I was surprised when the casino said that over a few months time, the player gambled over $400,000 at slots and table games.

The manager called me, and I booked him a room. To illustrate this point, I like to tell the story of a small-limit poker player who asked a card room manager in Los Angeles to help him get a room in Las Vegas. San Manuel not only lost thousands of loyal poker players by closing the room but also the business those poker players bring to the rest of the casino. Poker players are often an overlooked demographic in casino marketing. San Manuel markets itself as having the “most slots in California” and intends to hold onto that title.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians owns and operates the San Manuel Casino located about one hour east from Los Angeles in Highland, California. The nearest poker rooms are at Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa in Cabazon, near Palm Springs, and Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, both nearly an hour away. But thousands of poker players were left with no place to play close by. Some dealers said they would start a new career at San Manuel Casino, which offered some a chance to retrain to deal other games. Now players have to go to another city and hope to see their old friends again. San Manuel Casino, located in San Bernardino county with a population of over 2 million people, had a monopoly in the area since there were no other poker rooms within a 50-mile radius. It’s not like a poker room closing in Las Vegas where you can go next door to gamble. In my 50-year career, I have never witnessed so much love among poker players and staff. Players were coming by tables and dropping off tips to dealers as a gift and saying thanks for the memories.

Some, including me and my wife, waited hours for a seat. I have never seen a room that size with hundreds of players waiting to get on the tables. The poker room was sold out that night with some games having a hundred players on the waiting list. I listened and watched as players were in tears saying goodbye to dealers, staff and friends they had played with for decades. The poker room had been a part of the community for over 30 years. I was playing in the San Manuel poker room the night the final hand was dealt at midnight I certainly hope it’s not the last. It felt like the poker industry lost a family member on April 30.

San manuel casino poker room closed