I just got back from my first trip ever to Las Vegas, and I thought I'd post a short report about it and the games I played in.

I was there from Sunday to Thursday. I stayed at The Mirage, which was great. The rooms were very nice and very reasonably priced. It also has a great location, right in the middle of the Strip, making for easy casino-hopping without having to take a cab.

I played in a variety of games up and down the Strip, and here's my report on the cardrooms I saw:

Mirage: a comfortable cardroom with a wide range of games. Limit games started at $3/$6 and went as high as $40/$80. They also spread a $2/$5 NL game. I played the $3/$6 game there, and it was very soft. I averaged $45/hour profit over the 10 hours I played there. The games were the easiest in the late afternoon and the evening. Filled with tourists who just wanted to try poker and were unconcerned with winning or losing.

Mandalay Bay: probably nicest and most comfortable cardroom I saw. I played there on an afternoon, and it was spreading a $4/$8 limit game and a $2/$5 NL game. The limit game was soft and should have been easy to beat. I bought in for $200, and after four hours, left with $150 for a small loss. That, however, was a huge disappointment, given the competition and the cards that I got. All I can say is that there were a lot of miracle cards that hit the river. E.g., in one hand I had pocket Aces. The flop was A 8 8, for a full house. The river brough the final 8, making some guy quads who was playing T8o. Twice, my nut flush was overtaken by a full house made on the river. Another time, my nut straight was beaten by a runner-runner flush. If the game had not used an automatically shuffler, I would have questioned it's fairness. All in all, I would not play there again.

Aladdin: a decent cardroom. I went there to play in $1/$2 NL game. The max buyin for the game is only $100, which I feel is way too little. The competition was easy, but most of the pots were small. In the game that I played, people agonized over their decisions, making play slow and boring. I left after only two hours with a small profit. One other unusual note: the casino allowed its dealers, still in uniform, to play in the games. I found that unsettling.

The Bellagio: it had a pretty big, but temporary, cardroom; it's regular room was being renovated. The casino spread limit games starting at $4/$8, and it had NL games starting at $2/$5. There was a LOT of big action in this room, with some very high stakes games going on. I played my first session in Vegas there, opting for an $8/$16 limit game. I wound up losing my buyin ($400), but overall was not too disappointed and felt it was a good learning experience. While it was tough to start out with a loss, I went to win everything back (as I noted above) when I moved back down in stakes at other casinos. I'd like to try tackling this game again.

Luxor/Excalibur: I checked out both, but did not play in either, of these cardrooms. I went to both looking for a daytime game. Neither was very busy. Excalibur was spreading $1/$4 spread limit game. I passed, not being very familiar with this structure. Luxor was only spreading a $2/$4 limit game, and it looked like all retirees just playing to pass an afternoon. I opted out.

Binions: I went to Binions to play in a tournament one afternoon. Binions is located in the Fremont area of town, about a 15 minute cab ride from the Strip hotels. On the day I was there, they were filming a movie starring Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall, although I did not see either of them. The tournament was a $60 buyin for T1000. For an extra $10, you could get another T500. You were allowed 1 rebuy or add-on in the first hour, with $40 getting you another T1000. About 120 played, and the blinds were relatively aggressive. For me, the tournament was a complete bust. Over the course of two hours, I had only 3 playable hands (AQ, AK, and 99), and they were all losers. I busted out after Level 5 of the tournament. In my estimation, the level of play was pretty good. It struck me as being a mostly local crowd who knew how to play, as opposed to tourists.

So that's my report. Although I wound up breaking even after four days of play, I had a fantastic time. I can't wait to go back again.

P.S.: Just one food note... you have to try to the buffet at The Bellagio. It will be the most value you can get for $30 in Vegas.

That sounds like you had an awsome time, i wish i was 21 so i could go to vegas =[

good post!

Originally Posted by mxp2004

And here's the best part... June 12 is my 11th anniversary... so my wife and I are going to celebrate by getting re-married by Elvis with my neighbors as witnesses!

Can life get any better?

Awesome! This is what I did back in 2002 (before we moved out here). Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. Elvis sang three songs and then marries ya'. My friends all watched via webcam. Our Limo driver (Sonny) was our only witness on the certificate as we did a planned elopement. Liked the place, check out their web site!

By the way, swung by the MGM's new room before the Jimmy Buffett concert saturday. Very nice! Lots of TV's and they have pagers they give you like a restaurant so you don't feel the need to hover around the desk like an idiot waiting to get called. I have three weeks off at the end of the month and am going to play poker every day, so maybe I'll post a mega review on here for everyone. I was going to pick a different place every day. I still love that spread limit at excalibur, though!