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Review of Palms Poker Room

Known for their nightclubs and party atmosphere, the Palms Hotel & Casino is where all the cool kids hang out. Strangely though, during the early parts of the week, the poker room at the Palms generates a lot of old folks. Maybe it’s where the old men hook up with their Viagra dealers, or maybe the hot waitresses at the Palms keep those old hearts pumping. Whatever the case, Monday through Wednesday are great days to discuss the latest polymer insulations and modified silicon semiconductors being used in todays most advanced pacemakers. As I told my boy Everett, new polymers which insulate the inner casing of titanium alloy pacemakers, create more predictable lifecycles so that doctors can more accurately predict when your lithium or iodine cell batteries will die, so you don’t. It’s really a hot topic, but I’ll save the rest for another day.

Beginning on Thursdays, the bartenders at the Palms put away the Ovaltine, and break out the Red Bull & Vodka! People who don’t need walkers start showing up in high numbers, and the games get fun. Monday through Wednesday, getting paid off on your big hands can feel like pulling a tractor through a frogs ass. Thankfully, that changes as the weekend nears.

Younger players looking for a good time create loose, fun tables that can easily be beat. As the drinks start flowing, so does the cash from uncaring players who are there for nothing more than a good time. Around 1-3 am is when the games tend to get their juiciest, so if you can stay awake and alert for a while past that time, you can win some nice pots.
The poker room is split into 2 rooms. One side of the room is the FL side, the other side is for NL games. The two rooms are divided by a hallway to a bathroom, which is literally within 10 feet of either room.

The Palms poker room doesn’t offer any tournaments, just cash games. With only 10 tables in the poker room, there isn’t enough space to hold any tournaments. I spoke with Joseph Sartori, the Poker Room Manager at the Palms, who told me that they like the room the way it is. The room offers a fun social experience, loose action, and cocktails as quickly as you want them.

Cash Games
The Palms poker room offers predominantly Texas Hold’em games. Although they’ll run an occasional $2/5 Omaha game when requested, the majority of the tables play $1/3 and $2/5 NL or $2/4 and $4/8 FL Hold’em games. Occasionally, the room will open up a $5/10 NL game as well, but not too often. If you have a group coming to Las Vegas and you’d like to play a different game or higher stakes, let the poker room staff know, they’ll create a game just for you.

The Palms poker room runs several different promotions, including a progressive High-Hand Jackpot, the Poker Football Cash Bash, a Diamond Flush Jackpot, and a $25 for $20 promo. I particularly like the Poker Football Cash Bash, where players can win up to $300 whenever a team scores. The High-Hand jackpot is fun too, where payouts range from $60-$599 depending on the hands made.

Fun Facts
Joe Awada is a regular at the Palms poker room. He generally plays $2/5 NL Hold’em, and he can usually be found laughing and having a good time while he plays. Joe is most known for winning a gold bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker 7 Card Stud event. If you’d like to test your skills against a world class player, head down to the Palms poker room. Joe can often be found playing during daytime hours. In fact, he was there the day I was gathering details for this review.

The Palms Casino is also where “Celebrity Poker Showdown”, hosted by Phil Gordon was filmed.

Cash Game Rake
All games have a no flop/no drop policy. So, if the hand ends before a flop is seen, there is no rake. They also offer rake reduction for short-handed tables. If your table has 5-6 players, be sure to ask for a rake reduction.

For $1/3 NL, $2/4 & $4/8 FL games there is a $3 maximum rake. The strike points are: $1 taken when the pot reaches $10, then $1 at $20, and the final $1 at $30. All games have an extra $1 taken at the $10 strike point to pay for the High-Hand Jackpot, essentially making the max rake $4 in these games.

In a $4/8 game, there is some good and some bad with this rake structure. Most poker rooms on the strip have strike points in the range of $10, $30, $50, $90. With the rake structure at the Palms you’re putting in more money into smaller pots, but less into bigger pots. If you’re looking to play during the day time when games are typically tighter, you may want to play at another room. In the night time and on weekends, the Palms may be a good place to play $4/8.

The rake for $2/5 NL is worse at the Palms than most other strip casinos. The strike points are $20, $40, $60, $80, with a maximum rake of $4. The $4 max rake is standard, but the final strike point at other poker rooms tends to be in the $110 – $150 range. So, your table adds the final $1 of rake earlier, thus more often.

Cocktails
Although the poker room is smaller than some of the other rooms in Vegas, the Palms still has cocktail waitresses dedicated to serving just the poker room. With no more than 100 players playing at any one time, this translates into great service. As an added bonus, some of the waitresses at the Palms poker room are smoking hot!

I was asked not to repeat this, but I’m going to anyway…an employee who will remain nameless actually told me that as part of the Palms reputation as the party place in Vegas, management actually wants to encourage lots of drinking. If you’re here to party, that’s good news. If you’re a local looking to rob the tourists of every last penny, that good for you too.

If you prefer, there are bars located all over the casino. There are two in particular that are located within about 150 feet of the poker room. Looking out from the poker room, head left and you’ll see both of them. Before you can say Tommy Bahama Millionaire Mojito, you’ll have one in your hand.

Food
If you’d rather not leave your game to eat, players can order room service meals to eat tableside.

There are several choices for finding either a quick bite, or fine dining at the Palms. There is a place called Bistro Buffet which offers a wide assortment of Italian, Lebanese or American dishes. They also have a decent variety of seafood. While I haven’t had the pleasure of eating here yet, the smells coming from the restaurant are literally mouth watering. I don’t know that I’ve ever smelled anything so enticing. If you’re a Club Palms member, the prices are as follows: Breakfast – $6.99, Lunch – $8.99, Dinner – $13.99. For non-members the prices are still quite good. Breakfast – $7.99, Lunch – $9.99, Dinner – $16.99. Looking out from the poker room, head straight ahead through the slot machines. Walk about 50 feet to the opposing wall and walkway, then make a left. You’ll only need to walk a couple hundred feet and you’ll see the Bistro Buffet on your right.

There is a food court within close proximity to the poker room as well. Looking out from the poker room, make a right turn and walk about 150 feet. You’ll see the food court on your left, close to the exit. The food court offers: McDonalds, Panda Express, Nathans Famous Hot Dogs, Famiglia, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and The Coffee Bean. If you’re looking for a longer break, there is a movie theater located at the end of the food court.

Beyond this, there are several other great restaurants at the Palms. They include: N9ne Steakhouse, Nove Italiano, Little Buddha, 24/7 Café, Simon Restaurant, Blue Agave, Alize, and Garduños.

Massage
Massage therapists are available for $2 per minute, which is comparable to the price at any poker room.

Televisions
Each of the poker rooms have LCD tv’s located on each wall of the poker room. While there aren’t as many tv’s at the Palms as some other rooms, the rooms are fairly small and you can see them from just about anywhere.

Summary
The Palms Poker Room is a great place for $1/2 NL and $2/4 FL players. Because of the smaller rake, players who play $1/2 NL and $2/4 FL games essentially get a free shot at the High-Hand Jackpots.

Players who want to play $2/5 NL or $4/8 FL can find better rooms in regards to the rake. Also, stay away from the tables Mondays through Wednesdays, where nobody makes any money except the house and the waitresses.
If your goal is to find a great sociable room, Thursdays – Sundays are good days to play at the Palms. You can get plenty of drinks, talk to some sexy waitresses, and have a great time.

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