Poker is alive and well in America, and some cities are considered more than just a hot spot for professionals and aficionados.
These cities have hosted, and still do, legendary tournaments, as well as rich history, and contributions to the sport’s culture.
The following is a look at five cities that represent the professional poker scene in the United States, how they came to be, their legendary events, and record-breaking moments, from the West Coast to the East Coast and in between.
Los Angeles County, more specifically the city of Commerce, is the hub of West Coast poker.
It’s a haven for amateurs and pros with Commerce Casino, the world’s largest card room with 270 tables. The inaugural main tournament, the California State Poker Championship, began in 1990 and established the pace for a profitable circuit.
The Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC), which has been running annually since 1993, is the best-attended event, drawing thousands with its $10,000 Main Event and millions in prize pools. The LAPC Main Event showcased a record $2.1 million prize pool in 2019, among the largest in California history.
The county’s card rooms, including Bicycle Casino and Gardens Casino, also host daily tournaments, which make it a year-round poker destination.
Las Vegas is synonymous with crazy nightlife, gambling, and, of course, poker. The game took root in the 1960s, but the first major tournament, the World Series of Poker (WSOP), began in 1970 at Binion’s Horseshoe.
Now housed at the Rio (and soon, Paris Las Vegas), the WSOP is the world’s largest and most popular poker festival, hosting more than 100,000 players every year for its 80+ events.
Its $10,000 Main Event, which made Chris Moneymaker an overnight sensation by taking down the title in 2003 for $2.5 million, catalysed the poker boom, and it also popularised the online poker scene, since Chris became a world champion after qualifying at an online poker site. Nowadays, a lot of players hone their skills online and work on their card skills, and luckily, online casino bonuses like the ones compiled by ActionNetwork make it even easier, giving the new players a head start in the form of deposit returns and even free spins.
In 2006, the Main Event victory by Jamie Gold represented the largest single-game poker win with $12 million. Las Vegas’s around-the-clock action, from the high-stakes cash games at Bellagio to the sleek poker room at Aria, solidifies its position as the poker capital.
Reno, Nevada, provides a more subdued but worthwhile poker atmosphere. Poker in the city started in the 1970s, and the first notable tournament, the World Poker Open, began in 1979 at the Peppermill Casino.
The most successful was the World Poker Challenge at the Grand Sierra Resort, which ran yearly from 2003-2013, attracting mid-level professionals with low buy-ins and $500,000 guaranteed prize pools.
In 2007, the Main Event of the day recorded the region’s record payout when it awarded $1.2 million, a significant haul in Reno’s lower market. Atlantis Casino’s Poker Classic continues the tradition today with summer events featuring $200,000 guarantees.
Reno’s relaxed atmosphere and proximity to California make it a sweetheart for grinders looking to avoid Vegas’s flash.
Atlantic City, New Jersey, became a poker hotbed in the 1980s following the 1976 casino legalization. Trump Taj Mahal hosted the very first large tournament, the United States Poker Championship, which began in 1994.
The Borgata Poker Open, which launched in 2003, was the city’s premier series, with its $3,500 Main Event consistently attracting 1,000+ players and $3 million prize pools each time. In 2011, the Borgata Poker Open Main Event paid a record $1.2 million to Bobby Oboodi, the biggest Atlantic City win in history.
Borgata and Harrah’s continue to host WSOP Circuit events, fusing boardwalk glamour with big-stakes poker, although the advent of online poker has muted somewhat the luster from live action.
Mashantucket, Connecticut, the location of Foxwoods Resort Casino, is a less conspicuous and flashy but important poker center.
Poker came to the casino with its opening in the 1990s, and its first big tournament, the Foxwoods Poker Classic, started in 1998.
The World Poker Finals, which ran from 1999 through 2010, were most well-attended, with $10,000 Main Events that attracted pros such as Phil Ivey.
Raj Patel took down the biggest prize in Foxwoods history in 2007, earning $2.5 million in the World Poker Finals. The WPT tournaments and ongoing Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge at the casino, featuring $1 million guarantees, keep it in the limelight. Mashantucket’s tribal beginnings and enormous poker room render it an unusual East Coast hot spot.
For a passionate poker player, these five cities are a cross-country poker trail. Each has its own flavour, from California’s card room grind to Connecticut’s tribal casino tradition.
Their tournaments, from the WSOP to the LAPC, have created legends and broken records, fueling poker’s boom and making them famous worldwide, but to newcomers, they are classrooms and battlefields, where past and possibility meet at the felt.
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