Las Vegas ranks behind Los Angeles for poker

So is Los Angeles a better city for poker than Las Vegas?

The answer is yes, according to a blogger who goes by the moniker Salwilliam on the factoidz.com Web site. He believes the top five North American poker cities of the future are Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, the Seattle-Vancouver area, and Calgary, Alberta.

Los Angeles gets the nod over Las Vegas, he says, because of the city’s rich poker history. The game stems back to the 19th century, long before California became a state. Poker has been legal in California since 1911.

The Los Angeles area does have its fair share of card rooms offering various types of poker.

Salwiliam gives Las Vegas credit because it hosts the biggest tournaments (i.e., the annual World Series of Poker) and is home to much of the poker that is being watched on television.

While Las Vegas has some of the largest and newest poker rooms, the game is just a small part of what the casino industry offers.

Salwilliam is actually Salvatore William Delle Palme, who describes himself as a "Canadian poet, musician, aspiring athlete and poker player who harbors a passion for philosophy and knowledge of all kinds." He lives in Calgary and writes a poker blog.