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It's not the Bellagio, the Venetian, or even Boulder Station.
In spite of that, however, the little 30,000-square-foot Poker Palace casino has quietly stood through 30 years of casino openings, megaresort construction, expansions, mergers and implosions to the south of it on Las Vegas Boulevard.
One of North Las Vegas's best kept secrets, the neighborhood casino at 2757 N. Las Vegas Boulevard is a haven for Las Vegas purists. A walk inside gives a glimpse of Vegas past. Poker games have only a $1 minimum, and Poker Palace has been a second home for many locals who have made it a favorite for the past three decades.
"We've had a lot of longtime customers," says Laura Coleman, the public relations director for the Poker Palace. Her husband Mickey has been the owner of the casino for the last 30 years. "We've had a lot still come back to us, because they know if we saw them somewhere else, we'd be hurt."
And the casino has tried to pay them back. A new 7,000-square-foot bingo room was added last year, while the Poker Palace divided its casino into smoking and non-smoking parts a decade ago. The restaurant, Maddy's Paddy's Cafe, is also divided up into smoking and non-smoking.
Because cancer ran in both Laura's and Mickey's families, they decided to give their patrons a chance for a smokefree environment.
"In 1994, we built a non-smoking, casino with its own separate entrance, separate ventilation system for the nonsmoking part," explains Laura Coleman. "Most gamblers are smokers, but we wanted to give our customers a choice. The ones that are non-smokers, especially the seniors, seem to be happy about it."
When it comes to family, Poker Palace is the definition of a family-run business. Laura Coleman and her...