Poker is a popular sport in Australia. Although the country does not enjoy the same reputation as Macau and Las Vegas, it holds a prestige in being one of the best live poker destinations in the world. This is evident from plenty of prestigious poker rooms currently operating in the country. One of the biggest events that happens here is the Aussie Millions. It is believed that the 2005 WSOP Main Event victory of Australian Joe Hachem has played a key role in the growth of live poker in Australia. Currently, the country boasts 20 + poker rooms, and we highlight some of the most popular ones here.
1.Crown Melbourne – Poker Room
The Crown Melbourne Casino is the most popular and largest casino in Australia. Operating since 1997, it is located on the Southbank of Yarra River in Melbourne. Home to the prestigious poker events like the APPT and Aussie Millions and WSOP Asia-Pacific, Crown Melbourne holds regular smaller tournaments and cash games in its poker room. The property boasts 3 multi-award winning hotels, 2 luxuriou spas, 29 restaurants, a ballroom with a 1,500 seating capacity, theaters, concert areas, sports hubs, 500 table games and 2,500 poker machines.
The Crown Poker Room occupies a huge space in the casino with over 50 + poker tables. Offering a variety of poker games, it is considered the Number #1 poker room in Australia and attracts poker enthusiasts in large numbers. The poker room is located on Level B2 of the Crown Entertainment Complex and is open 24 hours.
Address: 8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006, Australia
Opening Hours: open 24 hours, 7 days a week
2. The Star Casino – Poker Room
Operating since September 1995, it is the second largest casino in Australia. Overlooking Darling Harbour, the casino is owned by Star Entertainment Group and features 2 gaming floors, along with 8 bars, 7 restaurants, 351 hotel rooms, 130 serviced and privately owned apartments and a 2,000 seat Sydney Lyric Theater and Event Center. The famous poker room at the casino is home to the Sydney Poker Championships and Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) events. They also offer weekly $300+30 tournaments every Wednesday, giving poker players the chance to earn a nice payday. Out of its two gaming floors, the main floor is for general entry and the other floor on level 3 holds tables that have a betting range of $25-$75,000. Within the Sovereign Room is the Inner Sanctum, which is meant for Highrollers and junket players with bets that range from $100-$500,000.
The Stars’ main gaming floor has a dedicated poker area which offers cash games and tournaments. Tournaments happen throughout the year, making The Star a paradise for poker players coming from Australia and other parts of the world. There are 40 poker tables featuring popular variants of the game such as Texas Hold’em, Caribbean, Mississippi Stud, and Three-Card Poker, and more. The casino remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, visit it in the evening if you really want to make the most of dining and drinking options.
Address: 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009, Sydney Australia
Opening hours: open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
3. Crown Perth – Poker Room
Crown Perth (formerly Burswood Island Complex) is a resort and casino located in Burswood on the West Coast of Australia near the Swan River. Opened to the public in 1986, the establishment has been renovated, and reconstructed numerous times. It offers 32 restaurants and bars, a nightclub, a convention center with meeting rooms, a theater, 2 ballrooms, a casino and 3 hotels: Crown Metropol Perth (405 rooms), Crown Promenade Perth (291 rooms), and Crown Towers Perth (500 rooms).
The casino offers a variety of thrilling table games, including baccarat, pai gow, roulette, blackjack, Texas Hold’em Poker, Omaha Poker, sic bo, and more. Open 24 hours (Thursday through Sunday) and 18 hours (Monday through Wednesday), Crown Perth boasts a bustling tournament schedule to suit players of all levels. The buy-ins start from $50 freezeouts and go up to the $4,000 for ANZPT High Roller tournament, meaning that players have the chance to win from massive six-figure prize pools. Cash games run round the clock, and a $330 deepstack tournament takes place every Sunday of the last month.
Address: Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100, Australia
Opening Hours: open 24 hours (Thursday through Sunday)
4. The Star Gold Coast – Poker Room
Located in the suburb of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, the Star Gold Coast is a casino and hotel that opened in November 1985 as Conrad Jupiters and was rebranded in 2017 as The Star, Gold Coast. It is one of Australia’s premier destinations for entertainment and gaming.
The casino boasts a 5-star hotel with 596 suites offering all the amenities. Spa treatments, an outdoor pool area, and private cabanas are also available within the property. Cuisines are prepared by some of the world’s top chefs and you can choose from a variety of dining options. That is not all, you can find yourself choosing from outdoor bars, sports bars, or the local hot spot – The Atrium Bar.
In terms of gaming, it has over 1,600 pokies and video poker machines. After spinning the reels, you can head to the table game section to play your favorite casino games like Blackjack and Roulette. The famous poker room at the casino offers 70 poker tables. Visitors can enjoy both cash games and tournaments. While poker tournaments are held quite frequently, the main event in the year is the WPT Gold Coast Championship , which is a series of high-stakes tournaments and attracts players in large numbers.
Address: 1 Casino Dr, Broadbeach QLD 4218, Australia
Opening Hours: open 24 hour, seven days a week
5. Adelaide Casino – Poker Room
Operational since 1985, it is a large casino and recreational venue located on the north edge of the Adelaide city centre. The casino has over 90 gaming tables, 950 gaming machines, 5 restaurants and 5 bars some of which offer live entertainment. The ‘Poker Zone’ at the Adelaide Casino (formerly Skycity Adelaide) is open from Monday to Saturday, but that does not stop it from holding a variety of cash games and tournaments. The venue hosts frequent guaranteed prize pool tournaments, including Adelaide Poker Championships that pays out hefty six figure prize pools across its various events.
Poker Zone is located at the northwest corner of level 1 with over 9 poker tables. Poker players can indulge in both Omaha and Texas Holdem games. Tournaments are hosted on Tuesday night, with buy-ins ranging from $125 and $150. Other popular variants of poker, one can indulge in include Caribbean Stud poker, poker three-card poker.
Address: North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia
Opening Hours – Monday To Saturday
Other Popular Live Poker Destinations in Australia
Australia boasts over 20 operational casinos. Some of the other well-known casino establishments that poker players may consider visiting to indulge in their favorite game include the following.
Lasseters Hotel Casino – offers both Texas Hold’em and Omaha cash tables, as well as tournaments
Jupiter’s Gold Coast – offers No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games seven days a week. It is known to host the largest event of the 2012 World Professional Poker Tour (WPPT).
Treasury Casino – offers bounty tournaments $250 Deepstack events along with cash games
Casino Canberra – offers weekly tournaments with a $115 event every Thursday. The casino has hosted ANZPT events in the past, with the 2011 main event generating a prize pool of over $250k.
Wrest Point Casino – Tasmania’s oldest casino and also the first casino to be established in Australia. The hosts the annual Tasmania Poker Championships for casual players from all across the island.
Keep following PokerproNews for the updates and information on live poker rooms across the world.
