The casino is banking on poker players to fill up its new poker room
Arizona’s Talking Stick Resort and Casino has placed itself as a top destination for poker players. It has launched the Valley’s biggest poker room, which the company says is larger than any comparable Las Vegas poker room.
The Arena Poker Room was recently expanded to 68 tables and was constructed in a new area in the resort’s northwest section. “We are the largest poker room in Arizona. … We’ll have tournaments every day. We’ll continue to have the Arizona State poker championship here,” stated Talking Stick Resort director of public relations, Ramon Martinez. “This new room is just so wide open and inviting.”
The poker room also features 130 TV screens, a 24-hour restaurant, and an outdoor patio. Customers can dine in a designated dining area or at the poker table. New bar areas have also been added outside and within the poker room.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community relocated the Arena Poker Room from inside the casino to an air-conditioned 16,000-square-foot tent in the parking lot in 2022, which is just off the Loop 101, east of Scottsdale.
“When we first opened at Casino Arizona in 1998, we opened as a poker room, just a poker room,” said Martinez. “Back then we were called ‘the house cards built.’ Poker always had a very special place with us.”
The resort decided to upgrade the poker room after Arizona and Native American tribes agreed to a gaming compact with the state in 2021, which included legalizing sports betting. Tribes were also permitted to increase the number of slots and offer more Las Vegas-style card and table games.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
