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Venetian Poker Room Review Last updated: 04/04/09 Sponsored Advertisement Phone: (702) 414-7657 Web: www.venetian.com/POKERROOM.aspx Email: poker@venetian.com Address: 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South Editor's Review Venetian Poker Room News Venetian Poker Room Information Tables: 39  Full Tilt Poker 100% Deposit Bonus up to $600! Use Code: ALLVEGAS. Full Tilt Poker Betting Limits:
Venetian Poker Tournaments: Yes
Weekend Wait-Time: 15 to 30 minutes. Smoking Allowed: No No smoking inside poker room. Poker Room Rate: Yes Daily Room Rates: $169 (Sunday -Thursday) $259 (Friday & Saturday) Daily Play Requirement: 8 hours Editor's Review - Venetian Poker Room Total Rating: 4.55 Room Quality Rating: 5 The Venetian poker room is the best overall poker venue in Las Vegas, and sets the standard by which all lesser rooms are judged. The room quality is superb on all levels, and the service coupled with the action and availability of good game selection allows the Venetian to earn the top spot on this site, hands down. The room encompasses 39 tables, all with autoshufflers, and all spaced out nicely. A dedicated cashier cage, two separate high limit areas, a dedicated tournament registration desk, a dedicated brush/list management desk, coffee/water bar, and even a customer lounge replete with coffee table, overstuffed recently refurbished sofa and chairs are all available for customers 24 hours a day, and show why the Venetian is truly the industry leader. Aesthetically, the room is breathtaking. Everything aesthetical in this room exudes opulence, grace, and elegance, from the supple leather armrests on the tables, to the ceiling detail, to the crystal chandeliers and light sconces. The walls are adorned in leather and dark Mahogany veneers, framing over 20 flat screen televisions on all sides. Outside of the room, 3 televisions are dedicated to displaying the waitlists for all available games, two from the front main entrance, and one from the side entrance on the south side. Ornate iron designs adorn the cashier cage and the main entrance foyer, which includes a rotunda like marble entryway, leading up the brush desk. When it comes to aesthetics, there is no room in existence that surpasses the Venetian. Wynn and Bellagio are solid competitors, but the Venetian holds the crown. The chairs are swivel/adjustable height, but do not provide the best lumbar support due to the non adjustable seatbacks. Side tables are plentiful and are necessary due to the availability of foodservice, and a dedicated foodservice wait staff on hand 24 hours a day. The spacing between the tables and the ample square footage of the entire room itself show the casino’s dedication to poker, and long term investment in its poker image. With the two isolated exceptions of not including dedicated poker room restrooms in the rooms layout and distance of the room in relation to the parking garage, this room shows great attention to detail, in both its layout and focus on action. The room is directly adjacent to the Strip frontage, with a main Strip entrance being located only a few feet from the west room entrance. Great attention to detail is comes to light strongly during the Venetian’s signature Deepstack Tournament Series, which commences four times a year, and fills the room to capacity, including 40 additional “temporary” tables, all of which have autoshufflers, allowing events that eclipse 500 players. Venetian is the only property in all of Las Vegas that includes autoshufflers on all of its tournament tables, in addition to its cash game tables. Though the room does not utilize the Genesis Bravo player tracking system at this time, we have been informed at AVP that the system will be installed shortly. Once installed, the Venetian will crush all competition on all room quality levels, including technology. Overall, the Venetian poker room sets in the standard in Las Vegas on nearly all levels. The only level that the Venetian does not beat its largest rival, Bellagio, is that regarding mid limit and high limit action. Large limit games (i.e. 15/30 Limit Hold’em, 20/40 Stud, 30/60LHE, and 100/200LHE) in addition to 10/20 and 25/50 No Limit Hold’em and the “Big Game” are still almost exclusively spread at the Bellagio. Venetian has a stronghold on the NLHE action, though. Spreading multiple tables of 1/2, 2/5, and 5/10 daily, in addition to 4/8LHE, 4/8O8, and even 2/5PLO, the Venetian poker room is usually the busiest in the city, often spreading over 25 games most nights. The Venetian poker room is highest rated room on this website for many reasons, not the least of which is superb room