there is lots of action for a couple of hours drive. Be sure to check out my pages on Ottawa Poker Rooms, Niagara Falls Poker Rooms, Windsor Poker Rooms.
Toronto Poker Rooms vs. Playing Online Poker
Well we have all heard that there is nothing like the real thing baby, but what would be some of the advantages of playing poker online instead of a Toronto poker room? There are a few advantages, the main ones are: There are no good poker rooms in Toronto, The rake - its less online, for instance at PokerStars the rake is nothing for micro limit games and at most online casinos its half of the rake of lower limit games at casinos.
You can play multiple tables at once and the number of hands per hour is increased by a factor of 4 to 12; You don't have to travel anywhere - you can play anytime you want; You can change games in an instant; Play at smaller or larger stakes than are available at your local casino; tournaments run far faster and you can play in multiple tournaments at the same time for larger cash prizes. Well that's just a few of them not to mention that you can play at home in your underwear! As the current laws exist in the GTA there are no good Toronto poker rooms. Below are listed the top online poker sites for Toronto players to play poker online.
Best Online Poker Sites for Toronto
| Poker Site | Features | Real Money Bonus | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
888 Poker
| $88 No Deposit
| ||
Party Poker
| Get $40 Free
| ||
Bodog Poker
|
| ||
Americas Cardroom
| 200% up to $1000
| ||
PokerStars
| 100% up to $600
|
Toronto Poker FAQ's
Yes Toronto does have poker rooms, but most are underground, private clubs or poker meetups. The CNE has a poker room in the city of Toronto open for two weeks at the end of August with 24-28 poker tables. The nearest casino poker room is Casino Rama north of Toronto with 9 poker tables.
info@torontopoker.ca
Toronto Aces Poker Club - Private - poker club in the GTA with bad beat jackpots. Low rake system with tips for dealer and organizer, bad beat jackpot and monthly member bonuses.
RSVP
Toronto, Ontario
1-647-859-5511 or 1-647-479-1958 (Call or Text)
Sky Poker Club - RSVP - poker club in Toronto at the corner of Young & Sheppard. Played in a penthouse condo with hot poker hostesses and great food. Monthly $5000 freeroll tournament, poker games are usually $1 / $3 Texas Holdem and occasional $2 / $5 No Limit Holdem and Omaha.
9 Bogart Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
1-437-345-7449 (Call or Text Eric)
The Poker Place - Wing's Poker Meet-ups - Over 3700 members, some of the best poker tournaments in Toronto. Holds No Limit Holdem Monday night tournaments with buy-ins of $60/12k+$10/6k with re-buys. Daily tournaments some with bounties and unlimited rebuys. Bad beat jackpot often hits $50k.
RSVP
Scarborough, Ontario
Contact on Meet-ups page
York Region Poker League - Poker Meet-ups League - Over 1950 members, Friday night tournaments with 100% payout, RSVP by 6:55 pm. Top players in league are entered into and annual freeroll championship.
RSVP
Newmarket, Ontario
Contact on Meet-ups page
Toronto Pub Poker - Free Poker Games Sunday to Thursday - League with Over $9000 in prizes and points standings. Texas Holdem live poker nights at local Pubs in Aurora, Newmarket & Stouffville. Game time is 1:00pm Sundays, 7:00pm all other nights.
RSVP
Aurora & Newmarket, Ontario
kyle@pubpoker.ca
Toronto Poker Resources:
Toronto Poker Meet up Group - Players discussing Poker and Meeting up for games in the local Toronto Area.Ontario Casinos in the GTA - Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation casinos for The Greater Toronto Area.
Toronto Poker on Reddit - This is where you go to get in on the huge Underground poker scene in Toronto.
Toronto Poker Forum - Two Plus Two has one of the most active poker forums for toronto players.
Poker Atlas - Listings of local poker rooms and occasional poker tournaments in Toronto.
Yelp - Listings of casino poker rooms and reviews in Toronto.
Red Hot Poker Tour - Now closed, offered free entry tournaments in Toronto - Winners could win their seat for the WSOP main event.
Straight Poker Supplies - Online Poker Supplies with a Pickup in the Toronto Area at:
31 Progress Avenue UNIT 7
Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough)
M1P 4S6
Toronto Poker Underground
The Toronto underground poker scene is super exciting with cash games and tournaments nightly. With a lot going on but keep an eye open there is a dark side to it as well.
Southern Ontario Poker Rooms
While there is a serious limit to the number of good poker rooms in the GTA, there is lots of action for a couple of hours drive. Be sure to check out my pages on Ottawa Poker Rooms, Niagara Falls Poker Rooms, Windsor Poker Rooms.
Toronto Poker Rooms vs. Playing Online Poker
Well we have all heard that there is nothing like the real thing baby, but what would be some of the advantages of playing poker online instead of a Toronto poker room? There are a few advantages, the main ones are: There are no good poker rooms in Toronto, The rake - its less online, for instance at PokerStars the rake is nothing for micro limit games and at most online casinos its half of the rake of lower limit games at casinos.
You can play multiple tables at once and the number of hands per hour is increased by a factor of 4 to 12; You don't have to travel anywhere - you can play anytime you want; You can change games in an instant; Play at smaller or larger stakes than are available at your local casino; tournaments run far faster and you can play in multiple tournaments at the same time for larger cash prizes. Well that's just a few of them not to mention that you can play at home in your underwear! As the current laws exist in the GTA there are no good Toronto poker rooms. Below are listed the top online poker sites for Toronto players to play poker online.
Best Online Poker Sites for Toronto
| Poker Site | Features | Real Money Bonus | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
888 Poker
| $88 No Deposit
| ||
Party Poker
| Get $40 Free
| ||
Bodog Poker
|
| ||
Americas Cardroom
| 200% up to $1000
| ||
PokerStars
| 100% up to $600
|
Toronto Poker FAQ's
Yes Toronto does have poker rooms, but most are underground, private clubs or poker meetups. The CNE has a poker room in the city of Toronto open for two weeks at the end of August with 24-28 poker tables. The nearest casino poker room is Casino Rama north of Toronto with 9 poker tables.
Yes there are 5 casinos in Toronto: Woodbine Casino, Delta Bingo and Gaming in Downsview, Delta Bingo and Gaming in St. Clair and Dolphin Gaming (Bingo). The 5th casino is the CNE which has a casino and poker room open for 2-3 weeks at the end of summer.
