All Vegas Poker gets a "behind the scenes" tour of the new poker room at Caesars Palace. It is an impressive poker room with all the accouterments serious poker players expect. Read on for the details.

Today Michael Matts, the poker room manager at Caesars Palace, took me on an all-access walking tour of his upcoming poker room. Throughout the tour Michael gushed with enthusiasm as he pointed out all the rich features of this enormous project. He is very proud of his new poker room, and he should be. Caesars Palace spent millions of dollars on this poker room, and it shows. Everything I saw led me to believe that Caesars Palace is set to open one of the most luxurious and sophisticated poker rooms Las Vegas has ever seen.

The first thing Michael handed me when I met him was a hard hat. You see, the poker room still looks like a construction zone. So, with sounds of nail guns and high powered circular saws filling the air, Michael walked me through the entire project. Below are the high points.

Prime location: Positioned between the acclaimed Caesars Palace sportsbook, and the ultra-hip Pure nightclub, the poker room at Caesars Palace is located in one of the most highly trafficked areas of the casino.

Bold entrance, but no rail: Original LeRoy Neiman paintings will adorn the walls of the entry. However, there is no rail at the poker room, and the entryway is relatively narrow. This is really the most serious blemish on an otherwise stellar design. However, this flaw could be serious. Caesars Palace will have one of the only poker rooms I have ever seen without a rail. I hope this lack of railing does not deter novice players from sitting down at a table.

Light and airy elegance: There is terrific lighting from high quality Elwin light fixtures and beautiful decorative sconces. It is a bright and airy poker room, with tall 14 foot ceilings ornamented with crown molding. I don’t think anyone will mistake this place for their brother’s basement. It is first class all the way. Also, I do not expect it to feel cramped, even when the poker room is full. We will know more when the poker tables arrive later this week, but there appears to be plenty of space.

Elevated high-limit gaming area with seven tables: This is where the $30/60 (and bigger) games will be spread. Three plasma screen televisions adorn the rear wall of this elevated area. Two wireless telephones are available for high limit players to use.

Restrooms inside poker room: Very few poker rooms in Las Vegas can boast that they have restrooms this close. Unless you play a lot of poker you may not realize the value of having restrooms close by. I have run enough 100 yard dashes inside casinos to really appreciate a restroom close to the poker room. The fact that these restrooms are literally inside the poker room is a huge benefit. I won’t miss nearly as many blinds.

Full bar inside poker room: The proximity of this bar guarantees quick drink service.

75 safety deposit boxes: Players with big bankrolls will appreciate these secure storage boxes. Players won’t have to haul thousands of dollars in cash around the casino if they prefer not to. Cash and chips can be safely stored on site.

Computerized list management: The same computerized list management system (QOS) that Wynn and other major poker rooms use, will keep waiting players organized and informed of their positions in the queue. Management is working on allowing Caesars Palace hotel guests to view the wait list information on their hotel room televisions.

Organized management layout: Concierge desk at entrance is separate from list management desk. Three window cashier cage is also separate from list management desk.

Organized table arrangement: In addition to high limit area, there are seven No Limit tables on lower-level poker floor. 13 Limit tables on lower-level poker floor. Three overflow tables in rear corner of poker room. The overflow tables will be the last to open, and the first to close each day.

Poker tournament room: 33 tables dedicated only to poker tournaments. Retractable doors separate tournament action from cash game action.

Table side food service: This service is becoming standard among the top poker rooms in Vegas, but Caesars Palace adds a twist. With food provided by Augustus Café, poker players will be able to order from a special poker menu with reasonable pricing. Comp dollars can be redeemed for food.

Experienced Dealers: Quality dealers were brought over from casinos affected by Katrina, and others were cherry picked from World Series of Poker (WSOP) events.

Special parking: 25 special parking spots are reserved at the entrance to the poker room for the most loyal (e.g., most profitable) players. Regular players will have to either valet or park in the parking garage. Both parking options require a bit of a walk. Of course, in either case parking is significantly closer to the poker room than at the MGM for example.

Special thanks to Michael and his team for spending more than one and a half hours with me. They were all super friendly and openly shared details of the poker room. Most importantly, Michael appears to have assembled an experienced and capable team of poker room managers.

The poker tables are arriving this week, and after they are in place we should be able to publish some early photographs. Also, check back soon for complete details of the daily poker tournaments. I will publish that information soon.

I can hardly wait for December 21st; opening day.