I rolled into this huge casino on the US side of Niagara Falls at 9:40 AM on a Saturday morning, having driven seven hours from Boston on my way to the Canadian side of the border to meet my mother. I was tired but enthusiastic about trying out the action in this the largest of the Seneca poker rooms. (There are two others: one in Irving, New York; the other in Salamanca, New York).
Information and Reviews about Casino Niagara Poker Room in Niagara Falls, including Poker Tournaments, Games, Special Events and Promotions.
I was not disappointed.
The Seneca Casino is an enormous structure – the tallest and most visible building in the area. It is a modern blue rectangle with two matching swooshes on each side – all aglow at night. It used to be the Niagara Falls convention center. It looks now like a glitzy Las Vegas casino.
The poker room is less spectacular but still very nice. There are 24 tables – all moderately appointed, and looking relatively new and well cared for, if not necessarily luxurious. They use Copaq cards that seemed slightly sturdier than the typical Kems. The dealers were very friendly, most seemed relatively skilled, and not very fast. Their pace matched the mood of the room – a laid-back, friendly, subdued sort of place. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I arrived early on a Saturday and many of the players may have been up all night.
I arrived a little before the 10:00 AM daily no-limit hold'em tourney. Of the eight or so tables that were going before the tournament, four were $1/2-blind no-limit with a $100 maximum buy-in, one was a $2/5-blind no-limit with a $400 maximum buy-in, and there were a couple of $2/4 limit and $4/8 limit games as well. They promised that they'd have a $1-5 spread-limit stud game later in the day, but it hadn't gotten more than one player on an interest list by the time I left a few hours later. I should note that when I called back later in the week, at night, to check on the action, they did have a stud game. But it doesn't run all the time.
The tournaments are raked very, very steeply – at 30% of the buy-in. Blinds go up every fifteen minutes and start at 25/25. Starting stack size is 3,000 (if you pay the extra $10.00 for the dealer's pool for an extra 500 in chips – which nearly everyone does). The cash games are raked at 10% with a $4 cap but also with a bad-beat/high-hand jackpot withdrawal of $1.00 per pot of $20 or more.
There are two tournaments a day, one at 10:00 AM and one at 7:00 PM. On Sunday they have a 'deep stack' tournament at 6:00 PM where players start with 4,000 in chips and blinds go up every 20 minutes. They also have a few large tournaments a year – the next one coming up was the Seneca Poker Challenge – a $500 buy-in event at the end of July. (As is the case with all poker rooms, you should probably call the poker room before planning to play in any tournaments. Poker tournament schedules change all the time.)
I was one of very few tourists in the tournament game of nearly 60 combatants. After asking around I'd estimate that ninety percent were locals. I ended up getting knocked out when my pair of sixes got cracked by a pair of aces. Now that's what I call a good beat.
From what I observed and could deduce from conversations with the local players, the quality of play tends to be generally poor to average. I noticed only one or two players whom I would characterize as very good. Most were there more for fun than profit. I doubt any professional players make their home here – the limits are too low. They're probably across the international border playing at the nearby Fallsview Casino – which does have high-limit games, especially on the weekend.
There is a very nice buffet offered in the casino, though it isn't cheap. Lunch was $17.99 for the public and $15.99 for those with a player's card from the casino (the cards are free but you have to stand in line to get one). I was also told that their steak house is the best restaurant in the area – but I didn't eat there so I can't attest to the claim. I did hear this from a few people, however, so it's probably a first-rate place for a nice meal. It was expensive, with entrees in the $25-35 range.
Casino Niagara Poker Bad Beat Hands
There is waitress service for drinks but there wasn't food service – at least I didn't notice anyone eating at the table while I was there. The room is non-smoking and the atmosphere is generally quiet, since the poker room is away from the area of the casino with slot machines. This is both good and bad. It's good because it keeps the noise level down, but it's bad because the room has little passing traffic – meaning fewer gamblers will sit down on impulse.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and the generally laid-back and friendly nature of the players. For those who aren't from New York it will seem that you are in a very different state from that of New York City – as the players are completely different from the Big Apple players you're likely to meet at the poker rooms in Atlantic City or Foxwoods. These are Midwesterners by disposition and temperament, making for a reserved, comfortable poker game.
