By admin Thursday, July 5, 2012

ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker sparked the poker boom and introduced the masses to the crazy game of poker.  I wish I could say I had been playing poker before that but to be honest I couldn’t even list the winning hands in order.  Three of a kind beats what?

It seems like everyone I know plays poker these days and when I get a chance to join I do.  My friends like to go to Great Blue Heron Charity Casino in Port Perry, Ontario. The casino is less than an hour north of Toronto so it is very convenient to go play for a few hours and head home.

I decided to head up to Great Blue Heron Charity Casino with a few friends last weekend to play in a poker tournament and hopefully win some money.  It took us less than an hour to get there from Toronto even with some traffic.

When we arrived we were all surprised at the location of the casino. It is surrounded by the picturesque landscape of Scugog Island and although the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino sticks out it doesn’t ruin the view at all. It doesn’t look like a lot of other casinos that have bright lights shining in every direction so you can see them from space.  Instead it is lit more elegantly which makes it more inviting.  It also has a very unique shape and while we were there at night I could still see small lines of color on the building.

We walked in and were greeted by the familiar sounds of slot machines and people talking and cheering at the tables.  We moved through the casino and into the new and improved poker room to register for the tournament.  The poker room is really nice, even if it is blue, and it wasn’t freezing cold like some other poker rooms I have been too.

There was still an hour before the tournament and we decided to grab something to eat at the Water’s Edge Restaurant.  Unlike other all you can eat casino buffets this one actually looked good! There was a variety of food and you can’t beat all you can eat! We all made our way through the buffet line and ate quickly since a couple of us still wanted to grab a drink before the tournament began.

There are two restaurants and two bars at the Great Blue Heron Casino in Port Perry, Ontario. We decided to try the Lucky Stone Bar and each grabbed a drink, or in some cases two.  It had a very relaxing atmosphere and since it was named the Lucky Stone we thought it was perfect to lead us into the poker tournament.

We got to the poker room just in time for table and seat assignments.  I was with one of my buddies and the rest were spread out around the room.  It was a full tournament, which is usually the case so try to get there early to register.  We all had fun and my friend made it to the final table but lost on a bad beat and went out in sixth place.

Playing poker takes more out of you than you think and by the time our final table friend was done we were all ready to head home, luckily we were less than an hour away!

If you are looking for something fun to do near Toronto, Ontario and you enjoy a little gambling then the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino in Port Perry, Ontario is a great place to go.  You can visit them at: http://www.gbhcasino.com for more info and directions.