First time in Vegas

I am playing 5/10 limit at Party and Pacific poker, winning my share, but I have never played poker in a B&M cardroom. I realize I have to try that, so I am going with a few pokerplaying friends to Vegas to give it a go sometime this winter.

We are all from Denmark, and none of us have been to Vegas before, so it would be awesome to get some recommendations as to which casinos have the best games, and about how soft the games are at the various limits.

I cant alltogether rule out that we need to sleep somewhere at some point. . . Is it obscenely expensive to stay in the casinoes where the good games are, or is that the way to go?

[unreal_nh]

this site can be very helpful:

Link (http://www.allvegaspoker.com/)

thanks, that is helpfull. I still wouldn't mind some more recommendations if someone has some to share.

[Photoc]

You guys will have a blast out here. Go to the site one reply has in it and also check out the newbie guide at the top of this forum.

Btw, why is it that the European posters on here have better grammar (english) and spelling than the American ones? LOL

[NoRiverRats]

Stay at the Casino where you plan to play the most. Make your hotel booking through the poker room and you can get a discounted rate. No it is not expensive, just pick your dates carefully(when its not too busy - you can do this by going to hotel websites, they often give rates for the upcoming two to four months). Have fun!

[jayheaps]

remember if you meet a girl in a bar and she wants to go back to your room, she is a hooker even if she doesn't mention it.

[KCFire105]

[ QUOTE ]
remember if you meet a girl in a bar and she wants to go back to your room, she is a hooker even if she doesn't mention it.

[/ QUOTE ]

A friend of a friend got upstairs and buck naked with a girl before he found this out. She didn't make much on that trip, but at least he got to see her naked!

[KCFire105]

I highly reccomend the Bellagio. Great poker room. Great hotel rooms. You can get a $369 per night room for $129 mon thru thurs and for $199 per night on Fri and sat. Great 24 action there. You wont regret it. Call the main Bellagio number and ask for the poker office to set up your discount. When you arrive, check in at the main hotel desk, then before you play go to the poker office in the back of the poker room and tell them you need to be rated. They'll give you a card to get signed in each time you play there. As long as you play 6 hours per day per room (not per player) and sign in and out through the poker desk, you'll receive your discount on your room. example: if you have four people staying in your room, you would each need to play only 1.5 hours per day to equal the 6 hour per room minimum. Or one person could play all 6 hours and cover the whole room).

Good luck,
Kevin

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]
Stay at the Casino where you plan to play the most. Make your hotel booking through the poker room and you can get a discounted rate.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is great advice once you have been there and know where it is you enjoy playing.

For your first trip, especially since it is likely coming from Denmark that you will stay 3-4 days or more, it would suck for you to be tied to a room for 5 or more hours a day that you don't really like.

Instead, I suggest at a hotel that gets you good location at a rate you like and then feeling free to play wherever you want.

Take a look at Cheapo Vegas (http://www.cheapovegas.com) for hotel descriptions, which include info on the poker rooms (granted not a s good as what you might find here) and use the their map of the strip (http://www.cheapovegas.com/vegas_map.php?map=strip) to get a feel for where the various properties are. Keep in mind when you look at the map that the Wynn is 5 kilometers from Mandalay Bay.

We can certainly help you more if you tell us what is important to you and the people joining you: poker limits, hotel luxury; how much you want to spend on a room; other things you plan to do; if you mind renting a car, or if you plan to drink the whole time, etc.

Edit All that being said, KCFire makes a very strong suggestion. AAA (http://www.aaa.com), an American travelers advocacy group, rates hotels and restaurants in North America and the Caribbean. Only 85 hotels and 57 restaurants restaurants get their highest 5 diamond rating. The Bellagio hotel and two of its restaurants earned that rating. Plus, the Bellagio is always on people's short list of great card rooms here at 2+2 (along with Mirage, Wynn, and MGM).

If you and your friends like the poker room rate, you won't be making a mistake staying and playing there.

Although $5/10 is not too common in Vegas, $4/8 is in abundance and the limit games are really loose and full of bad players, some playing for the first time. I'd recommend $4/8 at the Bellagio and the Wynn (good games and some of the nicest poker rooms in the world). MGM Grand, Aladdin, Excalibur also has nice and loose low-limit games.
The Sahara on the north end of the Strip has a $39 ($59 weekend) poker rate, one of the cheapest you can find. Call the poker room and ask for manager Fred Masters on weekdays. It's a monorail stop, so you can get to some of the other, more expensive poker rooms this way. Its poker room typically spreads $2/4 and $1/2 NL.

[DrCool]

For the first time in Vegas I would suggest staying somewhere mid-strip. This will allow you to visit most of the hotels and poker rooms to check them out. Harrah's is decent and in an OK location. The Flamingo isn't bad either and is a good location. If price is a big consideration you might look at the Imperial Palace.

Mirage, Bellagio, MGM, and Wynn are probably considered the best poker rooms in Vegas so you would be fine staying in any of those hotels also. Out of those 4 my favorite hotel is the Mirage and the MGM is my favorite poker room. Although many people prefer the Bellagio I have always run into grumpy, whining dorks at the table and although it can be profitable I don't have much fun playing there.

If you are just looking for lower limit stuff (4-8 limit or 1-2 NL) you might give the Mandalay Bay poker room a shot. Lots of beginners if you get the right table and the games are very soft there.

[zgall1]

For a cheap mid-strip hotel, I'd recommend the Barbary Coast. It's old and ugly but the rooms are clean, it is very cheap and it is in the perfect location.

