Poker in Las Vegas

Early Days (1930s–1950s)

• 1931: Nevada legalizes gambling, laying the groundwork for poker’s growth. Early poker games were informal, often played in small casinos or private settings downtown, like at the Pair-O-Dice Club.
• 1970: Benny Binion, owner of Binion’s Horseshoe, launches the World Series of Poker (WSOP), a pivotal moment. The first event, held downtown, was a small invitational with seven players, including legends like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Moss, who won the title via peer vote.
• 1998: The Bellagio opens, introducing high-stakes poker to a glamorous setting. Its poker room, including “Bobby’s Room” (named for Bobby Baldwin), becomes a hub for nosebleed games.
• 2003: The “poker boom” ignites when amateur Chris Moneymaker wins the WSOP Main Event ($2.5M) after qualifying online for $86. Televised coverage on ESPN and the rise of online poker (e.g., PokerStars) exploded the game’s popularity.

My Las Vegas Experience

I started playing poker way back in 1992 at the now closed Poker Palace on Las Vegas Boulevard. The first time I played, I did it like any rookie would. I hit it big and I was hooked. The game at the time was mostly Texas Hold’em or 7 Card Stud.

This particular day, we played 4-8 Limit Hold’em and most of the players would have about 100 dollars worth of poker chips in front of them but they were just gambling and having a good time. The times were good and a lot of people were making good money and therefore had ample amounts of disposable income. At the time, most of the casinos would give all the players free food and drinks. Couple that with the lowest rake in the world and you’ll see why it made for some very unforgettable poker games.

Remember, during the 1990 most of the poker games in casinos and poker rooms were played in the limit format and the tournaments were played both limit and no limit. The two main poker rooms were the Mirage and Binion’s, while the biggest game one could play was a 20-40 Limit Texas Hold’em. Sure, there were also other casinos that spread poker games, like the Stardust, the Circus or the Rio but these were mostly low limit games, like 4-8 limit.

During the WSOP, which was held at Binion’s at the time, there were a lot of cash games that we were waiting for all year to play. These included Pot Limit Hold’em (with blinds of 5-10) and 2-7 Single Draw No Limit, which was considered the biggest game of that time where some players would have had 100k just sitting in front of them.

After the 2004 poker boom, all that changed with limit games almost disappearing. Still, but you could still find some good 20-40 7 Card Stud of 20-40 Omaha HL at the Bellagio or the Wynn.

These days most poker rooms in Las Vegas will have a 1-3 blind No Limit Hold’em, while bigger rooms like the Aria, Bellagio and the Wynn will have bigger No Limit Hold’em with blinds of 2-5 or 3-5 and higher (the 5-10 and 10-20 games).

I remember in 2005, we had a regular 25-50 blind No Limit Hold’em at the Bellagio that would run every day. Right now, if it’s not the WSOP or some other major event in town you can’t find one in any of the rooms in Vegas.

But for the recreational player that visits Las Vegas and wants to play for a few days or more my recommendations are as follows:

• The Strip casinos have a lot of games, the wait to sit in most games is minimal and please make sure you get the players card before you start playing as it counts the amount of time you played. Some casinos comp your play up to 3 dollars per hour like the Bellagio or the Venetian for the higher limit games but the average comp that you can use to eat or see a show is 1.50 dollars per hour.
• In Las Vegas you also can chose to play one of the many so called local casinos that have poker rooms and some are really good value. Some like the Station Casinos or The Orleans casino offer big poker jackpots and lots of other cash bonuses like 200 for the high hand every 30 minutes of Sunday football drawings for cash every time a team scores.
• Also most casinos in Vegas will have daily and nightly tournaments with a lot of different buy in to suit any budget.

Some Key Trends Over Time

• Cultural Shift: Poker evolved from a gritty, mob-associated game to a mainstream spectacle, fueled by TV, online platforms, and Vegas’s infrastructure.
• Room Dynamics: Strip rooms (Bellagio, Venetian) cater to tourists and high rollers, while off-Strip venues (Orleans, South Point) attract locals with softer games.
• Economic Impact: Poker tourism, especially during WSOP, generates millions annually for Las Vegas. Major series offer $1M–$10M in guarantees.

Notable Venues Over Time

Binion’s Horseshoe: The WSOP’s birthplace; still a historic poker landmark Downtown.

Bellagio: Redefined high-stakes poker with elegance.

Venetian: Largest room today, known for DeepStack series.

Wynn/Encore: Luxury and consistent high-traffic tournaments.

A Few Closing Recommendations

If you’d ask me, my recommendations for poker players, especially foreign ones playing tournaments, would be this: pay close attention to the agreements between USA and your country of residence. Come prepared with a tax number and this way you won’t incur the maximum taxation.

In 2025, congress passed the Big Beautiful Bill and it has some real consequences for professional poker players. I’m mainly talking about the deductions that will apply to your total income for the year. Under the old rules (IRC Section 165(d)), if you won $10,000 but lost $10,000 in poker sessions, your net taxable gambling income was $0 — no tax owed on gambling.

Now, you’d only deduct $9,000 (90% of losses), leaving $1,000 in taxable “phantom income” even though you broke even. Add self-employment taxes (for pros) and progressive income tax rates (up to 37%), and you could owe hundreds or thousands despite no profit. For professionals, poker is a high-volume, high-variance game. Pros often have millions in gross winnings/losses annually but slim net margins (1-5%). 

Accommodation in Las Vegas tends to be expensive these days but there are always deals available and poker rooms have special rate for poker players, drinks are always free if you play or if you are at a bar and play video poker or any casino game.

Good luck and see you at the tables!