Bally's Poker Room
Bally’s spreads a 14-table poker room. It is located beyond the table game pit on the casino level.
The poker room at Bally’s Las Vegas is not a destination one. However, it provides a good experience for casual players looking for a fun night of poker.
Regulars are attracted by its promotions, which includes a weekly freeroll into a $7,500 guaranteed tournament.
Bally’s, a Las Vegas poker room, is going forward with its upcoming poker tournament series despite the COVID-19 limited capacity restrictions. Businesses, including casinos, are currently limited to just 25% of the establishment’s maximum capacity, but the game of poker is still being dealt at card rooms all across town. The Bally’s poker room is a casual room that receives most of its action from tourists. It is quiet and friendly. Many of the employees have been with the room for years. This allows players to enjoy great dealers and floor people.
Let’s take a look at everything it has to offer, starting with its best and worst features.
Best and Worst Features of Bally’s Poker Room
The best part of the Bally’s poker room is the quality of games, especially late at night. They are typically full of recreational players. These games are always fun. The same can be said of the tournaments that are always full of loose action.
Players that do not have Platinum status in Caesars Entertainment’s Total Rewards program must pay to park. There is not a casino nearby that offers free parking. The tournament rake is too high. The levels go by too quickly.
The main game at Bally’s is 1/2 no-limit Texas Hold’em. Weekends and other peak times may create enough interest for a 2/3 no-limit Hold’em game.
Bally’s once had a 3/6 fixed-limit Hold’em game. That table is a rarity these days, as most of the low-limit fixed-limit action on the Las Vegas Strip moved to Flamingo. However, it pops up more often when the casino has freerolls based on hours played in fixed-limit cash games.
Bally’s rakes 10% up to $5 per hand. There is also a jackpot drop that funds promotions.
Bally’s pays cash game players clocked in with a Total Rewards card $1 per hour in comps. This may be used at all Caesars Entertainment properties.
Players that give 75 hours of cash game action in a year receive Platinum status. This gives free parking to players at any Caesars Entertainment property.
Bally’s spreads six daily poker tournaments. These tend to be small tournaments, especially early in the day. The structures are on the turbo side. That is typical for a poker room like Bally’s that appeals to recreational players.
There is a $50+$25 tournament daily at 9 am, noon, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 11 pm. This tournament starts with 7,500 chips at the 100/100 level. Limits go up every 20 minutes. The prize pool always has a guarantee of $800 with $500 for first place.
There is a $100+$30 tournament nightly at 8 pm. This event has a starting stack of 15,000 chips. The first level is 100/100. Blinds go up every 20 minutes. The guaranteed prize pool is $2,000 with $1,000 for first place. Saturday has a special $7,500 prize pool with at least $2,000 for first place.
Players that give four hours of cash game action receive a free buffet pass at Paris Las Vegas.
Those who sit at a cash game table for 10 hours during a two-week period receive entry into a $17,000 biweekly freeroll.
The top 80 players in the freeroll are paid. The top prize is $1,650 in cash, and the top ten players also receive $200 credits for the World Series of Poker. Players may exchange these credits for $150 in cash.
Bally’s is using a $10,000 biweekly freeroll to create 3/6 fixed-limit Hold’em action. Players that give ten hours of action receive entry to it. The tournament ends when 40 players are left. Each receives $250. If fewer than 40 players qualify, each receives $250 without having to play.
There are two promotions for cash game players that are funded with a jackpot drop. The high hand bonus pays $50 for four of a kind, $100 for a straight flush, and $500 for a royal flush. The player must use both cards, and there must be $20 in the pot. However, a showdown is not required to win the high hand promotion.
Bally’s offers $25 splash pots every hour during off-peak times during some promotional periods. This promotion runs from 3:15 am to 11:15 am daily.
Bally’s has a massive sportsbook on the lower level. It offers Caesars Entertainment odds. Deposits and withdrawals are processed there for the company’s sports betting app. That lower level also has a lounge and food court.
Paris Las Vegas has the Eiffel Tower. Locals receive half price for entry. This gives one of the best views of the Bellagio Fountain show. You can also see this from the Strip just outside of Bally’s.
The LINQ hosts the High Roller. This is one of the highest observation wheels in the world. Locals also receive half price to this. There is a zip line at the LINQ Promenade.
If you are looking to gamble on something other than poker, Bally’s offers some decent table games. It is the only casino in Las Vegas with Double Attack Blackjack. This is a blackjack variant that permits players to double their bet after seeing the dealer’s hole card. This and other blackjack games with a good return are available for $10 at Bally’s.
Bally’s spreads a high-limit blackjack game for $50. This game stands on all 17s. Double down before and after splitting is allowed. Players may surrender.
The action at Bally’s may not be enough for you.
If that is the case, Bellagio is directly across the street. It is a short walk across the pedestrian bridge over Las Vegas Blvd.
Bellagio offers no-limit games with blinds starting at 1/3 and up to 10/20 just about 24 hours a day. Peak hours will see bigger games. Bellagio also has high-limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo games, as well as a large daily tournament.
Bally's Poker Room In Las Vegas
Aria is also near Bally’s. It has many no-limit tables from 1/3 up to 5/10. It also spreads pot-limit Omaha and mixed games.
Other poker rooms within walking distance include Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, and Harrah’s. These poker rooms spread similar games as Bally’s, including 1/2 no-limit Hold’em and several daily tournaments. Flamingo also has a decent number of fixed-limit Hold’em games.
I love the room. The tables are close together, all are clean with good chairs. The prescence of Bobby's Room gives the room a classic 'high stakes' feel to the room even though when I was there, the vast majority of the games were 1-2NLH and 2-5NLH. The one downside to the room is the fading of much of the high stakes action. When I was there, over 3 sessions, over half the room was empty and only about 4 tables had games higher than 2-5. That's not good for the room that is supposed to be the ultimate destination for any poker player. But all in all, good setup.
Bally's Poker Room Atlantic City
At 1-2NLH, the competition is not as fierce as some suggest, nor as soft as others suggest. You'll find games with daily grinding pros, older, bored Vegas locals and wide eyed tourists. I can only assume that the competition gets tougher the higher up you go in Limits, but that is true virtually anywhere.
Dealers were fantastic. They know the games and protocol for dealing and they do their jobs professionally and, mostly, with a smile. I think a lot of the dealers are starting to recognize that Bellagio is bleeding business to Aria and Venetian due to poor treatment of players by Management. The dealers seem very appeciative of the players playing at Bellagio.
Cocktails looked good, remembered orders well and thanked u for the tips you gave them. Can't ask for much more.
Truly awful. Management at Bellagio is sometimes rude, and always indifferent to the attitude they display towards poker players. I was left standing in line for 10 mins (with open seats) while the manager chatted up someone standing 3 feet away. Not about poker, or games or anything related to the room. Just small talk. While I stood there and waited to be assigned. I asked for comps after 7 hours of play. Manager asked what game I was playing. I told him 1-2NL and he said 'Seriously?' and walked away. It's little wonder Bellagio is bleeding poker players to Aria and Venetian. Management needs to get over themselves and attend a crash course in customer service. Truly pathetic!!
Bally's Poker Room Review
Comps don't exist. Maybe if you play in Bobby's Room they do, but for most of us, not at all.