We traveled north this month to Reno to chat with Margie Heintz, poker room manager at Silver Legacy, Reno’s newest poker room.
The Silver Legacy Resort Casino opened its new poker room last month, catering to guests and ONE Club members at the Silver Legacy, Eldorado Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno. The poker room is equipped with 13 tables, is open 24 hours and is located on the important casino floor next to the all-new Canter’s Deli.
This new room is being taken care of by Margie Heintz, who is seen as the first woman to ever get into trouble in the World Series of Poker. Heintz is a member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. He was confirmed in 2011 visit poker88.
GT: Margie, you have an interesting history and narrative to tell. How did you get into poker?
MH: “I started playing poker at the end of 1974. Some women were in the poker industry at the time. I was born and raised in Montana… 5th generation Montanan. I was 21 years old, the year poker became legal in Montana. I was amazed by the game. I studied for trouble and took a vacation to Las Vegas in the summer of 1976. I was hired by Bill Boyd who was a popular Golden Nugget vacation time. In March 1977, Jack Strauss made a big competition at the Marina Hotel / Casino on the Strip. I handled it and made a lot of connections with the big players.
“I was known to be able to tackle the big money game. Cowboy Wolford recommended that I tackle the World Series of Poker. In May 1977, I applied and was sent to Benny Binion. I learned he owned a ranch in Montana. So I introduced myself and we started talking about Montana. She loves me and it is very possible that I will become the First Woman in History to overcome the World Series of Poker. I had another problem in 1981; sometimes in cash games, I run a $ 500,000 dollar pot. ”
Margie continues, “I arrived in Reno and opened the biggest casino in the world at that time, the MGM Grand. It was May 3, 1978. I fell in love with the Reno / Tahoe area. I feel like I feel more at home in this area; Reno was small then and Lake Tahoe was one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was the side of the three poker room openings again later. The Eldorado poker room opened in April 1986 and closed in April 1988. The room has only been open for 2 years and two weeks.