Caesars Palace

The Caesars Palace poker room has moved a number of times before coming to a rest in between the pit and a large bank of slot machines in the central casino area. This is both good and bad. It's bad, for some people, because it can be a bit loud, a bit smoky, and there is no food nearby. It is good because those loud drunk people are likely to come sit down in a game and the people watching is pretty good. The games are tourist heavy, and the tournaments that run multiple times a day are very soft. The fields are very small, sometimes less than a dozen people, sometimes as many as fifty, but there will not be any pros in the field. Pros don't bother with tiny fields and fast structures, but for a casual player they are perfect for playing a tournament that ends in a few hours.

Parking is $25 unless you have platinum or higher status at Caesars, and the rake is slightly higher, at $6+0, than The Wynn, but the games are often softer. Caesars also offers 31 tier credits per hour if you are looking to increase your rewards status, a much better rate than other rooms.

The staff are excellent, with friendly dealers and floors. During busy times, especially during the WSOP, getting into games without a diamond card can be impossible. Diamond card holders jump to the top of the list, and if diamond members are showing up as fast as people are busting out of games, you can wait an hour and not move up the list at all. During most slower times getting a seat is quick and easy.

The chairs are comfortable, and the room is nicely appointed with photos from famous sports photographer Neil Leifer. And the sportsbook is right next door if you are also a sports bettor.

The MGM Poker Room

The poker room at MGM Grand is a bit of an afterthought. While the staff are pleasant and the customers are fine, sometimes even yielding soft games, though more often they are filled with older local grinders, the rake is tied for the highest in town at $6+2 and the amenities are few. The room isn't terribly smoky, but there are loud slot machines and smoking a dozen yards away.

With no tableside food, $25 parking unless you have a higher tier status with MGM properties, and promotions that fluctuate heavily day to day, it's not a great room for tourists. If you plan out your time so that you are there when that promo money is being given away, and you already have a high enough tier status that your parking is free, it's a perfectly fine room. But there is little here to differentiate it from so many other rooms on the strip.

WRITTEN 2026-08-15