Fitzgeralds Closes Poker Room

The poker room at the Fitzgeralds Casino in Las Vegas closed without much fanfare this week, becoming one of the first post-poker boom rooms to cease operations in the city.

The Fitzgeralds poker room was reopened a few years ago in an attempt to cash in on the poker boom that was taking place. However, the downtown Las Vegas casino was never able to draw a large crowd for its power games, rarely filling more than two tables worth of players.

Fitzgeralds mainly offered $1/$2 no limit hold'em games, along with occasional tournaments. High hand jackpots and other promotions were also tried, but never seemed to attract a large crowd.

The move comes during a time of change for Fitzgeralds. In September, the owners of the Golden Gate Casino purchased Fitzgeralds, though it is unclear if this purchase had anything to do with the closure of the poker room there.

The poker room at "The Fitz" was located on the second floor in an open area. While reviews at various online poker sites generally gave the dealers at Fitzgeralds positive reviews, overall ratings were fairly low. Players cited the lack of games running and the location of the room as major downsides to the casino's poker area.

While most casinos still have active poker rooms, and few have taken steps quite as drastic as those made by Fitzgeralds, their poker room closure isn't the only sign that some of the smallest and least traveled poker rooms in Vegas might be struggling. At the Silverton, for instance, the poker room is now running on limited hours in order to cut costs during times when players are scarce.