[AllVegasPoker.com]

I spent about four hours at Wynn's poker room this evening, and my expectations were easily met (if not exceeded). This poker room is really fantastic.

The furnishings are top of the line. The entire room has a very classy and up-scale feel. Unlike the MGM which has a cool and trendy up-scale feel, I would say that Wynn is more dignified. Perhaps, a better room for older card players, or at least card players that are put off by the music and go-go dancers at MGM's new poker room.

One thing you will notice immediately is that the felt on the poker tables has no markings, logos, commitment lines, or anything else. The tables are just simple green. And, they all have auto shufflers. This is the way the whole room is -- it's simple, yet elegant, with the appropriate accouterments.

Honestly, the biggest problem with the physical room is that it seems like they squeezed a few too many tables in. The room has 27 tables right now. It would be perfect with 20 tables. Sure, I understand Steve has anxious shareholders, and Wall Street is watching closely -- but this room would be even better if a few tables were removed.

So, of course, I was impressed with the actual room. But, I was much, much, much more impressed with the staff. Everyone was playing their A-game. From the dealers to the cocktail waitresses to the room management. They were all consistently excellent. I found this especially remarkable considering it was opening night, and there was literally chaos outside the poker room. Yet, despite the chaos, I felt like the poker room was being run very well under the circumstances. Even more important than the organization were the employees' attitudes. These people take customer service seriously, and it showed.

I do think the Wynn poker room will be a great success. However, I'm not certain it's where the biggest games will go. The Bellagio finished its remodelling yesterday, and it's something else -- especially "Bobby's Room" -- the private poker room for the games that start at $2,000/$4,000 -- If Wynn wants the biggest games, then I hope he will build a private room like that.

All in all, Wynn is among the top three poker rooms in Vegas right now -- along with Bellagio and MGM. They all have their pluses and minuses, so I can't say one is better than the other. I don't think a player visiting Vegas would be disappointed with any of those choices.

Oh - Comps! I almost forgot to mention. Wynn is offering $1 per hour in comp dollars on games up to $30/60, and $1.50 per hour on the higher stakes games. But, here's the kicker -- there is NO DAILY MAXIMUM. This is a first as far as I know for Vegas.

Also, all of the no limit games have no maximum buy-in. Last night the room was spreading $1/2 ($100 min), $2/5 (200 min), and $10/20 ($500 min). I was told that even the $1/2 had a $100 minimum with no maximum. This is an experiment. I'm interested in learning how it plays out.