Expanded poker room opens at WinnaVegas

SLOAN, Iowa | WinnaVegas Casino Resort unveiled its spacious new poker room last week.

At some point, it likely will be the only legalized game in town for poker players, said officials with the tribal casino, located just west of Sloan, Iowa.

The Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino has long had a poker room. But the floating casino is fighting for its life. An Iowa judge is expected to decide this month whether the boat must comply with a state order to close because it longer holds a state gaming license.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City is scheduled to open Aug. 1. While the downtown casino's 30,000-square-foot casino floor will offer a variety of table games, poker won't be among them.

WinnaVegas marketing director Travis Morgan said the hopes to draw more players with eight new poker tables -- double the previous number.

"We recognized there is a poker boom still going on," Morgan said. "Is it as big as it was eight years ago ... ? Probably not, but it's still very, very big."

The new poker room, located in a former slot machine area, will not only allow more players to compete at the same time, but also permit the casino to add more games, such as Omaha, Texas Hold 'Em, and Seven Card Stud, Morgan said.

WinnaVegas also expects to add more poker tournaments with large cash purses.

John Blackhawk, chairman of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which owns and operates the casino, said one goal is to become a stop on such industry tournaments as the World Poker Tour.

A large tournament, Blackhawk said, would help attract thousands of visitors to the casino. For such a large tournament, the casino could set up additional tables in its new 2,500-seat events center.

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Expanded poker room opens at WinnaVegas