I have a trip planned to stay in Las Vegas for a week around the beginning of April. Have been thinking about the idea of skipping the plane and driving my car across the country (from the Washington, DC area) and stopping at several places along the way and back to play poker.

I figure I would drive a reasonably amount each day (8-12 hours), then stop at an area with a casino and play some poker. I have always liked trying out new poker rooms.

Figure I would spend the nights at cheap motels, or at casino rooms if I can get them comped or very cheap. If I really like the action at the room I would stay a full day and only drive every other day, otherwise I would just play several hours, sleep a bit, then hit the road again.

Would love some advice about places to play, especially if your home casino is one you think would be worth my stopping at, and if you have info about the games offered and/or places to stay nearby.

My preferred game is limit holdem between 6/12 and 15/30. In a pinch I could play as low as 4/8 or as high as 20/40. I also do alright playing no limit, but get bored playing for more than a few hours. Wouldn't really be worth my while to play lower than 4/8, would probably just play NL instead.

Will probably take a more northerly route headed west, and a southern one when returning eastward. Definately want to check out the rooms in Phoenix. Also pretty set on checking out Denver and Tunica. Would love to check out Minnesota, but I think that is really too far out of my way. Probably will not go any farther west than Las Vegas - I love the action in California, but I have played in most of the rooms there in the past.

These are some tentative spots on the itinerary:

Chicago area (Horseshoe / Resorts ?)
(maybe somewhere else here?)
Denver (Center City / Black Hawk) area
Las Vegas
Phoenix (Casino Arizona / others worth sampling)
Albuquerque area?
Oklahoma City or Tulsa?
Tunica (which are best for LHE?)
Cherokee NC (not ideal, anywhere else?)
home to DC area.

If you play (especially mid limit HE) in any of these places, I would love to hear from you about the best places to go (other than Vegas, I know where to play there). Also would be interested in meeting other 2+2'ers along the way. If you're in a different area than those listed above but think it would be worth a stop, also let me know.

Thanks!

I have driven round trip twice from Tampa to Las Vegas. So part of my suggestions will apply to you.
Oklahoma stop definitely. Tulsa is nice there is a Hard Rock casino there with a nice poker room. There is also other casinos along I40 you could stop.
From there the next stop is Albuquerque. Sandia Casino. Nice place and fairly big poker room. Use a travel website to find a good cheap room a few miles away.
Next stop Vegas.

this is pretty odd, but after I made the post about limit action in Detroit I did think about taking a little poker vacation. I have about a month of free time coming up and thought about doing a little poker road trip. My car only has 14k miles on it and I planned on being out for the first week of WSOP anyways.

Def paying attention to this tread as I'd love to do this...at least until the downswing kicks in and I want to head back home after making it as far as St. Louis.

If you're coming from DC, you could go up to AC, go through PA and try these casino's in WV, Wheeling Island Casino, and Mountaineer Casino. Or just eliminate AC all together if that doesn't interest you.

Here's a link on google maps to kind of give you an idea on how that would look...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...23,6.49292&z=7

I'm not 100% sure on having the limits you want, but a quick phone call to them can solve that

Sorry I don't have any info, just wanted to wish you GL and that I'll be faux sweating you.

Hope you have a great time man, sounds like fun.

If you like LHE from 6-12 to 15-30 then Canterbury park in shakopee MN would be a great stop as these games run almost always.

Omaha/council bluffs might also be a potential stop. They have mostly NLHE from 1/3 to 2/5 but also have mixed games of LHE/O8 on the weekends.

also if you look through the colorado poker thread there is links and advice on cheap places to stay.

I'm already up in AC every other week so don't need to go by there. Also have been to Wheeling Island in WV before, they didn't have much in the way of games I am interested in. As I said, I would love to hit Minnesota, but I really think that is too far out of the way.

If anyone has info on the places I mentioned earlier or any others, let me know!

I fixed your itinerary.

