Hustler Casino

One of the fanciest casinos in California, the Hustler simultaneously caters to high rollers (like Larry Flynt himself, who hosts his own personal seven-card stud game here) and low-limit players. Despite the name of the casino, this is not an adults-only venue (though the gift shop does sell the magazine and a few of the DVDs); it is the closest LA has come to the feel of an upscale casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Super-easy to get to, right off the 110, about fifteen minutes south of downtown LA.

Games
Game Info: At the low limits (anything below 6/12) game play is pretty bad. At 6/12 you start to get more skilled, tricky players. Many locals and dealers enjoy playing here due to the sumptuous surroundings and generous comps.

Rake:
 * 4/8 and below, $4 rake plus $1 jackpot
 * 6/12 and above, $5 rake plus $1 jackpot
 * No flop, $1 rake.

Posting: New players must post to enter the game at limits 6/12 and up; at 4/8 and below (single-blind tables), new players need not post unless changing tables.

Shuffling: All cash game tables have standard Shufflemaster machine shufflers.

Wait Time: Wait times vary, but tend to be fairly long at even moderately-busy times (e.g. weekends, Friday nights) due to small number of tables and popularity of casino. At slower times, the wait is never very long; they seem to have a lot of prop players and will often open new tables rather than have a wait list.



A previous poster said: Electronic poker: Fastdeal electronic poker table was installed in June. Sit n Gos run frequently, level structure resembles a turbo. 2/4 limit has some nice incentives--$100 for pocket aces beaten, additional bonuses for quads and royal flush.

But in a Dec 2008 visit I didn't see any electronic tables; perhaps they're gone?

Tournaments

 * Sun 3pm 225+30 NLHE (20K guarantee, 5000 starting chips)
 * Mon 7pm 150+30 NLHE (15K guarantee, 5000 starting chips)
 * Tue 7pm 300+35 NLHE (25K guarantee, 5000 starting chips)
 * Wed 7pm 130+0 NLHE (yes, no entry fee) 3000 starting chip "super satellite"; all winners receive buyins for the next week's tourneys
 * Thu 7pm 225+30 NLHE (20K guarantee, 5000 starting chips)

Jackpots and Promotions
Players Club card earns 20% of the big blind of your game per hour in comp dollars, spendable on food or casino merchandise (or redeemable at a lesser exchange rate for cash!). At 6/12, you earn $1.20 per hour, and 3/6, you earn $0.60 per hour. Players Club is free to join. To redeem, hand your card to a server when you order, and they will deduct money from the card to cover your food order. Also usable in gift shop, just like a credit card.

Standard bad-beat jackpots. No high hand jackpots. Jackpot is Aces full of tens or better beaten by four-of-a-kind or better, both hole cards must play. Certain times of year or day offer double jackpots.

Aces cracked wins $100 from 11am-12pm and 1-2pm (plus 3-4pm Mon-Thurs) at limits up to 4/8 (be sure to bring your driver's license). These times are noted by strobing lights on the board.

Atmosphere
Don't be fooled by the name "Larry Flynt's Hustler Casino". It's a fairly high-class card room, with nary a salacious picture in sight (except in the gift shop). On the small side for LA casinos. Despite the single blinds in the smaller limit games, there's still plenty of action. This is an extremely cool place and building design alone is worth the trip. During the summer, they often set it up so that smokers can play in an atrium in the center of the building.

Neighborhood: Busy suburban shopping/business district. Not scary or dangerous to walk around outside, but no place to go to except stores.

Parking: A few hundred spaces in the nicely-appointed parking lot in back, with onsite parking security detail. They don't let you sit in your car for more than about ten minutes.

Tables and Chairs: Standard 9-player tables

Service and Comps
Cool restaurant upstairs.

Fairly frequent service and a decently wide menu at slightly-high prices. When using comp dollars, you can still get a nice meal here for cheap or "free". The waitresses and cocktail servers are exceptionally pretty, probably due to the desire to keep up the "Hustler" name. Reminiscent of Vegas in that regard. The ladies who walk the room every hour to scan Players Club cards are dressed in very skimpy, sexy outfits.

Links & Info

 * Visited by MarkT Dec 2008.
 * (See forum thread on Hustler rakes)
 * A couple of blocks away from the Normandie Casino.