Area recommendations for Poker Trip!

Question

Hi folks!

Thanks for reading this post.

I am Naveen coming for India in May for 11 nights.My plan is to play poker around Miami and Hollywood area. Kindly suggest the best area to stay so that i can easily roam around Miami and Hollywood, west palm beach area etc. so that all poker rooms are easily accessible through public transport. I am not into renting car as its not my thing. Please suggest best location for stay I usually stay in hostels. I mean the central location.

P.S Thinking to stay for 11 nights @ Generator Hostel, Miami Beach.

Answer

For a poker-focused trip without renting a car, choosing the right location in South Florida is extremely important. The poker rooms you’ll likely want to visit—Miami, Hollywood, and maybe even West Palm Beach—are spread out across three counties, and public transportation in South Florida is limited, especially late at night when poker rooms are busiest.

Your goal should be to stay somewhere that gives you strong bus/rail connectivity and reasonable travel times to the major poker rooms like Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, Magic City Casino, Gulfstream Park, and perhaps Palm Beach Kennel Club if you are willing to travel far.

Staying in Miami Beach at Generator Hostel is okay for a general tourist trip, but for a poker trip, it is not the best central location because Miami Beach public transport to the poker rooms is slow and does not run conveniently late. You will end up spending a lot of time and money on rideshares.

Brickell (Miami): Best combination of access to Metrorail, buses, rideshare availability, and walkable area. Much easier to get to poker rooms inland than from Miami Beach.
Downtown Miami: Good transit hub (Metrorail + Brightline + buses). This is the most strategic for moving north toward Hollywood or south toward Miami casinos.
Hollywood Downtown (Near Young Circle): Closer to Seminole Hard Rock and Gulfstream Park, decent bus connectivity, and quieter than Miami.

The two most important poker destinations are:

Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood: The biggest and best poker room in Florida, and one of the best in the U.S. No direct trains or subways reach it—you must use bus + rideshare.

Magic City Casino (Miami) & Gulfstream Park (Hallandale Beach): Reasonably reachable by transit but often require a final rideshare hop.

Miami – Brickell Hostels: Selina Miami River/Brickell area offers hostel-style rooms and puts you close to Metrorail. From here, Brightline Miami Station is 10–15 minutes away.
Miami – Downtown Hostels: There are a few budget options like The Hostel Miami (availability varies). Being near Government Center makes travel far easier than Miami Beach.
Hollywood – Private Room Rentals: Hollywood has very few hostels, but many inexpensive private rooms that function similar price-wise. Staying near Young Circle keeps you central.

West Palm Beach is realistically too far to visit often for poker via public transportation (2 hours by Brightline each way). You can go once for the experience, but don’t plan your lodging around WPB access.

If your top priority is moving efficiently between Miami and Hollywood poker rooms without a car, you will be much happier staying on the mainland—Brickell, Downtown Miami, or Hollywood—not on Miami Beach. You can still visit the beach any day using buses or rideshares.

If you stick with Generator Hostel on Miami Beach, expect your travel to the Hard Rock to be 1.5 hours minimum (bus → Metrorail → rideshare). Staying on the mainland reduces this to about 35–45 minutes.