Poker trips on points: booking hotels around the big card rooms
A player holding two cards above a pile of poker chips on a green table. Photo: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Poker festivals draw players to Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and beyond. How to use hotel points and loyalty status to keep the cost of a poker trip under control.
Every year, thousands of amateur poker players travel to tournament series. The buy-ins get the attention, but for most players the real cost of a trip is the hotel. Using hotel points well can make the difference between one week at the tables and two.
Where the big series are
- Las Vegas: the World Series of Poker runs every summer and moved to the Strip in 2022, with dozens of other series running alongside it.
- Europe: major tours stop in cities such as Barcelona, Prague and Monte Carlo, usually in casino resorts or conference hotels.
- Asia and Australia: series in Macau, Manila and Melbourne attract a mix of local and travelling players.
Points strategy for a poker trip
- Stay near, not in. The host casino hotel is often the most expensive during a festival. A hotel a short walk away, booked with points or a member rate, can cost far less.
- Use fixed-value points for long stays. Accor points are worth the same every night, so they stretch evenly across a ten-night trip.
- Book flexible rates early. Festival schedules are published months in advance. Book refundable rooms early and cancel if your plans change.
- Join the casino's players' club too. Tournament play rarely earns much, but cash games are often rated.
Bankroll and travel money
Serious players keep their poker bankroll separate from their travel budget. The hotel, flights and food are fixed costs; the buy-ins are the variable part. Points help with the fixed costs, which makes it easier to stick to your poker limits. Never move money from the travel budget to the tables because you are "due" a win. Cards have no memory.
Life between sessions
Long days at the table call for a good bed, a gym and decent breakfast. Elite benefits such as late check-out are especially useful on the last day of a series, when a deep run can keep you at the table well past noon. Our Your Benefits page lists the perks that matter most.
