visiting Chicago
 

I'm visiting my sister in chicago at the end of the month from Ireland. was wondering if there are any poker rooms worth visiting. I'm looking for holdem and pot limit omaha and maybe a tournament or two if there's time. any recommendations would be appreciated
Thanks

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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wondering if there are any poker rooms worth visiting

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Nope.


There are two riverboats in neighboring Gary that have poker. With traffic due to constuction it will usually take well over an hour to get to from downtown during the day. The rooms themselves are alright. Trump is large but dingy, Resorts is a bit classier but not run as well. Both of them get the job done, but by no means are they "must visits".

If you are visiting for just a few days, skip the poker and tour the city, there is PLENTY to do without cards. If you are visiting for a week or more, a trip for a night wouldn't hurt.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

I'm surprised at how often this question is asked here.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Yeah me too. Why is it Chicago more than any other city (other than Vegas of course)? Is it just because there is no big gambling area in the midwest?

Re: visiting Chicago
 

thanks wegs
I will look into this if I have time. I have been to chicago several times visiting and have seen most of the sites (great city) so i just thought i'd look into playing some cards

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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Yeah me too. Why is it Chicago more than any other city (other than Vegas of course)? Is it just because there is no big gambling area in the midwest?

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It might be because there isn't really anything publicized about casinos/poker rooms in the Chicago area. Being such a large city, people are always visiting Chicago for many reasons and it's understandable that no one knows about poker/casinos in Chicago whereas in AC, Vegas, LA, or anywhere else, it's either well publicized or not as frequently visited.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Chicago is the third-largest city in the US, but doesn't have its own "gambling suburb". New York has Atlantic City, and LA has Vegas; but Joe Average doesn't have any idea where Chicagoans go to gamble.

Gary is missing a huge promotional opportunity, in my opinion. It should be as well-known as AC.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Gary is a dump beyonf words. It couldn't pull off becoming a premier destination in a million years.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

I think space is one serious constraint that limits the opportunity they have in Gary. With the riverboats, there isn't that much space for a nice casino with lots of amenities. Sure you can put some of the gaming off the boat, but you don't want your gamblers to leave the boat.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Legally, the gambling has to be on the water, hence the boats.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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I think space is one serious constraint that limits the opportunity they have in Gary. With the riverboats, there isn't that much space for a nice casino with lots of amenities. Sure you can put some of the gaming off the boat, but you don't want your gamblers to leave the boat.

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The "flotation requirement" by itself isn't a sufficient argument. The Ameristar boats in St. Louis and KC both float; at one point, they were (and may still be) two of the ten largest casino floors in the nation, at 200,000 square feet apiece.

I'm new to Indiana, and there may be a raft of other legislative details I'm not aware of. (For example, the Illinois riverboats are restricted by law in the number of slot machines each one can have; there may be similar restrictions here.)

But the bigger problem, in my mind, is that each property seems to want to wall itself off from its neighbors. Yes, they compete with each other; but cooperative ventures in transportation and lodging would be perfectly legitimate. The municipalities should encourage this concept, and promote northwest Indiana as "THE" gambling destination for Chicago and the upper Midwest. Call it the Chicago Casino Corridor or something.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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Legally, the gambling has to be on the water, hence the boats.

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oops, that was a typo. I meant you can put some of the ameneties off the boat, but you don't want the gamblers leaving the boat where they won't be able to lose their money.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Go to johnie's in river forest i think and get an italian beef. forget poker. yum.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

They wall themselves off because the surrounding area sucks. Bad. I wouldn't walk through Gary at night if you paid me.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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They wall themselves off because the surrounding area sucks. Bad. I wouldn't walk through Gary at night if you paid me.

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But couldn't the same thing be said about Atlantic City?

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Gary is the murder capital of America, per capita. I don't think AC comes close to this.