Vegas or LA? Where should I go?

[eamato]

Living in la, being a golf nut and a yankee fan maybe i can help you out.

You can be a poker degenerate any where vegas or l.a. The type of game you play and the limits you play will be at both places.

Push
The golf in L.A. is good but can get up there in price.
Vegas golf will be at its highest because cold weather people head to vegas to play more than l.a. your biggest problem in L.A. will always be traffic to the golf course.
(if you do stay at commerce and want some nearby course pm me)
l.a. wins

sight seeing

vegas hot chicks everywhere. i know your married as am i but just because your on a diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu

l.a. hot chicks who are usually stuck up. the beach and culture push la over the top. you are just sight seeing

l.a. wins

whatever you choose it will be a good time.

i will be in vegas that weekend so if you want a golfing partner let me know

amato

[Michael Davis]

The hottest chicks are in Vegas, or at least they're easier to spot there because they are all concentrated in a small area.

-Michael

[Sparks]

As for golf, there is no contest given the timing of your trip. Vegas gets pretty cold in the winter so I'm not sure you could even play, and certainly not in the early morning. As for L.A., our only decision for playing golf in the winter is whether or not to wear shorts. Note though that we do get our 14 inches of rain generally during the winter months.

As for poker, boy, that's a tough call. I'm inclined to think, that when measured on a sort of hour for hour basis, you could probably get more "bang for your buck" in Los Angeles. It depends on several things of course, but the wait for getting in games in LV can get ridiculous. Not always, but it's something to remember when rolling out of bed at 2 pm, and getting to the card room at 4pm, and expecting to just walk in and sit down. Plus the whole scene of the city is just sensory overload, and I find it easy to get distracted by a multitude of things. So for pure, degenerate poker (like the previous poster noted) L.A. gets the nod. And don't forget, you don't have to get your comp ticket, or leave the poker room to eat! Just yell "service!" and order your food like you're Danny Devito in Get Shorty, i.e., you're rich, famous, and you can have the cook make you anything you like, however you like, THEN, have them bring it right to your seat on a nice little table, and charge you not a nickle. But be a good guy, and tip the waitress $3, and don't be a looser by sitting out while you eat -- chow and play at the same time!

Finally, although many don't agree, I happen to find the games in LV slightly softer than L.A. games. I have my theories as to why, but that's for another time.

And dude, if you come to L.A., you'll freak out at the Commerce. It's insane there. I think I went there one year, on Christmas Eve/morning, at 3 am, and there were like three 20's and two 40's going. It rocks.

I'd recommend the Bike second, and I also like Hawaiian Gardens. I think their food is the best of the three, plus all the guys in the VIP room play golf and gamble just as kind of a way of life. And they have the best plasma TV set up.

In the end, you have two great choices, L.A. or Vegas to play poker. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Sparks

[WDC]

I was just out in LA with wife and kids so I never made it to the Commerce. Did get to a Clippers game and to the ocean. I say if you have done LV try LA. The Getty is cool.

[sternroolz]

What in the world are you guys smoking to think that poker anywhere compares to Los Angeles? Every weekend at Commerce there is like at least 30 yellow chip games going($15-30 and up) and usually 50 or more. This includes multiple tables of $600 buyin and $5K buyin no limit. In addition, there are usually 12 or more $100 and $200 no limit games going. Add to this 8 or so very fishy $9-18 HE games(and calling those games very fishy may win understatement of the year). And this is only Commerce. There are also Bicycle Casino(almost always some form of low buy in tournament going on there), Hawaiian Gardens, Hustler(very small for LA, but also very nice and good food), Hollywood Park, and Normandie(I would avoid). All of these places have more tables than any of the poker rooms in Vegas. All of them have fishier games.

[TAXI37]

Well if you've never been to LA, it would seem to be a no-brainer. But even if you had been, I'd choose LA.

Golf in LA is better, cheaper and more varied than those sterile surreal $120-a-round LV courses. Rancho Park, Harding and Wilson are tremendous public courses and the idiots in the Parks Dept. don't even charge non-residents extra.

Poker games in general (well low- and mid- limit, my only experiences) are softer than LV and you get a seat within a few minutes of walking in. I also know of an excellent Sunday night home game, pot-limit with $1 blinds and $100 buy-in.

Plus, if you enjoy music, EVERYONE gigs in LA all the time, no matter what genre you're into. (Check out laweekly.com ). In Vegas you're lucky to catch an act your parents used to like. And there are great restaurants in LA, not expensive kitschy places that hired chefs who became famous in LA. In short, culturally, LA is the D-Backs/Angels/Marlins/Red Sox, and Vegas is the Yankees. LA is what's happening; Vegas is what happened and at twice the price.