All the casinos in Los Angeles (other than Indian casinos) are player vs. player style games. That means no slots, roulette, craps and the like. Mostly, it’s Asian games (Super Pan 9, Pai Gow) and “California Games” (No Bust BlackJack, 21st Century Baccarat) and all types of poker games.
Most of the casinos have a “Corporation” which basically has unlimited money to cover the table for the Asian and California games. This means that when the “Corporation” is the bank, money will always cover your bet. That’s good if you win, and obviously, bad if you lose.
For more information on what benefits you get from each casino’s membership cards, see this article.
Bicycle Club
The Bicycle Club, often called the “Bike” is not the biggest but possibly the friendliest. If you play the higher limit poker tables, all food is free. Nice. They also keep expanding the poker area. Like Commerce, they have some big tournaments during the year and as of 2016, they have a hotel.
Bicycle Club
7301 Eastern Ave.
Bell Gardens, CA 90201
(562) 806-4646
(562) 806-4646 ext. 545 (Welcome Center)
info@thebicyclecasino.com
thebike.com
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Caribe Casino [Closed since 2009?]
The smallest casino in Los Angeles by far. This place is smaller than a regular sized restaurant. There used to be some action when Craig was the manager but it seems to be dead these days.
Caribe Casino
7617 Atlantic Blvd.
Cudahy, CA 90201
(323) 560-5995
playclubcaribe.com
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Commerce
They claim to be the largest poker casino in the world. I’m not sure if that’s true but it certainly is the largest in LA. It takes a long time to get table-side food so be patient. They also have a hotel there in case you get tired, and they have the biggest poker tournaments in LA during the year (LAPC). You can also have your home game here by making reservations for your own table. If you want poker action 24/7, at almost any level, come here.
Commerce Casino
6131 Telegraph Rd.
City Of Commerce, CA 90040-2501
(323) 721-2100
casino@commercecasino.net (General)
tournaments@commercecasino.net (Tournaments)
commercecasino.com
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Crystal Casino and Hotel
Their food service is horrible so don’t even try ordering. I don’t think they have poker tables here anymore. About the only good thing I can say is they have a hotel.
Crystal Casino and Hotel
123 East Artesia Blvd.
Compton, CA 90220
(310) 631-3838
(310) 661-4808 (Poker Room)
(310) 661-4991 (Tournaments)
janeto@thecrystalcasino.com (Gaming questions)
thecrystalcasino.com
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The Gardens Casino [was Hawaiian Gardens Casino]
The have upgraded the casino and are no longer in big tent-like structures. Since the upgrade, there is much more action there than before including some good tournaments.
The Gardens Casino
11871 Carson St.
Hawaiian Gardens, CA 90716
(562)860-5887
hgcasino@aol.com
thegardenscasino.com
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Hollywood Park Casino
Hollywood Park no longer has horse racing but they are getting ready to open a brand new casino in 2016. This place gets pretty good action but I don’t really like the area, especially at night. But because of it’s location near the west side, you’ll see celebrities playing here sometimes. Recently, there are very few tournaments going on here other than their weekly ones.
Hollywood Park Casino
3883 W Century Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90303
(310) 330-2800
(800) 888-4972
(310) 330-2841 x 2040 (Poker Room)
casinoinfo@playhpc.com
playhpc.com
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Hustler Casino
Being the new kid on the block, this place has really grown nicely. Not as much action as the big ones but they have good food, including sushi. If you play at the $300-$1000 (or higher) no limit tables, the food is free (except for sushi). On the weekends, sometimes you’ll see a big game with Larry Flynt and the big boys of poker. I’ve seen Phil Ivy, Barry Greenstein, Johnny Chan, Ted Forest, Doyle Brunson, and Chip Reese (RIP) playing there.
[Update September 2024: Since the pandemic, the menu is different and they do not offer sushi. They no longer keep track of your play, there are no tournaments, and of course Larry Flynt (RIP) no longer plays there]
Hustler Casino
1000 W Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90241
(877) 968-9800
(310) 719-9800
hustlercasino.com
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Larry Flynt’s Lady Luck Casino [was Normandie Casino]
Larry Flynt (owner of Hustler Casino) has bought what was Normandie in 2016 and has announced that he will spend $60M over 4 years to upgrade it.
[Update July 15, 2019: There was a fire here and the casino will be closed until further notice.]
[Update September 2024: Since reopening, they have moved the Hustler tournaments here and they do keep track of your hours which can be used for food.]
Normandie Casino
1045 W. Rosecrans Ave.
Gardena, CA 90247-2601
(800) 9-winner
(800) 994-6637
luckyladyla.com
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