| BONNIE OVERFIELD EAST WENATCHEE WASHINGTON |
♣♣♣♣ Bicycle Casino-Bell Gardens, CA
The Bike was my focal casino that I planned my trip around. During the time that I was in the area, they were having a
week long tournament “Mo’s Deepstack”. Friday was my arrival day and they were having two $160 Mega Satellite
qualifiers for Saturday’s $1,500 buy-in. I arrived around 2pm and the first tournament didn’t start until 4pm. I decided to
play in a 10-person $60 sit-n-go to pass the time. After about an hour it was narrowed down to 2 of us, so I suggested
chopping the money down the middle. I walked away with $265, which was enough to cover the buy-in for the Mega
Satellite. I grabbed a bite to eat at the sushi bar (which was excellent) while waiting for the event to start. Unfortunately
I did not place in the tournament and was unable to win a seat in Saturday’s event, darn! As a side note, the Bicycle is
host to the annual WPT “Legends of Poker” tournament.
I later ended my 3-day trip at the Bicycle casino by playing in a mid-night Sunday tournament, which I finished 8th out of
80 players, not too bad. My overall opinion of the Bike is good. Like all of the casinos in California, it is a mammoth
casino almost exclusively dedicated to poker. Any type of live game is available and they have 3 daily tournaments. The
Bike is an older casino and it is dated a tad bit. Because it was a big tournament week, I cut the casino a little slack for
seeming somewhat unhelpful in questions I had. All in all, I would recommend to make sure you visit the Bicycle Casino
while in the LA area!
♣♣♣♣♣Hollywood Park Casino-Hollywood Park, CA
I started Saturday out at Hollywood Park. Most famously known for the derby and horse racing attached to the
enormous complex, HP also boasts a large amount of poker tables. Hollywood Park is newer and more spacious than
the Bike. It is open, modern, and clean. The cash games are in one large convention area like room with every game
and limit you could think of. The poker tournament section is separate and can accommodate probably 150+ players.
They offer a variety of daily tournaments. I played in the Saturday No Limit Hold ‘Em Rebuy tournament and managed to
chop 1st and 2nd place with another player out of 99 entrants, a great payday and it consumed 7 hours of my first full
day of play! Cash games were good too, I played in a $300 No Limit game that was run very well. I would definitely
recommend stopping at Hollywood Park while in the LA area.
♣♣♣♣♣ Commerce Casino-Commerce, CA
Unfortunately, I did not get to play at the Commerce as much as I would have liked. As most people know, the
Commerce is host to some of the biggest televised tournaments. The LA Poker Classic is a month long WPT tournament
and it was scheduled for the very next weekend. What that meant is that they cancelled all of the regular tournaments
and were exclusively focusing on satellites for the big tournament and cash games of course. The Commerce has a Las
Vegas style and is themed in the roman, columnar style. The feel is comfortable and like Hollywood Park and the Bike, a
player can find just about any game that suits them. If you are into higher stakes cash games, the Commerce Casino is
probably your best bet. They pronounce themselves as the “friendliest casino in LA”, and from my experience I cannot
argue against that point!
♣♦♠♥
♣♣♣♣ Hustler Casino-Normandie Park, CA
If what you are looking for is a trendy, younger crowd when you hit the poker tables, then the Hustler Casino is the
place for you. The atmosphere is modern and hip, similar to a Vegas night club. Don’t be fooled by the name, there are
no naked girls wandering around! I arrived later in the evening so I only played cash. They have a great variety and
plenty of tables. The casino is not nearly as big as some of the larger casinos but the atmosphere and lack of
congestion was a bonus. The Hustler also is home to a great restaurant and the best gift shop of the whole lot of LA
poker rooms! (Where else could you buy poker themed underwear?!)
♣♣♣ Hawaiian Gardens Casino-Hawaiian Gardens, CA
The Hawaiian Gardens Casino hosts a LIPS (ladies international poker series) tournament once a month which I have to
give props to them for bringing women out in droves to play in the $50 rebuy tournament. They offer complimentary
buffets with the tournament which is a nice feature (fairly common in many of the LA casinos actually). The HG casino is
enormous like the other big casinos, but it is awkward because it feels like it is a huge blown up tent with hundreds of
poker tables underneath it. I didn’t care for the environment as the layout was fairly unorthodox. For the short time I
was there (didn’t last long in the women’s event), it seemed OK from the pure sense of the availability to play. There
are a lot of tables and a lot of variety of games. If you are not too concerned with atmosphere and are looking for a
spread of games, then the HG casino would be a good bet for you, otherwise I would stick to the first 3 casinos in my
review.