quality. It is the best overall poker room in the city, and all other rooms should strive to emulate this veritable poker paradise. Competition Rating: 3 The Venetian poker room is home to a strong mix of players. Of course, a large amount of full time players choose to make Venetian their home, but due to the 7,000+ hotel rooms and convention center that make up the Venetian/Palazzo resort, the room is always very full of soft tables, on all levels. What enables the Venetian to achieve an above average score for competition is due to the true game selection that the room offers. Table change requests are well managed and organized and the ability to monitor and navigate throughout the room enables players to seek out and scout the good games throughout the room. The tournament competition is also a solid mix. Having played in the $550 weekly tournament as well as a $120 daily offering, this reviewer can confidently say that the fields were both amply full of professional and recreational players. Overall, the competition at the Venetian is what you would expect from a truly world class poker venue. One any given night, there are 30 cash games running, with 300 players in the room. Of those 300, a good amount will be solid, experienced players, but another good amount will be hotel guests, conventioneers, and tourists. The Venetian is one of the few truly “destination” poker venues in Las Vegas, meaning that regardless of where they are staying, players choose to make Venetian a destination on their poker playing schedule, simply because of the World Class aspect of the room. This lends itself to an extremely strong mix of players on all levels. Dealer Rating: 5 In the years since the Venetian poker room’s grand opening, the dealing staff has vastly improved mechanically. During the Deepstack Tournament Events, the room often hires several more dealers, which can sometimes dilute the overall dealer quality, but overall the room holds strong in retaining a strong and competent staff. World Class poker rooms employ dealers that need to be able to handle all games, and all limits. Fortunately, the Venetian dealers fit the bill nicely. Whether dealing 4/8 Limit Hold’em or 2/5 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better, these dealers can handle the game professionally, and with a serious game controlling attitude that one would expect from a high end room. Granted, the personalities of the Venetian dealers is often concealed due to the overall poker driven nature of the room itself, but many of the dealers adapt well to the change in games, which is a mark of an experienced dealer (i.e. dealers in 4/8LHE are afforded a more jovial attitude than those dealing 10/20NLHE). Dealers that can adjust their attitudes and personalities to the table, while still maintaining solid game control deserve high marks on all accounts, and fortunately, the Venetian earns a solid 5/5 in this category. Overall, the Venetian dealers are world class. The strongest dealers in Las Vegas can be found at only a small handful of properties (with the Wynn holding the very top crown), and the Venetian is certainly one of them. Venetian is the best overall room in Las Vegas, and the dealing staff contributes strongly to that achievement. Cocktail Rating: 5 The Venetian cocktail service is the best in the industry, and possibly the best in the world. This is yet another area that has vastly improved since the room’s grand opening back in 2006. As of 2009 (the writing of this review) the selection, service, and cocktail quality is simply second to none. Venetian is the only poker room in Vegas that serves Fiji water, complimentary, to all poker customers. Red Bull (Regular and Sugar free) is served in the can, as are Dr. Pepper (Diet and Regular) and even Barq’s Root Beer. All top shelf and premium brands are available, at no charge, and are served by gorgeous cocktail servers (quickly becoming a rarity in Vegas due to the Union control of many Beverage departments in most Strip casinos, including MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment). With the singular exception of the M Resort Poker room which offers over 100 beers on tap, the Venetian cocktail selection is simply top notch, and the drink quality is extraordinarily high. The speed of the servers has vastly improved since the rooms opening, though during the high peak times, the service can slow slightly, which is understandable considering there can be often over 300 players in the room requesting drinks. Overall, the Venetian cocktail service is the best available on the Strip, and is arguably the best service afforded worldwide to poker players. There is not a single room