[NoRiverRats]

StevieG, KCFire and the Doc all make excellent points. For location and poker hard to beat the Bellagio. It all comes down to how much you want to pay for your room. You are across the street from Ballys and Paris which have lower limit poker rooms(Paris just opened). You are a tram ride from the Monte Carlo with has quite a nice(but small) poker room. And you are a short walk from the Mirage. The only places that will be a bit of a hike where you might want to play are Wynn and MGM(its closer than Wynn though).

Oh and whoever made the point about distances is bang on. If you see something you like and it says on cheapovegas or some website that its "only two blocks from the strip" beware. You could be looking at a 15-20 min. walk.

Since its your first time to Vegas you should also take in a Cirque Du Soleil show. The one at Bellagio is awesome(called "O"), and I just saw the newest one, Ka at MGM. There is also Mystere at Treasure Island and some adult rated thing called Zumanity at NYNY. Coming all the way from Denmark it would be a shame not to see one of them.

Enjoy!

[Rabid_Hippo]

The other posters are right on. I have probably spent a total of four weeks at the Bellagio over the past year and I would not think of staying anywhere else. The poker office is very friendly and the poker rate cannot be beat (6 hours a day really isn't that much). If you play enough they will stop tracking your time anyway.

With regard to other hotels, I met a group of Swedes on my last trip. They were staying at the Stratosphere "because they got a good group rate." Long story short, they hated the hotel. The cheaper hotels on the Strip are really not nice places to stay. If you are going to do Vegas, do it right.

Besides, the women at the Bellagio are amazing (even if some of them do charge by the hour).

[jayheaps]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
remember if you meet a girl in a bar and she wants to go back to your room, she is a hooker even if she doesn't mention it.

[/ QUOTE ]

A friend of a friend got upstairs and buck naked with a girl before he found this out. She didn't make much on that trip, but at least he got to see her naked!

[/ QUOTE ]

A friend of mine actually got a partial BJ before she told him she was a "stripper" looking to make some $$.

[theben]

thats a great site for vegas poker

[Spartacus]

I used this thread on Fat Wallet (http://www.fatwallet.com/t/63/483868/) to book a stay at MGM for my trip next week. Don't be afraid to visit the casino's website to signup for their player's card first to get the better rate.

Cheapo Vegas (http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php) can give some low roller tips also.

Something else to keep in mind, whatever rate you see on any site, ALWAYS book through the hotel asthey will usually match the rate. Just in case you need to cancel or change your reservation, you won't if you use the travel site.

Good luck....

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

Since its your first time to Vegas you should also take in a Cirque Du Soleil show. The one at Bellagio is awesome(called "O"), and I just saw the newest one, Ka at MGM. There is also Mystere at Treasure Island and some adult rated thing called Zumanity at NYNY. Coming all the way from Denmark it would be a shame not to see one of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

NoRiverRats's idea is a good one and it reminds me that you can also find information on hotels and shows at Vegas4Visitors (http://www.vegas4visitors.com).

I have not seen a traveling Cirque du Soleil show, so I do not know if what you might see in Europe compares, but the Vegas shows make a strong impression.

[sternroolz]

Another place to look at staying is Alladin. Their room rates are absolutely wacky...some weekends they are more expensive than anywhere but Bellagio and Mandalay Bay, and some weekends they are cheaper than Imperial Palace. Its a nice clean quiet place. It is not work Bellagio, or even Monte Carlo level prices, but if you can find a cheapo rate, it is worth staying there. They have a nice small poker room, with decent tournments. MGM is very close...maybe a two block walk and has a nice poker room. Bellagio is literally right across the street. You walk out of the Alladin onto Las Vegas Bl., take the crosswalk across the street, walk 10 feet to your left, and take the escalators into Bellagio.

It is also about 10 minute walk to Mirage. Ballys, Paris, Flamingo, Harrahs, and IP all have smaller poker rooms and are on the way to Mirage. Wynn is about a 20 minute walk.

The downfall is almost all food at Alladin is overpriced. I almost choked when I looked at their coffee shop menu and saw $13 pancakes. The gourmet restaurants are good and not over priced, and the buffet is excellent and not overpriced for what you get($24 or so). But there is no decent low end eats for reasonable price.

For a great room and no hassle stay at the Bellagio. It has the best poker room. The 4/8 and 8/16 tables are tight during the morning until around 4pm during the week and loosen up a lot at night. But, Bellagio can be VERY expensive and sometimes they black out the poker rate.

Paris is also a beautiful hotel with great rooms and it's right across the street. They have a small poker room for late night action before bed, but I'd play at Bellagio almost exclusively.

Bally's and Flamingo are huge hotels with small poker rooms, not really worth playing in, but are very conveneint in terms of location. The rooms are large and clean, but nothing to write home about. The back tower at Bally's is further from the strip, but has been redone and is nicer.

Mirage is a great hotel. High class at a fair cost. It has the second best room IMO. They have 3/6 and 6/12, but it seemed tighter to me, even late at night. I would not hesitate to stay there if the rate is better than Paris or close to Bally's or Flamingo.

I don't like the rooms at Harrahs. Just me. Caesars is too expensive. Imperial Palace is too loud and smokey. Harrah's runs a Mardi Gras show until around 3am and it makes the guest rooms at IP loud all night long.

MGM is huge and it's far from the other good places. It's worth checking out at least once. The rates can be great close to the trip because they have so many.

I agree that you should check hotels.com or travelocity or expedia and then call the hotel or check their website for the best rate. You can always cancel if you book directly with the hotel for no fee up to 48 hours in advance, but can't if you book via a travel website. Keep checking rates- they go down periodically and sometimes right before your trip. You can always cancel and rebook at the new rate.

I almost always stay at Bally's or Flamingo due to great rates- common mid-week AAA rate is less than $100 US. (American Automobile Association) But, all things equal I stay at Mirage because it's nicer and the poker room is second only to Bellagio.