First of all thanks for all the great info on the site. I hadn't been to Las Vegas in many years and found this site to be very helpful. My wife and I spent four days last week in Vegas, and we stayed at The Wynn. She played slots and I played the tournament during the afternoon, and we got to try several of the (expensive!) amazing restaurants they have there. On our last day we went to see City Center and I played the tournament there and being used to very short tournaments for my typical buyin ($50-$150) I was very pleased that it didn't turn into a crapshoot after 45 minutes. Aria's tournament seemed to have more time before the blinds got large in relation to chip stacks than The Wynn, but overall I preferred the Wynn, it seemed to have more room at the table and I really liked the atmosphere of both room's, but there were a few players at Aria who almost seemed like they didn't want to be there, which seemed odd to me because I've always thought these tournaments were designed more for the casual player looking to have some competitive entertainment. I don't play very often but I just assume that someone playing poker for an income couldn't do very well paying roughly 20% vigorish.

I was particularly impressed with the dealers at Aria, perhaps it was luck of the draw but they were fast and courteous. Not to say the dealers at the Wynn were poor, but the dealers at Aria were top notch. The tournament at the wynn was very well run, and the staff the friendliest and most polite I encountered, including the podium; in contrast the podium at the wynn made the ventian seem like a trip to the DMV- I went over a little early before eating at their steak house (highly reccomend) and was greeted by someone who appeared to be doing five things at once and expected me not to ask any questions and to know my way to the table without asking. Of course I hear that Bellagio is the busiest room in town and several people told me they are the worst when it comes to customer service- go figure.

Overall had a wonderful time and will definitely stay at Wynn (my wife wants to try Encore next time) again in the future (we weren't impressed with city center, seems like a lot to do about nothing to me) and I give two thumbs up to the tournaments at Aria and Wynn if you're like me and enjoy some of the nuances that both rooms have to offer.

-Greg