Eric Persson, in partnership with Bally’s Corporation, has revealed plans to open a one-of-a-kind poker room and live-stream at Tropicana Las Vegas, the reported future site of the Oakland A’s.
Maverick Gaming, founded by Persson, will bring a poker room to the Las Vegas Strip resort for the first time since 2013. The old card room, promoted by 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Jamie Gold, closed a decade ago and was replaced by slot machines.
Poker Returning to The Trop
Poker will soon return to The Trop, although an official launch date hasn’t been disclosed, and it will include more than just a standard poker room. Bally’s Big Bet Poker, a televised show that originally was edited from Live at the Bike live-streams, will bring a state-of-the-art live-stream studio to Tropicana for some high-stakes games along with a new show called Live at the Tropicana.
If you’re wondering why this is all taking place at the Tropicana, the answer is Bally’s Corp owns the hotel and casino. Over the next few years, much of the property will be torn down to build a new stadium for the Oakland A’s, who will be moving to Las Vegas in 2027.
The casino has already informed its employees job layoffs will begin over the next 18-24 months and the resort built in 1957, making it one of the longest standing casinos in Las Vegas, will be demolished. There’s still some disputes between the A’s and Clark County on how the stadium will be funded, but it appears the team is destined to eventually iron out the financials of the move.
When the building is demolished, it is expected that the poker room and the live-stream studio will remain in tact. Persson, who owns casinos in Northern Nevada and Washington state, gave a few details on Twitter about the future Las Vegas poker room. He wrote: “We are going to build the best 1-3 and 2-5 games on the Las Vegas Strip,” and advertised low rake, hourly high hands, and daily tournaments.
Persson is one of the most active high rollers in poker these days. He’s appeared numerous times on Live at the Bike and PokerGO’s various shows. The casino mogul infamously lost the largest pot in US televised poker history — $1,978,000 — on No Gamble No Future in February.
The high roller casino owner will compete in the Bally’s Big Bet Poker live-stream games. Persson said on Twitter the Maverick Gaming Poker Room will open this coming October, but the debut of Live at the Tropicana will take place in June.
There’s certainly a plethora of competition for poker in Las Vegas, and especially on the Strip. Established card rooms such as Bellagio, Wynn, and Aria have attracted large crowds and some of the biggest games for years.
That said, the aspirations of the Maverick Gaming Poker Room and the casino’s future poker show are huge.
“Get ready for a poker experience that will leave you breathless, invigorated, and craving more. Stay tuned for updates and prepare to embrace the Maverick spirit,” Persson said in a press release.
“When Bally’s gave us the opportunity to expand the Bally’s Big Bet Poker® brand to the Tropicana Las Vegas, we immediately thought of Eric as a tremendous asset, both on and off the felt. Persson’s industry expertise and proven ability to build successful poker rooms superbly aligns with Bally’s omnichannel network,” said Houston Curtis, executive producer of Bally’s Big Bet Poker.
As for the future, Curtis elaborated: “The A’s will happen when it happens. We plan on still being in the middle of a huge pot when the building starts to come down.”
With Low rake, a live stream with players such as Persson, promotions, and a prime location — it just might be a winning combination.