Bally's new WSOP-themed poker room has a big summer ahead

 Early on Thursday afternoon in late April, the new World Series poker room at the Wild Wild Wild West Casino in Bali's Atlantic City felt a little empty. With a large section to play the tournament and an additional closed "high-limit" section, the 42-table room was playing six live cash games. It was quiet.

Fortunately, the WSOP room has remained fluid since it opened in late February.

"Traffic conditions have been pretty steady," said Dan Morelli, a poker manager at Caesars Entertainment's Atlantic City Real Estate. "We're not getting dark at all, and our weekend tournaments are starting to gain some traction."

But this Thursday, a poker room at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, just half a mile off the road, was packed. Borgata has long dominated the city's poker market. It boasts a spacious and bright room, a parking lot just outside, and a bustling food court a few steps away from the table. It became a poker destination on the east coast, and on this day, players from all over the world flocked there to compete in the casino's spring poker open.

Despite Bogata's top spot in the market, Caesars think it's a hit with a new appeal in Bali, and think it can attract a fair share of players.

"Bogata is forever hanging on to poker," said Fred Niceta, director of table game operations at Caesars Atlantic City Property. "They have great facilities there and they have good competition. I think what we're after is some of their customers, but we want to have people who already come to the boardwalk."

WSOP's room remains in its fledgling phase, both in terms of interior planning and popularity with players. However, the room's design is already a unique sight.

The Poker World Series has become "divine" over the years, thanks to its relationship with ESPN, which broadcasts WSOP television broadcasts. And that's not a bad thing. ESPN is a big reason for poker's boom in the early 2000s, and the network has done an excellent job of bringing the game into the mainstream. Since leaving Vinion's gambling den & hotel in 2004 and moving to the Rio All Suite & Casino, WSOP has definitely shown a more diverse and colorful look that matches ESPN and its sponsors.

But the WSOP room at Ballis has a stronger old-fashioned feel than the large black-and-white photos of legendary WSOP champions like Doyle Brunson and Stewie Ungar decorate the walls. The room praises the overall setting of the Wild Wild West casino, as if Smokey had taken real smoke out of a thick gambling den.

"We're very happy to call this a WSOP room, but it's a different WSOP," Niceta said. "It's not something you'll see anywhere else, it'll be seen in an old Jack Binion room."

Most poker players today, who watched Chris Moneymaker's incredible journey to win the 2003 WSOP main event and immersed themselves in the game, will get out of the experience. But first, they need to show up.  동행복권파워볼

Niceta said, "I think summer will be really popular in this room because of our location on the boardwalk."