Poker Rooms Reviews and information: Aladdin

Phone: (702) 785-5555
Web: www.aladdincasino.com
Address: 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Aladdin Poker Room Information

Tables: 12

Texas Holdem: Yes
2/4, 4/8, 5/10, 10/20, 15/30 Texas Holdem.

No-Limit Holdem: Yes
(2) No-Limit Hold'em games.

1/2 blinds with $40 minimum / $100 maximum buy-in

2/5 blinds with $100 minimum / $300 maximum buy-in

Stud: No
Omaha: Yes
Sometimes offered on weekends.

Tournaments: Yes
Tournaments Monday Through Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Buy-in's are $30 and $60 respectively.

$60 buy-in = $1,000 in tournament chips.
$10 add-on for $500 more chips.
(1) Re-buy within first hour for $30

Final table gets paid (top 10 players) if at least 80 players sign-up.

Weekend Wait-Time: 5 to 15 minutes.

Smoking Allowed: No
No smoking allowed.

Review - Aladdin Poker Room

Total Rating: 3.65

Room Quality Rating: 4
The Aladdin poker room is nicer than some of its competition (e.g., Imperial Palace, Bally's), but not as attractive as others (e.g., Mirage, Bellagio).

The Aladdin poker room looks like it has taken over an earlier slot machine room. This is good because it provides a closed off atmosphere. A few months after it opened, the management finally moved out all of the slot machines, and this has really improved the poker room's ambiance. There are still slot machines on the other side of the room, but Luckily, nobody plays them, so the noise doesn't bother me. The Aladdin poker room was eventually rated a 3, but now that the slot machines are out of the main poker area, I have updated my review. A poker room should be for poker, and I'm thankful the Aladdin management realized this.

Word on the street is that when Planet Hollywood rebrands the Hotel (probably late 2005 or early 2006), then the poker room will move into a brand new custom built poker room. This will be great!

There is some comfortable seating around the room which is nice. These big booth-type seats provide a good place for players to wait for a game, or for significant others to hang out. Seating like this is unusual in Vegas poker rooms, and I like the idea.

There is only one 50" widescreen television in the poker room. This really isn't enough for a sportsfan like me. Even lower quality rooms like the Imperial Palace offer two Big Screen televisions. Recently, the Aladdin did add another television, but it's not a very large screen.

The tables are brand new, and they have a high quality feel. But, I thought the location of the drink holders was a bit awkward (sort of off to the left side). Also, the tables do not have auto-shufflers, which slows down the game.

Interestingly, there is no eating at the poker tables. This is unusual for Vegas poker rooms. I have eaten at poker tables a few times in the past, and some poker rooms are actually offering table side food service (e.g., Palms, Harrah's). It seems like the Aladdin would want to keep their players seated rather than getting up to hunt down a hot dog. The management must be serious about keeping those swanky tables in tip top condition.

All-in-all the Aladdin poker room has some nice features. There are some higher quality poker rooms in Las Vegas, but not many.

Competition Rating: 4
Some of the worst players I have ever seen. I mean terrible! However, I have come to expect terrible players at new Las Vegas poker rooms. This is because the local rocks don't know about the room yet.

Dealer Rating: 3
Average dealers, nothing noteworthy.

Cocktail Rating: 3
Cocktail waitresses are average and drink speed is average. I waited about 10 minutes between ordering opportunities, and then 10 minutes for the drink to come -- so, you can probably expect a drink every 20 minutes which isn't bad.

Management Rating: 4
For a brand new poker room the management has their stuff together. There was a short list when I walked up so I dropped my name on it and took a seat in the comfortable waiting area with a copy of CardPlayer. When my name was up, the list manager signaled me and showed me to my table.

Also, when I asked the swing shift manager lots of questions about the room he took the time to completely answer them all. He was really friendly and personable. This guy has been in the Vegas poker room business 20 years and it shows.

Comps Rating: 3
Aladdin is offering approximately $1 per hour in comp dollars. You have to sign up for the standard Aladdin players card to get this, and it is usually awarded in $10 increments. The poker room should be starting a new comp system within a few months with a poker-specific players card.

Also, the Aladdin poker room has started offering progressive high hand jackpots, with a cap of $599. This is nice because if you hit one for the maximum, you won't have to fill out the gaming tax form (which is required for poker wins of $600 from the room)

Finally, my compliments to the cookie baker. The Aladdin poker room regularly brings out super-delecious cookies for players.