Jokers Wild



Just a couple miles to the southeast of Las Vegas in the popular suburb of Henderson, along the busy Boulder Highway corridor. This is a smallish casino that is trying to get into the poker business. They're advertising in Poker Player newspaper, and have a small little area with poker tables in it that runs a couple of games on a semi-steady basis.

They have free poker lessons every day when they open the poker area (10:30 am).

The Jokers Wild also is a "partner casino" to the Eldorado Casino. They have regular shuttle buses that run between the two, for instance.

Games and Info
Spread limit hold 'em: 2-4 spread.

No-limit hold 'em: 1/2 blinds (50 min buyin, no max). Only runs Fri and Sat nights.

Rake: 10%, max $3. Includes jackpot rake. Rake on the 2-4 spread is actually done in quarters.

Game Character: Lots of beginners who don't know how to play and are getting help. This isn't meant as a criticism, as nearly everyone (dealers, staff, and players) are very pleasant. But if you don't like playing at a table where the dealer has to explain the proper bet amounts every hand, you won't like the Jokers Wild.

The tournaments attract a bunch of not-very-good regulars who stop playing the slots long enough to play poker for an hour. While the tournaments run, there are no cash games. Eventually, as players bust out, a cash game will get going.

Wait Time
Highly variable due to the small number of tables and games. Often, there's a seat open, but if there isn't, the wait can be quite long.

Tournaments and Jackpots

 * every day, 2pm NLHE $25+$3 + 1x10 rb. 20 minute levels.  Start with $2000, initial blinds 25/50.
 * Sun-Thu, 7:30pm NLHE $25+$3 + 1x10 rb. 20 minute levels.  Start with $2000, initial blinds 25/50.
 * Fri-Sat, 6:30pm NLHE $35+$3 + 1x10 rb + 1x$10ao. 20 minute levels.  Start with $2000, initial blinds 25/50.

Two table max (22 players) for any tourney.

Note: in the tournaments, your tourney seat card is your rebuy marker, so keep it visible.

Jackpots: High hand jackpots, progressive monte carlo style. Quads or higher.



Atmosphere
Jokers Wild only recently entered the poker business, and as such, they have a fairly small and cheap poker area. It's not a separate room, it's more of a poker "nook": four tables right near the entrance (turn to your left as you walk in). Four smallish TVs are hung on the walls, and some amount of work ahs gone to labelling and signage, but at the end of the day it's still just four tables that often (but not always!) have poker at them.

The area, while near slots, isn't inundated with their typical noise, though it's certainly present. It's also quite near the standard table games, so their more quiet operation tends to help blanket the poker area.

Shuffling: Two tables have Shufflemaster machines; two are hand shuffled.

Smoking: Smoking is not allowed in this area, but there are no walls to keep out the drift from the main casino, and there is significant drift if you are at one of the tables nearest the casino.

Tables and Chairs: 10-seat tables (at which they squeeze 11 for tourneys). Astroturf, slicky green felt. Clean black vinyl armrests (though narrower than normal) with slide-in cup holders. Chairs are fixed-leg metal frames with very weak padding. Cushions are available.

Service': Infrequent, standard casino cocktail service. Nothing special. Medium-sized sodas (in a tall, thin glass).

Other Notes
Visited by MarkT in Mar 2007.