on the Strip that offers a larger selection of drinks and drink options, not to mention Fiji branded water, by default. Even the Hard Rock and the Wynn, both known for exemplary cocktail service, fall short of eclipsing the Venetian in overall service. The Hard Rock continues to charge for Red Bull and the Wynn charges for Fiji. Cocktails are yet another section where the Venetian holds the top crown in Las Vegas. Management Rating: 5 The Venetian management has improved exponentially since the room’s grand opening back in 2006. It is obvious that the senior management strongly believes in poker, and invests significant money into its business. This is evident in the treatment of special events, the ample floor and wait staff, and the overall organization and communication tools that the room employs. The room management, headed by Kathy Raymond, has been retooled and retrained several times over the course of the past three years. The current floor staff is well educated on poker room protocol, room management, and game control. The floor staff is dressed professionally, and is wired with personal communication earpieces and microphones for relaying open seats, decision calls, and players’ requests throughout the room. The room’s rake is in line with most other properties in Las Vegas, at a standard $4 max in most games. Caesars Palace is the only “Big Room” that employs a $5 rake on its games. The high level management taken poker very seriously, as this is no further evident than during the quarterly Deepstack Tournament Series, where an additional 40 tables are added to the exterior of the room, displacing over a hundred slot machines in favor of temporary tournament tables, all of which are of the same high quality as the room’s, and all replete with autoshufflers, an industry first. The brush staff is well trained to handle customer requests and concerns, and everything from cocktail requests to table changes are handled quickly. Considering that this room often has over 30 games running simultaneously, it is quite a feat to manage high volume with any sort of fluidity, but this room does so, often impeccably, on a daily basis. The amenities that the management team has added to the room over the years are nothing short of world class. Fully stocked coffee bar, 24 hour tableside foodservice (with waiters on hand at all times), private entrance to the high limit area, safety deposit boxes, multiple tournament registration desks, comp/reception specialist on hand during nearly all shifts, and chip runners covering the floor at all times are all offered at the Venetian, and elevate the room above all viable competition into a class all by itself. The tournament staff needs to be mentioned in its own section altogether. The tournament director, Tim Mix, along with his coordinators, Dan Carpenter and Anthony Chester, are easily the strongest tournament team in the city. The Venetian tournaments (daily and special events) are phenomenally structured and impeccably run. There are no regularly scheduled tournaments that can come close to ousting the Venetian from its crown when it comes to tournaments. The Venetian knows how to properly handle large tournament fields, and this is evident in every event, from the $120 daily tournaments to the $550 weekly tournament that often has a first place prize of over $20K. The tournament management at the Venetian handles its customers with extremely high customer service standards, in addition to its professional equipment and protocol. Lammers are used as prizes for satellite tournaments, which can be bought or sold at the players’ discretion to other players. With the exception of the World Series of Poker, the special event tournament series’ that the Venetian hosts are the most well attended poker events in Las Vegas, consistently. When comparing the two entities, it is obvious that the WSOP, though exponentially larger in player turnout, falls short strongly in overall customer handling and customer service. Though the WSOP will continue to hold the crown for the most well attended and prestigious tournament series in the world, the Venetian carries the crown throughout year, on a daily basis. Overall, the Venetian embodies professional standards in both tournament and overall room management, on all levels, and has easily earned a strong 5/5 in this category. Comps Rating: 4 The Venetian comp system is fair and adequate for a large room, and is well above most competitors. Comps are tracked on the players’ card, at the front desk. We would like to see comps tracked tableside, and AVP has been informed that this is in the works as an improvement to be added in the Fall of 2009. The Venetian