Las Vegas Trip

[KrackedKings]

I'll be in Las Vegas sometime between late February to mid-March. Concidering staying at the Orleans. How do the Orleans, Manadalay Bay, and Monte Carlo compare for low-limit Hold'em? I will also check out the Mirage (of course).
I believe Orleans has 4-8 tables with a half kill and a 6-12 table. What about the other two? What are the typical games like at these places?
I've never been to Vegas before. Plan to arrive on a Thursday afternoon and stay until Sunday night.

Just another one of those...
KrackedKings

[HDPM]

If you have not been to Las Vegas, I would stay at the Monte Carlo out of those hotels. Mirage would be good too. But the poker room is good at Monte Carlo, the hotel is nice, and the location is great. Orleans location is not so good if you don't have a car, and if you have not been to Las Vegas you want to be on the strip. I like Orleans and often stay there, but I have stayed at Monte Carlo and liked it better. The games are fine at both places. A few more rocks at Orleans. I don't play at Mandalay so I can't comment. 3-6 games at Mirage are very soft, 6-12 not, but they are sometimes very good. 10-20 not so soft. But I think the Monte Carlo would suit your needs well. The tram to Bellagio is very convenient and you can walk around the strip easily. Better location than Mandalay. GL>

[Homer]

FWIW, I am planning a trip for mid-January and plan to stay at the Monte Carlo. It is a 4-star hotel with what I hear is a very nice small poker room. The rates are very good at that time, around $60 a night for the weekdays that I plan on staying there. Also, there is a tram that runs to the Bellagio which is quite convenient. Lastly, it is nice to stay on the strip, in my opinion, rather than off-strip at a place like the Orleans. As far as commenting on the actual poker offered in each of the places you mentioned, I'm afraid I can't help you.

-- Homer

[Dynasty]

For those who don't know, the Orleans is about 1 mile west of the southern half of the Strip (New York, New York). They have shuttles which will take you to Barbary Coast which is in the center of the Strip. However, if I were a tourist, I would always try to stay at a Strip hotel near the center of the action for maximum convenience.

The Monte Carlo has a very centralized location and is easy walking distance to poker rooms at Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Bellagio, Flamingo, and Mirage (Mirage would be the longest walk at about 20 minutes).

[TruePoker CEO]

Dynasty,

I agree about the Monte Carlo. It is a nice room and the staff is friendly. The tram is a good benefit, connecting to the Bellagio (I would not recommend walking that far). The Mirage is another well run room, worth a cab-ride.

Mandalay Bay is a really nice property in general and the poker room is adjacent to a first class sports book (same with Bellagio and Mirage).

Generally, the low-limit games are best at the Bellagio, Mirage, then Monte Carlo and Mandalay Bay in that order. Bellagio has the best dealers of the three, but all four are nice properties.(My gripe about Mandalay Bay is that the 1-2 blinds tend to attract rocks. By contrast, the 4-8 games at Bellagio often offer very loose play, with a 2 - 4 blind.)

I personally prefer Bellagio, Mirage and Monte Carlo, in that order. I will be willing to lose to you, rather than to the same regular players at those locations.

Since I cannot avoid at least one plug here, I would point out that Truepoker is GIVING AWAY a trip to Las Vegas every day in December.

Truepoker CEO

[TimTimSalabim]

All of the low-limit rooms on the Strip have something to argue for them. Monte Carlo and Excalibur are friendly, laid back rooms. Mandalay Bay is classy, with nice looking cocktail waitresses in skimpy outfits. Luxor has small buyin tournaments on Sat and Sun morning. Mirage and Bellagio are nonsmoking and probably the best managed. And Flamingo usually has the most fishes.

So, you can't really go too far wrong. I like Mandalay best mostly because of the "scenery".

[Dynasty]

I would not recommend walking that far.

The Monte Carlo and Bellagio are practically next door to each other. Only the small Boardwalk Hotel/Casino is between them. It's a short walk. I think walking from the Monte Carlo to the Mirage is a short trip. You must not be a big fan of walking.

My gripe about Mandalay Bay is that the 1-2 blinds tend to attract rocks.

I couldn't disagree more. The $1 and $2 blind sructure causes players to willingly play all sorts of junk. It also allows you to open up your hand selection in late position.

For the record, the Bellagio is the only 4-8 game on the Strip with the standard $2 and $4 blind structure. All the other 4-8 games have the $1 and $2 blind structure.

[bad beetz]

I love the Luxor 10AM and 12PM $20 buyin tournaments. so fun. Your skill matters ~0 because of the structure, but they're so fun. I just have to chime in anytime I hear anybody talking about them.

Other than that, I think the Luxor poker room blows.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Not walk that far??? The walk up and down the strip is one of the best activities in Vegas.

[M.B.E.]

The walk along the strip from the Monte Carlo entrance to the Bellagio entrance takes perhaps 10-15 minutes. But it's actually going to be about double that if you're coming from your hotel room in the Monte Carlo to the Bellagio poker room, because you'll have to walk the entire length of the Monte Carlo casino before you get out to the Strip.

I find that I do a huge amount of walking whenever I'm in Las Vegas. It's just about unavoidable if you're staying at a major Strip hotel and playing at other casinos. Even if you decide to take a cab everywhere, there's still a lot of walking involved just getting through the megacasinos to the taxi stand.

It's not too bad, really, because if you spend most of your time sitting on your ass playing poker you'll need to get exercise somehow.

One tip, though: when you check into your hotel, request a room near the elevators.