Best room in Vegas, both for asthetics and comfort. It can get a bit tight during peak hours, but nothing that will make you running for another casino. The chips are perfect, I don't know how old they are, but you can definitely tell they didn't skimp when they purchased them. However, I did tell the cashier I wanted "a rack of white." Which is what $1 chips are...usually. Not at the Bellagio...white chips are 5K a piece. Needless to say I didn't look like a guy with 500 large in my back pocket.
I was playing a lot of 2-4 on my most recent trip but I had to play at the Bellagio and I was ready for my first 4-8 experience. Let me tell you, it will be hard to go back. At times we were chopping blinds, you would never see that at the 2-4 game. It was like a real poker game...go figure. However, you can find some really good creative players at this level. Mostly locals. They can tell when you're tight and will fire at you if they sense weakness. One older asian lady local was playing pretty loose in my eyes, but she was savvy. When I flopped a set of Kings with an A on the board she made a good read on me and laid down top pair after a little aggression on my part. Sweet lady, and I learned a lot from her. It was the only casino where I showed a profit, and I played in about 6 different casinos on my last trip.
I don't log a huge amount of hours at B&M casinos, but I've put in my time. You can really tell a difference with the dealers here. They are professional, friendly and helpful. In about 10 hours of play there I didn't see one mistake. In fact, I had my most embarassing moment ever in a poker room, and the dealer handled it as well as possible. I was practicing a new chip trick that I had learned just before I left for Vegas. I'm sitting in the 5 seat across from the dealer. I'm out of the hand and it's shaping up to be a nice pot for the winner. As I'm fumbling with my chips...one drops out of my hand and rolls in to the pot. Like and idiot I just reach my hand into the pot and grab it. Of course, I didn't realize what I was doing until it was done. I thought the two fat twins from Ocean's 11 were going to take me up to see Mr. Benedict. The dealer smiled...could tell I was embarassed...and said it was cool...and then moved on. Class.
Top shelf liquor...wide beer selection...and the best bloddy mary I ever had. The ladies were even high class during the low low traffic period...
The best in the business. We had to conslidate tables at one point because the 4-8 games were drying up. A lot of the locals can get pretty ornery at times, but it was a smooth process this time around.
I didn't take advantage of it, but they have a solid food comp after 4-5 hours, and the poker room rate is pretty good for a place like the Bellagio.
