ARIA Poker Room

I had a hard time with this review. The room itself is great, drinks flow, quality dealers but I’ve had to draw the line with 2 groups: Management and the higher end table players who aren’t playing the same game you will be.
Specifically,
I’ve noticed management continually shorts me on credits for hours played — for those of you NOT in their loyalty program, hours spent playing should correlate to rewards (largely food credits while you play). Every time I’ve asked to use my rewards for food or asked about poker room rates, I get referred to managers who consistently give attitude. Its really strange in that I don’t ask for a manager — they route their loyalty customers to them — and then cop an attitude? weird and certainly not getting me jazzed about coming back.
MORE disturbing though was my last visit where I played the ⁵⁄₁₀ tables. Now to preface this review should state I’m an ok player. I play 1x per month and in general win my share (not a lot — but on average, I do slightly better than break even).
I recently played ⁵⁄₁₀ and lost my first stack quickly. I re-​invested, slowed myself down and really watched the action. What I noticed was that there were a set of 3 regulars (I know because I see them on almost every trip to Vegas) who were consistently checking and NEVER bet against each other.
In other words, on every hand, I was playing best ball against 3 — if you understand the golf analogy. Seeing that I slowed my pace, the guy sitting next to me whispered to me (unprompted) that he suspected there were actually 2 sets of 3 players playing together. I asked how he knew, he said they all came at same time, bought in for exact same amount. I should state — that he played very regularly and so had picked up on this — informing me as he left — advising, there was no opportunity to win at the table.
Yes, I lost the 2^nd stack too. Now I’m ok losing because as previously discussed, I also win — so you have to expect that. What really unnerved me was that in counting 100 hands, I noticed the more than one of the group of three went to the flop only 3x — each time, only one went past the flop. Statistically, this is just ridiculous.
As I left I went quietly to the manager and made him aware of my suspicions. I made him (Mike) clear I wasn’t asking for my money back but instead that the game seemed unequitable. Suprisingly, Mike got loud immediately and said in a lound voice «You have to point out who your accusing of cheating». Clearly, his response was designed to draw public attention to the complaint and push the accuser back. (read the other reviews — and I think you’ll see management issues are a consistent thread)
I responded calmly that I wasn’t accusing anyone of cheating that instead I was simply providing my perspective and that they, as the camera owners, gambling professionals, statistical wizards should be able to view the video and determine if statistically, the played hands made sense. Not an unreasonable request for a professional gambling outlet, don’t you think?
The manager then asked me how I woiuld like him (the casino) to prove «collusion» (his word choice). Bizarre question from a billion dollar operation I think — «please tell me how to prove players are cheating».WTF? I don’t ask customers to tell me how to do my job. Truly weird.
I again restated my position — I was simply providing information, what they chose to do with this information, was their choice. BUT if I didn’t see anything indicating some sort of recognition of this issue, I woiuld write a review on it.
Mike’s reacition almost seemed defensive — as if there was some sort of implicit agreement with the three at the table.
Bottom line: Your generally safe on ½ or ²⁄₅ as the above characters are focused on ⁵⁄₁₀ and above and the room is pretty well run for those lower end tables. But I suspect managemenet is aware of the shady players targeting $ 5+ and either looks the other way OR perhaps worse.
Take the other reviewers advice: Bellagio, Venetican or even Ceasars are fair games. If you value the game and want a real chance at winning, walk, No RUN while your ahead and avoid the systemic problems soureced from the management team here.

Too many surly people here. There are a few good ones but one remembers the surmise. Some dealers also have a chip. The room is dazzled by its success. Reminds me of Bellagio room a few years ago. Now Bellagio is, for me, a better venue than the egotistical classless folk at Aria.

In order to get a seat in aria poker room u need to pay under the table to the two f****** at the desk, on top of that I think they are discriminating against me, they lost a customer to the hotel and another couple hundred of my friends.

The floor is very arrogant knowing that there are long list of players that they do not care if they miss players due to their mistakes. (for example, floor promised to call my room at aria but failed to do so, and I was put back on the last of the long list again, which happened twice)
Also, if you are Non smoker, any tables near the edge can irritate your eyes. People are constantly smoking on the edge or sometimes leave the live cigarette on the side and play come back to smoke.
floor is responsible for making sure that poker room is non smoking and players do not have to encounter the second hand smoke all the time.
I guess aria poker room is a great place for smokers but pretty bad for non smokers.

