Lots of Vegas Questions, please assist!

[Acesover8s]

Against my better judgment I've decided to make a jaunt out to the world series again this year. I will be there for 9 days and am bringing and funding 3 family members who are not much for gambling, so I'm trying to get in through as cheap as possible.

Questions:

1) Where can I find the best reasonable meals, preferably in the fremont street area?

2) What casinos have the best poker comp programs for earning meals?

3) What casinos offer the best blackjack games, or are they all reasonably similar?

4) What casinos have the cheapest table games, ie $1 blackjack or craps?

5) What small buyin weekly tournaments are a 'mustplay'?

6) Does anyone host a PLO game now? Any limit is fine. I played in the one at Binions last year, but I would prefer to not play in that cardroom besides the WSOP.

7) Are there any multi-table satellites for the main event besides the ones immediately prior to the event. (I will be there the first 2 weeks of the month).

8) What is there to do for a group of people out there besides gaming? Museums, touristy spots, etc.

Thanks for any assistance,

Aces

[SpaceAce]

You would be doing yourself a big favor to go http://www.reviewjournal.com/ They're one of the local papers and they give out "Best Of" awards every year and do a lot of stories on casinos and gaming. The awards include best slot club, best table games, etc.

STAY AWAY FROM BLACKJACK AT THE RIO. As of about a month ago they were dealing a single deck blackjack game that paid 1:1 for a blackjack. That game may be gone now but almost all the single deck games pay 6:5. Look for a story about this on the Review-Journal site because I think they list where to find some better blackjack games.

SpaceAce

[Acesover8s]

Also do any casinos have either free or low buyin "learn to play holdem" games?

Thanks again

[CptMisery]

When I was there in December the Excalibur had poker lessons followed by a 1-3 spread hold'em game with a single blind.

The Captain

[westmt01]

They still do; I was there yesterday. The 1-3 games are very soft. I was sitting next to a guy who stayed in until the river EVERY HAND. And he held his cards up in the air in front of him like they had a bad smell. I saw every hand he had (I wasn't trying to cheat, but it was impossible not to see his cards. He kept doing it even after the dealer told him to protect his cards). A great place to play; I highly recommend Excalibur.

[johnb]

As to as many of the questions that I can answer as possible:

1) The best buffet downtown, imho, is the Main Street Station. Quality, selection and affordability.

2) No opinion.

3) As another poster noted, stay away from the 6-5 games. All others are about the same I think.

4) Most of the downtown places have $2-$3 games. The Sahara on the strip has a $1 game.

5) I have always enjoyed the daily tourneys at the Mandalay Bay and Luxor. The Sahara has two weekly no limit tourney’s that draw a good crowd.

6-7) Don’t know.

8. Walk through the Venetian for the wow factor. Bellagio, The Venetian, and the old DI have very good museums that have old master exhibits out there now. The Freemeont Street Experience, Dancing Waters at Bellagio, and the Pirate Show at TI are great free shows.

[rodeoclown]

Circus Circus has low-limit table games, I believe,
and if you are on an ultra-cheap budget, you get
a two-for-one buffet with every room there.

As for multi tourneys, I think the Sahara is a must
play. It draws almost a hundred usually, although the
payout is kind of steep, but a deal is usually made
at the final table.

Also, try the NY, NY roller coaster... priced a bit
steep, but it is a real treat. Stay away from the
Stratosphere coasters, they are pretty terrible.

As for poker comps, I don't think most rooms have
very good, if any programs, for poker players.
At least none of the ones I've played in.

Enjoy your trip, best of luck, hope I see you on TV.

[Martin Aigner]

Aces,

[ QUOTE ]
2) What casinos have the best poker comp programs for earning meals?

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven´t been in Vegas for about 1.5 years, but if I recall it right the Orleans gets you about 6$ a day for playing poker. You can recieve this maximum pretty easily.

[ QUOTE ]
5) What small buyin weekly tournaments are a 'mustplay'?

[/ QUOTE ]

IMHO the best tourney is(was) the monday night NLHE at the Orleans. I think it´s a 20$ buy in with 10$ rebuys (unlimited). Over 100 player every time, great action. I highly recommend it.

[ QUOTE ]
7) Are there any multi-table satellites for the main event besides the ones immediately prior to the event. (I will be there the first 2 weeks of the month).

[/ QUOTE ]

From what I´ve heard there are supers every day, but most action takes palce in the last week. So one can expect that there are about 2 seats to be won in the supers in the first weeks, and about 15 in the supers in the last few days (per super that is). Again, this is just what I´ve heard. Never been there before during the series.

[ QUOTE ]
8) What is there to do for a group of people out there besides gaming? Museums, touristy spots, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to Bellagio and Venetian. You´ll find Van Gogh and others. Grand Cannion is not far away. Hover Dam neither. BTW, if you are not on a too tight budget, I´d recommend to take a helicopter flight to the Grand Cannion. I did it once and loved it (I love flying in a helicopter every time), I did it once in a small plane and hated it. I was close to vomiting, and the guys behind me had to do it. Terrible experience [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

BTW, I´ll be heading for the WSOP on April 24th for 1 week, so maybe we can meet there and play the tourney at the Orleans together. (One can pick the seatnumbers himself there)

Best regards

Martin Aigner

[Sparks]

[ QUOTE ]
2) What casinos have the best poker comp programs for earning meals?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Bellagio and Mirage will both give a meal comp if you are in a game at a table, and you request the comp. The Bellagio gives a $15 comp and the Mirage gives a $10 comp. The trick is you have to approach the shift manager when he/she comes on duty, which in both casinos is at 10 a.m., 6 p.m, and 2 a.m. So get to them with your request within an hour of them beginning their shift. They will take your name and put you on a list. Then you go back to them around 45 minutes later or so, and they will have filled out a comp ticket for you. I think they don't like to give out more than one comp per player per day, but I'm not totally sure about that.

Sparks