Poker is legal in New Zealand, and it has hosted prominent poker festivals, including the country’s own New Zealand Poker Championship. Like many other poker-playing nations, you can find poker games in every casino, but only these 5 casinos offer regular poker actions, whether it’s cash games or tournaments.
As per reports, only 5 or 6 casinos are operating in the island nation, with half of them run by the Skycity casinos. Here are the top 5 live poker rooms in New Zealand.
Top 5 Live Poker Rooms to Play Poker in NZ
1 – Christchurch Casino, Christchurch
Situated in the heart of the South Island, Christchurch Casino is the first land-based casino in New Zealand. Christchurch Casino poker room hosts the New Zealand Poker Championship, including the Wellington Poker Championship, every year.
The casino offers daily cash games, daily tournaments, and private poker games to players. Players can find a variety of events in their tournaments with different buy-ins. Christchurch Casino poker room cash games start from $1/$2 with a maximum of $200 buy-in to $5/$5 with a maximum buy-in of $500.
- Location: 30 Victoria Street, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Contact Number: +64 3 365 9999
2 – Skycity Auckland, Auckland
Skycity Auckland has a reputation as one of the best live poker rooms in the country. Skycity Auckland casino poker room offers a variety of cash games and tournaments frequently. Tournament options include SNGs, No Limit Hold’em, satellite, and free roll events. With buy-ins ranging from $15 to $500, these tournaments offer excellent prize packages. Cash games range from a minimum of $2/$3 to a maximum of $5/$10.
To play poker at Skycity Auckland poker room, players need to become a cardholder, aka a member of the casino. Go to their website to learn more about this. While the casino is open 24 hours, the poker room operates between 6 PM to 2 AM from Monday to Thursday, 6 PM to 4 AM on Fridays, and 12 PM to 4 AM on weekends.
- Location: 90 Federal Street, Auckland, New Zealand
- Contact Number: +64 9 363 6000
3 – Dunedin Casino, Dunedin
Dunedin Casino is one of the smallest casinos in New Zealand, but it never fails to attract poker enthusiasts. The casino offers a wide range of poker games, such as No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Caribbean Stud Poker, and a lot more poker action. Cash games start from $1/$2 with a maximum buy-in of $200.
Dunedin Poker Room offers weekly promotion events, like Triple Tuesday, where players can earn triple bonus points while playing table games and slot machines all day. It operates between 12 PM to 12 AM on weekdays and 12 PM to 2 AM on weekends.
- Location: 118 High Street, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Contact Number: +64 800 477 4545
4 – Skycity Casino, Hamilton
Part of the Skycity Entertainment Group, everything is the same in this casino like the Auckland one, but the ambiance makes it the best casino to visit for poker. The casino features 23 gaming tables and offers classic games like Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Texas Hold’em, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, and three-card poker.
While the casino operates between 10 AM to 4 AM on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends, card games begin in the evening. Skycity Hamilton’s bar, aka The Zone Sports Bar, has one of the biggest screens to enjoy sports.
- Location: 34 Victoria Street, Hamilton 3204, New Zealand
- Contact Number: +64 7 834 4900
5 – Poker Ape Cafe, Auckland
Poker Ape Cafe is a dedicated card room located in Chancery Street, Auckland. It has only 2 tables, accommodates 10 players with 1 dealer, and offers Texas Hold’em cash games. Poker Ape is best for beginners and amateurs as it hosts low-stakes cash games with $1/$2, and $0.5/$0.5 blinds.
They operate between 6:30 PM to 2 AM every day and offer free soft drinks along with food services to players. It is a new poker room opened in 2023, but it has surged into popularity due to its ambiance, and professional dealers. Follow their official poker account @pokerapenz on Instagram for more information.
- Location: Chancery Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Contact Number: +64 20 490 5945
Check out all the casinos’ websites and social media to learn more about tournaments and cash games.
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