PokerStars brought back the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) last year, and the online poker giant needed the prime location to host its major series.
Resorts World Las Vegas ended up becoming the chosen destination, which turned out to be a wise decision. Poker players raved about the venue during the 2023 NAPT, and we’re already hearing similar sentiments this year. The 2024 North American Poker Tour Las Vegas series began Friday with the $550 Mystery Bounty event, which drew drew over 1,100 entrants across five Day 1 starting flights.
A Little Bit About Resorts World Las Vegas
Resorts World is one of the newest mega resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, having opened in summer 2021. The casino has three separate hotels — Hilton, Crockfords, and Conrad — all under one gigantic roof. There are over 40 restaurants and bars on-site, including a solid mix of fine dining establishments and fast food. Quick bites such as Mulberry Street Pizza offer tasty traditional New York style pizza slices.
Poker is also a big part of the mega resort, and has been since it opened three years ago. Resorts World is one of the premier places to play poker in Las Vegas. The card room features 29 tables, making it one of the largest in town, and also one of the most spacious.
Resorts is also home to some of the most luxurious, clean, and comfortable hotel rooms in Las Vegas across its three attached properties. Many NAPT players are staying on the property.
Mixed Game Festival Host Raves About Resorts World
Robbie Strazynski, founder of the Cardplayer Lifestyle site, is hosting his popular Mixed Game Festival at Resorts World during the NAPT series. The festival runs from Nov. 3-7 and features a mix of low-stakes cash games and tournaments for the mixed game community. PokerStars ambassador Joe Stapleton and Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra are among the players who were in attendance the first two days.
PokerNews spoke with Strazynski to find out why he loves hosting his event at Resorts World and what makes the venue attractive to poker players and tournament operators.
“I think what’s nice, as far as NAPT, (Resorts World) is independent. It’s not like the two huge families of casinos here, so they have to kind of like decide what they want to do,” Strazynski said. “Leon Wheeler, who manages the room, partnered with PokerStars and they are familiar with him for many many years. So, it’s kind of like a natural fit that they decided working together.”
“Big ballroom, plenty of facilities to develop this further as the event expands beyond this year,” he continued.
Strazynski, who is hosting his fifth Mixed Game Festival at Resorts World, has a personal love for the poker room due to its shared passion of mixed games. As he explained, the dealers are properly trained to deal mixed games, something that isn’t the case in most poker rooms around the world.
“It is the premier veneue probably in the world for mixed games because they run mixed games regularly at limits from 4/8, 8/16, all the way up to 80/160 and 300/600,” Strazynski explained.
Resorts World caters to poker players more than most casinos. The venue offers all the amenities traveling poker players desire — comfy rooms, plenty of food options, a sportsbook, good mix of games, etc. — and as Strazynski said, the resort has plenty of room for major events such as the North American Poker Tour.
PokerStars and Resorts World Las Vegas have a mutally beneficial relationship that appears to be to the benefit of the poker players who show up to chase big wins.