The SF area is a great place to visit and play poker (I am even considering moving there), but I have played poker there many times before so don't want to go that far out of the way this time.

Someone asked a similar question for using a week to go from Nashville to Vegas two years ago. Loving the idea, I went bananas with an itinerary. (The link takes you to my first post in that thread, but the better plan is a few posts below, titled "8 Days to Arizona, Poker Every Night")

I think much the same plan would work for you. From your starting point, hitting someplace in WV might make sense before Memphis.

In the Chicago area the Horseshoe usually has a 10/20 game and alot of the times 20/40. Resorts no longer has poker and Majestic Star never has higher than 3/6 limit.

Def. go to Tunica. Awesome poker action! I'm a LHE player also but play mainly $4/8 however, between the Horseshoe and Gold Strike you should have no problem getting in a $10/20 or $15/30 game. I haven't been since the World Poker Open last summer but the $10/20 and $15/30 were going strong and according to the dealers, they were running very regularly even before the WPO. Tunica rocks.....super cheap rooms and all the free food you can eat.

If you are coming from NY planning to go to Tunica, Hollywood Casino makes some sense except it doesn't have Limit poker at your levels. Wednesday they spread$5-10 O/8 with a full kill and they have PLO but it is rare to see Limit Holdem higher than $3-6. They have tons of $1-3 NL.

Depending upon how long you like to drive in a session, it might make sense to stay the night.
Google Map attempt NY-lawrenceburg IN-Tunica MS
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Google Map Fail, LOL

On the way from DC to Chicago, stop by Hollywood in Indiana (near Cincinnati)

Can I quit my job and go on a poker road trip? Good luck. And post a trip report, please.

Luckily (?) for me, I am currently unemployed so have lots of time on my hands...

I did an extensive road trip last summer covering a lot of the same ground you're planning to be at, and you're pretty much SOL for limit hold'em in that range. Lots of small NL, though.

CAZ very likely has something in your range - they have several bigger limit games, so there's probably some feeder games as well. Not sure if they've opened up their new room yet. When you go, make sure you end up in the right place - they have two locations, as I found out the hard way.

Detroit has a very good round by round HE/Omaha high game at Motor City Casino. Stakes vary from 10-20 to 20-40 depending on day of week. The O round was basically 9 ways to the flop every hand.

If you don't mind passing through Canada, Brantford had 5/10, 10/20, 20/40. You might be able to scrape up a 6/12 game at Fallsview in Niagara - I forget what games they had, but they had bigger action than the rest of the casinos there.

Ameristar in St Louis had 20/40 1/2 kill HO round by round when I stopped by. Didn't much care for the room, though.

River Spirit in Tulsa had, of all things, 1/2 PLO, but no limit HE.

Sandia in Albuquerque probably doesn't have limit over 4/8 or so.

I'm told the Gold Strike in Tunica manages to get together 10/20 or 20/40, but when I was there they couldn't get it started. Maybe on certain days of the week - call ahead.

Harrah's New Orleans and the various casinos in Gulfport are worth checking out, but likely won't have limit HE above 4/8, maybe 6/12. Some surprisingly big (5/10/20) NL/PLO games, though.

And Canterbury Park is a great place to play, but probably out of your way.

I was also going to suggest Harrah's New Orleans. They have (or used to have) a $15/$30 half-HE/half-Omaha high game that is juicy as hell. Plus, the weather is getting warmer, and spending a day or two in NOLA is always good.

There are some $10/$20 and $20/$40 games going in Blackhawk, CO, but I haven't played in them. Rooms will be cheap there during the week, but I think the weekend rates are outrageous. The Ameristar will be the nicest hotel there ($179 for this Saturday).

If you have the time, I would hit St Louis -> Tunica -> NOLA -> Oklahoma on your way west. You could even throw in Shreveport on your way to OK. I don't think Blackhawk would be worth the extra drive up to CO.

StevieG has some great suggestions via his link to the other thread.

