RENO ROUNDUP, part 4 of 4

Ashley Adams

The Grand Sierra Resort Casino has what could be one of the two or three nicest poker rooms in the entire area—if only they’d consistently get enough players for a few decent games. The room has gorgeous tables, very comfortable chairs, and a bright, well appointed room. They spread $4-$8 limit hold’em with a half kill. The rake is 10 percent with a $3 maximum. Although they just hosted a 35-event tournament they only had one table going on a Thursday night. 775.789.2313.

The Bonanza, two miles north of Reno, starts their poker day at 4:00 p.m. (noon on Saturday and Sunday) with a $15 tournament. When it starts breaking down they spread their $1-$2 no-limit hold’em game, which has a $50 maximum buy-in. There’s a 10 percent, $4 maximum rake. On a Wednesday afternoon and evening the game had three first-timers and three other relatively inexperienced players. One of Reno’s most highly rated restaurants, Cactus Creek, is located in the casino. 775.323.2724.

The Silver Club in Sparks spreads poker $2-$4 limit hold’em most weekends—on one table in the gambling pit. They cut the $3 maximum rake when the game is short—which I gather is much of the time. If you sign up for the game between five and six in the evening you’ll get an extra $5.00 when you buy in. 775.358.4771.

The Nugget in Carson City spreads $2-$6 spread limit hold’em. I was the fifth player at the table on a quiet Wednesday night. A dealer and floor person were in the game and lightened things up with great conversation. I’m not sure I’d want to play here on a regular basis, but I sure enjoyed the poker talk. 775.882.1626.

Monte Bleu is a sixtable room in Lake Tahoe. They feature tournaments as well as no-limits cash games with $1-$2 blinds and $2-$3 blinds, and with no cap on the maximum buy-in. They also have a $2-$6 spread limit hold’em game and an occasional dealer’s choice game. This room was by far the loosest and busiest I visited in the Lake Tahoe area—though I was told that at night and on weekends Harvey’s spreads bigger and wilder games. 775.588.3515.

The poker room at the Lakeside Inn and casino is a three-table Lake Tahoe poker room located in Stateline, and features one of the best promotions I’ve seen. When a player’s aggregate buy-in over a month reaches $1,000 he gets $25 in free slot play. I bought in for $1,000 and got this right away. The game was moderately tight and passive—a mix of a few tourists and a bunch of nice local guys having a good time. 775.588.7777.

Casino Fandango, in Carson City, is a festive three table room that seems patterned after the hugely successful Peppermill in Reno, with a lot of mirrors and neon. I played $2-$3 no-limit in a game with three Fandango dealers and three women who had never played poker before. I was told that they had a lot of action on other nights—with two games often going. 775.885.7000.

Carson Valley Inn in Minden offers low limit hold’em and a Monday night 7-Stud/8 game and a Saturday afternoon Omaha/8 game. Make sure to lock up a seat—it usually fills up by the 5:15 p.m. start time. There’s a house funded bad-beat jackpot of $1,000 if you have quads beaten. Free drinks and sandwiches. Fun place to play, well worth the drive. 775.782.9711.

Harveys Lake Tahoe poker room was closed when I visited on a week day, although it has 21 tables, and is the largest room in the area. It reputedly has the biggest games and loosest action. Although I did not visit the room, I am listing their contact information. Give them a call first and make sure they’re open when you want to play. 775.588.2411.

More in Card Rooms

Part three of this series summarizing the Reno poker scene continues with seven reviews from the Reno and Sparks rooms.

Circus Circus is a dark room that spreads $2-$4 limit hold’em and $2-$6 spread limit with “overs.” This allows players who want to player higher than the table limit may do so with other players who also want to play higher. The room has a 10 percent, $3... read more