My buddy and I took a 5 day (Tuesday - Saturday) jaunt to Las Vegas, marking his first trip. We stayed at Circus Circus (I know, it's a pit, but the deal through Travelocity was unbeatable: $380 for roundtrip airfare and 4-night hotel stay.) We hit almost every casino on the strip, and many for poker. Here's my trip report.

Homebase: Circus Circus. We played a bunch of poker in that room, all of it after midnight. The room is dirty, the players are terrible, and the waitresses are heinous, but there is money to be won. They only spread $3/6 limit, and a daily tournament. There is really no need to go here unless you are willing to grind and take money from stupid tourists. At least there is a bad beat jackpot. Rating: 3/10

Luxor: I won a $33 daily tournament there. Four tables, half of the players were extremely new to the game. It was smooth sailing into the final table and into the money. Payout is top heavy, so play accordingly. The room itself is nothing special, and neither were the waitresses. The dealers were friendly and fast, though. They did not hesitate to put a mouthy older female player in her place.
I also played a couple hours of the $1/2 no limit game. This is a horrible structure, only being able to buy-in for $50. You can't push anyone off a hand. Rating: 4/10

Tropicana: Small, relatively new/clean room, but no limit games while I was there. Only $1/2 no limit.

MGM Grand: Absolutely gorgeous. A little loud from the club next to the poker room, but otherwise it was great. Many different cash games ($1/2 and $2/5 no limit, $2/4, $3/6 and $4/8 limit), and sit-n-go tournaments as well. The dealers were very efficient and friendly, as well as the floor personnel. The waitresses were gorgeous and frequent, making playing here very enjoyable. The room is spacious and clean, and the marble ring presented no problems during the game. They had a computer system to handle open seats instead of shouting to floor personnel. There are no bad beat or high hand jackpots, though. I played all the limit games available, and the players were equally bad (several had never played casino poker before). Every flop was 5-6 handed, and big draws get paid off. Rating: 9/10

Wynn and Bellagio: So busy, couldn't even get a table at either. Rooms were gorgeous, though.

Treasure Island (TI): Played in a $60 11am tournament. Better players here than Luxor, and flat pay out structure. about 55-60 entrants, with 7 prize spots. Blinds go up every 20 minutes, making patience costly. Not much action as everyone was unwilling to tangle with anything but very very strong hands. As for the room, it was gorgeous. Separated from the casino floor, it was quiet and had several large plasma TVs. Some showed the tournament status, some showed sports. The dealers were good, too. Quiet, but very fast and efficient. The room was state of the art, with brand new tables and the same computer system MGM Grand had. Once the tournament broke up, there were no limit games, only a $1/2 no-limit. Rating: 7/10

Caesar's Palace: The Best! Clean, spacious, quiet, and not at all smoky, with incredibly comfortable chairs, friendly players, dealers, and floor people. At lower limits, the players are average, but even the great players play here. They spread every limit game imagineable! Everything from $1/2 no-limit to $10-25 no-limit and $3/6 limit to $30/60. The dealers were incredibly fast, dealing roughly 35 hands per hour. Waitresses weren't particularly attractive, but brought drinks promptly. The $4/8 game I played most was a half-kill game. I highly recommend playing a few hours here while on the Strip. Rating: 10/10

Aladdin: The poker room is a temporary setup on the second floor near the conference rooms. It was terrible. Right in the middle of the floor, very smoky, unfriendly staff, and non-existant waitstaff. I would have rather poke myself in the eye than play here. Hopefully, the permanent room that opens after the renovations is much better. Rating: 2/10

Mirage: Stopped in briefly, as I played here frequently on my last trip. $3/6 here is great. Better players than MGM, and about as good as Caesars'. The room is loud and smoky, but the waitresses are good and the dealers are above average. Play up to $30/60 here. Rating: 5/10

Excalibur: New room is right in the middle of the casino floor, making it a little loud and smoky, but the tables are new, and things are cleaner than before. The players are still bad, though. They don't regularly spread the $2-6 spread limit game anymore. All $1/2 no-limit or $2/4 limit. Waitresses aren't attractive, but they were fast and consistent. A nice place to play low-limit hold-em with bad players. Dealers were just average. Rating: 6.5/10

Overall, I had a great time and can't wait to go back. I definitely enjoyed MGM Grand and Caesar's more than the rest. Good luck and great flops to you!