Events' Realm

College of Cards is Back at Talking Stick Resort!


Ready to level up your poker skills? Join us at the College of Cards, happening weekly every Tuesday at 2pm and Friday at 8pm. These (3) two-hour sessions will teach you the basics of poker in a real casino environment, earning you a B.S. in Card♠logy!


No prior sign-up required — simply check in at the poker podium in the Arena Poker Room, and sit down with a dealer to get started. All are welcome (ages 21 or older), whether you're a complete beginner or just looking to brush up on your skills.


As a bonus, guests will receive one complimentary beverage during each session they attend. Don’t miss out—start your poker journey today!

Phoenix

United States

Arizona

9800 E. Talking Stick Way

Talking Stick Resort

College of Cards at Talking Stick Resort

Desert Botanical Garden is embarking on a new partnership with London-based pioneering artist studio ScanLAB Projects, bringing its groundbreaking visual and technical artwork here in 2025. The exhibit will be a first-of-its-kind in the Valley to connect science and nature at this scale in both indoor and outdoor environments.


In October 2023, ScanLAB Projects, led by cofounders Matt Shaw and William Trossell, started a unique experience for the Garden titled DESERT PULSE — a spatialized installation that displays footage of the desert landscape and desert flora in a remarkably new way using LiDAR 3D scanning.


ScanLAB Projects has selected 15 distinct sites across the Valley and at the Garden. These daily 3D scans will be recorded over a 12-month period. The recorded data will reveal unseen environmental changes — the result of human, natural and industrial processes — all impossible to see with the naked eye or through the lens of traditional cameras. The team will document cactus flowering and fruiting, shifting sediment patterns along the Salt River, recent fire-damaged desert and desert blooms. Locations include a desert development in Rio Verde, a saguaro growth monitoring site near Needle Rock, a recovering fire area in McDowell Mountain Preserve and a working landfill.


Through their specialized rendering techniques, ScanLAB Projects will turn the recorded data into breathtaking visuals that will be exhibited as an impressive multi-screen digital installation to be exhibited amongst the Garden’s plants and trails, as well as its new Exhibits Gallery.


DESERT PULSE is not just artwork, the data collected will contain empirical, measurable facts that can and will be used for research by the Garden’s team of scientists.

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College of Cards at Talking Stick Resort

College of Cards at Talking Stick Resort

College of Cards at Talking Stick Resort

College of Cards at Talking Stick Resort

Desert Pulse

Desert Pulse

Yankee Stadium Gameday Express Tour