Vegas, Vegas, Vegas

[ML4L]

Hey all,

Heading out to Vegas tomorrow, and I wanted to try to get a feel for the poker landscape out there, since it's changed a bit from last year. I'd love input from anyone who's been out there recently... I've got some specific questions, but feel free to add anything else that seems helpful. I'll be playing anywhere from 2/4 to 10/25.

- I understand that MGM usually spreads a 5/10 and 10/25? Is this the case? How many tables usually? How are the games?

- I have no idea what the Wynn spreads or how the games are?

- Is Bellagio still just 2/5 and 10/20, or have they added something in the middle?

- I know that the Bellagio 10/20 is uncapped. Are any of the above-mentioned games uncapped as well? If they're all pretty much capped, are some 100 BB and others less?

- Are any other games notable? Mirage? Palms?

- If you were looking to maximize the fun/profitability mix, where would you play?

I'm mostly looking to relax while I'm out there, so I might end up playing some uncapped 2/4 where I can mess around as opposed to trying to make money at 10/20 or something.

I probably could have gotten bits and pieces of this information in other ways, but I figure that a lot of us are heading out there in the next month, so this thread can be a good reference point for everyone.

Thanks in advance.

ML4L

[namaste]

Wynn was uncapped last time I was there and I think they were spreading a 5/10 as well as the 2/5.

[Rococo]

I was just out there this weekend. The biggest game at the Mirage was 2-5 with a $500 capped buy in. MGM had a 2-5 game ($500 cap) all the time and spread a $5-10 with a $2500 cap when there was sufficient interest. I never saw a 10-25 game at the MGM. All games at the Mirage and the MGM seemed very soft to me.

The Wynn spreads uncapped games. I didn't play there, but several of the regulars at the MGM felt that the game at the Wynn was tougher than the MGM or the Mirage.

The only games running at the Bellagio were 2-5 and 10-20. I played a tourney there but I didn't play any ring games there so I can't really comment on the quality of the play.

I believe that the Palms has an uncapped game but I didn't play there.

[Matt Flynn]

Mike,

Be sure to post your findings when you get back.

Matt

[technologic]

my friend went last week or so and he says that the wynn carries 2/5, 5/10, 10/20 no capped NL games, and that it's better to play there than the bello because the bellagio service usually treats you like garbage.

apparently though there's a 10/20 player at the wynn that buys in for 30k or so that you should probably watch out for.

2/5 game at palms is soft.

say hello to 39o boy for me.

[fsuplayer]

[ QUOTE ]

apparently though there's a 10/20 player at the wynn that buys in for 30k or so that you should probably watch out for.


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that is grant im pretty sure. he is a long blond haired table coach. i just hung out for 3 days with a buddy who moved to vegas and he told me alot about the game and regulars.

he said grant is pretty good, but not great or anything. he also told me about the $80-90k pot he lost in that game to sammy farha.

there were a couple reraises pf, the last of which was called by grant with AA. sammy had 72 /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif, and turned a gutshot along with his flush draw. sammy bet the pot the whole way, including an all in on the end when the flush hit, which grant called.

apparently, grant had plans to buy a ferrari before he lost that pot. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

the wynn and bellagio will be where you want to play to make some stratch, they are uncapped, and the wynn usually has a 5-10 and a 10-20 game.

gl to you, and make sure to come back with some stories.

[greg nice]

good luck guy

[Huskiez]

[ QUOTE ]
there were a couple reraises pf, the last of which was called by grant with AA. sammy had 72 /images/graemlins/heart.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif, and turned a gutshot along with his flush draw. sammy bet the pot the whole way, including an all in on the end when the flush hit, which grant called.

[/ QUOTE ]

Grant is the person being referred to. He was cleaning up at the Wynn 10/20 when I was there.

I heard about this story too. I think Farha told him he was going to bust him before the night was done. And he did just that.

[Huskiez]

I've been to Vegas a few times in the past six months. Hopefully this answers some of your questions.

MGM normally spreads a 2/5, and sometimes a 5/10 on demand. Demand for the 5/10 is higher on weekends. We couldn't get a 5/10 game going on a weekday.

Wynn spreads 1/2, 2/5, 5/10, 10/20, all no max buy in, 50 bb min buy in.

Bellagio only has 2/5 and 10/20. The 10/20 min buy in is 600. Bellagio treats you like [censored] because they know, at least before the Wynn, that they were the only real place to get high stakes action. I say don't go there.

Mirage only spreads 2/5.

Palms spreads 2/5, and on demand a 15/25 I think. I have never sat there, but I heard the game is great. Smoking cardroom though.

My personal recommendation is to play at the Wynn. New poker room, hot cocktail waitresses, friendly staff, Negreanu playing heads up in the corner in his 100K-500K games, plenty of comps for restaurants, and a ridiculous suite under poker room rate make this a no brainer.

By the way, from reading your posts, I am certain you could sit higher than 10/25. I've sat at 10/20 a few times, and didn't find it too tough. You're a much better poker player than I am, so I think you could sit in the 25/50 or 50/100 NL games and clean up. Just my personal feeling though.

25/50 and 50/100 NL games are spread on demand at Wynn and Bellagio, maybe other casinos too.

