On my first trip out to Las Vegas, I had a plan in mind. I was going there to enjoy the scenery, see everything that there was to see, and play poker at as many of the major casinos as possible. Once I visited the Bellagio, the Wynn, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage, I decided that it was time to do some picking and choosing among the other casinos. My goal was to play some good poker and make a little bit of money, but I also wanted to gain the value of a good experience. Since my favorite movie as a kid was Aladdin, I decided to visit the Aladdin Casino poker room. While it obviously was not to the level of any of the previously mentioned poker rooms, the Aladdin was a pretty good place to sit down and play a few hands.
The most attractive quality of the Aladdin poker room is that it sits in a very secluded area of the Aladdin casino. In the past year, the resort has made a large number of changes to this room in their renovation project. Along with those changes were many cosmetic changes that keep the Aladdin ahead of most of the smaller casinos. Since Planet Hollywood is now the rightful owner of this casino and room, they have taken it upon themselves to create an enjoyable experience. Inside the room, players will find comfortable chairs and brand new tables. The only drawback to the comfort and convenience of this poker room is that they only have one large flatscreen television. In the end, that leaves huge sports fans like me needing a little bit more.
The poker play at the Aladdin was surprisingly easy. As a small casino, I suspected that it would be filled with locals who knew how to play the game. This simply was not the case. The lower limit games, such as the no-limit $1/$2 game, were filled with amateurs, fish, and otherwise inadequate poker players. According to my friends in Las Vegas, the room seems to be attracting more local players with each passing week, but for now, it is home to players who simply like to donate their money.
The no-limit action happens at three different blind prices. The aforementioned $1/$2 game is the most popular, but games range as high as $5/$10. In addition, there is a good selection of limit poker and Omaha. While they do offer some $60 buy-in tournaments, there is really nothing noteworthy going on in this poker room’s tournament scene. There are better tournaments elsewhere.
Overall, the Aladdin exceeded my expectations on comfort and competition. As it becomes more popular, the level of play will increase. In the next year, though, this casino should be one that you include on your poker rotation. The people are nice and they keep you coming back for more.