This place is way too popular. I’ve been waiting 2 hours for a 1 – 3 NL seat on Friday evening.

Love the vibe and the tournament staff is excellent! Can’t wait for my first cash! Got 4 more days to get there!!!

A lot of people go to Las Vegas just to sight see, experience the pleasures of the always talked about city, and have some drinks while dancing the night away with friends. But, some of us like to come out to Las Vegas to GAMBLE. POKER is the game of choice when it comes to my mind.
ARIA poker room is definitely one of the best places to play poker in Las Vegas. Daily 1pm and 7pm tournaments at $ 125 buy-​ins which are deep stacked with good structure. Variety of table games, tons of tables, nightclub type of atmosphere, separate rooms for high stakes players. If you want to spot some poker professionals taking down 20k pots right next to you, this is definitely where you will see some of them.
Not to mention, FREE FIJI water, mixed drinks, energy drinks, and beer! You can have drinks on the table. Friendly employees, friendly atmosphere, and on point service. This is the poker room to experience at least once in Las Vegas.

Since my last review in 2012, the ARIA Poker Room is still the queen of the ball. By that, I really mean the finest poker room on the Las Vegas Strip.
Employees are still super friendly, dealers are upbeat, the room looks modernized and clean and they spread NLH and PLO of all limits at all times. Red Bulls are free here along with complimentary FIJI Water Bottles (rest of the casino only gets those mlife water bottles) in addition to your regular sodas, juices and alcoholic drinks. There are also usb chargers for your phone underneath the table felt (chargers not included).
I love the 1pm $ 125 tournament. You get a solid few hours of playing, as long you aren’t too bad at the pokerz. I made a FT out of 4 tries over 48 hours.
If your looking for anywhere to play poker, the poker room at ARIA is your place to be. I don’t even know why people even bother playing at the Bellagio anymore.

I missed my table by 20 minutes (had taken a walk and played a slot machine when there was no movement on the table for 2 hours and several names ahead of me) and politely asked the manager to put me back at the front of the list — this was the only day I had to play the tables. Was told I was being «taught a lesson» about Vegas poker and was now 9^th on the list. Thanks dad.
I understand not wanting people to show up hours after their names were called and that the tables will be full no matter what, but there is no waiting area and there should be a little more discretion about accommodating the players. This seemed to be a huge lapse of judgment by someone on a power trip. Other than that, I played PLO, and at various times of the day there were a lot of locals who knew each other at the table and relatively tight action… recall better action at the Venetian in the past for Omaha… I had fun and won but easily could not have…

This is probably the hottest poker room in Vegas right now. Tons of tables, often pro poker players and also some easy money late at night. The setup is fairly large with tons of TVs situated around the room for you to view the game while playing. Often a good setup of NL tables. Sometimes I get disappointed about the lack of high low Omaha, but that must be just me. It’s often crowded, so make sure you call ahead or out your name in and grab some pizza near the sports book. The daily tournaments run at 1pm and 7pm with a $ 125 buy in.

This is one of my favorite poker rooms in Vegas, although it has gone downhill a little bit lately.
Good dealers and good players, but it has been increasingly hard to get in on a cash game because they are really pushing tournaments lately. I stayed at the Aria for 2 nights in July and didn’t play poker at all in the Aria Poker Room because they didn’t have enough tables and the wait was huge.
Additionally the poker room host (is that the right term?) is horrible. On a trip earlier this month there were 10 people waiting for a 1 – 3 table. I asked if they were going to open another table and she told me that there weren’t enough people waiting to open another table. They only put 9 people at a table and there were 10 people waiting. Seems like enough people to open another table to me. Once again though, there was a tournament going, which I suspect was the real reason they didn’t want to open another table.
Oh yeah, 5 minutes later, they opened another table. Argh!
I will still give it 4 stars though because those two issues aside, it is still a great place to play poker.

Have played at over 5 poker rooms in Vegas and more internationally. Per other reviews, the Aria room is super legit. Comfortable, new décor, great friendly and professional staff and a superb range of food options. Strong action and a range of skill levels at their 1−3NL tables. Absolutely no complaints. Played 2.5 days straight here. Have found my new favourite Vegas room which will pair nicely with the Bellagio Poker room. Five stars.

