Talking Stick Resort Ran Five Different Waitlists Tonight

Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale ran waitlists across five different game types on the evening of May 22, from $2/$3 no-limit hold'em to a $25/$25 private game with 11 names waiting.

That's not a typo. One room, five surging games, five separate Bravo waitlists all running above their median at the same time. No other room in the snapshot came close to that kind of spread.

One room, five surging games, five separate Bravo waitlists all running above their median at the same time.

The $25/$25 Private Game Led the Way

The headline number: 11 players waiting for a single $25/$25 private table. The median waitlist for that game sits at 2. That's a 5.5× ratio, which means demand outstripped a normal night by more than five times over.

The $2/$3 NL hold'em list was even more lopsided on a ratio basis. Seven names waiting, one table running, against a median of 1. That's a 7× ratio. If you walked into Talking Stick's poker room looking for a seat in the most common game in Arizona, you were staring at a long wait.

Limit, Mixed, PLO: All Surging

The variety is what makes this unusual. Most rooms spike on one or two games. Talking Stick posted surges in five distinct formats:

• $2/$3 NL Hold'em: 7 waiting, 1 table, 7× median ratio
• $4/$8 Limit Hold'em: 7 waiting, 1 table, 3.5× median ratio
• $10/$10 Mix PLO: 7 waiting, 1 table, 4.7× median ratio
• $20/$40 4-Game Mix: 6 waiting, 1 table, 3× median ratio
• $25/$25 Private: 11 waiting, 1 table, 5.5× median ratio

The $20/$40 4-Game Mix and the $10/$10 Mix PLO lists are notable on their own. Mixed games and PLO variants typically draw from a smaller player pool. When both formats spike simultaneously in the same room, it signals a deep bench of action players, not just a tourist rush at the low stakes.

What the Ratios Tell You

Every one of these five games ran at 3× its median waitlist or higher. The $4/$8 limit game, often the quietest corner of any modern poker room, had seven names deep at 3.5× its norm.

That kind of across-the-board demand usually means something specific: the room is running a promotion, a local series is in town, or word has simply gotten around that the games are good. Whatever the cause, the Bravo data is clear. On the night of May 22, Talking Stick wasn't just busy. It was busy in every format it spreads.

If you're driving distance from Scottsdale and looking for action beyond hold'em, the numbers say Talking Stick is the room to watch right now.