Pala Casino Spa Resort



Only a few miles east of I-15 on Highway 76 is the sprawling and gorgeous Pala Casino Spa Resort. A massive casino/resort development set on a valley overlook, Pala is easy to find and to get to. I recommend eating lunch in the buffet restaurant, which has floor-to-ceiling windows showing breathtaking views of the valley below. The buffet isn't cheap (around $20), but most buffets aren't these days.

Games
Wait Time: varies but usually isn't long, though for the higher limits games can take a while to form

Game Nature: for a relatively recent poker room, the room has a surprisingly sophisticated player mix: a few wannabe pros who find the setting pleasant and want to play here while they make money, a few retired rocks, a few gamblers, a few maniacs: a generally healthy mix. But beware of sharks, especially at the no-limit.

Rake: 4+1 jackpot. No flop = $1 jackpot drop anyway.

Posting: new players need not post to join a game

Shuffling: All tables have Shufflemaster machines.

Kills: unknown.

Tournaments
Morning Tournament everyday, varying entry gfee based on day. 11am start (daveC,9-2009)

Jackpots and Promotions

 * Bad beat jackpot: quads beaten by a better hand

Atmosphere
The Pala poker room opened in the summer of 2009 and is just getting established in the area, but they're doing everything right to attract players. The room itself is gorgeous, one of the most pleasant places to play poker in all of Southern California. The poker room has super-comfy leather arm chairs to sit in and relax while you wait for a seat (poker magazines nearby, too), and eight large televisions cover the walls at discreet spacing so they don't seem overwhelming. The poker room is not separated from the casino floor, so it does get some of the noise and smoke from the slots, but it isn't all that much. A separate in-room cashier lets you cash out quickly and easily.

The computerized board system is easy to see from anywhere in the room.

Tables and Chairs: 9-seat tables with lovely tan felt, a clean commit line, and black vinyl armrests with inset cupholders. The chairs are downright gorgeous super-comfortable leather seats with comfy padding. They don't have wheels, but they glide easily on the carpet.

Parking: Plenty of parking in the attached parking garage on the west side.

Smoking: No smoking in the poker area, but the "poker room" is just a half-walled area set aside in a (spacious) corner of the casino, so smoke drift does occur.

Service and Comps
Standard casino cocktail service, and tableside food service. Rollup tables for you to eat while you play.

Links and Notes

 * Northernmost of the Valley Four: just a bit further down Highway 76 are both Casino Pauma and Harrah's Rincon.
 * Visited by MarkT in August 2009.