I'd come back to the room in a heartbeat for the tournaments if it weren't for the outrageously high rake (I've played in charity games with lower rakes). In the meantime, I probably would only come back for the $2/5 no-limit game – the $100 max buy-in and $5 take out of nearly every pot makes the $1/2 game pretty much unplayable. The casino is easy to find, though it may take some asking to find the poker room, which is off the beaten track. Oh, and while you're in the area there's also a nice geological attraction that you might want to visit.
Seneca Niagara Falls Casino
310 Fourth Street
Niagara Falls, NY
716.278.6300
Toll-Free: 877-873-6322
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Make no mistake about it. If you're heading for Niagara Falls and you're serious about your poker, this is the place for you!
I visited Niagara Falls with my Mom for a week in July. I had an opportunity to sample poker games at night, after she went to bed, both on the weekend and during the week, on both sides of the Canadian-United States border and in all three of the Niagara Falls poker rooms: Seneca in the United States; Fallsview and the Niagara Grand Casino, both in Canada. All three have something to recommend them. But for me, there's really only one place for any serious poker action, and that's at Fallsview.
The casino complex consists of a large modern mall of a few dozen high-end shops and restaurants, a bus depot, and a large luxury hotel that overlooks Niagara Falls. It is, without a doubt, a place where the well-heeled tourists and business conventioneers visit.
The Fallsview poker room has 16 tables in an alcove surrounded by three walls and an open space that faces into a bustling slot area within a huge casino complex. It is next door to a lounge with a band, but the music doesn't overwhelm the room. The floor also manages to keep folks who aren't playing from entering the room, diminishing the crowding.
Fallsview offers many different limit and no-limit hold'em games and an occasional game of Omaha8. They offer no stud of any kind. On four different sessions I played in their $2/5 and $4/8 limit game and in their $1/2, $2/5, and $5/5 no-limit games. They also offered $5/10 no-limit and $10/20 no-limit on the weekends. I observed each of those games briefly. Players pay time, from $5 to $8 per half hour. That's pretty standard for the area. While I was there the room was also spreading single-table satellites for the large World Poker Tour tournament scheduled for October 26-November 2nd. These events had $90 and $160 entry fees – with a steep 30% raked off for the house.
The locals in the room that I spoke with suggested that the best time to come is Wednesday or Thursday night – when there are tables filled with tourists and conventioneers but not the long lines of the weekend. On the weekends, especially at night, the wait for a seat can be daunting – two or more hours sometimes. This in turn discourages the more casual players, with the games filled with the best and most tenacious locals. Better, my local poker guide opined, to come when the lines aren't as long but the games are as good.
Seneca Niagara Casino Poker Schedule
I took him up on his suggestion and visited on Wednesday night. Unlike Saturday night, when I first arrived and couldn't get a seat during the hour that I waited, on Wednesday night at 9:30 PM I quickly got a seat in the $5/5 no-limit game. There were three inexperienced tourists in the game and five regulars, two of whom I judged to be very strong. I managed to play my tight-conservative game, winning $80 during my two hours of play. When I hooked up the next day with one of the better regulars I heard just how lucrative these games could be. He played all night, for eight hours, and left $3,000 to the good (or so he said). Not a bad take for a $5/5 game with a $500 maximum buy-in.
A few other tidbits of information for those of you who happen into the Fallsview poker room. There's no table-side food service nor free alcoholic drinks. Canadian law prohibits serving alcohol to gamblers. The best meal for the buck you can get is nearby at the Asian noodle restaurant. Service is quick; the soup is delicious and plentiful; and the prices are the lowest in the complex – about $9.00 an order. There's also a fantastic Asian buffet nearby – though it's pricey. Make sure to get a free Player's Club card while you're in town. Though you'll only earn $.50 an hour at the poker table, it's good for discounts at the casino's restaurants.
Aug 23, 2019 Claim your gambling losses up to the amount of winnings, as 'Other Itemized Deductions.' Nonresident Aliens. If you're a nonresident alien of the United States for income tax purposes and you have to file a tax return for U.S. Source gambling winnings, you must use Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return (PDF). https://omgsecret.netlify.app/is-gambling-income-tax-free.html.
Oh, and there's a nice little geological attraction nearby worth taking a look at if you have a few minutes when you're not playing poker.
Fallsview Resort Casino
1-866-5-POKER-5
6380 Fallsview Boulevard
Niagara Falls, Ontario
fallsviewcasinoresort.com