The COVID-19 crisis has claimed three more poker rooms in Las Vegas. MGM has decided to permanently close their poker rooms at Excalibur, The Mirage and Mandalay Bay, after being out of operation since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Poker is synonymous with Las Vegas. Find out about poker tournaments, high-end poker rooms, and tips for playing poker at MGM Resorts destinations. According to a report from CardsChat, MGM properties Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage have shuttered their poker rooms for good. They'd all been shut down since March due to the COVID-19. The poker room at the MGM Grand is big, and it offers limit Hold'em at 3/6 and 4/8 with a kill pot, which doubles the amount of the big blind and doubles the betting limits. These games are always fun to play. Since the room is right at the entrance of the Casino, it gets a lot of traffic, so the pickings are always good.
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Three more Las Vegas poker rooms are no more.
According to a report from CardsChat, MGM properties Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage have shuttered their poker rooms for good. They'd all been shut down since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but company officials had called them 'temporary' and said they'd be 'continually re-evaluated.'
Evidently, the evaluations have determined that the properties would be better off moving forward without spreading poker. While that will be sad news for many, there's some silver lining in that six figures worth of bad beat jackpot must still be distributed back to the players, and it'll happen in a series of freerolls.
Continuing Trend of Nevada Consolidation
None were particularly robust rooms, each having between seven and 12 tables, and their closures continue an industry-wide trend of shrinkage in the Las Vegas market and Nevada in general.
In February, the last full month of pre-pandemic operations, there were 34 rooms in Clark County with 430 poker tables running, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Today, those numbers are 21 and 285.
Statewide, it's much the same. Where today one can find poker at 29 locations with the possibility of being seated at 338 tables, there were 57 venues hosting poker at 540 tables in February.
Even that number of 57 was lowest the industry has seen in Nevada since 2002, according to the UNLV Center for Gaming Research.
Good News for Freeroll Hunters
The good news to come out of the closures is that the bad beat jackpot money must be distributed back to the players, per gaming regulations, as it's money that belongs to them and not the venues. That means more than $100,000 will be given away in a series of three upcoming freerolls, CardsChat reported.
The poker room at MGM Grand, which opened back in July, will host the freerolls. The first is tomorrow but has already 'sold out,' while the others will take place Nov. 17 and Dec. 1.
Date
Venue
Registration Date
Bad Beat Jackpot
Nov. 3
MGM Grand
Sold out
$24,022 (Mandalay Bay)
Nov. 17
MGM Grand
Nov. 11
$69,804 (Mirage)
Dec. 1
MGM Grand
Nov. 25
$27,837 (Excalibur)
$121,663 (Total)
Players who want to get their hands on some of the free dough can head to the official MGM website on the appointed sign-up day at 5 p.m. local time to try to secure a seat. Alternately, the official ticketing page states that, 'If spots are available on the day of the tournament in person registration will be accept on a first come, first serve basis.'
According to PokerAtlas, MGM Grand has 13 tables, which represents the likely full capacity for the tournaments.
Sad News for Many in Industry
For many in the industry, though, the closures of these three rooms will be seen as sad news, especially for the employees who will now have to find new work if they hadn't already.
Particularly given its storied history, the Mirage will be missed. The room was remodeled and downsized in 2015 to its smaller size of 12 tables. However, it was formerly one of the top poker destinations in the city.
Many players who came up in the late 1990s and early 2000s cut their teeth in the limit games there, something they discussed fondly a few months back on Twitter. There, Daniel Negreanu took part in a trend by posting a photo of a chip stack from the Mirage:
I grew up here https://t.co/UPpFSAxxP1
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)
Eli Elezra, David 'ODB' Baker, Layne Flack, Bruno Fitoussi and Gavin Griffin were among those who recalled building their bankrolls at the property's $20/$40 limit.
Mgm Grand Poker Room Promotions 2020
Of course, it also played a small but memorable role in the film 'Rounders', representing the ultimate destination for an aspiring poker pro who wished to find fortune in Las Vegas.
'I want him to think I'm pondering a call,' Mike McDermott says. 'But all I'm really thinkin' about is Vegas and the f*****' Mirage.'
Aspiring poker players can no longer identify with that particular dream, and the live poker capital of the world is down three more rooms in this time of industry upheaval.
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Is BetMGM online sportsbook legal in the US?
Yes. At present, there are five states in which BETMGM has an active online sportsbook, New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Tennessee and Indiana. We expect them to keep expanding, with Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia likely to be the next states to go live,
BetMGM New Jersey: BetMGM Sportsbook began its operations in August 2018. It was one of the first online sportsbooks to open in the Garden State. At the time, it operated under the playMGM brand, which was the online face of MGM Resorts International. However, after a partnership with GVC Holdings produced a joint venture called ROAR Digital, playMGM was reborn as BetMGM. In addition to regular banking options, you can deposit and withdraw to and from your BetMGM NJ account at the casino cage at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
BetMGM West Virginia: BetMGM launched in West Virginia in Jan. 2020. Unlike NJ, players do not have the option to deposit or request a withdrawal using the method of cash at the cage. But all online methods are available and the full range of betting options can be found on the app. BetMGM is partnered with the private Greenbrier casino. Though there is a retail sportsbook onsite, is it not associated with BetMGM.
BetMGM Indiana: BetMGM Sportsbook launched in Indiana in Feb. 2020. The site launched with land-based partner Boyd’s Belterra casino, but there is no retail book there.
BetMGM Colorado: Launched on May 1, 2020, in partnership with Midnight Rose Hotel and Casino in Cripple Creek.
BetMGM Tennessee: BetMGM hit the Tennessee market the first day it was legal, November 1, 2020. Unlike some other states, no land-based partners are required. In fact, retail sportsbooks will not be coming to the state for the time being. TN regulations state that in-play wagers will not be accepted on college games. But regular wagers will be fine for college, and a wide range of in-play and other options will be offered across professional sports.
BetMGM Pennsylvania: The BetMGM sportsbooks arrival in Pennsylvania is expected to be imminent. We will update with all salient details as soon as we have confirmation.
BetMGM Michigan: Michigan’s online gambling options will include casino, poker, and of course Sportsbook. BetMGM’s retail sportsbook is already up and running. It’s called the BetMGM Sports Lounge and it’s located inside the MGM Grand Detroit. 1777 3rd Avenue, Detroit. Given the presence of the retail book, we’re confident BetMGM will be among the first to to join the Michigan online sportsbook scene when it launches. Likely before the end of the year.
BetMGM Virginia: Like Tennessee, online operators in the soon-to-launch Virginia sports betting scene will not have brick and mortar partners. In fact, your only way to sports bet legally in Virginia will be via mobile app. Virginia’s launch is also expected soon and we will be launching for the BetMGM app to join the fray. One restriction on Virginia bettors will be no wagers at all accepted on in-state college teams. The rest of the college state is in play though, and of course all the professional teams in D.C., Maryland, or elsewhere.
BetMGM is also always looking to expand. We expect the list of states where they are operational to continue to grow.
There are two restrictions that will come into play if you want to place a wager. The first is geographical – you may not place a bet on BetMGM across state lines. You can travel to West Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey, Tennessee or Colorado and place your bets.
Federal and state law still prohibits that type of behavior. Every sportsbook, including BetMGM, uses geolocation verification software to ensure that every player is within state lines.
The other restriction is the standard age requirement. Most states require that patrons in gambling establishments be 21 or older, and online sportsbooks like BetMGM are no different.
Mgm Grand Poker Room Promotions Schedule
However, if you meet those two criteria, you can bet however much you want. It’s completely legal.