offers three different types of monetary comps for players. Low limit games receive $1 per hour in comps, 2/5 and above receive $1.50 per hour in comps, and tournaments receive a $10 paper voucher. This is in stark contrast to the Venetian’s largest rival, Bellagio, who is notoriously stingy when it comes to comps as the players’ card is not in use there, and comps are awarded at management’s “discretion”. The Venetian, being a world class poker venue, does not drop for jackpots or other promotional gimmicks. The room does not pay out jackpots for high hands or run freerolls (with the exception of an occasional house funded special event), and the customers that play daily here appreciate the lack of a jackpot drop. Two singular criticisms can be found when judging the comps system that the Venetian utilizes (taking out the lack of the Genesis Bravo tableside player tracking since it is in the works). The first is the food venues that the comps can be redeemed at. Venetian poker room comps can only be used in very specific venues throughout the property (casino food court, Grand Lux Café, Noodle Asia, poker room tableside food delivery, and in-suite dining). We would like to see the comps be redeemable at all restaurants at the property (for both food and merchandise), and at the sister property, Palazzo. Currently, poker room comps can be used for food only, and only at the aforementioned locations. Also, the comps earned must be transferred to a paper comp in the poker room for redemption. The card cannot be swiped at the food venue itself. This is the only area where Harrah’s Entertainment trumps the Venetian, as HET poker earned comps can be used at any food venue or retail gift shop in the company by simply swiping the Total Rewards card. Overall, the comps system that the Venetian employs is above average within the industry, and trumps its largest rival quite easily (Bellagio). The Venetian Club Grazie card is utilized in an identical fashion to its next door neighbor (Wynn), but is most certainly an area for improvement going forward. When taking all things into consideration, the Venetian has deservedly earned the top spot on AVP, where we expect it to stay for many years to come. Venetian Poker Room News Venetian installs Genesis Bravo Tableside Comp Tracking Units in ALL Cash game tables! Date: 05/24/09 Summary:Venetian has become the largest room in Vegas to install Genesis Bravo tableside swipe units in all 39 cash game tables. New and Updated Venetian Poker Room Editor Review is now posted! Date: 04/04/09 Summary:The Venetian poker room sets the standard in Las Vegas. Now with a new and updated review, the Venetian poker room continues to dominate the World Class Room market on all levels. Venetian Deepstack Tournament Series: April 2009 Date: 03/22/09 Summary:Venetian is hosting their second DSE Event of 2009 in April. Complete tournament schedule and information included here. Venetian Deepstack V Tournament Series: 2/02-2/25 Date: 02/03/09 Summary:Venetian is currently running their 5th Deepstack Tournament Series. This is often considered the best overall tournament series outside of the WSOP. Complete schedule and information is available here! Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza IV Poker Tournament Series,Venetian poker tournanments, Venetian poker room Date: 10/10/08 Summary:The Venetian poker room will be hosting their 4th Deepstacd Tournament Series in November, and will be offering several deepstacked NLHE events every week! [more Venetian poker room News story] |
Venetian Poker Room Player Reviews Summary of Player Reviews: Overall: 4.08 Room Quality: 4.76 Competition: 2.87 Dealer Rating: 3.78 Cocktail Rating: 4.09 Management Rating: 4.12 Comps Rating: 3.61 Beautiful, busy and deadly By: zzjitterzz 06/21/09 Not so great for cash during Deep Stack By: FLPokerGirl 06/11/09 The Pinnacle of Class By: GolfBaller70 05/24/09 Best Tournaments anywhere By: Gman 05/20/09 Best room in town! By: Polar_Bears 04/19/09 Stands Alone At The Top By: statsman 03/11/09 Great experience By: RSMILEY 02/28/09 The Best By: IAPETE 02/22/09 Amazing By: pbouley 02/20/09 The Stone Cold Nuts of Vegas Poker Rooms By: socalvegasmk 02/16/09 God I love this room By: pqc200 02/01/09 A Great Room - Here's Why. By: BZim 01/13/09 Once again, Great time. Cheezy Hotel?? By: Surve 01/12/09 Sets the standard By: FlyingLuske 01/11/09 Still Your Undisputed Heavyweight Champion! By: Grange95 01/09/09 Friday Noon Tournament By: swanbrooke 12/17/08 Total class By: mocs30 11/25/08 2-5nl review By: phatbob 11/23/08 Venetian Noon Tourney By: robtraut 10/29/08 October Trip...Awesome Room- Met Teddy "Ice-Man" Monroe. hr talk w him By: