California Grand Casino
The California Grand Casino is a cardroom located in the Martinez, California. The original hotel and card room was a Pony Express stop in 1860. According to Card Player magazine, the California Grand Casino is the oldest continuously operating poker room in the world, with poker games since 1854.[1][2]
A new casino facility opened across the street in July 2009 with 19 gaming tables, a bar and a restaurant called The Grand Cafe.[3] In 2013, the California Grand Casino was voted Best Casino in the San Francisco East Bay by the Bay Area News Group, which includes the Contra Costa Times, San Jose Mercury News and Oakland Tribune.
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History
The casino started in 1854 when the Woodford Hotel and Saloon opened its doors on what is now Pacheco Boulevard and offered alcohol, women and gambling.[3] The hotel became a stagecoach and Wells Fargo Pony Express Stop in 1860. The original building bears a historical marker from the Pony Express Trail Association.[1][4]
In 1979, Lamar "Wil" Wilkinson, a poker player who has made 5 final tables at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, purchased the casino. He changed the name to the California Grand Casino, and in 2009 moved the casino into a new building.[3][5]
Games
The California Grand Casino offers Texas hold 'em poker games, Omaha poker, and a weekly Hold Em tournament. The California Grand Casino also has Blackjack, Baccarat, Three Card Poker, and Pai Gow Poker games. In California, the casino does not bank the games, so these games are played with a rotating dealer position so every player has the chance to play the dealer hand and wager against the other players, but the casino dealer still does the actual dealing and settling of all wagers.
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