I am going to vegas during WSOP this year. I have been to vegas several times but never during the WSOP. I have seen there is a thread about this topic before but it is talking about WSOP at the Rio before COVID.

Can someone who went to the WSOP at ballys in 2022 give some insight on what its like with the cash games in convention center?

Is there really no rake? How many games are there?
Do other rooms like aria really expand poker rooms to put more tables?
What are the wait times like?
Is everything 24/7?
Do you find games are harder or softer with the influx of poker players?

BTW: I only play 1/2 and 1/3

Yes there are waitlists. Playing 48 hour benders can mitigate your wait time per session average.

Everything is 24/7. Games do wind down slightly at night because most people choose sleep over playing benders. I would advise sleep.

Games are way softer in May and early June. People come to Vegas with WSOP dreams. Some last a week. Some last a month. By July the winners keep going. Some of them will grind through the fall and sometimes even through the following year.

There will be rake. I intend to do my part in making it higher than normal.

Yes and it won't be enough.

2 hours minimum.

For the most part. COVID slowed everything down. I know of a buffet that only serves dinner Friday-Sunday because they don't have enough staff for the rest of the week.

Games are really soft.

no rake? are you kidding? of course there's rake. this is just rumor.

expansions? yes, i remember seeing more tables in aria and other places. it is packed everywhere. remember, vegas becomes the center of the poker WORLD for a few weeks. players from everywhere, and i mean everywhere.

wait times? i remember seeing lists depressingly long at some places, especially the busier rooms. so plan accordingly.

24/7? yes.

games? depends. i saw some terrible, and i do mean terrible, games last year. but i also saw some good ones. the cool thing is, you can always find a good game. thats my sense. but you may have to change things up and move tables or even rooms sometimes. but there's always choices in vegas during the series. there's always a good game somewhere, always. sometimes surrounded by bad games, but always a good one out there. as someone who only plays 1/2 and 1/3, you may not have to look as hard as someone playing higher. but dont get me wrong, you may still have to look.

I find the cash games at the WSOP itself to be a bit tougher then the ones spread in other casinos during late may and most of June. I know this is counterintuitive, as one would think the WSOP games would be softer because of the tourist influx, but my experience has been otherwise.

The Bellagio during WSOP has the softest games I've found, and a good selection of variants and limits. It's about the only time of year I've never seen a soft 80/160 mix game anywhere in Vegas, yet throughout may and most of June they pop up every weekend. For LHE and NLHE, at most properties a good rule of thumb is that each limit during the series plays like the limit below it the rest of the year.. ie, 5/10 is like a typical 2/5, 40/80 is more like the standard 20/40. Also, the superior game selection means you'll be able to play with the type of loose passive recs that you just don't see anymore post 2011. There are 10/20 games where players limp in the cutoff, call a button raise, and play fit or fold when the flop hits. You'll see people open 8xbb, call a 3bet, then donk min bet most flops and give up if they see action, having committed half their stack.

This is stuff you simply don't see anymore in midstakes and higher, but during the series it isn't too difficult to find. I'm not a tourney player, and I never enter any events, yet more years then not the wsop cash games account for 1/4 or more of my yearly net, depending on how I run. That two month period can make a huge difference to a grinder's bottom line. On average I would say my WR during the series doubles, and some years when I've ran good enough I've even earned >triple. If I run bad during the series, it's no different then running bad any other time - if anything, my downswings are less severe cause the higher WR translates into a lower SD. Also, if I have a few bad sessions, there are very soft midstakes low variance games like 08 (although this requires caution, as experts can easily be found in other variants looking to prey on the weak fields). Basically, if youre smart about game selection, the WSOP presents a good chance to really increase your roll through grinding significantly softer fields or shot taking. For NLHE and PLO I recommend Ariah, and for LHE, mixed games, and other variants, I'd say Bellagio. The WSOP grounds itself spreads all of these, but the fields aren't quite as soft (especially these past few years, I've noticed an influx of euro reg grinders and their poisonous, unfriendly demeanors), but still worthwhile.

There is definitely rake. But it's comparable to the rest of the poker rooms in las vegas. They will have maybe 30 - 40 cash game tables at peak times. Early morning it will be maybe 5 tables and then start picking up later in the day. The best thing about Bally's vs other casinos, is that they spread a lot of games that you won't else where. Low limit mixed games with variants that you probably have never heard of. They will also spread Big O, PLO, etc.
Aria has had additional tables sometimes and puts them on the casino floor, same with Venetian.
Wait times very drastically. Anywhere from 10 - 15 min to 2 hours (depending on the game and time that you want to play). You can use an App like Bravo that will show you the waitlist and how many players and where you are on the waitlist. Resort World has allowed you to put yourself on the list using their app.
Everything is not 24/7 but usually most hotels have at least one restaurant or food option that is 24/7. The busy poker rooms are 24/7, but at 2am you will see much less tables that you would see at 9pm.

i'm curious why you say this about bellagio. that has not been my experience, but at the same time i cant say i've grinded this room harder than others. i typically stick to wsop, aria, caesars, wynn, and maybe head down to the nugget from time to time. you certainly do see bellagio staying probably busiest of all during series, because it is truly the home of poker and the room where everybody wants to play, but i cant speak to seeing necessarily softer games there than anywhere else.

same question. why aria? you just think there is a good mix of tables or what? i know a lot of them bring in any various number of tournament players at any given time, depending on the larger event fields as they bounce around. just curious your thoughts on this. always been curious about these questions, given so many thousands of poker players from around the world who come into town, and to see what their preferences are for stakes, games, rooms, etc.

Will the Horsehoe room continue dealing cash during the WSOP, or will the WSOP cash games replace?

Business as usual

1/2/5 is 8/hh
5/5/10 is 9/hh
everything in Kings is $10/hh but you get decent food, tuna salad chicken salad weak sushi....