Arturo 10/20/08 Venetian top notch, Best in Vegas By: Frend 09/22/08 Beautiful room, beatable competition By: Aces 07/09/08 Week of 22-June-2008 By: bscrivener 06/29/08 Great room...will come back By: ricro 06/23/08 Empereor By: anubis 05/24/08 The best big room in Vegas By: poker4life 05/21/08 Posh and inviting By: BSiegs 05/20/08 very nice room By: checkonetime 05/20/08 Probably the BEST room ive played in By: aub51 05/11/08 Top notch room in every respect. By: loose cannon 05/08/08 Nice room as always, not without flaws By: AdRock 05/03/08 Lokk no further !!! By: slamdunc 04/30/08 Another fan By: Hunter747 04/28/08 Favorite Room in Vegas By: mauidakine 03/27/08 Someday It Will Be Great, Not Today By: Denise 03/19/08 WHAT IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT? By: vanloon 03/06/08 Great Freaking Room!! By: argall2368 03/03/08 One of, if not THE best for low limit By: Bullitt5135 02/05/08 Are you kidding me? By: cthtown 01/31/08 Hats Off To The Dealer And Managment By: Saso 01/31/08 Nice but no cigar (big room ?) By: vanloon 01/31/08 Shockingly good poker room By: flintsword 01/24/08 Best Tourneys in Vegas By: Reflex 01/21/08 Pretty good By: Blue 01/19/08 Still Classy By: IAPETE 01/19/08 My new playground By: dvsrock 01/07/08 World Class Venetian Poker Room for New Years By: MauiPunter 01/03/08 Really Nice By: gpardo1 12/26/07 Rock garden By: messymarv 12/24/07 All round good place to play By: Frank735 12/13/07 Second-best room in Vegas By: Gman 12/04/07 One of the Best in Las Vegas By: Taz007 11/28/07 I love this room By: PlayersOnly 10/31/07 pretty crazy play over here By: jeru101 10/28/07 I really need some advice on where I can play and get experience By: Officer2646 10/27/07 One of the Two Best Big Rooms In Las Vegas By: joel1968 10/26/07 What a great room By: barracuda 10/23/07 Great Strip Poker Room! By: Krafte1 10/23/07 The best room on the strip, period. By: redright88 10/22/07 The way poker should be By: guynotes 10/17/07 Nice room but not that nice... By: #1BuckeyeFan 10/16/07 9/25 1/2 NL Game By: Santa Fe Rail 09/29/07 CLASSY, CLASSY, CLASSY By: ddmacRN 08/22/07 Outstanding room and GREAT Tournaments! By: curtom 08/16/07 Poker Room at The Venetian = Top Notch for 1/2 NL Players. By: iStack 08/15/07 Play here, but more importantly stay here... By: BobbyFL 08/09/07 Great tournaments, great action. By: Yappy Dave 07/25/07 Venetian is NICE! By: hiroller 06/19/07 What a Poker Room By: Kolbster 06/18/07 Best Room I've Played in Vegas By: IAPETE 06/07/07 Luxury By: irwins0001 05/28/07 Great Room By: BigSlick75093 05/20/07 Great service, good action By: Grange95 04/29/07 Great place to play! By: bothebu 04/21/07 great poker room By: shiki31 04/18/07 The Only Game I Can Afford at Venetian By: ringo 04/12/07 Poker in the lap of luxury, bu tthe devil is in the details By: twriter 04/03/07 most comfortable, good action, luv this room By: paulgref 03/31/07 Comfiest Chairs By: skybuckets 03/29/07 What a room By: bigpoppapdx 03/28/07 One of my favorites, maybe the best room overall By: AdRock 03/24/07 over rated? yes. bad room? no. only place i felt comfortable? yes. By: pocketjokers 03/17/07 The best in town By: BigT025 03/16/07 Very Plush By: chektorazor 03/12/07 A must play for the poker lover By: Acehater 03/01/07 THE BEST PLACE TO PLAY By: stillherehmm 02/22/07 My favorite room in Las Vegas By: LeatherAss 02/16/07 Nice room, good tournaments By: gjw61 02/14/07 A review from the vegasgrinder By: vegasgrinder 02/10/07 Good room, but some poker "snobs" By: Zurg_ 01/30/07 FUN TIMES By: SpecReynolds 01/24/07 best place on the strip By: callaway06 01/11/07 Wonderful Room By: eyu830 12/30/06 awesome By: jimmythekid 12/23/06 Best room on the Strip By: reyesaj 12/19/06 Perfect room By: emoneye 12/18/06 Best in Vegas By: payne 12/06/06 the best By: junkadelic 12/04/06 Great tourneys and cash game action By: juju96 11/15/06 Best Room in Vegas! By: whitedog 11/06/06 Has it all...except for the lower mid-limits By: Hoss1193 10/24/06 A must see when in Vegas. By: The Big D 10/24/06 Bad Calls By: Tucson Jim 10/09/06 Supposedly this place is great? Not to me. By: RAB777 09/06/06 An Objective Review By: RPB 08/28/06 In the minority By: JalHampsen 08/27/06 Back to basics By: toshirotakashi 08/22/06 comfortable, fun, poorly managed By: scurvy 08/21/06 Excellence!!! By: dcarp 08/16/06 Venetian poker room impressive at high and low limits By: ibara 08/08/06 Very Nice Room, Slow Late on Sundays By: pmulry 08/08/06 dry as the desert By: jwrules547 08/03/06 This is the one! By: Scampman 07/30/06 learn how to run a room!! By: dafish1970 07/22/06 Very Elegant and Comfy By: joeyphresh 07/17/06 Back for a Second Look By: Gaggles 07/17/06 |