♣Crystal Springs Casino-Compton, CA
I was least impressed with the Crystal Springs Casino and the Normandie Park Casino. They are both in bad
neighborhoods and do not feature a variety of games like the other casinos. The crowds that these 2 casinos draw
does not lend itself to a comfortable environment (rough, loud, obnoxious). Crystal Springs is attached to a large hotel,
but the casino is awkward and feels out of place. It is the most unlike any of the other casinos I visited in the sense
that it is very bland and really has no major draw to it. The poker room was small (maybe only 10 tables going compared
to 100-400 at the other casinos).
♣Normandie Park Casino, Normandie Park, CA
Again, as I mentioned above, I was not impressed with Normandie Park. NP is actually the oldest casino in the LA area.
Believe me, that fact is evident! The atmosphere is cheesy and it feels dirty and just plain old. The funny thing about
the Normandie is that it is about 2 blocks away from the Hustler, which is really high end. I would avoid both the
Normandie and Crystal Springs. It is a waste of time and you will be disappointed, especially compared to the nicer
casinos in the area.
Overall Summary
♣♦♠♥
I had a great time on my weekend poker excursion! Watching the WPT and WSOP poker tournaments being filmed from
these casinos really intrigued me to personally check it out. I collect a $1 poker chip from every casino I have been to,
very soon I am going to need a new case to store them all in! There are so many more famous poker rooms in other
areas of California that I would love to venture to in the future. I encourage people to get out of their local card room
and see how poker is played in other places, near and far! There were some things that are done different in California
casinos and definitely players behave differently than my local casino, but in the end……poker is poker is poker! I love
it!
The Bike was my focal casino that I planned my trip around. During the time that I was in the area, they were having a
week long tournament “Mo’s Deepstack”. Friday was my arrival day and they were having two $160 Mega Satellite
qualifiers for Saturday’s $1,500 buy-in. I arrived around 2pm and the first tournament didn’t start until 4pm. I decided to
play in a 10-person $60 sit-n-go to pass the time. After about an hour it was narrowed down to 2 of us, so I suggested
chopping the money down the middle. I walked away with $265, which was enough to cover the buy-in for the Mega
Satellite. I grabbed a bite to eat at the sushi bar (which was excellent) while waiting for the event to start. Unfortunately
I did not place in the tournament and was unable to win a seat in Saturday’s event, darn! As a side note, the Bicycle is
host to the annual WPT “Legends of Poker” tournament.
I later ended my 3-day trip at the Bicycle casino by playing in a mid-night Sunday tournament, which I finished 8th out of
80 players, not too bad. My overall opinion of the Bike is good. Like all of the casinos in California, it is a mammoth
casino almost exclusively dedicated to poker. Any type of live game is available and they have 3 daily tournaments. The
Bike is an older casino and it is dated a tad bit. Because it was a big tournament week, I cut the casino a little slack for
seeming somewhat unhelpful in questions I had. All in all, I would recommend to make sure you visit the Bicycle Casino
while in the LA area!
♣♣♣♣♣Hollywood Park Casino-Hollywood Park, CA
I started Saturday out at Hollywood Park. Most famously known for the derby and horse racing attached to the
enormous complex, HP also boasts a large amount of poker tables. Hollywood Park is newer and more spacious than
the Bike. It is open, modern, and clean. The cash games are in one large convention area like room with every game
and limit you could think of. The poker tournament section is separate and can accommodate probably 150+ players.
They offer a variety of daily tournaments. I played in the Saturday No Limit Hold ‘Em Rebuy tournament and managed to
chop 1st and 2nd place with another player out of 99 entrants, a great payday and it consumed 7 hours of my first full
day of play! Cash games were good too, I played in a $300 No Limit game that was run very well. I would definitely
recommend stopping at Hollywood Park while in the LA area.
♣♣♣♣♣ Commerce Casino-Commerce, CA
Unfortunately, I did not get to play at the Commerce as much as I would have liked. As most people know, the
Commerce is host to some of the biggest televised tournaments. The LA Poker Classic is a month long WPT tournament
and it was scheduled for the very next weekend. What that meant is that they cancelled all of the regular tournaments
and were exclusively focusing on satellites for the big tournament and cash games of course. The Commerce has a Las
Vegas style and is themed in the roman, columnar style. The feel is comfortable and like Hollywood Park and the Bike, a
player can find just about any game that suits them. If you are into higher stakes cash games, the Commerce Casino is
probably your best bet. They pronounce themselves as the “friendliest casino in LA”, and from my experience I cannot
argue against that point!
