I exclusively played 3-6 limit hold 'em at the Mirage. They played a WPT tourney there (the main event began at 11:00 on 5/23, and continues), so I saw a lot of big names (Layne Flack and Chris Ferguson at one table), Ted Forrest one table over, and many others that I have seen on t.v.). There were a ton of satellites going on (It felt like they were calling one every 5-10 minutes on staurday and sunday when I played) and plenty of action.

I sat down at a 3-6 table in the afternoon on 5/21 with no wait. The dealers were just o.k. Some better, some worse. One guy couldn't spot a hand if his life depended on it. He had to be corrected twice. I didn't get a whole lot of cards, and watched as 3 seats at our table kept rotating in youngsters who would play anything.
I watched the rock sitting next to me take down a $150-$200 pot on a better boat than one of these aggressive kids. On the very next hand, I was in the big blind with complete junk and flopped a trey. Stuck around with (unfortunately) only the rock who had won the preceding hand. He had a pocket over-pair but bet tightly and only called, and when my trey turned into a quad on the river, he only called. Huge hand, no action. I left +$25.

I returned in the afternoon on 5/22. I put my name on the 3-6 list, and went around the corner to place a sports bet. When I returned, they had already passed me on the list, but put me at a table within 2 minutes. I had a great time. I caught a few decent cards, sat next to a couple of good guys, was able to get decent drink service (which at the Mirage is very hit and miss, speed-wise) and the dealers were much better. One guy next to me gave me a tip on a pretty good flush draw tell that I had never heard of (but consistently observed afterwards). Had a great time and finished +$75.

I returned to the Mirage with a couple of hours to kill on Monday morning (5/23) at 8:00 a.m. There was a gal at the table who had no clue, but got enough cards not to get her clock completely cleaned. She was sitting next to a guy who was dating a dealer, seemed to be way too good to be playing 3-6, and had a nice stack that slowly grew. I'm guessing that he was either an off-shift dealer or was paid to fill the table. There was a tired sober guy who had been up all night, but left after 20 minutes and was replaced by a crabby old guy who didn't know what he was doing (and was a complaining jerk). And then there were 6 old rocks who all knew each other and everyone working there. Bad crowd, not fun and no action. What really put me over the edge was a humorless jerk of a dealer who was trying to win some sort of speed record. He threw the cards hard enough to knock over chips or maybe break skin (and often shot out an extra card to the small blind in his overzealousness). He also sucked what little life remained from the table. It was as quiet as an opera during and between hands. Eight hands in a row folded to the blinds (who chopped). I left -$25 after not playing a hand past the flop. There was a bad crowd, an irritating dealer and a bad taste in my mouth. If all poker was like that session, I wouldn't want to play.

I returned to the Mirage for an afternoon session on Monday 5/23. I sat down at a 3-6 table with about a 5 minute wait. It was much better. There was a lot of action, a happy group of people and normal dealers. A guy a few slots to my right raised every time he played. Did I mention that there was plenty of action? I went down early, took a few pots to jump back ahead, and then saw my trip aces get burned by a flush at the river, and dropped a couple more bucks to a flopped quad that was played passively. I also watched a guy next to me hang on to 2 pair against a straight flush draw. He lost (to the straight flush). Drink service was o.k., and the session left a much better taste in my mouth. I left even.

To summarize -- I like the room at the Mirage. The drinks were good, but could have come quicker. The atmosphere is generally great. The dealers were (with 2 big exceptions) good. It also had a nice crowd during the afternoons. Just stay away from that place (and probably many others) on the weekday mornings.