|
Located just inside Mississippi across the state line from Memphis, Tennessee,
the gambling resort area of Tunica County is actually the third largest in the
United States, following Las Vegas and Atlantic City. (The Grand Casino, one
of the main attractions in Tunica, is actually the largest gambling resort
located between those two famous cities.) Tunica is located reasonably close
to many population centers of the South and Midwest, so if you live in one of
those areas and you’re planning a poker trip in the near future you might want
to consider it as an option.
Because it lays a bit off the beaten path, traveling by car is the best way to
get to Tunica. There are no nearby interstate highways; the back roads are the
only way to reach this gambling locale. If you are coming from any point north
of Tunica, you’ll want to make your way to Interstate 40, which will take you
to Memphis. Once you’re in town, Highway 61 South is the route to Tunica
County – the drive takes about 15-20 minutes before you reach the Grand,
Tunica’s northernmost casino. If you have to travel by air, count on renting a
car once you reach the Memphis airport; Tunica is just too far away for taxi
rides.
Most of the casinos in Tunica have addresses in Robinsonville, Mississippi,
but those addresses are formalities at best – there’s not a real city to link
them together. Instead, the resorts of Tunica are flung across the cotton
fields of the county surrounding US Highway 61. This means that staying where
you play is probably a good idea, especially if you enjoy drinking or don’t
want to drive a lot while you’re on vacation. Considering that you can get a
poker room rate at basically every room in town, there really isn’t any reason
to not stay where you play. There are nine casinos in Tunica – Bally’s,
Fitzgerald’s, Gold Strike, Grand Casino, Hollywood, Horseshoe, Resorts, Sam’s
Town, and Sheraton. Five of these casinos have poker rooms, while the rest
mainly cater to slot or pit game players.
The Horseshoe is Tunica’s preeminent poker room, having been founded by Jack
Binion shortly after gambling was legalized in Mississippi. It has played host
to the World Poker Open since the days before the World Poker Tour existed,
and has gained the sort of reputation for taking care of players that draws
repeat visitors from around the globe. The room expanded in late 2004/early
2005 to hold more tables, and the action is better than ever. There are weekly
tournaments, and some of the biggest cash game action in the area takes place
at the Horseshoe.
The Gold Strike, located next door to the Horseshoe, has helped play host to
the WPO since the tournament grew too large for a single casino. It’s known
for more than just helping to host the WPT event, however. There are
tournaments every day of the week at Gold Strike, with buy-ins ranging from
$35 to $335. There’s even a Red Eye Tournament for the late night poker crowd,
running on Mondays at 4 AM CT.
Grand Casino is the largest resort in Tunica, and after its recent renovation
is also home to one of the larger poker rooms in the area. Two World Series of
Poker Circuit events are held at the Grand yearly, in January and August.
There are several tournaments held each week, and hold’em, Omaha, and stud
cash games are usually running at the Grand.
Hollywood Casino’s poker room is the newest in Tunica, and it caters mostly to
the lower-limit players. The room is much smaller than most of the
competition, with only 6 tables. Cash games are the mainstay at the Hollywood
poker room.
Finally, there’s Sam’s Town Tunica. Like Hollywood, it mostly caters to
low-limit players. At its 10 tables, you’ll rarely find action above the $4-8
limit. Most of the time there will be at least 2 tables of $2-4 hold’em, 1
table of either $3-6 or $4-8 hold’em, and 1 table of $1-2 no-limit hold’em.
The room has also been known to spread Omaha whenever there is enough
interest. Sam’s Town poker room has one of the best room rate deals in all of
Tunica, with 5 hours of play per day getting you a room for under $40.
|