♣♦♠♥
♣♣♣♣ Hustler Casino-Normandie Park, CA
If what you are looking for is a trendy, younger crowd when you hit the poker tables, then the Hustler Casino is the
place for you. The atmosphere is modern and hip, similar to a Vegas night club. Don’t be fooled by the name, there are
no naked girls wandering around! I arrived later in the evening so I only played cash. They have a great variety and
plenty of tables. The casino is not nearly as big as some of the larger casinos but the atmosphere and lack of
congestion was a bonus. The Hustler also is home to a great restaurant and the best gift shop of the whole lot of LA
poker rooms! (Where else could you buy poker themed underwear?!)
♣♣♣ Hawaiian Gardens Casino-Hawaiian Gardens, CA
The Hawaiian Gardens Casino hosts a LIPS (ladies international poker series) tournament once a month which I have to
give props to them for bringing women out in droves to play in the $50 rebuy tournament. They offer complimentary
buffets with the tournament which is a nice feature (fairly common in many of the LA casinos actually). The HG casino is
enormous like the other big casinos, but it is awkward because it feels like it is a huge blown up tent with hundreds of
poker tables underneath it. I didn’t care for the environment as the layout was fairly unorthodox. For the short time I
was there (didn’t last long in the women’s event), it seemed OK from the pure sense of the availability to play. There
are a lot of tables and a lot of variety of games. If you are not too concerned with atmosphere and are looking for a
spread of games, then the HG casino would be a good bet for you, otherwise I would stick to the first 3 casinos in my
review.
♣Crystal Springs Casino-Compton, CA
I was least impressed with the Crystal Springs Casino and the Normandie Park Casino. They are both in bad
neighborhoods and do not feature a variety of games like the other casinos. The crowds that these 2 casinos draw
does not lend itself to a comfortable environment (rough, loud, obnoxious). Crystal Springs is attached to a large hotel,
but the casino is awkward and feels out of place. It is the most unlike any of the other casinos I visited in the sense
that it is very bland and really has no major draw to it. The poker room was small (maybe only 10 tables going compared
to 100-400 at the other casinos).
♣Normandie Park Casino, Normandie Park, CA
Again, as I mentioned above, I was not impressed with Normandie Park. NP is actually the oldest casino in the LA area.
Believe me, that fact is evident! The atmosphere is cheesy and it feels dirty and just plain old. The funny thing about
the Normandie is that it is about 2 blocks away from the Hustler, which is really high end. I would avoid both the
Normandie and Crystal Springs. It is a waste of time and you will be disappointed, especially compared to the nicer
casinos in the area.
Overall Summary
♣♦♠♥
I had a great time on my weekend poker excursion! Watching the WPT and WSOP poker tournaments being filmed from
these casinos really intrigued me to personally check it out. I collect a $1 poker chip from every casino I have been to,
very soon I am going to need a new case to store them all in! There are so many more famous poker rooms in other
areas of California that I would love to venture to in the future. I encourage people to get out of their local card room
and see how poker is played in other places, near and far! There were some things that are done different in California
casinos and definitely players behave differently than my local casino, but in the end……poker is poker is poker! I love
it!
I had the opportunity to travel to Los
Angeles and ended up having 3 days
all to myself to tour the many casinos
of the greater LA area. Prior to
departing I did my research and
figured out where all of the poker
rooms were in the area. To my
surprise, in the whole LA area only 8
casinos popped up that were close
to LA and offered poker.
Listed below are my experiences at 7
of these 8 casinos.
Angeles and ended up having 3 days
all to myself to tour the many casinos
of the greater LA area. Prior to
departing I did my research and
figured out where all of the poker
rooms were in the area. To my
surprise, in the whole LA area only 8
casinos popped up that were close
to LA and offered poker.
Listed below are my experiences at 7
of these 8 casinos.
© 2010 Website design and promotion by Roznik Media Enterprises
January 2008 My LA “Poker Tour" by Bonnie Overfield
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| any14poker has Women's Poker Stories and supports Women's Poker Washington State |