Just wondering what other 18 year casinos with poker rooms are around the Chicago area? Soaring Eagle in michigan which is like 5 hrs away is what I hear most about. Any other places? And is Soaring Eagle nice? How's the poker room there? What limits, etc.

Its a very nice place. Go stay for a few nights. I don't know what the limits are cause I got into poker after I moved from michigan, but I think they have No limit there. Check out their website and email or call.

Are the rooms very expensive? And are 18 year olds allowed to get a room there? Jw, cuz one of my buddies was looking into it and he said something about website saying you gotta be 21 or something to check in a room.

I live less than an hour away. I haven't played in the poker room there, because I'm a donk. Or maybe it's because they only have a few tables, and last I knew, it's all limit. Once a month, they have a tournament (which I think is NLHE) for either $150-$200 + fee.

A lot of my friends have played there. It's non-smoking now, which could be good or bad for you. I haven't been there in over a year, so maybe things have changed, but last time I was there, they only had 3 poker tables going on a Friday night.

The rooms are very nice, but they are not cheap. I don't know how old you have to be. I'm 38, so it never crossed my mind.

Anyway, http://www.soaringeaglecasino.com. But they don't seem to put much effort into their site.

EDIT: Yep, looks like you have to be 21 to get a room. If you click to make a reservation, it becomes pretty obvious, and defines "Adult" as over 21. Sorry kids.

Thanks for the info, pretty lame you can gamble there at 18 but can't stay in their rooms. Btw what limits do they spread for cash games, if anyone knows that would be awesome.

Yeah, I agree. It might have something to do with Mount Pleasant being a college town. Dunno. I guess they just don't want a bunch of rowdy teenagers disturbing the "mostly elderly" guests.

As for limits, I know for a fact that they have 3/6. I think they also have 2/4, and probably something bigger (5/10 or 10/20).

On a barely related note, my mom used to go there a lot to play the slots. What is it with old people and slot machines? Will this happen to me some day? She had no interest in gambling until she hit about 60, and from the looks of the other people playing the slots there, I'd have to say 60 is probably the median age. I just don't get it.

What's the field size like for their monthly tournaments?

I wish I knew... I have it in my head that I'm going to go find out some day, but so far, I haven't. I'm a small-stakes kind of guy, so $150+ is like a month of winnings. LOL. Maybe I could get my Mom to stake me.

I finally decided to call them to find out how their poker tourneys work. If anyone else is interested, here it is:

$50 buy-in, Every Monday at 6:30pm, Max 100 players (usually fills).

$150-$200 buy-in, Last Friday of every month at 10:00am. I'm told it ALWAYS fills, so if you want a seat, you need to reserve it on Thursday. If you show up Friday morning, you'll likely miss out. For this December, it's $150. In January, it will be $200. It alternates ($150/$200).

I didn't think to ask, but yes, there is a fee in addition, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is some sort of an add-on.

I'm sure most casinos out there are at least 18 years old, poker originated in 2003.

Soaring eagle, I used to play there daily. It is where I learned poker. I haven't been there in some time, 9 months or so. They got these uncomfortable chairs and the blind man cards( big letters ) and have yet to go back. They may have changed these since then but I couldn't stand them. I could barely sit for more than an hour or two without having to take a break because my back was killing me.

They have 18 or so tables there and offer NLH, LHE, Stud, Omaha, Dealers choice. Though games other than NLH and HE rarely get played. Hours used to be 10:00am open and last call at 1:45am. Open 24 from Friday to Sunday. May have changed.

Stakes:
3/6, 6/12 and 10/20 for limit. 10/20 used to be a good game but since they added the NLH game it has dried up a bit. I was a donk just learning the game and I could easily take $300-$500 off the table in a short time without any skill. Mostly the games had retired folk just there for a good time, with a few decent youngsters that you could stay away from unless you had a hand. On the evenings after classes were over the games had more young kids but still mainly were the same 20 or so players. A decent spread of styles, pretty easy to read.

Sometimes on the weekends they may get a 15/30 or a 20/40 going but the room managers were weird about it and most of the time would not let us up the level.

For no limit they have 1/2- 100max and I think they were thinking of adding a 200max game but I haven't been back to check. Decent games, mainly college kids just learning. Over aggressive and such. Be patient and they will Matsow blowoff their stack in one hand.

The place is a Indian casino so the rake and rent is pretty rough. 10% up to $5 which is basically every hand on 10/20. The rent on No Limit I believe is $9 per 45 minute dealer rotation. I may be off on that because I only played it a few times. They do give a $1 per hour rake back for food, rooms and such.

The biggest thing I disliked about the place was the management. They made you feel like it was some privilege to play there. Didn't cater to the clientèle and/or regulars much. They would have 30+ names on the 10/20 list, have an empty table and a dealer sitting there but not open the game because they were afraid it will kill a 3/6 game. Then the floors were not players and didn't know the game much. So if you had to call for a decision most of the time the rulings were wrong or just weird. Oh and seating of new players was pretty slow and unorganized. We would have empty seats for over an hour with large lists. Very annoying.


For places to stay, I believe there is a $49 a night comfort inn or Holiday inn that takes 18 year old check ins down the street. But being a college town, hook up with some one and stay in the dorm - or sleep in the car outside, most college kids end up doing this.

Oh and if you go. Watch you speed on the road going in. It is only 55mph. Only speed with a group of cars. There was always a sheriff sitting there waiting. Pretty much all the regulars have been caught at least once.

For other options, Casino Windsor is 19 or older. It is just over the border by Detroit. Still a 5 hour drive but was a nice room. Cons: exchange rate and I once was stopped at the border and ended up having my car ripped apart for 3 hours. I haven't been back since.
The room is No Smoking and No spectators. So it is nice and quiet while playing. Nice waiting area outside the room with tables and tv screens. The waitresses were fast with your drinks too. I believe they had 11 tables but they were talking about expanding. Don't hold me to anything though, I haven't been there in over a year.
If you want to call, the phone number used to be 1-800-991-7777 Ext# 22969. They used to have a 1 hour call ahead as well.


On a side note, if you go the route of a fake ID, just be careful. Most places are required by their gaming license to report any offenders or they will get a huge fine or lose their license. So they will turn you in instead of just kicking you out, like a bar/club. I had some friend run into some troubles because of this.

Leelenau Sands by Traverse City is 18+. I'm not sure about their motel rooms but are lots of places within a 20-30 minute drive so you should be able to find something.

Poker room is a total donkfest. They usually have 1-2 and 2-5 no limit and 3-6 limit and a tournament every day except Monday. I was up there this past weekend and I wanted to try the Sunday tournament. Was late getting there so I missed the tournament but I played 1-2 NL for 90 minutes and I was up $450. Calling stations everywhere, people call pot size bets with gutshots, raise with tp/wk. Then they opened up a 2-5 NL table and 6 of the people at my table went to that. I never played 2-5 before so I just took my money and hit the road.