Almost every time I walked into the Resorts World poker in Las Vegas, the same thing would happen.
Before I even reached the tables, someone would call out across the room: “Hey Robbie! Great to see you!”
Sometimes it was a dealer. Sometimes a floorperson. Sometimes a regular sitting in one of the mixed games.
And of course, the greeting went both ways. I knew their names, too.
That’s what made the place special.
Which is why the news that the Resorts World poker room will close at the end of this month has hit so many of us so hard.
For me — and for a lot of people in the poker community — this wasn’t just another poker room. It was home.
The De Facto “Home” of the Mixed Game Festival
Over the past four years, Resorts World poker room practically became synonymous with our Mixed Game Festival.
Eight of our first 12 festivals were hosted there, and our thirteenth was supposed to be running there right now. That alone accounts for 40 full days that I’ve spent inside that poker room — and that’s just during festival weeks!
When I’m hosting the festival, I’m usually on-site 14–15 hours per day. Greeting players. Helping games start. Answering questions. Jumping into conversations. Making sure everyone feels welcome.
Add in the many other visits I made just to play, rail Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra in his big $300/600 mixed game, or meet friends, and you start to understand why this room became such an important part of my poker life.
It’s also where I first played in the $80/$160 mixed game — a milestone I’ll never forget.
There’s never been a poker room that I’ve promoted anywhere near as much or anywhere near as wholeheartedly.
Resorts World Poker Room: The Mecca of Mixed Games
Every poker room in Las Vegas needs its identity. For Resorts World, that identity became mixed games.
Sure, there were always a couple $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em tables running. Once or twice a week there was a $5/$5 double-board bomb pot game. Occasionally there was even an “influencer” livestream game.
But what really defined the room were the mixed games.
We are now up to FOUR dealer’s choice tables running here on Day 1 of Mixed Game Festival XII
A GREAT kickoff at @PokerRoomRWLV 🥳 pic.twitter.com/TCtXNQLCd4
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 16, 2025
Regular weekly games became staples of the room’s culture — like tables at a neighborhood café where the same group gathers every week.
Coach’s $8/$16 game.
Ernie’s $6/$12 game.
Raul’s $4/$8 game (may he rest in peace).
And, of course, the big high stakes mixed games, too.
These games ran regularly and created the backbone of the Resorts World poker room community.
A good old $8/16 mix at @PokerRoomRWLV … win or lose, it’s a very happy place, indeed 😁 pic.twitter.com/WvrnU4luKR
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 10, 2025
Just like a great café, you might have tourists who stop in once. But what gives a place its soul are the regulars. And those mixed games brought them in.
It wasn’t just locals, either. Players from out of state and all over the world would specifically plan to play at Resorts World when visiting Las Vegas because of its stellar reputation for being the world’s most inviting place to play mixed games.
Naturally, the room kept an ample supply of plaques ready for virtually every poker variant imaginable to be spread across multiple tables.
For mixed game players, that kind of attention to detail — and and always reasonable, low rake — meant everything. Plus, the state-of-the-art coffee machine and self-serve soda fountain were pretty awesome, too.
My First Resorts World Poker Room Memories
I distinctly remember my first visit to Resorts World Las Vegas in late 2021. Gary Hager, the room’s first Director of Operations, proactively introduced himself and volunteered to give me a tour not just of the new room, but of the entire property. He spontaneously cleared half an hour on his schedule — just like that — to make me feel like a VIP.
I was with my father on that trip, and it was Dad who suggested that I ask if our (second ever) Mixed Game Festival could be held there. Little could I have known that that moment would be the start of an incredible run, and the harbinger for a bevy of amazing professional and personal relationships I’ve come to treasure.
I soon learned that more than half of the poker room’s initial cohort of dealers and floorpeople had followed Gary across the country to Las Vegas from Encore Boston Harbor to staff the new room. Good, good people, most of whom have been at Resorts World for it’s entire nearly five-year run.
Within a few months, Gary left the room in the incredibly capable hands of Leon Wheeler. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a poker community be happier for someone than when news spread of Leon taking the helm at Director of Poker Operations. Similarly, when news of his departure broke a couple weeks ago, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a poker community more heartbroken. Indeed, Leon was tops by every conceivable measure, and from the top down, the Resorts World poker room staff were simply exceptional.
When The Room Was Buzzing, It Was Amazing
The room itself was gorgeous. Spacious. Bright. Comfortable. Modern.
A permanent space for 30 poker tables might have been a bit too ambitious, but on occasions when all those tables filled up? It was incredible.
Everyone in this picture is here at @PokerRoomRWLV because of Mixed Game Festival XII ❤️
Two “beginners” $1/2 ladies A-5/2-7 tables going plus two $4/8 mixes and one $8/16 mix.
And we haven’t even started today’s giveaways yet 😉
Come join us for all the fun! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/JJeQH478u1
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 19, 2025
The energy, the chatter, the sound of chips flying across the felt — it created a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that was hard to match anywhere else.
Still, beautiful spaces alone don’t create memories.
People do.
The Dealers and Poker Room Staff Who Made It Feel Like Home
What truly made the Resorts World poker room special was its staff.
The dealers embraced mixed games in a way you rarely see. Over time, ALL of them became incredibly proficient at dealing complex rotations of games; something that rarely happens staff-wide. Some even joined us at the felt after they got off shift!
Dealers rotated through everything from low-stakes games to the big $80/$160 and $300/$600 mixed games. Think about that — the same dealers who handled the massive games with total professionalism were the very same ones dealing our humble $4/$8 mixed game tables at the Mixed Game Festival.
And there was no hierarchy of respect. Everyone mattered equally. Every hand was dealt with the same skill. Every dealer sat at every table with the same friendly smile.
Having a entire staff exude that level of class and professionalism speaks volumes.
Thinking about some special people over the last few days… here are just a few, among dozens. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/CQwkGXIi8e
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) March 15, 2026
Why Casinos Sometimes Close Poker Rooms
Of course, casinos ultimately have to make business decisions.
Poker rooms take up a lot of valuable floor space, and they simply don’t generate the same revenue as slot machines or table games. So, from a business perspective, those decisions are understandable.
Still, part of me can’t help but wonder if there might have been another path — perhaps a smaller poker room rather than closing it entirely.
A cozy 10–12 table room could still have preserved everything that made the Resorts World poker room so special.
But those decisions and calculations are not mine, or the community’s, to make.
The Room May Be Gone — But the Community Isn’t
While the poker room itself may be closing, the people who made it special aren’t going anywhere.
The dealers will find new homes around Las Vegas. The players will gather at other tables. The Mixed Game Festival will continue doing what it does best: bringing people together through poker.
I’m looking forward to seeing many of those familiar faces again, wherever that might end up being.
Still, the next time I land in Las Vegas is going to feel a little different.
For more than four years, I’ve had the privilege of walking into Resorts World and heading straight to a poker room filled with friends.
Nothing lasts forever, of course. Poker rooms open and close. Sometimes they even come back again.
Perhaps someday a new Resorts World Las Vegas poker room will rise once more like a desert phoenix.
Until then, all we can do is hold on to the memories.
Because for a wonderful stretch of time on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, there was a poker room where everybody knew your name.
And every time I walked through that entrance, someone would smile and say: “Hey Robbie! Great to see you!”
And just like the final scene of Cheers, the lights will soon go out on a place that meant far more to its community than square footage or revenue ever could.
We’re really going to miss it.
