There's a particular spotlight placed upon Las Vegas when it comes to major tournament series, especially during the summer and, in recent years, in December. That's for good reason, because of the number of tournaments that draw massive fields and generate substantial guarantees.
But tournament poker never stops in Las Vegas. You could fire up PokerAtlas 365 days a year and find multiple options all over town. But the big question, especially if you've never played any of them before, is where to begin.
That's where we step in, with the experience of having played in every room there is to play in Las Vegas.
These five tournaments represent a variety of attractive elements -- big prize pools, beautiful poker rooms, and the chance to sit in the same spaces as poker's biggest names among them. This list represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Las Vegas, but it's a good sample of the kind of events on tap every single day.
Wynn Las Vegas: $240 Friday NLH
- $40,000 guaranteed
- 25,000 chips — 30 minute levels
- 4.5 hours of late registration
- $200 re-buys and $100 add-on for 15,000 chips.
- Every Friday
This Friday afternoon (12 pm) staple at Wynn Las Vegas carries one of the biggest guarantees of any recurring tournament in Las Vegas — $40,000 — and often exceeds that total with ease. As played, the buy-in could hit $500 or more, but for a more budget-conscious player looking to take a shot, $240 to win a first-place prize of $15,000 or more is as good a value as you'll find anywhere in Las Vegas.
Players receive 25,000 chips for their $240 buy-in and an additional 15,000 chips for the $100 add-on. Levels are 30 minutes long and late registration rolls on for four-and-a-half hours. A recent Friday tourney drew over 200 players.
Wynn pauses their daily tournament rotation during their Summer Classic series, but the schedule is still packed with over $40M in guarantees.
Other Wynn daily tournaments to consider: $300 No Limit Hold'em, Saturday @ 12 pm ($25K guarantee); $200 no-limit hold'em, Sunday @ 12 pm ($25K guarantee); $200 no-limit hold'em, Monday-Thursday ($10K guarantee); $160 no-limit hold'em, daily ($10K guarantee).
Orleans: $200 Sunday Special
- $50,000 guarantee
- 25,000 chips — 30 minute levels
- Seven hours of late registration
- $100 add-on for 25,000 chips
- Every Sunday
To find some of the best daily tournament poker value in Las Vegas, some tournaments require you to venture away from the Las Vegas Strip. On a Sunday morning at 11 am, you could hardly do better in terms of chasing big money than the Orleans' Sunday Special — a tournament that carries a $50,000 guarantee.
Players receive 25,000 chips for their initial $200 buy-in and another 25,000 chips for the $100 add-on — a strong incentive for players to put up the full $300. Levels are 30 minutes long and late registration is open for more than seven hours. This tournament gets extra packed during the summer.
The Sunday Special is the headliner of the recurring Orleans schedule, but don't sleep on the Friday Night Monster Stack — a $150 event that regularly draws 250 or more entries. Orleans also caters to fans of mixed games as well, with a 4:05 pm non-hold'em tournament six days a week.
Other Orleans daily tournaments to consider: $150 Friday Night Monster Stack, Friday @ 6:05 pm ($20K guarantee); $150 Mixed game tournaments (PLO8, HORSE, TORSE, O8, O8/S8, Mixed Triple Draw), Saturday-Thursday @ 4:05 pm; $100 No Limit Hold'em, Monday-Friday @ 11:05 am ($5K guarantee).
South Point: $200 Deeper Stack
- $15,000 guaranteed
- 30,000 chips — 20-minute levels
- Three hours of late registration
- Wednesday and Saturday nights
Running twice a week, the South Point's signature weekly tournaments are a pair of $200 no-limit hold'em tournaments on Wednesday and Saturday at 6:05 pm. Each event carries a $15,000 guarantee that is typically exceeded with ease.
Players receive 30,000 starting chips, levels are 20 minutes long, and late registration runs for about three hours. Big top prizes make for meaty chops late in the evening at South Point:
The Deeper Stack events headline a South Point tournament schedule in which there are four tournaments running every day.
Other South Point daily tournaments to consider: $100 No-limit hold'em, Monday-Friday @10:05 am ($7.5K guarantee); various no-limit hold'em events from $100-$200 including bounties, mystery bounties and Survivor tournaments; $100 Omaha Hi-Lo, Tuesday @ 2:05 pm.
Venetian: $200 NLH Bounty
- 25,000 chips — 30-minute levels
- 3.5 hours of late registration
- Nightly
With the ever-shifting tournament schedule at Venetian through various DeepStack Extravaganza festivals throughout the year, one tournament is a frequent staple on the schedule — a nightly $200 no-limit hold'em bounty event at 6:10 pm.
A brand-new room welcomes players every single day of the year for tournaments in the Grand Canal Shoppes, complete with self-service drinks and a stand-of-the-art streaming room. Players start with 25,000 chips, levels are 30 minutes long, and late registration carries on for three-and-a-half hours.
Other Venetian daily tournaments: Check PokerAtlas for the latest in daily events.
Resorts World Las Vegas: $200 NLH
- 25,000 chips — 30-minute levels
- Four hours, 20 minutes of late registration
- Twice daily
For those seeking out a more relaxed vibe and a less daunting field to tear through, Resorts World's twice daily $200 tournaments at 12:05 pm and 7:05 pm offer all of that and then some in a relaxing environment in one of the nicest poker rooms in Las Vegas. Resorts World has played host to the NAPT for two straight years and has built a reputation as one of the classiest rooms in town.
Players receive 25,000 starting chips for each event with 30-minute levels. Late registration remains open for four hours and 20 minutes. The poker room is right across from the sportsbook and very hard to miss.
Image courtesy of Michael Roberts/Venetian.
