[GailMI]

I have lots of advice for you--I just took my 22-year-old daughterto Vegas for some beginner poker. We stayed downtown and I had her sit in on a lesson at Golden Nugget. They do them every weekday at 10 a.m. and the guy teaching the classes is really,really good. It's a good idea to sit in on a class if you have no B & M experience. You can then just buy in right at that table and play with the other beginners. It's a $2-$4 limit table. If you opt to stay downtown, btw, that's a great place to stay, but if you want cheap, try the Plaza. They also have a decent poker room, but take the lesson at the Nugget first. Call the Plaza poker room and ask them about their poker room rate--how much it is, how many hours per day to qualify, etc.

If you want to stay on the strip, I recommend Imperial Palace. They have poker lessons every morning, I believe, at 11 a.m. The poker room isn't fancy, but they comp at $3/hour and they always have food and coffee out. It's also a good place for a beginner to stay/play.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.