Free Poker Class at Maryland’s Top Casino Awaits Enthusiasts

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The bustling poker room at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland was buzzing during the 2023 Maryland State Poker Championship. Now, the casino resort in Hanover, near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, is calling all poker enthusiasts for a special opportunity. On Saturday, October 19, the poker room staff at Live! Maryland will offer a free poker class designed to teach novices the ins and outs of the popular card game.

The class, aptly named “How to Play Poker,” will run from 10 a.m. until 12 noon that Saturday. Registered guests will receive a group poker lesson, led by an expert poker team, focusing primarily on Texas Hold’em, which stands as poker’s most popular format.


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“Poker is a complex game,” said Christopher Angelo, the director of poker at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. “This free lesson is a chance for novice or intermediate players to learn how to play Texas Hold’em in a casino setting, understand the basics, and gain confidence at the table without the pressure of a real poker game.”

Spanning two stories and housing 50 tables, the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland Poker Room boasts a private bar and on-site masseuses for player comfort. This expansive space has become a marquee destination for both poker pros and casual players alike.

Poker’s popularity surged with the “poker boom” in 2003, when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Moneymaker, a full-time accountant before qualifying for the tournament through an online event, captured the world’s attention by winning the $2.5 million first-place prize. His story inspired millions of casual players to take up poker, both online and in-person. The following years saw exponential growth in WSOP Main Event buy-ins, with entries swelling from 839 participants in 2003 to 8,773 in 2006.

After a dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, poker has been experiencing a resurgence. Entries in the WSOP Main Event have climbed back to pre-pandemic levels, with 10,112 participants in this year’s event, where Jonathan Tamayo won the $10 million first-place prize.

Live! Maryland’s Poker Room has consistently ranked among the top 10 poker rooms outside of Las Vegas and maintains a busy schedule of tournaments and promotions. In October, the poker room is running Live! Pokerfest, a 23-event tournament with over $700K in guarantees, scheduled to run through October 14.

The Live! Casino & Hotel Poker Room, one of the largest in the country, is also a regular stop on the World Poker Tour and hosts the Maryland State Poker Championship, sponsored by PokerStars. The 2024 tournament featured a $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event that attracted 245 entries.

In terms of gaming revenue, Live! Maryland ranks as the second-richest casino in the state. Through August, the casino generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of approximately $491.6 million, second only to MGM National Harbor’s roughly $563.4 million.