| 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.
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January 2008 My LA “Poker Tour" by Bonnie Overfield
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