Recently opened in Livermore, the Casino 580 is not your run-of-the mill small cardroom. The latest addition to the Park West Casino family has a flair that was quite a surprise to me. General manager Mark Martini said, “Though we are located in the Bay Area, I want people to feel like they’ve arrived in Vegas when they visit us.”
Once inside the club, it’s plain to see the Vegas-style décor, from the mood lighting to the custom carpeting.
Along with $3-$6 and $4-$8 limit hold’em and Omaha, Casino 580 offers spread-limit hold’em (primarily in the evening) and daily no-limit hold’em tournaments. Final-table finishers at each tournament qualify for the monthly leaderboard freeroll event. There are raffle drawings every four hours, straight-flush bonuses and bad-beat jackpots up for grabs as well. Keep in mind the club is new and promotions may soon change.
Educated at Boston University with more than nine years in the gaming industry, Martini has learned what’s important to running a successful cardroom.
“I have been listening to the players and will probably change some of our bonuses and tournaments,” he said. “I have several ideas that are much different from my competitors, but need a little time to work out the details.”
Martini wants to set Casino 580 apart from the competition by offering limo and shuttle service to San Jose and will feature a concert with a popular singer from Vietnam in the lounge this month.
A prominent feature in the club is the high stakes “Dragon” room, which caters to the Asian community. What makes it unique is there’s no collection at any of the games offered. The restaurant, Kitchen 580, opened Jan. 10 and features Asian cuisine along with some American favorites.
There’s ample parking and 24-hour security. Casino 580 is at 968 North Canyon Parkway (Airway Blvd. exit) off Highway 580 in Livermore.
— Bret Miller is the Ante Up Ambassador for Northern California. Email him at anteupbret@gmail.com.
