The rush of poker rooms on the Las Vegas strip was not lost on the Imperial Palace Resort and Casino. Being located smack dab in the middle of the strip, the management here relocated their third floor poker room down to the first floor where the old Kabuki lounge used to reside. The new room has been open since 2006 and players recommend it for anyone who is looking for low limit poker play, something the management has had to learn to deal with since the traffic in and out of the room has tripled since it re-opened.

Close to the main entrance of the Imperial Palace, it’s not the best decorated place on the strip, but it is clean and the atmosphere is conducive for poker play. The ten tables here are the largest tables in Vegas. The felt is decorated with Wild West landscapes with the Palace logo. Considering the Oriental decoration everywhere else in the casino, you would think the felt would have the same motif. There are no drink holders on the tables, but there are roller trays in the room for players to set their drinks on. The chairs are comfortable and covered in black cloth. It’s not fancy, but it is roomy and players do not feel like they are sitting on top of each other.

Imperial Palace Vegas Poker Games

Texas Hold’Em is the only game that is spread at the Imperial Palace cardroom. Ten tables of Texas Hold’Em action comes in $2/$4, $3/$6, and $4/$8 limit games. Low end limit games start with $1/$2 blinds. Higher limit Texas Hold’Em has blinds of $40/$100 buy-ins for no limit tables. Wait time for the cash game tables during peak hours is somewhere between five minutes to thirty.

Tournaments at the Imperial Palace are offered on a daily basis for no limit Texas Hold’Em. The games that start at noon have a $60 buy-in for $3,000 worth of chips and it is a no-limit freeze out game. The game that starts at 8pm has an $80 buy-in for $3,000 in chips with a no limit bounty. Players can register for the tournaments two hours before the tournament start time. Single table sit ‘n’ go tournaments have recently been added to the Imperial Palace’s schedule. Mondays and Wednesdays tourneys start at noon through 5pm and Tuesday and Thursday they start at 11pm and go until 3am. The buy-ins for these is $60.

Anyone with a Player’s Club card can get the $39/$49/$79 comp room rate, making the basic rate $2 per hour played. Players to the room will find the dealers competent but a little green. They make up for the inexperience with their friendly attitude. The wait staff is also very good and they endeavor to bring their players their orders in a timely manner.

For fun at the Imperial Palace, players can visit the antique automobile display for free or go to one of the ‘Legends In Concert’ celebrity look-alikes stage show. Players can see the look-alikes renditions of Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Cher, Michael Jackson, and, of course, Elvis Presley, among others.