The new venue was built upstairs on the second floor, aiming for a calmer, more “purpose-built” poker feel and enough space to host bigger festival traffic. In practice, that location became the story — and ultimately the problem. The room sat out of natural casino flow, away from foot traffic and out of sight for casual visitors. The result was a player pool that never reached the critical mass needed for a Strip poker room to run consistently.
What makes the timing sting is that the room had just logged a genuine tournament highlight. Earlier this month, Planet Hollywood hosted a WSOP Circuit stop, including a 500.000$ guaranteed Main Event that drew 616 entries and built a 976.360$ prize pool, with Darren Rabinowitz taking the title for 175.430$.
And yet, the weekly grind matters more than one strong series. Cash-game traffic was thin at times even during the festival. Many players were reporting a busy casino floor downstairs while the poker room upstairs had just one short-handed game running.
Planet Hollywood’s exit sharpens a trend players have felt for years: Strip poker is consolidating into fewer destinations, with competition from heavyweight rooms (like Bellagio and Aria) making it harder for “middle-market” properties to keep tables full.
The good news is that staff aren’t expected to be cut — employees will transfer to Caesars Palace or Horseshoe. For players, though, the message is pretty blunt: in 2026, a poker room can look fantastic, run a solid series, and still lose the square footage battle — especially if tourists don’t naturally stumble into it.
Source: WSOP.com, X, PokerNews
