The poker action at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is about to go dark. The property will close its 23-table poker room at the end of the month, abruptly pulling the plug less than a year after the space reopened and trimming the already thin lineup of live poker rooms on the Strip.
According to PokerNews, Caesars Entertainment plans to shutter the 23-table card room at month’s end and move its poker staff over to Caesars Palace or the Horseshoe instead of laying them off. The outlet also reports that once Planet Hollywood goes quiet, the Las Vegas area will be left with roughly 18 active card rooms.
That makes the closure a quick reversal. The property only jumped back into the live-poker mix in May 2025, when it opened a new 23-table room on a mezzanine level, as covered by CardPlayer. The room even hosted a World Series of Poker Circuit stop earlier this month, a return noted by the WSOP, so the decision to close lands right on the heels of a high-profile tournament series.
Why the room struggled
From the start, players and industry watchers pointed a collective finger at Planet Hollywood’s layout. The poker room sat on an elevated mezzanine above the main casino floor, which many regulars say made it tough for casual visitors to even notice the games were there.
Coverage in Vegas Advantage laid out how the room’s design and operating patterns posed challenges for building consistent action. Some pros argued that without steady walk-up traffic, the room was always going to be fighting uphill against the Strip’s larger and more visible poker venues.
What this means for the Strip
Planet Hollywood’s exit is part of a longer, slow grind for live poker on Las Vegas Boulevard. PokerNews notes that the Strip’s poker footprint has shrunk to just a handful of big rooms, a far cry from the boom years when it felt like nearly every major resort had a live cardroom.
At the same time, some of that action has drifted away from the Strip entirely. Station Casinos recently brought back live poker at Green Valley Ranch, a suburban revival highlighted by the Review‑Journal, hinting that the center of gravity for everyday grinders and locals may be shifting off the main drag.
Where players can go now
For players, the cards are still in the air, just in fewer places. The bigger Strip rooms continue to spread games, and there is steady action downtown and in the suburbs, although exact stakes and game mixes vary from property to property.
A recent industry roundup from Poker.org outlines how a wave of openings and closures over the last year has reshaped the city’s poker map. With Planet Hollywood stepping away again, that map gets a little more concentrated, and a bit less convenient for anyone who liked to grab a seat in the middle of the Strip.
