Because I live in Las Vegas, I get a lot of email and calls asking about restaurants, casinos, and gambling in general.  So rather than answer them all individually, I am going to address the main concern that is going around regarding poker rooms here in town.

 It is more than a mere rumor…7-card stud is [...]]]>

Because I live in Las Vegas, I get a lot of email and calls asking about restaurants, casinos, and gambling in general.  So rather than answer them all individually, I am going to address the main concern that is going around regarding poker rooms here in town.

 It is more than a mere rumor…7-card stud is dying in Las Vegas.  There are two dominating reasons for this.  The first, and the most obvious, is the international rage over the televised hold’em tournaments, that promise to make millionaires out of every young person over the age of twenty-one.  Apparently, when given  the choice of a college degree and a grinding 40 hour or more work week, and the glamour of playing poker, becoming famous, and winning a million or more, hold’em wins.

 The other reason is simply that the corporation run casinos make more money for the house by closing out stud  and running hold’em, which involves higher bets and more hands dealt per hour.  You see, while the average person is losing his job, his insurance, and his home in this uneasy economy, the casinos were beginning to show a drop in their profits…so  they cut out the cheaper games that people could still afford to play once in a while, and made room for more hold’em to bring in the profits!

 Not all houses have been that uncaring.  There are a few that still offer stud to the loyal players that made Las Vegas the mecca it became.  While large hotels like the Mirage, the Venetian, and the Bellagio have closed their doors and their hearts to stud players, a couple others have stepped forward.

 Harrah’s offers 1-5 stud with no ante, and 1-5 hi-lo split as well…but check with them before you go over there and see if they have an interest list going.  Sam’s Town has a game that lasts only for a couple hours in the afternoon.  High stakes stud is offered at the Bellagio. The Sahara always has a game on Wednesdays, but is going for one every day…give them a call.  They seem to have a game almost every day that starts early in the afternoon.

So there it is.  To all of you hopeful stud players, I wish you luck and good games!