Card Room Round-Up: Gold Coast Hotel and Casino

The Gold Coast Hotel and Casino was opened in 1985 by Michael Gaughan, son of Las Vegas legend, Jackie Gaughan. Michael already owned the successful Barbary Coast on the Las Vegas Strip when he correctly read the local market potential for Las Vegas neighborhood resorts even though his critics forecast failure for his off-strip Gold Coast project. Doubters even criticized the overall size of the casino, saying it was all wrong...far too big. The success of the property was overwhelming from day one when Gaughan realized there wasn't enough parking to handle the traffic his project was drawing.

The Gold Coast Hotel and Casino is one of four Coast Casino properties recently acquired by Boyd Gaming in a deal with Coast Casinos' owner, Michael Gaughan. Boyd Gaming is the world's third largest casino company. The Boyd Group retained Michael Gaughan as president of Coast Casinos so little has changed in the overall atmosphere of the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino.

The Gold Coast opened with a number of firsts, the first Las Vegas casino to include movie theaters showing current releases. Another first was convention and special event space that attracted large crowds to the 'locals' casino. A modern 70 lane bowling alley was included in the design, another attraction for the Las Vegas locals market. Acceptance and success began on opening day with the players coming and liking what they saw, then returning again and again. The doubters were all proven wrong with the Gold Coast. Neighborhood casinos and resorts have become social centers for the locals area they serve. The continued success of the Gold Coast can be credited to many things being done right while providing patrons with a place that's more than a casino, a neighborhood gathering point. Parking is much improved from the opening day with only surface parking through the addition of two parking garages.

The food has always been good and plentiful at the Gold Coast with 8 choices of restaurants of where to eat. A cup of gourmet coffee and a pastry can be had at Seattle's Best, while the prime aged steak lover will find the Cortez more to their liking. The name "Cortez" for the upscale restaurant is a tribute to family patriarch, Jackie Gaughan, and his original downtown El Cortez Hotel and Casino. Pasta lovers will enjoy the selections offered in an elegant setting at the Arriva Italian restaurant. The hotel offers 711 guest rooms and suites, with all the amenities including high speed Internet. The property is within easy walking distance of other major resorts including the Rio, next door and the Palms across the street plus you can hike to the Vegas strip in minutes. A warning or an invitation for some is the walk to the strip is along side and very close to one of the busiest east-west traffic corriders plus you pass over the normally clogged I-15. A great short-hike for adrenalin junkies.

When the Gold Coast opened in 1985 it had a poker room located at the main entrance of the casino, right in the middle of the action. The room quickly established itself as the place to play for locals and tourist alike. Poker tournaments were always crowded with players and the summer tournament was a must attend with many of the pros playing. The room was closed with the opening of sister property, the Orleans. The players moved to the newer, more spacious Orleans poker room and poker was history at the Gold Coast...until Thanksgiving week in 2004. The Gold Coast Casino welcomed poker back to the property with the opening of an 8 table poker room on November 20, 2004. Robert Tagliaferri, room start-up specialist, was brought in from the Orleans to manage the room. Robert has more than a decade of poker operations experience and constantly strives to provide the casino poker player with the best playing experience in town. The room has developed a reputation of offering lower limit games with big limit 'action.' Limit Hold'em is offered with $2-$4, $4-$8, $6-$12 or $10-$20 blinds and No-limit Hold'em with $1-$2 blinds and one $100 buy-in. The poker room will spread most poker games including Stud and Omaha when requested if enough players are present.

Tournaments are handled by tournament director and shift supervisor, Jack Slatter. Jack came to Vegas in 1968, got involved in the poker industry and never left the business or Las Vegas. Jack keeps the Gold Coast poker experience everything the players expect in a Las Vegas poker room. His longevity in the business has provided Jack with some great stories of the way it was, when many of the legends played daily in the poker rooms around town. Gold Coast Poker Tournaments are offered daily at 10:00 AM with a $22 buy-in contest that plays limit Hold'em for the first hour then shifts to No-limit. The events are quite popular, regularly attracting 40-70 or more players, even at the early hour.

The Gold Coast Poker Room will be hosting satellites for the Heavyweight of Poker $100K buy-in Tournament. Complete details of the Heavyweight satellites are available by calling the poker room at 702.367.7111. Players can earn food comps while playing in the Gold Coast Room at the rate of $1.25 credit per hour of play up to $9 per 24 hour period, but you must have a player's card so get one before you play. The comps can be used at any of the food outlets. A high hand promo pays out hundreds of dollars each day to players making certain hands. Additional promos are run throughout the year so check with the room for what they are currently offering.

I recently took part in the Poker Player Newspaper sponsored Beat the Pros Tournament at the Gold Coast and was impressed with the smooth four day event, a demonstration of the dedication of the Gold Coast to provide enjoyable, professionally managed poker events and cash games. Stop by the Gold Coast Poker Room for some of the best low to mid-limit 'action' games in Vegas.