Actually Denver (Blackhawk) is right on the way between DC and Vegas, as is Chicago.
Tunica and Oklahoma are bascially on the way back, assuming I go through Phoenix. New Orleans is out of the way, and I would definately not want to play Omaha high at the 15/30 level as I have never really played it before. I have played poker in St. Louis when I went there for work, couldn't find any limit games higher than 3/6.

Which casino(s) in Blackhawk are most likely to have the 10/20 (or 20/40) games going?
Unfortunately I would likely be there on the weekend. Would there even be any motels around at a reasonable rate for the weekend? I would be looking for the cheapest room, not the nicest.

"Sandia in Albuquerque probably doesn't have limit over 4/8 or so."

10/20 runs alot, almost everyday. that game will turn into 15/30 sometimes

I think I booked the biggest win of my life in the $15/$30 limit Omaha game in NOLA. I think I erred in the description, too... the $15/$30 is exclusively Omaha high, while the $4/$8 games are half/half.

re: Blackhawk, either the Lodge or the Ameristar (more likely) will have the $10/20 and $20/$40 limit games. They are right across the street from each other. I actually like playing at the Golden Gates over the Ameristar or Lodge. For the games you are looking for, those are the three main cardrooms. I've never seen any limit games at the Gates above $4/$8.

The gaming laws in CO restrict the max bet to $100, so the "no limit" games are really "spread limit" i.e. $1/$2-$100 NLHE has $1/$2 blinds, with a max bet of $100. Max buy-in might be in the $300-$500 range for a game like that.

It doesn't matter where you stay in BH, as all of the casinos are within easy walking distance of each other. Hell, some of them even have bridges between them. You might be able to get some reasonable rooms at the Isle of Capris. I stayed there once, and the decor on my floor was this ghastly green tropical theme, but the room was standard (think Super 8). I just did a spot check, and it looks like the Isle has weekend rooms for $129 for most of April.

There are no commercial chain hotels like Holiday Inn, Hampton, etc. anywhere close to Blackhawk/Central City.

Also see:
http://www.coloradogamingnews.com/
http://www.blackhawkcolorado.com/

Lastly - if you are coming over from Chicago, I would definitely stop in Council Bluffs on your way over to Denver. CB is almost EXACTLY halfway on what Yahoo! Maps tells me is a 14.5 hour drive. There are a bunch of cheap/budget hotels near the casinos in Council Bluffs.

Thanks much for all the info. For some reason I was thinking Google maps had given me only 12 hours between Chicago and Denver, but you are right, it is farther, maybe too far for one day's drive. I was earlier considering stopping in Iowa - do you, or does anyone, have details on what games are offered there? I think I read somewhere online about a bigger limit game at least on the weekends in Council Bluffs, but I wasn't sure how current the info was.

I wouldn't want to spend more than $100 for a hotel; would prefer much less than that. I could stay at any old dive motel anywhere in the Denver area that wasn't too long a drive from the casinos, it wouldn't have to be right in Black Hawk.

I've only played in Council Bluffs once, at the Horseshoe. The room was pretty impressive, with a lot of games going on. You'll have to search the forum for info, as I certainly don't have the best info on what games they are spreading.

It's definitely a 7+ hour drive from Omaha to Denver, all on I-80 and I-76.

It's about a 45 minute drive from downtown Denver to Blackhawk. I know there are some hotels on the northwest side along I-70.

We will demand a trip report.

Start at DC, Stop in Cincy, Hollywood, Then onto St louis harrahs, Then to I have no clue after that lol

For anyone who is interested, here is the current likely itenerary. I may add in a stop in the San Diego area as I realized I have not played there and would like to check out a few places, particularly Oceans 11.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...03&ie=UTF8&z=5

I couldn't figure out how to imbed the map code given by yahoo and make it show up here, so I have the link instead. If anyone can tell me quickly how to imbed a map in a post, please let me know.