Post a comment The poker room in Las Vegas that everyone is talking about is the room at Red Rock, clearly the best and brightest of the new Off-the-Strip rooms. Red Rock is, in fact, on a par with some of the best of the big rooms on Las Vegas Boulevard. It is worth the trip out Charleston Blvd. to see what is arguably the best of the 'outer ring' casinos. Take some time to have a drink at the very classy and very well appointed Lucky Bar and do not miss the barbeque at Salt Lick, all the way from Austin the "Q" stands up to the Texas original, or so my Austin buddies tell me. Red Rock is simply a great casino and what would you expect from a great casino but an equally great poker room.

Park right off of the 215 West at Charleston and pull into the lot, park near the entrance to Salt Lick and you will walk right into the poker room. The kiosk log-in will get you on one or more waiting lists in less than 30 seconds and you are ready to play some poker. There is an interesting mix of games spread at Red Rock. The standard of the room is a $4/$8 limit hold'em, which comes complete with a half kill. On nearly any weekday night there will be 3 or more of these tables up and running. Generally speaking there will also be a table of $6/$12 limit, also with the half kill and plenty of $1/$2 and $2/$5 no limit. They do spread a $2/$4 limit game without the kill and usually also with multiple tables.

Unlike many rooms that say they will open an Omaha game, the Red Rock has a very strong Omaha-8 following and there will always be one table and often two running. I would add that the Omaha hi-lo game is often a high, even a very high volatility game. On my last visit, early on a Tuesday evening, there were several $200+ pots and many more $100+ pots in this game in just my first hour. The Omaha-8 is spread at $4/$8 with a half kill on scooped pots over $30.

Red Rock does not run any tournaments (they don't have to) the room always has action. Oh by the way, one little warning; the weekend at Red Rock often means a full room but the turnover is usually fairly brisk and waits are not long.

Also Red Rock is one of the Station Casino Group, which means they participate in the largest running Bad Beat Jackpot in Las Vegas. The Jackpot almost always is over $100,000 and when it hits everyone playing in any Station card room at a hold'em table gets a piece of the action. Last time each player took home about $300 with the actual loser of the bad beat hand getting $45,000 and the winner $25,000. The Omaha-8 games also have an in-house Bad Beat, which was about $7,000 for a quad jacks or better beat.

Unlike many of the 'neighborhood' or non-Strip card rooms, the tables are Red Rock are not generally filled with rocks. Although the daytime play is a bit more conservative than it is when the sun goes down (and the drinks go up); this is not a locals only room, there are many tourists staying at Red Rock and a good many poker players from around the area and around the country who are taking at least one shot at the Rock while in Las Vegas. The action in the Red Rock poker room is quite good at most of the tables up and down the limits.

I like the room at Red Rock and make a point of playing it on a regular basis; I recommend you do the same.

Lotto players don’t like their odds.

Residents don’t like their odds when purchasing lottery tickets from B.C. retailers. People selling lottery tickets are six times more likely to win a jackpot than the general public, according to internal B.C. Lottery Corp. documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun.

Abbie Merkley, a receptionist, said she finds “the whole lottery thing is a little bit shady.” But, she added that retailers winning more often than most won’t deter her from buying tickets. BCLC spokesperson Paul Smith said the corporation is considering turning 70 per cent of its retail distribution sites into self-serve ticket machines in 2007. When asked about the alleged discrepancies between lotto retailer wins and the general population, Smith said winners of prizes over $10,000 are carefully screened. BCLC is currently conducting a review of its lottery system. BCLC says self-serve machines currently being considered.

Source: Metro Vancouver