Green Valley Ranch Poker Room Reopens, but Is the Boom Really Back?

^{Poker players rush to the newly reopened poker room at Green Valley Ranch. (Photo: courtesy of Station Casinos)} 

LAS VEGAS — The Green Valley Ranch poker room became the third in Las Vegas to reopen just before the end of 2025. Does this return mean that live casino poker is slowly returning to its glory days?  

After Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003, nearly every Las Vegas casino rushed to open a poker room. Between the online poker boom and everyman Moneymaker victory in the game’s biggest tournament, casinos looked to cash in. 

Poker rooms popped up wherever casinos could squeeze in a few tables. In the early 2000s, nearly 70 Vegas casinos offered live poker. All players needed was a chip and a chair to get in the game and the surroundings didn’t matter too much. 

Things changed dramatically over the next two decades. By 2024, there were only 18 Las Vegas poker rooms remaining in operation. That number climbed to 20 last year with the reopening of three poker rooms and the closure of one off-Strip location. 

GVR Reopens Poker Room 

On Dec. 17, Green Valley Ranch reopened its poker room, which had been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The room occupies the same space but has been noticeably upgraded following the extended closure. 

A packed poker room at Green Valley Ranch is a strong sign of early interest following the casino’s upgrades in December. (Photo: courtesy of Station Casinos)

The poker room is open 24 hours a day and features 15 new tables with charging ports, along with upgraded audio and video components. Older sportsbooks like the one at New York-New York serve as a reminder of how outdated older televisions can look by comparison. 

The room offers a wide variety of games, including 4-8 and 8-16 limit hold’em; 1-2, 2-3, and 3-5 no-limit hold’em; time-rake hold’em games; pot-limit Omaha; and 4-8, 6-12, and 8-16 Omaha hi-lo. Station Casinos says additional games will be announced. 

Green Valley Ranch will participate in the Station Casinos poker promotions and progressive jackpots. Anecdotally, many Henderson-based poker players had migrated to South Point, where the poker room has been booming over the past year. With the casinos being about five miles apart, the reopening is expected to draw some traffic back to Green Valley Ranch. 

Early reports from local poker players indicate the room has been busy since reopening. The bustling crowd from opening night does not appear to be a one time only occasion.  

The new poker room is part of a larger $200 million renovation across several aspects of Green Valley Ranch. The property recently debuted redesigned hotel rooms, with the project scheduled for completion this year. 

Comeback of Vegas Poker Rooms 

Las Vegas started 2025 with just 18 poker rooms and finished the year with 20.  

​Caesars Entertainment had just one Las Vegas poker room at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The company ended the year operating poker rooms at three of its eight Strip properties. 

​In early May, Planet Hollywood opened a new poker room on the casino's second level, away from the main gaming floor.  
 

The WSOP Circuit Series returned to Planet Hollywood on Jan. 1 for the first time in six years. The series will stop at Horseshoe in March, with the full WSOP schedule expected to be announced soon. 

The new Planet Hollywood poker room continued a trend of relocating poker rooms to quieter areas of properties. Later in 2025, Caesars Palace reopened its poker room in a new location away from the casino floor. The small, tight poker room was shuttered after a few months and ultimately returned to its original space next to the sportsbook. 

Despite recent reopenings, the long-term outlook remains uncertain. Rumors of new poker rooms have circulated over the past year, but no additional openings appear imminent. 

There could even be a slight reversal in the industry with the possibility that the poker room at Resorts World may be closing. Another loss came when the local Poker Palace casino in North Las Vegas closed following a sale. The new owner has not announced whether poker will return when the casino reopens under a new name in 2026. 

One reason poker rooms have disappeared is limited direct revenue. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, poker accounted for less than 2% of total gaming revenue in 2024, a figure that has remained steady for years. Many rooms were replaced by profitable slot machines. 

Poker players can still drive revenue in other areas, including hotels, dining, and bars. In 2025, casinos responded to declining visitation by offering better gaming odds, lower minimum bets, hotel discounts, and aggressive dining promotions. 

Perhaps the return of poker rooms will be the next move to remind visitors about the Vegas they loved in the early 2000s, even if the boom never truly returns.