WPTDeepStacks Travel Guide to the Fresno Tour Stop

Club One Casino sits right in the middle of downtown Fresno in Central California, and it is also near the outdoor playground that is Sierra Nevada Mountains, so there are a lot of entertaining options available to players outside of the poker tournament while they’re here for the WPTDeepStacks Fresno Main Event. Here are a few things the WPTDS crew recommends checking out if you have some free time at this tournament stop.

First things first, we wanted to make a note upfront that there is a special event taking place this weekend at Woodward Park on the north side of town. The Grizzly Fest music festival features an impressive lineup of music acts including headliner Snopp Dogg, Nas, Foster the People, and Phantogram. If you have free time you can check out the festival from 2 p.m. to midnight on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19. In addition to all the music on two stages, there will also be food trucks, a craft beer garden, and a ferris wheel.

If you have a few hours: Downtown Fresno has a number of restaurants (great taco trucks are everywhere, especially during the week), shopping options, and bars just a few steps from the casino. Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden is just down the street, and Chukchansi Park is also nearby. The stadium hosts the Fresno Grizzles, who are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the MLB Houston Astros. It is also home to the Fresno Foxes, which is the USL feeder team for the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps. The Grizzles are currently on the road, but there is a baseball game at 6:35 pm on Monday just in time for the finish of the final table. Other popular areas in town are River Park in North Fresno (tons of shopping options including an IMAX movie theater and Dave & Buster – make sure you try Sal’s for great Mexican food), and the Tower District is less than two miles from the casino (go with Me-N-Ed’s Pizza, Goldstein’s, Strummers, or FAB if you’re in the neighborhood).

A little further afield: Millerton Lake, Shaver Lake, Bass Lake, and Pine Flat Reservoir are all great options if you want to get out on the water for some fishing or other water sports. There is great hiking around all of these lakes as well. Bass Lake took a star turn in the classic John Candy and Dan Akroyd comedy movie “The Great Outdoors”, and the newest Marvel movie “Captain Marvel” just finished filming at Shaver Lake earlier this week.

If you have your family along for the trip: Fresno caters to families so there are a lot of kid-friendly options. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo recently opened the African Adventure exhibit, and the Sea Lion Cove exhibit is also a hit with little ones. Playland (amusement rides) and Storyland (fairytale-themed playgrounds) are located right next to the Zoo in Roeding Park. There is also the Discovery Center if you’re looking for a fun and educational option. Kids will also find the Forestiere Underground Gardens interesting, it is essentially a house built underground to beat the summer heat here in Fresno.

If you bagged Day 1A, and have Day 1B off: Fresno has the geographical advantage of having four national parks within a few hours drive. Yosemite is the closest, and it is one of the crown jewels of the National Park system. It was the first federally protected piece of wilderness on earth when Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to protect it over 150 years ago. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are directly east of town, and those sister-parks are where you can find the largest tree on earth (The General Sherman Tree), and the tallest mountain in the continental United States (Mount Whitney). If you head west from Fresno you have Pinnacles National Park, where you can find a flock of endangered California Condors soaring over the mountain trails.

And in addition to all these options, Club One Casino has a number of great amenities as well. There is a large selection of table games in addition to the poker action, and the 24-hour cafe features a variety of delicious food options. Whatever you choose, there is definitely a lot to do here while you’re in town for the WPTDS Fresno Main Event.