The long-awaited Poker Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino opened to the public today, giving players their first look at the brand-new room, which boasts a full bar, private VIP rooms, and 18 tables spread out over 7,000 square feet.
“I consider the soft-opening a great success, as we set a new standard in the world of poker," said Mark Gore, casino general manager. "The stakes just got raised.”
The idea of the Poker Lounge is a unique one, mixing a club atmosphere with a professional and efficiently run poker room. Not only does the lounge have music, but it also offers bottle service. Private parties and games can be run in one of the lounge’s VIP rooms. Despite the enormous amount of work put toward providing a party environment, even more attention has been focused on offering poker the way players want it.
“The Hard Rock Poker Lounge philosophy is that we welcome any action,” said Poker Lounge Manager Houston Waldie. “We will spread any game our players want, and we will have knowledgeable staff to be able to do that.”
In addition to cash games, the Hard Rock Poker Lounge will host weekly no-limit hold’em tournaments with deep-stacked events on the weekend. The following is the schedule:
| Time | Buy-in | Starting Chips | Bonus Chips |
| 11 a.m. | $65 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| 3 p.m. | $125 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| 7 p.m. | $125 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| 11 p.m. | $125 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| Time | Buy-in | Starting Chips | Bonus Chips |
| 11 a.m. | $100 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| 3 p.m. | $125 | 5,000 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
| 7 p.m. | $225 | 7,500 | $10 for 1,500 in chips |
| 11 p.m. | $225 | 7,500 | $10 for 1,500 in chips |
| Time | Buy-in | Starting Chips | Bonus Chips |
| Noon | $175 | 7,500 | $10 for 1,500 in chips |
| 3 p.m. | $330 | 10,000 | $10 for 2,000 in chips |
| Midnight | $125 | 7,500 | $10 for 1,000 in chips |
A grand opening for the Poker Lounge will take place in the next few weeks. Stay tuned in for details on that, as well as a video on Card Player TV from the room.
POSTED ON: Aug 22, 2008
I played at the soft opening yesterday. The room looks great.