Bally’s is a small casino owned by Caesar’s Entertainment, the largest casino company in the world. Bally’s Poker Room serves as the poker room for both Bally’s, and the neighboring Paris Las Vegas casino, which does not have a poker room. Guests that inquire about poker at Paris Las Vegas are directed to Bally’s.
Bally’s offers two different games at their 10 table poker room. The most popular game is 1/2 No Limit Texas Hold’em with a $100-$300 buyin range. An occasional 3/6 Fixed Limit Texas Hold’em game is also spread. Like all Las Vegas Strip casinos owned by Caesar’s Entertainment, the only game offered is Texas Hold’em.
Overall, Bally’s is just an average poker room. While there are TVs and automatic shufflers at cash game tables, there is little else to speak of beyond the great drink service. Tournament tables lack automatic shufflers. Players must walk a long way to both the restroom and sports book. In fact, there are few casinos where the sports book and poker rooms are so far apart. Given the fact that the poker room represents 2 of the most popular hotels in Vegas, it’s a rather disappointing experience. While by no means bad, it’s just that I’d expect a higher end poker room to be available.
Playing Environment in the Poker Room
Bally’s is already a loud and smoky casino. The poker room is right next to the bar, and is not really even a room. It is not walled off in any way from the casino floor. This makes for a loud, smoky poker room. This also makes for some decent games because many professional players will not play in such an environment.
Comps for Poker
In addition to standard drink service, players receive $1 an hour in comps which is credited to their Total Rewards card. Bally’s does not offer a poker rate at its hotel.
Bally’s Poker Tournaments
Bally’s offers three daily poker tournaments at 11am, 4pm, and 8pm. The buyin is $55+$20. Players start with $5000 in tournament chips. The blinds start at 100/200 and go up every 20 minutes. Players can late register for the first 40 minutes.
Waitlists
Bally’s utilizes the Genesis Bravo Poker system, a management system for running and controlling the games and waiting lists in a poker room. Users of the Bravo Poker app can access all the information via the app on their phones or tablets. In fact, all poker rooms in Las Vegas owned by Caesar’s Entertainment participate in the Bravo phone application. Should they wish, players can also call in to reserve a spot on the waitlist.
Rake and Jackpot Drop
Like all Las Vegas properties owned by Caesar’s Entertainment, Bally’s rakes a higher than average 10% up to $5. No other casino company rakes that much. There is also a $1 jackpot drop at $10. There is a jackpot for high hands: Four of a kind using a pocket pair wins $50, a straight flush using both hole cards wins $250 and a royal flush using both hole cards wins a progressive jackpot that resets at $1000.
Finding the Poker Room
When entering from the Las Vegas Strip, walk straight ahead towards the table games pit. The poker room is on the left near the first bar in the pit area. When entering from the parking deck or Las Vegas Monorail, walk towards the main casino floor. The poker room will be on the right.
