After our wildly succesful tour of most of the Station Casinos, Mike and I decided to see a little of Old Vegas and go play in all the rooms downtown. This trip starts on Tuesday night, cinco to mayo.

Our trip starts at the West End of Fremont at the Plaza. At around 10pm we got to the poker room. They had a 2-4 limit hold'em game going so we sat there for about 15 minutes. The action was a little slow. But at the next table they were playing pan. I don't know how to play but it looked liked fun. Nice staff. I lost $15.

At 11pm we got to the El Cortez. They were spreading a 1-3, 1-6 limit hold'em game. They had two tables. Its a great game to learn hold'em at. Its got: one $1 blind, a $2.50 max rake, jackpot hands with no rake, and during the day you might get to play with Jackie, the casino owner. It only costs $20 to buy in. I won $3. Good action for 11:30 pm on a Wednesday night.

At 11:45 pm we got to Fitzgeralds. They had a 1-2 no limit game. The action was great and the dealers were very good. One dealer, Tina, learned everyone's name and called each player by their name. Mike, the card room manager made us feel welcomed and got us player's cards. I was impressed with their customer service emphasis. Nice room. I won $65

The two big rooms downtown are the Nugget and Binion's. We stopped at the Nugget first. There I got pancakes. They had eluded me on last week's trip. We ate in the Golden Nugget coffee shop.

The golden Nugget was the only room that I was not that happy with. Although truth be told, I lost $120. The staff was OK. But they had more than their fair share of "experts" at the table. (By experts, I mean jackasses) If they dropped one more name, I would of thrown up. There were 3 games going at 3am. So enough action if your downtown.

At 4am we ended up at "the place that made poker famous", binion's. They had two no-limits and one limit hold'em game going. There was a lot of money on the table and lots of action. Average dealers and staff. A good place to play. I won $270.

I was pleasantly surprised with Fitzgerald's and the El Cortez. I had never played in them, and both had their high points. Mike and I are going to go back to the El Cortez when Jackie is playing. I think everybody should be able to say I sat in a poker game with a casino owner.

Downtown Vegas has a certain personality and charm that the strip can never take away. Some of the Casinos were around when the mob was running the city, and the rat pack was together. At around 10pm at night there is a festival atmosphere; live bands, street performers, food venders & the light show. I love it.

In 2 weeks we will have Excellent Adventure III.

Good Luck,

SouthPoint Perry