I didn't realize the space was reduced (aside from the convention center years).

In the old space it was big but potentially awful. If you were towards the back and near some kind of disco space after about 9pm it was impossible to hear anything because the music was so loud. Now there is none of that. I thought that by extending outside of the poker room (near the sports book) they had equivalent space as before. I'm very wrong I guess...

Hopefully they will expand the poker room space or build it somewhere else much larger.

The other thing I noticed that changed was there used to be waiting lists for some of their larger tournaments. So you would be an alternate and get screwed (like it was at the Wynn and still is at the Aria). Now I haven't seen that happen - which is why I thought the space was actually bigger now...

They lost all of the space outside the poker room, which itself has been reduced over the last few years with the introduction of the stadium gaming machines. 10 years ago they probably had something like 80+ tables for a summer series. They certainly had that when they were granted extra space in Palazzo just a couple years ago. Now I imagine it’s close to half that. It is what it is. The powers that be are not interested in investing in poker. Unfortunately that doesn’t make them any different from most casino operations.

As for the quality of different spaces, I have little to say. Every venue has spots which are better than others and it’s a crapshoot whether you will find yourself in a good one or not.

As for the waiting lists, there are multiple factors. Of course, the reduction in guarantees and reduced field sizes plays a big role. They’ve also rolled out this new policy of incentivizing players to play earlier flights, which I am told has been fairly successful. The huge lines in the past really only ever occurred in the last flight or two, so if more people are spending their budget in earlier flights, that will make for fewer people in later ones. Some level of chaos can be viewed as a good thing, but I don’t necessarily think a smooth operation should be frowned upon. If a player wants a borderline unmanageable sized field, there are definitely alternatives available in the summer.

I think the bottom line is the Venetian is still offering decent guarantees (and really good ones by normal poker tourney standards), and thus far this summer have been exceeding them. And the room still offers many of the things which players have enjoyed over the years… great structures, competent dealers, shuffle machines, comfortable surroundings, etc. It’s not what it was, but is still a fine alternative to the WSOP or Wynn, depending on what factors matter most to a player. I try to include at least a few events there when making my summer plans.

As for the location, there has been talk of moving the poker room for years. I don’t know when/if it will happen or if the end result would be better or worse as far as space and convenience is concerned. My personal view is be careful what you wish for since the new bigwigs at the venetian have not seemed keen on maintaining that property’s place as the preeminent poker room in Vegas.

I heard missed gtns now come out of the dealer pockets- idk how management could do that. Idk exactly but from solid sources it seems like the dealers get f’ed big time if they miss a gtn. Idk the Venetian has to be printing money from the pit. Idk why they would really care about missing a gtn as they tend to be near misses and it’s not like a ton of money for a casino (lol even 20k for a casino is like peanuts- cost of doing business). Like you said, gtns are kinda goofy. I feel they are good for tournies bc players gravitate toward bigger numbers obviously but it seems most gtns are easily hit and surpassed nowadays.

I don’t really know anything about that, though I have no reason to doubt you. It would not surprise me. New ownership. New policies. I know a lot of poker players have an axe to grid against Adelson because of his stance on online gaming. But during COVID he paid his dealers and made up for their lost wages. He didn’t have to do that and not many casinos did. It goes to show that maybe people shouldn’t get so upset when somebody has a viewpoint they don’t agree with.

As for the relative losses, first off every segment of a casino is a separate business. They do not cooperate with each other. They do not go out of their way to make things easier for each other. Remember when the Venetian offered food comps? You would think the restaurants would give the poker room a break in the $10 value. Everybody wins. The poker room gets a promotion and the restaurants get a big boost in business. Nope. The poker room had to pay the full $10 value. That’s how it is.

You also have to remember most casinos don’t want to have live poker since it is far less profitable than virtually any other thing they can do with the space. Any negative impact, whether it’s an overlay, or bad publicity, just makes it less likely that live poker thrives. I really wish players would think about this when they complain so loudly about things which aren’t that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. There is always room for improvement in any enterlrise, but sometimes people go overboard for no real good reason.

Anyone know if MGM Grand series is doing the Pearl upgrade for parking like last year?

Is there an add on for the Orleans Main Event? The structure sheet references one, but there is nothing saying how much it is or how many chips you get. And when I call and ask they keep transferring me to a number that rings forever.

Made a deep run at a Nugget event last night (finished 18th) and I must say, the play there is incredibly soft. The vast majority of players are very weak. It’s a shame they take so much out in rake or I’d probably be playing The Grand tournaments much more often. 25% of the buy in went to rake last night. Ridiculous.

Many tournaments have unfortunately moved toward the 25% number. Labor, facility, and advertising costs have all risen over the years. Gone are the days of 12, 15, and even 18% rakes for most tournaments under the $1,000 price point. Inflation will only make it more difficult to beat low buy-in tournaments in the long run.

That may just be true for Las Vegas, and there for the summer. At the poker rooms I frequent like Philly and Maryland Live!, they run $300 buy-in MTTs that in total rake 16.7% ($50) and $360 multi-day 1 monthlies with 15% rake ($54). These go every month, all year 'round. I think it's the norm rather than the exception in the Northeast. Best of all, they're beatable.

So amazing! Please tell me they are doing this for 2024?