Hawaiian Gardens Casino is located approximately 22 miles from Hollywood Park, and 11 miles from Crystal Park and the Bike, due east of all the other LA area casinos.
The town of Hawaiian Gardens is very small, tucked into the northeast corner of Long Beach -- bordering on Orange County. It's located just east of the Carson Street exit of the 605 (San Gabriel River) Freeway. The address is 11871 Carson Street, Hawaiian Gardens 90716, and the casino phone number is 562.860.5887. When you grab your Thomas Guide, you'll notice that Carson Street becomes Lincoln when you pass through the Orange Curtain, which puts the casino about 12 miles west of Knott's Berry Farm, Movieland Wax Museum, Wild Bill's, Disneyland, and "The Ed" -- home of the hapless California Angels..
It is currently housed in a "tent," though I use that word advisedly. It's not a tent in the sense that one thinks of when contemplating canvas circus tents. Rather it is one of those easily erected buildings, like the kind that sprung up in the desert during Desert Storm. This tent holds 60 tables. A mirror image tent will open in the next month or so, and when it does, the Asian games will be moved to the second tent and the existing tent will house only poker games.
Their kitchen is situated between the two tents, which seems an obvious location, though there are some casinos in the LA area that have located their kitchens -- seemingly as an afterthought -- almost as far away from the playing floor as they could possibly put them; thus almost guaranteeing that meals will not be hot when they reach the player. Hawaiian Gardens also plans a restaurant and a cappucino bar, and they hope to have them open by February.
Right now the western half of the parking lot is still in the process of being paved, and the best way to enter the casino is from the parking lot entrance located on Carson Street, EAST of the casino itself. Entrance can be gained from Pioneer Boulevard, but it involves a circuitous path around buildings and through an alley. It took me about 10 minutes to navigate my way through that maze. But at the end of the evening, when I left, I exited onto Carson Street and got right on the 605 Freeway.
One nice feature about playing there is that when you enter the game for the first time and come in behind the button, you are not required to post a blind. In other words, a new player gets to play an entire round before he is required to pony up fifteen bucks. It's a nice feature. Let me tell you, nothing beats throwing an 8-3 away for free, especially once I realized I would have paid $15 for those rags in any other club.
The interior of the casino is tastefully decorated; in fact, it's a lot nicer looking than I thought it would be. The theme is Polynesian, and it is well done -- in contrast to so many of those old, tacky, Polynesian-themed restaurants and motels that seemed to dot the SoCal landscape thirty years ago. The art on the walls maintains the pastel pallate Polynesian theme. Complimenting the paintings and prints are longboards that serve as free-standing sculpture between groups of paintings.
The best feature of the room is the lighting. Spot lights are used, and they can be adjusted to focus perfectly on the tables. The cards have no reflection on them; are brightly lit, and easily viewed. If you are prone to eye strain, Hawaiian Gardens is the place for you.
Although I did not eat there,I noticed plenty of servers, and they all seemed to have been instructed in the basics of customer service. They were friendly and pleasant, and none of them seemed to be standing idly by. They were all working.
I was told that they hope to have the entire casino (all parking lots, both "tents" and the restaurant) open and functioning in time for the lunar new year. From what I could see, they ought to be able to accomplish that on schedule. Since Hawaiian Gardens is still a work-in-progress, I hope to see other trip reports posted by RGPers so we can all stay apprised of their development.
On another topic entirely, Happy Holidays to one and all. Enjoy.
Keep flopping aces,
Lou Krieger
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