Great room, Great Action !!!
I am a big fan of this room, from the space, to the décor, and the overall experience. This is definitely one of the best poker rooms in town. Its also close to the parking garage which is while I would put it over Venetian and Bellagio. A true must visit, even if you just want to stare at all the chips flying and the super massive poker card décor outside the room.

I played here in April and was very impressed! Great location and design with a very helpful staff and well set up Tournament. With the demise of online poker, I don’t play as often as I use to, but when I make it to Vegas this will be a regular stop for me.

Aria a really good poker room, classy and comfortable with a really friendly crowd when I’ve been. Something about this room is conducive to friendly poker and lots of action. It’s kind of a small room which explains the weekend wait lists and limits your options to choose tables some. Someone mentioned it being dark. Like I said in the review of Revel Atlantic City, I like it dark.

Whenever I get the inkling to play poker, this is one of my favorite places to play. The décor is ornate yet sophisticated, crowded yet intimate, intimidating yet accommodating. Where else are you gonna be able to find a poker game in town where Johnny F-​ing Chan is standing a few feet from you chatting with the floor manager as you sip on an expresso, proceed to call down an all-​in river bet after flopping the nut straight, and throw a few chips from the two stacks of high society that you just raked in to order Thai food from a restaurant within the Aria resort to be delivered table side? Sounds too much like a deleted scene from Rounders but inevitably a true story starring yours truly, thereby prompting me to pay homage to one of the great poker movies by throwing in a few related quotes from Teddy KGB.
«Mr. Son of a Bitch, let’s play some cards!»
Offering a variety of game options ranging from 1 – 3 no limit and pot limit Omaha to higher stakes in the Ivey Room where you will likely spot a recognizable pro on any given day, there is constant turnover of players ranging from all levels of skill. There is also a daily no limit hold-​em tournament that starts at 7PM where first prize typically takes in a few thousand dollars and the top 5 – 6 get paid out on a $ 125 entry fee.
«Just like a young man coming in for a quickie, I feel so unsatisfied»
Need some distractions from the cards? There are multiple flat screen TVs broadcasting various sporting events and the sports-​book is a few yards down if one needs to place bets. The room has an open structure where one has an unobstructed view towards the entrance for people– watching as folks heading to and from the nightclubs stumble back and forth. Unlike a lot of the other smaller poker rooms, the majority of the servers and a few of the dealers here are quite easy on the eyes (just saying).
«Want a cookie?»
If you need to refuel with food, Five-​fifty pizza is a few doors down for a nice hearty slice and the Jean Phillipe patisserie is also a short walk for gelato, pastries, and packaged sandwiches/​salads. If you want to stay at the table, you will be hard-​pressed to find the variety and quality of dining in any other poker room in town delivered to your seat with a cheesecake factory-​like menu that offers a smörgåsbord of options from various Aria restaurants on the premises. Just be sure your eating habits don’t serve as a tell when you have a monster hand like Teddy KGB crunching his Oreos.
«In my club, I will splash the pot whenever the fuck I please.»
Complimentary drinks! You can customize your coffee whether it be cappuccino, mocha, espresso served with a classy rock candy sugar stick in a hard mug (although you can request a plastic cup as well), or choose from a variety of sodas and juices including pineapple, watermelon, and freshly pressed carrot (a few bucks extra), as well as Fiji bottled water, Perrier sparkling water, and I’ve seen a range of spirits ordered ranging from beer and tequila shots to red wine and cognac (these are the players you need to get in a hand with especially after they’ve knocked back a few, remember the words of Mike McD «it’s immoral to let a sucker keep his money»).
«Hanging around, hanging around. Kid’s got alligator blood. Can’t get rid of him»
Be sure to check in with your Mlife card since 2 – 3 dollars gets credited to your card with every hour of play, which can help comp for some of the meals above. A masseuse is also available at an hourly rate on the premises to massage your backside as you play if your back starts feeling the strain of a long session on the felt.
«That’s a position raise. I call»
Pro-​tip: the weekends can often get very busy with long waiting lists. If you call the number on the the Unilocal page, they accept calls to be placed on the list before you arrive in person.
«Nyet! Nyet! No More! No! Not tonight! This son of bitch, all night he, „Check. Check. Check.“ He trap me!»
The poker room is located within a short walk of the self-​park lot so be sure to park on the 2^nd floor for the shortest path to the tables as well as to minimize your walk of shame on those nights you are delivered a bad beat or on tilt.
«Respect is all you have left in the morning!»
For any poker player, this is a quintessential Vegas experience where you get the opportunity to partake in exciting gambling action, great food/​drink, people-​watching and celebrity sightings, and hopefully a cinematic story to take home regardless of where the chips may fall.

