The poker room was only about half-filled, with some of the tables empty. Two musicians provided background music at each end of the casino, which is large enough the music didn’t overlap. Compared to the modest but functional temporary casino, the permanent Desert Diamond Casino West Valley is a glammy leap forward. Desert Diamond Casino West Valley, Glendale: Hours, Address, Desert Diamond Casino West Valley Reviews: 3/5. They have dropped the ball on the Poker Room. The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley Glendale is a huge gaming space providing a unique atmosphere. 40,000 square feet of gaming surface host not less than 1,089 of the hottest game! Slot machines feature games as Cherry Red, Pompei II, Aztec Dream or Golden Tower.

Phoenix's West Valley is now home to a casino that offers poker and blackjack tables, more than 1,000 slot machines and live bingo.

The Tohono O'odham Nation's 1.2 million-square-foot Desert Diamond Casino West Valley opened Feb. 19 after more than two years of construction. It replaced the nearby interim casino, which opened in 2015 and offered slot machines.

• Rudy Prieto, CEO of all four Desert Diamond casinos, said it was a special day for the casino and the West Valley. 'This place is going to raise the bar for the casino industry in Arizona,' he said.
• Desert Diamond Casino West Valley's brand new non-smoking 36-table poker room is open 24/7. The spacious cardroom has 27 big-screen TVs, and offers table-side food and drink service with cell phone charging ports at every table, as well as a complimentary beverage station for players.

Beyond games, Desert Diamond offers 10 options for food and drink, including a buffet, steakhouse and two-story bar in the middle of the action of the 24-hour casino. Expansion plans include a hotel, spa and convention center.

Here's what you'll find at the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley.

Desert Diamond Casino Glendale Poker Room Casino

Poker, table games, slots

Unlike the interim location, the casino's Class III status, defined as 'full 'Las Vegas style' casino gaming' by the Arizona Department of Gaming, means enthusiasts will find card tables as well as machines.

There are 36 poker tables, 48 blackjack tables, 1,136 slot machines and live bingo.

Evening bingo sessions take place seven days a week, with doors opening at 3:30 p.m. and warm-ups starting at 6 p.m. Buy-ins begin at $20 for paper and $35 for electronic bingo. Payouts range from $250 to $1,000, going up to $10,000 for special games.

Desert Diamond's non-smoking poker room is described as 'Arizona’s newest, most spacious and luxurious poker room with 36 tables and 27 big screen televisions,' according to its website. Patrons can charge their phones at each table and order food and drinks. There also is a complimentary soda fountain.

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Card games include:

• Blackjack.
• Pai Gow poker.
• Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em.
• Omaha Hold 'Em.
• Stud poker.
• Three-card poker.
• Spanish 21.

The casino also has a high-limit section and VIP lounge.

Players club and senior discounts

The Diamond Rewards Club is free to join, offering points that can be used toward free play or purchases of food or gift shop merchandise.

For every $10 played on a slot machine (or $20 for video poker games), members earn one reward point. Every 100 points accumulated equals $1 toward purchases or free play.

There are six tiers of membership. The highest level, the triple diamond tier, includes exclusive benefits for those who amass more than 500,000 points. Those who accrue at least 50,000 points get a personal host, access to the member lounge, priority valet parking and reimbursement for ATM fees.

As for bingo, each Tuesday is Senior Discount Day for those over 55 who present a valid ID and a Diamond Rewards card. The offer is good for $5 off a paper package and $10 off an electronic package.

Everyone can take advantage of bingo promotions on other days of the week. Wednesdays are half-price, and on Saturdays, people whose birthday lands in the current month receive a buy-one-get-one-free deal on an electronic package.

Buffet and other restaurants

The Fortune Cafe buffet features Asian-inspired dishes such as curry chicken, pad Thai and Vietnamese beef pho as well as dinner entrees such as smoked brisket, grilled salmon and chimichurri flank steak.

The Winners Sports Bar boasts 'Chopped' Season 39 winner Chef Laura Gonzalez-Reyes creations such as wings, burgers and flatbreads.

Those looking for fine dining can visit the Nineteen 86 Steakhouse, which pays tribute to the year the Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan and the Nuovo Giorno Italian bistro.

The steakhouse serves dry-aged rib-eye, T-bone and bone-in New York steaks along with salads, seafood and chops. The Italian bistro offers pizza, pasta and risotto as well as entrees such as rib-eye braciola, chicken marsala and veal chop Milanese.

The food court is open 24 hours, serving burgers, hot dogs, wings, pasta, pizza and breakfast foods. A stand selling coffee, pastries and gelato is also open all day.

What's on the drink menu?

Most of the casino's eateries also serve alcoholic beverages.

Desert Diamond Casino Glendale Poker Room Golden Nugget

Spiked cold brews, sake cocktails, frozen coolers and margaritas can be found at the Rock Bar from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Its mezzanine overlooks the casino floor.

The Nineteen 86 Steakhouse offers cocktails, wine by the glass and bottle and draft beer. Signature cocktails include a dark rum negroni and a smoked Manhattan.

The Edge Bar is where you will find non-alcoholic mocktails such as a no-mo mojito and strawberry spritz, as well as alcoholic cocktails such as chipotle margaritas and an Italian 75.

Desert Diamond Casino West Valley

Where: 9431 W. Northern Ave., near Glendale.

When: Open 24 hours.

Details: 833-332-2946, ddcaz.com.

Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com or at 602-444-4968. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The new Desert Diamond Casino is open near Glendale. Here's a guide to games, food, drinks

I played at the new Desert Diamond this weekend and was very disappointed having waited more than a decade for poker to come to the West Valley. The aesthetics of the room are incredibly pleasing, which is the only nice thing I can think to say about my experience.

I was initially dismayed by how the host was unable to tell whether or not the open seats being advertised on the Bravo Poker screens were actually available. Being that this was opening weekend for the casino I expected a few hiccups but it was clear that this person had very limited experience, if any at all hosting at a casino poker room.

The next thing that hit me was the inexperience of the dealers. During the three hours that I was there, the game had to be paused for 2-3 minutes at a time on multiple occasions so the dealer could explain the house rules, call for the floor, call for chips, etc. We couldn't have been averaging more than 15 hands an hour.

The worst of it was when our table broke down to only five people, one having been absent for about 10 minutes. Those of us that remained had decided we wanted to be split off onto the other tables instead of playing four handed and began racking our chips.

The floor manager comes over and immediately barks out 'You guys wanna play?' We all answer yes. 'Well then why are you racking your chips?'

Now at this point, I was immediately irritated by the managers attitude but chose to explain myself. 'I'm sorry, I thought you were asking if we wanted to be moved to a different table. I do not want to play four handed.' 'It's not four handed, it's five' was the managers response to me, completely serious. 'Ok, I don't want to play five handed.' then mumbled under my breath that I didn't appreciate being spoken to like a 'f*cking idiot'

Well, hearing the 'F' word being spoken NOT in his direction was just too much for this man standing in a 21+ over room who had no problems speaking down to me for our entire conversation. I was then told to leave the room because he didn't appreciate my candor to which I was happy to oblige as I was longing for the Talking Stick experience at this point.

I then proceeded to stand in line for 10 minutes because the one operator behind the cage had the same experience and skill level at her position that was being demonstrated by everyone else in the room.

I wouldn't recommend this poker room and would suggest spending the extra time driving to TSR or Wild Horse Pass until the day comes where this poker room is staffed with friendly and experienced staff that won't dampen the experience of the game.