Poker Player gives you the heads-up on where to make your poker game pay when you play poker in Australia
Sydney, Star City Casino
Star City – formerly known as Sydney Harbour Casino – opened in late 1997. The card room opens at noon during the week and closes at 4am, while at weekends from Friday noon until Monday, 4am. With only 12 tables, availability is limited. Star City attracts a mix of regulars and occasional players; while the weekend buzz creates a fair number of drop-ins.
Hold’em is undoubtedly the king, with regular AUD$5/$10 and $10/$20 pot-limit, limit and no-limit cash games. Away from the cash tables, there is a weekly $50,000 tournament. The buy-in is $300 with a first prize of $16,000. Numbers are limited to 185 and the starting chip count is 3,000. The tourney is running every Wednesday (6pm) until 27 June.
Eat, sleep, drink Sydney
The Star City resort is ten minutes walk from the city centre, offering five-star accommodation. Prices start at AUD$295 a night. You’ll find a range of budget, economy and five-star hotels in the Pitt and George Street area, running down to The Harbour Bridge and The Rocks – one of the city’s best drinking and eating areas.
Woolamaloo and the Red Light district in Kings Cross offer budget accommodation. For beach freaks, Bondi is a must, but you should take in the rest of Sydney’s coastline; Bronte Beach, Tamarama and Coogee are wonderful spots. North Shore comprises of the affluent suburb of Manly – a short ferry crossing from the city’s Circular Quay.
Melbourne, Crown Casino
The Crown Casino opened in January 1997 and is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest poker tournament, The Aussie Millions. The Crown has a classy feel to it and is situated on the city’s Southbank, flanked by trendy bars and restaurants. Its poker room has more than 50 tables and attracts a mixture of players, from weekend drop-ins to the country’s very best.
It also has a staggering number of tournaments scheduled between now and June and satellites for the 2008 Aussie Millions are already underway. For a full tournament schedule with buy-ins, visit www.crownpoker.com.au.
The card room also holds daily cash games. Oh, and don’t forget Manila night from 6pm on Saturdays! Finally, if you fancy a private game away from the fishes and the sharks, then VIP tables can be booked for private parties at AUD$50 per head.
Eat, sleep, drink Melbourne
Melbourne’s Greek community gives the city a very European feel. If you are looking to stay at the Crown, its five-star accommodation ranges from around AUD$335 a night up to $1,250; visit www.crowntowers.com.au for more details.
If you need to drop down a level to four-star, you’ll find the Crown Promenade Hotel situated across the road. Federation Square is a popular drinking haunt, as is the suburb of St Kilda, which has a buzzing restaurant scene. play poker in… Australia
How to get there
You can find flights for as low as £500. Aside from the London airports, you can hop on a plane anywhere from Belfast to Teesside. China Eastern and Cathay Pacific tend to be the cheapest, while Qantas and Virgin are a touch pricier, but offer great deals with stop-overs in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. If you want Premium Economy or Premium Business Class, you’re looking at around £1,500 and £2,00.
What else?
Adelaide is home to the Sky City casino, while Perth and Brisbane the Burswood complex and Conrad Treasury respectively. For more details on playing poker Down Under, visit www.pokernetwork.com
Got a couple of months spare?
The West Coast route from Perth to Broome takes in some exhilarating sites. Adelaide’s architecture gives the city a real historical touch, and if you were travelling from South Australia to Victoria, the Great Ocean Road feasts on eye-catching, natural landmarks.
The East Coast is swarming with backpackers, but the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef make it all worthwhile. And, if you fancy braving the heat in Darwin, then you may as well do the three-day drive to Alice Springs to visit Ayres Rock.
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