The Las Vegas Strip is set to lose another poker room as Sahara Las Vegas prepares to close its facility on November 16.
This will mark the seventh casino on the Strip to shut down its poker room in the past five years.
Sahara has announced that its seven-table poker room will be replaced with an expanded area for slot machines.
The new setup is expected to feature “innovative gaming experiences,” allowing players to be among the first in Las Vegas to sample the latest offerings from leading gaming providers, as stated on the casino’s website.
Remember to check out the top Vegas betting sites where you can wager online and choose the best one.
This newly opened room provided cash games and hosted various lower buy-in tournaments throughout the week—one of which was a crazy pineapple event.
Unfortunately, it struggled to attract enough players to remain viable. It’s worth noting that Sahara’s original poker room had shut down back in 2011.
Sahara launched its poker room in February 2020, right before the Covid-19 pandemic led to the closure of all casinos in Las Vegas.
The recent closure adds to the growing list of poker rooms in Las Vegas that have shut down in the past few years, many of which closed during the COVID pandemic. For instance, Treasure Island closed its poker room back in 2018.
In addition, recent years have seen the Mirage, Excalibur, Tropicana, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Cannery, Green Valley Ranch, and Binion’s — the latter of which was the birthplace of the World Series of Poker in 1970 — all stopping their poker offerings. Binion’s closed its poker room in March 2020.
The Excalibur shut down its poker room in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has not reopened since. Harrah’s followed suit, closing its poker area in June 2020 and transforming the space into a non-smoking slots area, which later became an electronic table game area post-pandemic.
Planet Hollywood closed its poker room in July 2021, and the Flamingo did the same in November 2021. Additionally, the Mirage and the Tropicana closed their poker rooms.
Don’t forget to check out our Las Vegas hotel and sportsbooks reviews and see below the list of the best online sportsbooks.
The recent closures of poker rooms have impacted Atlantic City significantly.
Currently, the Tropicana stands as the sole venue on the Boardwalk offering poker. The Caesars/Wild Wild West cardroom shut its doors during the pandemic and has not reopened since.
Additionally, the Ocean Resort poker space was closed prior to the pandemic. The Borgata continues to be a prominent player in the poker scene, boasting 52 tables away from the Boardwalk, while Harrah’s features a 10-table room.
In the northeastern region, Encore Boston Harbor also closed its poker room due to the pandemic but resumed operations in 2022, facing criticism over excessive rake.
Unlike other games, casinos don’t profit from players’ losses in poker; they only take a small percentage from the pots or collect tournament fees.
For Las Vegas players, there is some optimism regarding new poker rooms on the horizon. Bally’s is anticipated to introduce a poker room as part of a casino project at the site of the Oakland A’s upcoming stadium.
Caesars Palace has also closed its poker room to temporarily accommodate high-stakes slot machines while renovations are underway in that section of the casino.
However, the poker room is expected to reopen after renovating.
Furthermore, the Seminole Tribe is in the process of transforming the Mirage into a Hard Rock property. Given the Tribe’s robust poker presence in Florida, there’s potential for a poker offering in the Vegas redevelopment plans as well.
Casinos are shutting down their poker rooms primarily because poker doesn’t generate as much revenue compared to table games or slot machines, as it lacks a house advantage.
In contrast to this trend, the Venetian Resort has opened a brand-new, upscale poker room at The Palazzo on August 1.
Located on Level 2 of the Grand Canal Shoppes, the Palazzo poker room features 50 tables spread over an impressive 14,000 square feet, making it the largest poker room on the Las Vegas Strip.
You’ll want to check back here regularly to stay updated on the news.
