I feel like I need a tetanus shot every time I'm leaving Hawaiian Gardens. Commerce is either the armpit or the ******* of the Greater LA Area, I haven't figured out which yet. Oceans 11 sucks too.

Now that I have that out of the way, what are the nicest poker rooms in the OC / LA Area? Just in terms of not having a seedy feel. Thoughts? Is there anything like Bay 101 in San Jose?

I always enjoyed the feel of Penchanga in Temecula.

I visit LA a lot. (and other areas of the entire USA)
Classiest poker room in SoCal/LA area in my mind is Hustler.
NOTE: to haters and stuff. The question is "what is the classiest room in LA?" The question doesn't ask what is the classiest room in the entire world that happens to be in So.CA. end of NOTE
Why do I says this? Service, food, Tuxedoed staff, availability of games, BBJs that are keyed to each buy-in level, adequate parking, good valet service, ease of getting there. What could be better? MTT formats, schedules, and maybe a higher buy-in at the 1-2 level....but I like it the best. I'll bring my wife here.
Next in my mind is Bike, but it is a clear 2nd to Hustler. Very busy, pretty clean for amount of business done. Nice MTT sked.
Commerce- cattle car
Oceans- meh
HP- nice reno...but the people/players....
Normandie....sorry
Pechanga- beautiful room, now get some management to match
SanManuel- just a wierd vibe, sorry
Pala- actually some potential for a small room but not at the classy stage yet.

Interesting topic.

I wouldn't agree that it is the classiest per se, but the Bike is an excellent room for game selection, dealer friendliness, service and atmosphere.

I don't associate many rooms in the US with being classy - maybe the Venetian and Borgata, but even that is a stretch.

I don't know, in my mind Northern Californian poker rooms are way nicer. Bay 101 is really nice, Artichoke Joes isn't bad, and the new Casino Matrix that is opening up in San Jose looks ridiculous. I'm moving back to So Cal soon and would like to find something similar, but the ones that I frequent are all dumps. I'll have to check out the Hustler and the Bike one of these days though, I've actually never been to either.

As far as giving off a reasonably classy feel, Hustler is one of the best in the U.S. That's just my opinion from the 50 or so poker rooms I've played at in different regions of the country. I haven't been to San Jose though, so I can't compare it to anywhere there.

best look hustler
best for your broke bankroll is bike
best juicy games mid level and up commerce

everything else you shouldn't go

Hawaiian Gardens has got to be somewhere in there, not just "shouldn't go" no?

People will defend the place, but it's a total dump. It's like playing inside a giant metal garbage can since most of it is a "temp" (in quotation marks since it seems temp has become permanent) structure. It's crowded, dirty and lacks any design, and the city it is in is statistically among the most crime-ridden in the county. Sure, the action's good and I'm sure the staff is as friendly as any. The question in the subject line is "classiest" and HG doesn't get to even enter the discussion. I'd probably still rather go there than Hollywood Park though.

You’d be hard pressed to find a legal licensed Casino in the County of Orange. The Hustler Casino is no doubt the classiest in the greater So.Cal. Area with the Bike next in line. But across the board the Commerce Casino has the most to offer overall for your poker experience.

Commerce is a hell hole but is #1 for game selection.

I personally like the low limit NL at the Bike. It doesn't have ******ed 20bb caps like the other casinos do.

How far are you willing to drive? What stakes?

I live in OC and spend more time in the San Diego area. Here's a little spreadsheet that shows some of the rooms I go to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...Vptd0pKMjZIMmc

Of these, I prefer Pala first and the Bike second. Not on the spreadsheet but worthy of special mention are Barona and Sycuan further south in San Diego.