This poker room is nice. Good dealers, good servers, reasonable floor managers. Occasional sighting of name pros. I liked that the ¹⁄₃ PLO here actually ran like a true 1/​3, and not a ¹⁄₃ mandatory $ 10 straddle.
The only slight knock is that the lighting is a bit too dark and that it has less tables and action than Venetians room.
Would come back here many times!

This place is fast moving! If you have cash to spend this is the place for you.
I was amazed at the intensity in this room. The interesting thing is that while sitting and playing its actually a really fun environment. People are pretty down to earth, friendly and the dealers give direction when needed. I sat for one game & that was enough for me considering $ 100 is like throwing a $ 1 down. :) Haha But enjoyed learning the game and watching the plays! :-)
Very enjoyable gaming room.

I used to play at the MGM Grand poker room all the time, but their unstable poker room has driven me out the door and into other venues. Off strip, Red Rock is one of my favourites, but on the strip, I have yet to find a place that really makes me feel comfortable.
I’m a little out of practice these days because I don’t travel to Vegas nearly as often as I used to (once a month to now, about 4 times per year) and so, I decided to make a little time to get back into the game.
I took a seat at a $ 2 – 5 game and sat down with $ 400 (double the min.), the game was very aggressive and I played about 20 – 30 hands before I decided that I need to get back into the game a little more slowly before I settle into such a hot table.
I left with $ 500 and decided to buy into one of their 7PM $ 125 tournaments instead. I ended up out of the tournament at 16^th place, with 90 entrees, so I didn’t cash, but considering I hadn’t played in a while, I was happy with my standing.
For tournaments, this might be one of the better rooms to play in and even though the cost is a little higher than some of the other rooms I play, I think it would be a great place to improve my skills and hone my abilities.
For cash games, this room isn’t it for me.

I played poker in card rooms around the world (literally). And I would confidently say that the Aria Poker room is my favorite Poker room. This is my current go to place for ²⁄₅ nl + ⁵⁄₁₀ nl. Plus ²⁄₅ PLO goes sometimes and gets especially good during the summer.
It’s a combination of things that make it my favorite:
1. Great staff/​dealers that operate it. The dealers are happier and smile a lot more then anywhere else. (I’ve been living in California and most if not all dealers are miserable and you can see it in their faces…) The floor men and women are outstanding, they always usually make the correct decisions and go out of their way to help regulars. Plus $ 2 dollar comps adds up especially if you are a regular here. ($ 3 dollar comps during happy hour 5am-​10am)
2. Good action. Games go around the clock ²⁴⁄₇. ⁵⁄₁₀ nl goes every day but breaks around 2 – 3 am. (starts around 3−4pm depending on the day) ²⁄₅ nl (1k buy-​in) goes all day everyday ²⁴⁄₇. Usually 6 tables running during peak hours. ²⁄₅ PLO goes pretty much everyday during peak hours. Obviously for 2 ½ months during the summer everything goes berserk and crazy here. The average player and even some or most of the regulars are pretty bad compared to California regulars at the Commerce and other places. (this is my opinion though and not concrete fact)
3. Nice ambiance and roomy floorspace. The lighting in this place is easy on the eyes. The interior design is pleasant as well. They also don’t pack you in like sardines like other casinos especially the ones in California… (Go to Commerce casino and you’ll see what I’m talking about)
4. Best looking cocktail waitresses and service. I think this place has the best looking cocktail girls and girls in general lol :). This isn’t super important but it sure does help after staring at ugly drunk fat dudes at the poker table all day haha! Drinks are free minus tip, and they are very good at bringing the correct drink and on time.