Have fun and give us a trip report.

[fsuplayer]

yeah, ive heard the wynn is definately THE place to play if you play NL for all the reasons you mentioned.

[solid]

[ QUOTE ]
Palms spreads 2/5, and on demand a 15/25 I think. I have never sat there, but I heard the game is great. Smoking cardroom though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I heard the Palms went non smoking yesterday morning?

As of last night, the 5/10 at the Wynn is a pretty good game.

[turnipmonster]

when I was out there in april the MGM games were sporadic, and it took some work to get a 5/10 started. the game was new and the house capped the buyin at 2.5k (not sure why). however, the bellagio had a tourney there and was spreading many many 10/20, 25/50, and 50/100 NL games, all uncapped. my 10/20 game was great and a friend said the 50/100 was great as well.

as far as maximizing fun and profitability, just plan to play different limits. when I was out there for my bachelor party I played 10/20 when I was coherent and wanted to play some poker, and 2/5 when I wanted to get drunk and screw around. we stayed near the mirage so I played several sessions of drunken 4am 2/5 there. pretty much every game I played in vegas was beyond great.

--turnipmonster

[goofball]

any game you see him in he's not necesarily cleaning up, he's just bought in for a huget amount of money. he strikes me as exactly good but not great, foruntetly i ehar the 10/20 games he plays in are soft enough that good but not great players can still have a field day.

I heard the farha hand slightly differently. the biggest difference being that farha's river bet was a decently sized overbet. I didn't see it first hand thoguh so i can't say for sure.

A dealer theorized to me once that grant just buys in for those huge amounts to impress girls, but again I don't know anything first hand.

[ML4L]

Hey all,

I intended to do this a while ago, but I've been very busy (y'all might noticed that I've barely been posting...). Here is a brief summary of my findings:

Wynn: Played two sessions there of about 4 hours each. One session was 2/5; one was 5/10. The 2/5 game was great; perfect mix of tight passives and loose passives. There was much straddling and similar antics by me, prompting one man to keep commenting at how great the game was because of me. I hadn't heard that in a while... I also was berated by an old Asian lady after raising with 72s, flopping two pair, and busting her. Good times.

My session at 5/10 was less eventful. The game was agonizingly tight and passive. Lots of multiway limped pots being taken down by a flop bet. Nobody was very good, per se, but there were no real donators. A good player would get the money eventually, but it would take a long time...

Bellagio: I played one session of 10/20 at Bellagio, also about 4 hours. Again, I was very disappointed at the quality of the game. Nobody was very good, but nobody was throwing money away.

So, that's kinda why I didn't post this earlier. I barely played at all, and when I did, there was nothing interesting. Not a single hand to post (aside from my cameo in The Ocho's Wynn post). None of my sessions were at night, so that might have had something to do with it...

In any event, hope this helps anyone heading out there...

Mike

[kagame]

I just have a few comments I guess as all of this is spot on from my experience a few weeks ago:

BUT OMFG THE COCKTAIL WAITRESSES AT THE WYNN WERE THE MOST AMAZING GIRLS I SAW IN VEGAS AND THATS SAYING ALOT!
(aside from one girl I met playing 2/5NL at the mirage...but that was a fluke as shes a friend of john phan)

Hard to focus on anything else with that sort of thing fogging my memory...maybe I didnt play as well at the Wynn because I was so distracted but I won alot playing 5/10, there definitely were two donators

Bellagio 10/20 game there were a couple donkeys always going all in with overpairs, but nothing too awful

When I go back I'm going Wynn all the way I think, Bellagio is a bit too smug and unfriendly, just liked the Wynn vibe alot more

And hopefully I wont have to worry about buying in for a few grand every time i sit by then! (as it was the mirage 2/5 was the best game for me cash wise)

[coltrane]

[ QUOTE ]
raising with 72s, flopping two pair, and busting her. Good times.



[/ QUOTE ]


good times

[THATWACOKID]

[ QUOTE ]
I also was berated by an old Asian lady

[/ QUOTE ]

That is funny as hell

[Jason Strasser]

You need to learn how to MAKE the games good /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[The Ocho]

Only played at Wynn when I was there.

Other than the tard-fest in the 2/5 game with ML4L (where I somehow got stuck about a dime even after bluffing ML4L out of a 700+ pot), I spent all my time playing 5/10. The game was kinda boring during the day as ML4L described (though still profitable), but got better at night. Plenty of money to be had. Ditto from what I saw of the 10/20. Despite the uncapped buy-ins in all games, surprisingly very few of the locals seem to be capable of playing good deep-stack poker. And most tourists aren't much good at that either.

One quick example.
Opponent = old rocky local/regular.
I raise to 30 with AcKc. He calls as does 2 others.
Flop comes jack high, all clubs.
I lead for 80. He makes it 200. I call.
Turn low blank.
I check, he bets it 400. I make it 1000. He calls.
River high blank.
He calls off his last 1000+ with 2 pair. I guess he thought I had aces or something. I dunno.

He plays in this game everyday. Nice guy, too.

[THATWACOKID]

Teach me Jason, because I know of a couple tough 10/20 games in Dallas. It would be cool if I could MAKE these games good /images/graemlins/cool.gif