I will preface my trip report by thanking all those who previously submitted reviews and/or trip reports. I found this site through a travel mag in November, and have been following it regularly in anticipation of my 1-5 Jan trip. It is an excellent resource that helped me pick out well ahead of time where I wanted to visit and play.

I will also state up front that I am an average player. I play mostly home games and finish in the money, but this was my first time playing in Vegas. I went with realistic expectations of hoping to learn something while having fun.

Monday, 2 Jan - $40, 9am tourney at MC (not listed on AVP). $1000 in chips, 15 min between levels. We were staying at the MC anyways, so I tried it out. Checking with management the nite before, they recommended registering at 8am as it normally filled quickly (60 players). Not today. I was the one of 25 who signed up. I got great cards early and took the chip lead at my table, which was probably 90% tourists (I asked the floor manager earlier, he estimated their normal crowd was 70/30 tourists/locals). This was probably the friendliest table I played at, but the competition was average or below. The dealers were both friendly and helpful (politely corrected many player mistakes and miscues) and didn't make many mistakes (a couple of cards turned over while dealing, but usually the players fault). Cocktails came fairly regularly (20 mins or so) and the waitresses were decent looking. They took a 5 min break at 10am and reduced to two tables. I got lousy cards, collected a few small pots and hung in there as people went out quickly. By 10.30, I was at the final table - 4th in chips. By 11 am I took down two good pots, one with AK o/s and another with A9 suited and was in the final three, second in chips. Number 3, who if he wasn't local was probably the best of us, suggested a chop of the $750 prize money. I didn't really care and neither did the other guy, so we agreed to 200/200/200 with 150 to play for. Two hands later, I was out with A4s vs pocket Js, but still good for 3rd and $200 (3rd place $ was supposed to be 117). I was happy with how I played for a first time in Vegas. I should have won the damn tourney if I had played a few hands better, but it was a good learning experience. Here is how I would rate the MC poker room based on my experience in this tourney:
Room Quality - 3.5 Nice. Tables seated 11, which was a little crowded.
Competition - 2.5 Weak to average
Dealers - 4 Helpful, friendly
Waitresses/Cocktails – 4 Good looking, fast (20 mins or better) and friendly
Comps - 3 (not avail for tourneys, but they offer $6 for 4 hrs - 1.50/hr...a little better than Vegas average).
Management - 4 very helpful and accommodating

Tuesday, 3 Jan – Aladdin. I played the 10am tourney as listed on AVP ($40 buy-in, 1500 in chips, 15 min blinds, 100 players). I read good things about this room and wanted to try it out. They put out muffins/danishes and coffee before the tourney starts, a nice touch. Competition looked a lot harder here even before the tournament began. Once again, I got great cards early (AK first hand) and found myself all-in with another guy with the same hand, so we split a big pot. I got AK again three hands later, and when the flop came A 10 5, I check-raised and took down another good put from a young Asian girl two to my left. Two hands later and short stacked, she went all-in, so I called her with my AQ. I thought I was in good shape until she turned over AK, and flop came K-Q-J. No help on the turn but I got lucky with a 10 on the river, again splitting a good pot. Even with a good stack, the blinds went up very quickly – you have to play and bet aggressively to stay ahead in this game. By the time that blinds hit 200/400, my good cards were long gone, and short-stacked players were going all-in (and out) regularly. When I finally got a playable J-10 suited as the SB, the short-stacked BB to my left went all-in. The three limpers folded, I called the difference of 1,000 and watched him turn over pocket 8s. Bad call? I figured the pot odds of almost 3-1 justified it. My J paired on the flop, and held up. That was the last time the poker gods smiled upon me though. Ten minutes later, I called an all-in with KK, only to see the original bettor turn over aces. They held up, and that was it for me. I went out in roughly 58th place, saw some very good players and some very weak ones too. Here’s how I would rate the Aladdin:

Room quality – 4 a very well set up, good looking room.
Competition – 3.75 the toughest competition I saw all week, with some very good players. Two of the final three were at my original table.
Dealers – 4 professional, helpful.
Cocktail service – 2 good looking servers, took forever for them to come around.
Management – 4 very solidly run poker room and tournament
Comps – didn’t ask, I’m pretty sure that they’re not available for tournament play.

