Formerly known as the Palace Card Club, this neighborhood card club on Mission Boulevard in downtown Hayward offers decent action and generous jackpots in an unpretentious setting. Be warned: Parking is hard to come by because there is no dedicated casino lot. Thanks to loose players, though, the visit can be lucrative if you play your cards right.

Hayward Casino Hotel

The history

Palace Poker Casino: Downtown Hayward cardroom has a couple of drawbacks, but also has advantages: good food and plenty of loose players Matt Villano Oct. 15, 2009 Updated: Feb. 9, 2012 4:55 p.m. The Palace Poker Casino is in Hayward, California and is open daily 24 hours. The card room's gaming space features thirteen table and poker games. The property has one restaurant. The Palace Poker Casino Address.

After decades of operating as the Palace Card Club, the facility changed its name recently to reflect an emphasis on poker. Rumor has it that the change also was made to change the image; management has been trying to move to a bigger and newer location for years. An aside: Gambling is a big part of history in these parts; 19th century landholder Don Guillermo Castro lost most of his more than 20,000 acres, including downtown Hayward, gambling.

The games

As the name suggests, the primary game at the Palace is poker. Most gamblers play limit ($3/$6, $4/$8 and $6/$12) or no-limit ($1/$2/$2) Texas hold 'em; the no-limit game has a minimum buy-in of $100 and no maximum buy-in (which is rare for Bay Area cardrooms). Regular promotions and jackpots include $100 for Aces Cracked between 3-9 a.m. and a Bad Beat Jackpot that starts at $50,000 any time quad 7s or better loses. When someone does hit a Bad Beat, at least 20 percent of the jackpot is distributed to everyone playing on the floor at that time.

Other games at the casino include Omaha Hi/Lo, No Bust Blackjack and Double-Hand Poker. Palace floor managers let players phone in spots on waiting lists, meaning that at peak times, walk-ins can expect to wait for up to an hour.

Palace Poker Casino Hayward Ca 94541

The layout

One room, eight gaming tables (including six poker tables) in all. A deli counter lines one wall, and the cashier (also known as a 'cage') is in the back corner, opposite the restrooms.

The feel

The Palace certainly isn't palatial. Walls are mostly barren and there's a gas fireplace in the back. Fans of the 1980s also will love the cardroom's LED message boards, which scroll up-to-the-minute information about jackpots. As if the vibe weren't eclectic enough, a burly security guard greets all players at the front door; when I visited, he inspected my man-purse and required me to stash it near the host station (without explaining why).

The eats

The Palace Cafe, a deli counter, serves up surprisingly tasty grub. The menu lists standard diner fare - sandwiches, hamburgers and the like. As I visited in the morning, I opted for a breakfast sandwich of egg, cheese, bacon and sausage on wheat bread ($5.75). If only my cards were as good as the meal.

The Palace Poker Casino Hayward Cabana

The nuts

The Palace Poker Casino Hayward

Save for the parking situation and the guard out front, the Palace is a great place to sharpen your game for some of the area's larger casinos.

The Palace Poker Casino Hayward California

Palace Poker Casino, 22821 Mission Blvd., Hayward. (510) 582-1166. www.thepalacepokercasino.com.