Planet Hollywood Set To Close Its Poker Room

Yet another Las Vegas poker room is closing its doors within the next fortnight. Planet Hollywood on South Las Vegas Boulevard is ceasing its poker offering from July 11.

Several social media sources have confirmed the upcoming closure, although there is no official word from Planet Hollywood or Caesars Entertainment, the casino’s owners.

The Planet Hollywood poker room was not to everyone’s taste. It only offered ten tables and was located in the middle of the casino floor. Furthermore, Las Vegas revelers continually walked close to the outer tables thanks to a lack of physical barriers. And the music bellowed night and day because the of the adjacent Pleasure Pit where scantily-clad croupiers went about their business.

However, the cash games were among the softest in all of Las Vegas because serious grinders stayed away.

No More GOLIATH Series at Planet Hollywood

Planet Hollywood offered daily tournaments, too, but it was their GOLIATH Series that players looked forward to. The 2020 GOLIATH succumb to the COVID-19 pandemic, much to the disappointment of many. A tweet on April 27, 2020, informed players of the cancellation.

“Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s annual poker series, GOLIATH, which was set to take place May 27 to July 8, will be postponed as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The company anticipates the tournament to be rescheduled for later this year.”

Ben Farrell of the United Kingdom won the 2019 edition of the GOLIATH Main Event. The British pro topped a field of 744 entrants to bank a cool $162,400. His prize would have been larger had he not struck a deal with Ignacio Molina ($154,700) and Remi Castaignon ($152,881).

The 2019 WSOP Circuit, which ran November 23-26, saw 778 players buy in for $1,700. It had $1 million guaranteed but paid out $1,178,670 to the top 117 finishers, showing the poker room’s potential.

Michael Trivett, who hails from Johnson City, Tennessee, emerged victoriously and collected the $215,943 top prize. Trivett went on to finish second in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em WSOP.com Global Casino Championship in September 2020 for an additional $170,344.

38 Poker Room Closures Since 2012

Planet Hollywood ceasing poker activity is a significant blow to the Las Vegas poker scene. There is a trend of casinos closing their poker rooms, a trend continuing for years.

“Sin City” was the home to more than 1,000 poker tables during the 2010 summer. There are now fewer than 300. The reason for the vast reduction in poker tables is because 38 poker rooms have stopped operating since 2012.

Eleven rooms closed in March 2020 following the Nevada governor’s pandemic order and are yet to reopen. In addition, 26 rooms closed between January 2012 and October 2019.

• Aliante Casino
• Arizona Charlie’s Decatur
• Bill’s Gambling Hall
• Binion’s
• Cannery
• Circus Circus
• Club Fortune
• Eastside Cannery
• El Cortez
• Ellis Island
• Excalibur
• Fitzgeralds
• Green Valley Ranch
• Hard Rock
• Harrah’s
• Hooters
• Jokers Wild
• Luxor
• M Resort
• Mandalay Bay
• Mirage
• Monte Carlo
• O’Sheas
• Palace Station
• Palms
• Plaza
• Rio
• Riviera
• Sam’s Town
• Silverton
• Suncoast
• Sunset Station
• Texas Station
• The Linq
• The Strat
• Treasure Island
• Tropicana

Twenty Las Vegas casinos still have active poker rooms for grinders to enjoy.

• Aria
• Bally’s
• Bellagio
• Boulder Station
• Caesars Palace
• Flamingo
• Golden Nugget
• MGM Grand
• Orleans
• Poker Palace
• Red Rock Resort
• Resorts World
• Sahara
• Santa Fe Station
• Silver Sevens
• Skyline
• South Point
• Venetian
• Westgate
• Wynn/Encore

Why Are Las Vegas Poker Rooms Closing?

Planet Hollywood’s poker room is almost certainly closing for the same reason as all the others: money. Poker is not a big money maker for casinos unless you have an enormous poker room like at Foxwoods or the Commerce.

The soon-to-be-defunct Planet Hollywood poker room had ten tables. Even ten tables take up a lot of space, space the casino could install slot machines or tables games. Slots and pit games guarantee to make money, and casinos need plenty of cash, having seen the coronavirus destroy their balance sheets.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

View Articles