Tuesday 3 Jan – Harrah’s (3/6 limit) Harrah’s is probably my favourite casino in Vegas. My wife was playing and winning at slots, which bore the hell out of me, so I ventured over to the poker room around 11:30 pm. I asked for a 3/6 game and was seated immediately. I bought in for $80 and quickly was up to $150 thanks to AK. Big Slick was kind to me all week – I couldn’t lose with it. However, the poker gods frowned upon me. I kept betting/raising with my pocket AA, but was called by someone all the way to the river, where he made his straight. The very next hand, with half the stack I had a minute ago, I got bullets again. I raised and was called by five others. I bet on the 5-7-Q flop, but got gunshy when another 5 came on the turn. Everyone checked, and did so again with a 9 on the river. My aces held up, and I recouped a good chunk of my earlier losses. I was still slightly ahead by 2 am, but when I got outdrawn with pocket Ks and Qs on consecutive hands, it was time to call it a nite, down $16. Here’s how I rate Harrah’s for the three hours that I played there:

Room quality – 3.5 Big screen TVs everywhere, and if you don’t smoke (like me), you will appreciate the fact that it is literally sealed off from the rest of the casino.
Competition – 3 Average. There were two or three very good players, two very bad ones and the rest were average. It was a very friendly table, though, and fun to play at.
Dealers – 4 Not as polished as Aladdin’s, but fast and efficient. Several were talkative, in particular one named “Lucky”, but they all kept the game moving quickly.
Cocktails – 4.5 Cocktails came around every 10 minutes and the two who came around were good-looking and friendly
Comps – 3.5 $1/hr, pretty much the Vegas standard.
Management – 4 Very helpful.

Wednesday 4 Jan – Imperial Palace (2/4 limit). With the CES show in town, it was either pay $400 Canadian to stay at the Monte Carlo or move to the IP for a third of that. I dropped by the poker room at about 1 am – they didn’t have a 3/6 game going but offered to if there was enough interest. I took a chair at the 2/4 table. The table was full of Canadians (there were 7 of us), one other tourist and two locals with big stacks in front of them. The competition here was the worst by far that I had seen all week. The girl to the right of me had a “How to Play Texas Hold’em” brochure next to her chips!! Another time, the lady seated across from me seemed genuinely surprised that her jacks and kings was only the second best hand, with K-Q-J-10-8 on the board. The local who had the 9 practically asked her to fold, but she paid him off anyways. Still, it was a fun game, if not overly profitable. I won several pots, none of them big, and left up $10 after an hour. Here’s how I would rate the IP:

Room Quality – 3 Take the IP for what it’s worth. It doesn’t try to be Bellagio/Mirage but is a fun place to play. It is definitely in the low rent district of poker rooms – the room is on the second floor, kind of in the middle of nowhere. The cookies and sandwiches are another nicety that the IP offers that others do not.
Competition – 1. Terrible, but friendly players. Several calling stations at my table made their hands on the river, so it’s not always as profitable as you might think. But I had fun playing here.
Dealers – 3 Also kind of seedy looking, but they kept the games moving quickly. The three who served my table didn’t make any mistakes.
Cocktails – 3 Drinks came regularly if you wanted them, and the servers were friendly but not overly attractive.
Comps – 5 $3/hr is still the best in town, or at least at all the places I asked at.
Management – 3.5. Helpful and friendly. Everywhere I went this week, management was very accommodating

That was my first poker experience in Las Vegas. I checked out nearly every poker room between Mandalay Bay up to Mirage. Caesars Palace and MGM had the nicest looking rooms, followed by Aladdin (I didn’t count Bellagio, since I would never play there, but it was very busy). Next time I go back, I want to play Harrah’s and Monte Carlo again, and I’d like to try the MGM and Caesar’s as well.