The Pacific Northwest has more than 20 poker rooms, but what you may not know is Washington has a uniform gambling law that applies to all casino wagering, including poker: No single bet can exceed $500. Therefore, all “no-limit” poker games have the limitation of a $500 bet, meaning you can only be raised $500, and can only reraise $500, etc. So no-limit cash games aren’t exactly no-limit, which is similar to how poker runs in Arizona. With that said, here is just a taste of some of the happenings at a few of our larger casino poker rooms:
MUCKLESHOOT CASINO: This busy 32-table poker room has a $500,000 super bad-beat jackpot. To qualify, a straight flush must be beaten (both cards in both players’ hands qualifying). The player holding the bad-beat hand will receive $200K, while the winner earns $100K. The remaining $200K is split among all active players in the room as long as they are logged-in using their players card.
TULALIP RESORT CASINO: The 20-table room is remodeling with the aim of updating the facility, soon to have new carpets, wallpaper, lighting, chairs and a glass entrance. The room spreads $4-$8 limit, $1-$3, $3-$5 and $5-$10 NLHE, $3-$6 Omaha/8 and $5-$5 and $5-$10 PLO. It has an active tournament schedule (check our Where to Play pages in the back for details) and at the end of this month the Poker Pro Challenge kicks off with an $1,100 buy-in. Locals get to play against well-known invited professionals (TBA, call for details) in an exciting deepstack event.
SNOQUALMIE CASINO: The popular and well-run 10-table room spreads live action, including $4-$8 limit, $2-$5, $3-$5 and $5-$10 NLHE and $5-$5 and $5-$10 PLO. By request, any game players wish to play (my favorite is $25-$50 H.O.R.S.E.), the room generally will oblige. Snoqualmie, to coincide with its expansion, will add more tournaments to its schedule.
So, come visit the great Emerald City to see the great sights, eat a great plate of salmon and play some great poker.
— Dr. Barton Gratt is the Ante Up Ambassador for the Pacific Northwest. Email him at anteupbarton@gmail.com and you can read more from him at pokerstoriesandmore.com.
