My favorite place to play live poker is in the Deep South of the United States: Tunica, Mississippi. Home of riverboat gambling and an atmosphere reminiscent of the old backroom poker days, Tunica is home to nine casinos backed by the largest brand names in the world. The gambling Mecca is located about a half-hour south of Memphis, Tennessee and is easily accessible from a variety of cross-country thoroughfares, including I-55 and I-40. Let’s check out what makes Tunica different from other gambling metropolises like Las Vegas as well as review some of the options for live poker.
First of all, if you go to Tunica expecting it to look and feel like Las Vegas, you’ll be in for a major disappointment. The only similarity between Tunica and Las Vegas is that both of them have gambling. That’s it. In Tunica, the casinos are spread out miles apart and there is no way to get between them practically without use of a car. There is no glitz like in Las Vegas and all of the family-oriented events and shows are nowhere to be found.
In Tunica, there are two major pods of gambling establishments. The first contains the Gold Strike (the tallest building in the state of Mississippi), Horseshoe, and Sheraton. There’s a massive parking lot in the middle of these three, which are spaced out in a line. The Gold Strike also has a parking deck that’s nearly as tall as the hotel itself. About a half-mile from this set of casinos is Bally’s, which used to be the lower-end casino in Tunica, but has recently become more upscale.
The other major group includes Sam’s Town, Hollywood, and Resorts. The Isle of Capri Casino also used to be among these three. However, it was closed and now serves as an extra hotel tower for Sam’s Town, although it is usually empty. Fitzgerald’s and Harrah’s (which was formerly the Grand Casino Tunica) are located by themselves. The former does not have a poker room.
My favorite poker room is the Gold Strike’s. It’s located up the escalators that are located at the back of the casino. The staff will spread just about any game you want them to and standard games include $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em and $3/$6 Limit Hold’em. There are a lot of regulars and, unlike the poker room located in the Horseshoe, it is set apart from the casino floor itself. The poker room at the Gold Strike sits just across from the theater, so it does get loud when a show is about to start or lets out. The staff is incredibly generous with comps, so if you’re hungry and want a buffet, all you have to do is ask and they will say yes. Next to the poker rooms are bathrooms as well as the convention center.
Harrah’s poker room has moved around a few times, but the casino recently opened a brand new location adjacent to the main gaming floor. It has 14 poker tables and opened in the early part of 2008. Harrah’s offers some of the top tournaments in Tunica, so if you’re looking for a Deep Stack event or a fun way to spend a Sunday morning, head over to Harrah’s. The casino itself is huge and boasts the largest gaming floor in Tunica. The poker room used to be located upstairs next to the buffet, which provided a quiet setting. It was surrounded by glass walls to insulate it from the noise and was another great place to play cards.
Sam’s Town offers the cheapest poker games in Tunica, highlighted by the only $2/$4 Limit game in town if you want to get your feet wet at the tables. The poker room also offers No Limit and the play is incredibly soft due to the presence of the $2/$4 game. You’ll find most of the serious gamblers at the Gold Strike, where the skill level is much higher and the games are far more competitive than at Sam’s Town, so it really depends on what you’re in the mood for.
I’ve found that Sam’s Town and Harrah’s are both far less generous with comps than Gold Strike is. The poker room at Sam’s Town is located up the escalators from the entrance to the casino and to the right. Next door, you’ll find the only live Keno bar in Tunica, so if your luck goes south in poker, you’ll always have numbered balls to fall back on.