Harrah's Rincon



A pleasant drive through the valley to the east of Escondido, take Highway 78 from I-15 for about fifteen miles and Harrah's Rincon Casino rises like a signal tower out of the surrounding orchards. Well lit at night, it also stands out during the day.

Harrah's Rincon is a full-fledged resort/spa/casino, with a large hotel, a spacious casino with many games, and a number of restaurants and shows.

Games
Wait Time: Can be quite long, as there are not a lot of cash games spread here on a regular basis. Their tournaments attract a crowd, but the cash games seem to never get more than about two tables going, both of them low-limit.

Game Nature: A mix of tourists and locals, all over the map.

Rake: $3 + $1 jackpot per pot.

Posting: New players do not need to post to enter a game.

Shuffling: Shufflemaster machines on 10 of the 12 tables.

Kills: unknown. May not have kills.

Tournaments

 * Mon 12noon NLHE $35 + unlimited $10 rebuys
 * Tue-Fri 12noon NLHE $25 + unlimited $10 rebuys
 * Mon 7pm NLHE $35 + unlimited $10 rebuys. Buy one entry, get one free.
 * Tue 7pm NLHE $25 + unlimited $10 rebuys. $1000 guarantee.
 * Wed 7pm NLHE $40 + unlimited $15 rebuys. $3000 guarantee.
 * Thu 7pm NLHE $25 + unlimited $10 rebuys. $1000 guarantee.
 * Fri 7pm NLHE $40 no rebuy. $5 bounty paid for each player.
 * Sat 11am NLHE $25 + unlimited $10 rebuys
 * Sun 3pm NLHE $25 + unlimited $10 rebuys, $1000 guarantee

Occasional very large tournaments with big buyins (e.g. sometimes they have a WSOP Circuit event).

Jackpots and Promotions

 * Bad beat jackpot (quads beaten)
 * Daily high hand jackpot
 * Bonus paid for quads, straight flushes, royal flushes.
 * Aces cracked = $50 on Fri & Sat nights



Atmosphere
A nifty little "poker alcove" nestled far away from most of the casino floor (near the "Corner Grill and Sports Bar") that is not a spearate room per se, but does have most of its tables under a sort of "overhang" that helps define the room. A general mellow, open atmosphere permeates the room. Four televisions on the wall to watch sports while you play. A separate in-room cashier's cage makes it easy to cash out, which is good, because the casino itself is a bit of a maze.

The entire poker room is branded as the WSOP. It's the "World Series of Poker Poker Room", and the felts on the tables have the WSOP logo, as do all the chairs. A computerized board can track the wait list and games available. Rollup tables are available for holding your drinks, or food from the nearby restaurants, so you can eat while you play.

Tables and Chairs: Standard, slightly flimsy 9-seat tables with WSOP-branded green felt and a clean commit line. The big WSOP logo in the middle of the felt can make it hard to see individual chips out there. Fixed-leg chairs with only OK padding.

Parking: Lots of parking, both in the parking garage and in the open-air lot out front.

Smoking: No smoking in the poker room, although there is a little bit of drift from the nearby bars.

Service and Comps
Standard casino cocktail service. You can also order food from the Sports Bar across the hall.

Links and Notes

 * Nearest competitors are actually pretty close: Valley View Casino only about five miles south, Casino Pauma about five miles north, and Pala about ten miles north. Only Pala really rivals Harrah's for atmosphere, though.
 * Visited by MarkT in August 2009.