COVID -19 UPDATE
DEAR LOYAL CUSTOMERS,
The state's largest cardroom casinos are located in Los Angeles County. The largest is Commerce Casino in the City of Commerce, second is Hawaiian Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, and third is The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens. The other Southern California cardrooms are located in Riverside County, San Diego County and Ventura County.
DUE TO NEW “STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS” FROM GOVENOR NEWSOM WE HAVE TEMPORAILY STOPPED ALL CASINO OPERATIONS IN OUR POOLSIDE GAMING AREA. THIS INCLUDES CJS SPORTS GRILL AND TURF CLUB AND ECONOLODGE HOTEL.
WE WILL UPDATE YOU ON RE-OPENING DATE AS POSSIBLE.
WE HOPE YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON.
LAKE ELSINORE HOTEL AND CASINO/ CJS SPORTS GRILL AND TURF CLUB
Situated in the beautiful city of Lake Elsinore, exciting gaming is what Lake Elsinore Casino specializes in. We are known for having California’s friendliest card room, the incredible staff loves what they do and is dedicated to making sure you have a great experience. We are open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, so you can visit at any time. The casino regularly features exhilarating tournaments with great value buy-ins, exclusive promotions, and enticing giveaways for Players Club members.
The Lake Elsinore Casino features a variety of table games in our twenty-two table card room including: live action Poker, Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Pure 21 Blackjack, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Spanish 21, Crazy 4 Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, 7 Card Stud, Pai Gow Poker, and EZ Baccarat.
When it comes to legal gambling, California is a mixed bag. Gambling, online or in-person, remain illegal on state land. The only exceptions are card rooms (which tend to focus on poker), horse race betting, and the state lottery. Anyone who wants to get their fix of classic casino gambling (i.e. slots, table games, and Bingo), will have to go to one of California’s 69+ tribal casinos.
While CA authorities don’t allow poker just anywhere, enthusiasts within California’s borders will find that there are many ways to enjoy their favorite game. Below, we’ll break down everything you need to know about California poker and tell you where you can play a few hands.
Although online poker is not legal in California, online sweepstakes poker is a great alternative option. Essentially, sweepstakes poker sites allow players to join games that use digital Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins as currency. These currencies don’t hold any actual monetary value. So how does play poker to earn cash prizes?
Online sweepstakes sites like Global Poker allow players to purchase packages of Gold Coins. These coins are the currency for the standard Gold Coins poker games. On the other hand, Sweeps Coins, which are acquired for free with the purchase of Gold Coin packages (and by participating in certain promotions), are used to play in “cash” or Sweeps Coins games.
Only in Sweeps Coins poker games can you win more Sweeps Coins. Once you’ve accumulated a minimum number of Sweeps Coins, sweepstakes poker sites will allow you to trade them in for cash prizes. However, it’s rare for a player to earn significant cash prizes playing sweepstakes poker, so the experience is more ideal for casual players.
Global Poker is, by far, the best legitimate online poker sweepstakes site you can sign up for in California. There are several sign-up bonuses (like a free package of Gold Coins), and you’ll find both Texas Hold ‘Em and Pot-Limit Omaha offered on the site.
While Global Poker isn’t offered as a mobile app, the site is optimized for both desktop and mobile users. It also benefits from a pretty consistent user base, so finding a game is usually easy. Weekly and daily tournaments allow players the opportunity to win cash prizes with higher stakes.
Card rooms are essentially licensed gambling houses where players can compete against one another instead of the house. They avoid California’s anti-gambling legislation since, as of recent revisions to card room rules, players take turns operating as the dealer or the house.
This does make games progress a little more slowly than those at brick-and-mortar casinos. Still, this is one of the only ways players can participate in cash games for poker without visiting a tribal casino.
There are 66 card rooms currently operating in California. However, this number may decrease with time since 1995 saw the introduction of new legislation declaring a moratorium on new card room locations.
Card rooms often host daily or weekly tournaments and competitions to draw in new players. Several of the most popular card rooms, like The Bike or Commerce, have even hosted major poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker.
Tribal casinos are allowed to operate throughout California because these establishments are technically built on sovereign tribal ground. Thus, they aren’t beholden to the regular anti-gambling laws that affect the rest of the state.
At tribal casinos, visitors and guests can enjoy all the gambling activities they would expect to find in Las Vegas, although the actual offerings differ from casino to casino. Some Indian casinos in California offer poker while others do not. Some even operate entire card rooms.
Tribal casinos frequently offer staple poker varieties like Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha Hold ‘Em, although some places offer rarer game types. At these casinos, players will also be able to find California table games like Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em.
Poker is usually played in dedicated rooms with comfortable seating and several amenities nearby, rather than on the main casino floor. Poker rooms may be small (with only one or two tables) or relatively large (possessing enough tables for dozens of guests). It all depends on the casino.
The majority of card rooms and tribal casinos in California stick to two major poker types: Texas and Omaha Hold ‘Em. They offer cash games and poker tournaments.
The former is arguably the most popular type of poker in the world. For those who don’t already know, here’s how you play:
Omaha Hold ‘Em is also fairly common. The big difference between these two games is that Omaha poker gives the player four hole cards instead of two. Of those four hole cards, players must use exactly two of their cards to make the best hand possible with the community cards. This is a popular casual poker variety since each player has a generally higher chance of making a successful hand, resulting in more betting across the table.
Aside from these major game types, card rooms and casinos often offer games like Seven Card Stud, Pai Gow Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em. These are more casual games but are often allowed in casinos or card rooms.
It depends on the gambling institution. If a poker game occurs at a tribal casino, it will be regulated by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Alternatively, if a poker game is held at a card room, it will be regulated by the California Gambling Control Commission.
California hasn’t been very gambling-friendly since it became a state, with the exception of horse racing (which has been an iconic betting activity since the early 1900s). Currently, California tribes, which earn a huge amount of their revenue from the gaming industry, are resistant to the state legalizing new forms of gambling. Online casinos (including poker), for example, would likely mean an increase in competition.
The legal gambling age in California is 18-years-old. Tribal casinos, however, usually set their minimum age to 21-years-old. This prevents underage drinking from occurring on their premises.
Yes, but not for money. It’s technically illegal to host a cash poker game even in your own home. This law is designed to stop anyone from starting an unlicensed commercial casino.