Bally's (soon to be Horseshoe Casino), the home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), opened its renovated poker room on the Las Vegas Strip Monday morning.
The Hall of Fame Poker Room, which features 19 tables, had remained open in a makeshift location near the casino's entrance during the renovation process. PokerNews stopped by for a visit shortly after it reopened. The room itself was jammed packed as the room was holding a $200 high-hand promotion every 20 minutes from noon to midnight.
2023 WSOP Dates Confirmed; Initial Schedule of Events Released
Horseshoe Poker Room Grand Opening Details
Bally's, a Caesars Entertainment property, has long been a hot spot for low-stakes cash games and cheap daily tournaments. That part won't change following the rebranding phase.
Horseshoe Las Vegas, and it will be rebranded as such in the near future, offers six daily tournaments, one starting every three hours beginning at 9 a.m. Each tournament will cost $75 to enter. The poker room will also have cash games, mostly low-stakes, running around the clock.
Bally's, along with its connected property Paris Las Vegas, became the new home for the WSOP in 2022 after 17 years at the Rio, another Caesars property that is off the Strip.
The first summer on the Strip was a rousing success for the WSOP, and many poker players considered it to be an upgrade over the Rio. Attendance in the Main Event, the most prestigious tournament in the world, topped 8,600 entrants, the second largest field in the event's 53-year history.
The new poker room will have some cool installments coming in the months ahead, including a WSOP bracelet display case and a wall of bronze Poker Hall of Fame plaques, similar to the old display at Binion's, the original home of the World Series of Poker.
PokerNews' social media manager Jesse Fullen was on-site at Bally's to record the first hand ever dealt inside the casino's new poker room.
A table full of locals arrived Monday morning at 9 a.m. for some $1/$3 no-limit hold'em, the most common game played at Bally's. However, there were also $2/$3 NLH tables running, as well as some $3/$6 limit hold'em. Additionally, there were interest lists for several other stakes and games, including pot-limit Omaha (PLO).
Entire Casino to Be Renovated
The poker room at Bally's — and soon to be Horseshoe — isn't the only part of the casino that has or will be undergoing a renovation process. When the 2023 WSOP comes around next June, poker players can expect to see a fully renovated hotel and gaming area, which includes the convention center space where the WSOP events take place.
Caesars first announced the rebranding to the legendary casino brand — Horseshoe — back in January. The full property renovation, once finished, will give the property the iconic Horseshoe look with tooled leather, dramatic colors, and the brand's signature gold horseshoe iconography.
Bally's Las Vegas originally opened in 1973 as the MGM Grand. One of the most devastating high-rise fires in US history occurred at the property in 1980, killing 85 people. The casino remained close for nearly a year and would eventually be sold in 1986 to Bally Manufacturing, which then renamed it Bally's. MGM Grand would reopen in 1993 on the far south end of the Strip where it still stands, and is operated by MGM Resorts International, Caesars' largest competitor.
