The Last Night of Poker at the Stardust

[nolanfan34]

I just wanted to say good work to Dynasty for his article. Great to catch a sense of the feeling in the room during those last minutes. On the spot 2+2 reporting!

[Peter McDermott]

Yup, great story. I was particularly interested in the bit about the old dealer who preferred mob-run Vegas to the modern incarnation. I've just been reading Shuffle Up and Deal, which is an oral history of Vegas dealers, and I was taken my just how many of them preferred things in the bad old days.

[FishySayBANG!]

I totally agree...awesome article

[Noo Yawk]

Dynasty did a great job on this article. Well done my friend.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Everyone:

I thought I would add a little to this.

I moved to Las Vegas in 1987. By that time, the Stardust had collapsed as a poker room and had very little business. The serious hold 'em rooms were the Golden Nugget and The Las Vegas Hilton.

In fact, the opening of the Hilton Poker Room in 1986 and the cheating reputation that was attached to the Stardust did it in. But then something unexpected happened. The Hilton was run terribly and most of the regulars left it, and the Stardust got new management and began to make a comeback.

By 1989, it was a thriving room again with $10-$20 and $15-$30 limit hold 'em going almost all the time. But then The Mirage opened, and when this room opened the Stardust, like almost all the other poker rooms on The Strip got wiped out. So since about 1990 it has only had small limit games and was downsized from what it once was. Also, the last time I played there was right before The Mirage opened.

best wishes,
Mason

[Dynasty]

This is Joe Scutero from the article.