I spent five wonderful days in Sunny Las Vegas and if I was not 'Married With Children' would move there today!

I stayed at the Bellagio but started my Poker extravaganza at Mandalay Bay. I sat down at a $4/$8 half kill Limit table with some of the fishiest players I've ever seen. The room was clean, the dealers great and the service was wonderful. After about two hours and quite a few winning hands I called it a session and went for food. I never got back to Mandalay but can't wait to get back there again. This is an EASY room... I never saw a local or for that matter a good poker player at my table.

The next day I scouted out several places including the New Hooters poker room... I did not like the looks of it and did not stay to play. The entire Casino is very small and it feels like it would fit better on the Beach than in Vegas.

Before long I found myself downtown in the Gulch at Binion's signing up for a $75 buy-in tournament with about ten tables. The tables were quite worn and the room a bit old and dark, but there is nothing like sitting at a table in the Mecca of Poker looking at the 'Wall of Fame'. I found the game FULL of locals and very good poker players. The dealers were excellent and most had been dealing for Binion's for years. The service was less than great but I was there for poker...not coffee. I lasted well past the first break and took quite a few locals out of the game. A little more than half way through I was put all-in buy a player I had well dominated but he drew out ot me kicking me from the tournament. It was quite an honor to play there. One interesting thing was that the tables are quite large and seat 11 players and the dealer.

After Binion's I headed over to the Plaza where the money jumped out of my pocket and into the hands of a Tournament director for a single table Sit-n-go. I bought in for $35 and had a seat. The table was FULL of locals. I was the only 'tourist' at the table though was sure they didn't know that. The tables here were worn and old also and the dealer was not very good though quite friendly. We had to correct the dealer at least 4 times in the course of the game. The service was lacking... The Casino had Guinness but the hostess wouldn't bring me one because it was not at HER bar...lol (I'm sure it's better that I never got a beer). When we got down to three players the two locals at the table begged me to chop the pot with them explaining that they make their money by playing and that it is 'customary' to chop the pot. I did not chop and soon eliminated the third player. When it was heads up my last remaining opponent asked about 10 times to chop the pot with him and went on a VERY bad case of tilt when I refused. I took him out of the game fairly quickly and walked with my first place win.

If you want to play locals and people who generally know what they're doing go downtown. The strip is full of fish but downtown seems to be where the real players are.

The next morning I got up and went downstairs to the Bellagio poker room. I was on the wait list for about 20 minutes before they started a new $4/$8 Limit table in a fairly full room. EVERYTHING in the Bellagio is upscale and 'stuffy' but the tables really need to be re-covered. The dealers were good and quite professional but not very friendly. The one fairly good thing was the service. I had coffee any time I wanted it. Everyone seems to be putting on heirs most of the time and it gets old. There were quite a few foreigners and a very large number of internet players here. I played with a few 'professional' internet players here and a local or two but did not find the competition very hard. I was doing well until the dealer talked a player into staying in a hand that she mucked and then drew out on me for a very large pot. I should have called the floor man but was so angry I got up and left. This was a very bad experience and I did not play in the Bellagio poker room again. It was by far my least favorite room that I played in.

My favorite Poker Room was probably the MGM Grand. This room is HUGE and very well managed. I arrived at a PACKED house and put my name on the list for a $3/$6 Limit game. I was given a pager and went to walking around the Casino wondering how far the pager would reach. I was about as far away as I could get when it went off and headed back. I sat down at the nicest table I've ever played on and wish I had one at my house. Most of the players were fairly experienced and played solid poker. The dealers were mostly young and good at what they did. The service was VERY slow but there were so many tables it was to be expected. There were two friends at the table from Toronto who would never play a pot against one another (that got old) but they were nice guys. One of the players at my table was dating a dealer who would come over every now and then to talk to her. This bothered a guy at our table but I had no problem with it. When I go back this will be the primary Poker Room that I play in. It is fast, nice, friendly and fun... oh and I made money here....lol.

The night / morning before my flight back to Nashville I went to Caesar's Palace to play a few hands (4:30am). Most of the room was empty but there were still a few tables open. The Poker Room at Caesar's is GREAT. It is a separate room from the Casino so it is quiet and quite roomy. The tables are nice and new and the service was great. The dealers were very friendly and would tell jokes from time to time. I sat down at a $6/$12 game with some kids (early 20's) who thought they had hung the moon as well as a couple of other nice older guys. This game was fairly soft and I'm not sure how the kids got so many chips but I put some pressure on them until the one with the most chips got up and left. I did lose one bad hand here when my 7's Full of Q's got cracked by quad 7's (girl stayed in against two raises with 7,4 preflop) but it happens and it was quite fun.

I'm already looking forward to making another trip out to Vegas as well as a trip sooner to Tunica. Next time I go to Vegas I'll play more Poker and stay off of the Craps tables. I ended up going to over 30 casinos and wish I had played more poker than I did. If you haven't played in a Vegas Poker Room yet... you don't know what you're missing.... good luck!