Best Poker City in US and why

Well this goes in hand with my posts questioning about what it's like to be a dealer. Basically i'm embracing my poker lifestyle and planning to relocate and presumably support myself initially through dealing but maybe i'll just stick to waiting tables:P Either way, I can go absolutely anywhere where should I go? I feel that the quality of the casinos and quality of the life in the area are of equal importance... southern california sounds great but i'm not so sure about the cost of living and quality of their B&M's. Otherwise AC is my current other choice i'm mostly leaning towards...

[AKQJ10]

Um.... Vegas? The quality of life is certainly better than AC, I would think. I might actually be attracted to AC but only if I wanted to stay on the East Coast. Aesthetically it's a nasty nasty place.

You're spot on about cost of living being a huge drawback to SoCal.

[Dominic]

it's either L.A. or Vegas. no other city should even be considered.

[PITTM]

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it's either L.A. or Vegas. no other city should even be considered.

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as intriguing as absolute blanket statements are, they make for horrid discussion, and therefore shouldnt be put on message boards.

rj

[bustedchucks]

i dont think AC is such a bad idea, im thinking about it myself. I dealt in ny till the recent raids put me out of work. alot of people talk really bad about AC being ghetto and such but i dont know, ive never had any trouble. the world doesnt seem nearly as dangerous to me as is does to some. also, you dont neccesarily have to live there, you could live anywhere in a certain (1/2 hr or so) radius and commute.
some pros: the beach, four seasons(i like that) the weather here is mostly comfortable. a week or two of really hot days, a week or two of really cold, but mostly not too bad. nyc 2.5 hrs away. philly 1.5. red bank is and hr away and a cool little hippie town. nj and pa have great microbreweries, so lots of choice beer. oh and youll pay out the ass for car insurance here.

and for anyone who lives in co or montana, can you give me some info. ive been throwing the idea of moving there for a bit around my head. the scenery up there blows me away, i think id like to spend my days off hiking around the mountains. cost of living, cool towns near casinos and such. muchos gracias

Well that's great about LA or Vegas or nothing else but not helpful at all unless you can provide some reasons why you're so gung-ho about them... as a side note, I wasn't even aware there was a viable B&M community in Montana or Colorado so any other info on those would be great for me too

[sternroolz]

Los Angeles pays best for dealers....$30K up to about $60-70K range depending on casino. Dealers at Commerce seem to make the most in tips.

LA best in terms of game selection - 7 major card clubs including three of the largest in the world.

LA is expensive. You cannot find anything under $800 a month in any sort of a neighborhood you would want to live in. $800 will get you a very small studio in a trendy area that is still a little crime ridden such as Los Feliz or Hollywood. But those areas are not bad because there are usually hot chicks

Bottom line is Los Angeles has a huge edge in terms of number of games, types of games, and number of really bad players.

Las Vegas still has lots of games and a decent one bedroom apartment can still be had for $500-700. But you may have trouble making enough money to keep up.

Frankly, if in Los Angeles, you may want to consider this:

City of Los Angeles hires tons of people into it's clerk/typist classification. It does this every other year or so. You get full benefits including medical, 11 sick days a year, vacation gradually increasing to over 5 weeks a year, retirement, options of a 9/80 or 4/10 schedule, etc.
It starts at $26K a year, but you can promote to a position fairly easily that pays up to $50K. The $50K is reallistically attainable in 4 years. The job requires no experience. Oh yeah, once you pass probation, it takes an act of god to get fired.

If you have a 4 year degree, there is a position that starts
at $45K called management assistant. From that job, $72K is attainable in under 5 years. $85-105K is attainable in less than 8.

https://personline.lacity.org/job_list/index.cfm

I basically do nothing but work Mon-Thurs and play poker every Fri, Sat and some Sundays. I am well rested at 2am while the rest of the shlubs are sucking wind.

[erby]

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nyc 2.5 hrs away. philly 1.5...

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Dude...my grandmother could bike to Philly in 1.5 hrs from AC...by car it's only like 45 mins
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nj and pa have great microbreweries, so lots of choice beer.

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Alright...you just redeemed yourself totally
PA RULES!!!!
ERBY [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[Michael Davis]

The games in LA are great, the games in Vegas are mediocre, but the real answer is that you can play anywhere in the world you want, with notable exceptions like China, if you play online. This is a great opportunity to take a advantage of for a few years.

Also, you should look into Scottsdale, but I don't have any reason for saying that except that's what snakehead told me.

-Michael

[Hoss1193]

You might consider Washington State.

No, the casino scene isn't anyting remotely like Vegas or Atlantic City...but I gather that wasn't really the point of your post. If you are looking for the best place to live...which also has poker rooms to provide employment as a dealer...well, then I offer the Puget Sound area as a possibility.

The poker is mostly 3/6 around here, with some 4/8. Most of the cardrooms are quite small (3-6 tables), and many of them are in bowling alleys. Not glamorous in the least. But the players generally tip well, because the games are loose, and pots big. The atmosphere is quite relaxed, far more social and friendly than the Southern California rooms I've played in.

There are a couple of Indian casinos in the area (i.e., Muckleshoot and Tulalip), where you can indulge in occasional bigger action (up to 30-60) if you want that.

I live on the western shore of Puget Sound, near Bremerton. Within a one-hour drive of my house, there are 2 Indian casinos (Suquamish and Muckleshoot), and about 6 smaller cardrooms. In Seattle itself and points north, there are plenty more.

It's a pretty low-key poker environment, certainly nothing approaching Vegas / Atlantic City, or probably even places like Reno or Tunica. But there's enough poker here where you might find a job dealing.

So what's the plus?......

You get to live in the Pacific Northwest. Cool in the summers, not fiercely cold in winters. Cost of living isn't lowest in the country, but it's certainly far lower than SC. Great hunting, fishing, camping if you're into that sort of thing. Scenery is wonderful. People in general are among the most sincere and friendliest anywhere in the USA.

If you see dealing poker as a springboard into a further career as a full-time pro...the Washington may not be the place to do it, at least not after you transition to full-time status. But if you want to deal poker and play on the side both online and in B&Ms to supplement your income, well, come look for a couple of days, anyway. You might just fall in love with the place.