ES
Keep in mind I am writing this from the perspective of a local. After living here for more than 4 years I find myself avoiding the strip. I hate the crowds on the street and while parking is always available it is hard to get in and out of. I avoid driving on Las Vegas Blvd. at all costs.
The Venetian is a good poker room. It has 59 tables and lots of games. I prefer limit to no limit, but I do like NL holdem tournaments. I was there on a Friday evening. They had 3 4-8 kill holdem tables and may have added 1 while I was seated. It was a must move set up, which I hate, but it did not take too long to get to my main table.
They have nice daily tournaments and lots of NL holdem if you like that. They also have a lot of omaha tables. I think an 8-16 was going at the time. If you like omaha this is your goto place. I would like to see higher limit holdem, but it seems to have disappeared everywhere. Probably because of the NL popularity.
The front desk is ok. The chubby asian lady was nice and helpful. The other guy (Scott?) was in a bad mood or something. I knocked a point off because of him and the way staff handled long term lobby walkers. The ladies working the floor for some sort of food and beverage were impolite and unhelpful. An open coffee station was sloppy and creamer/cream was no where to be found. Staff seemed to not be particularly happy about helping with this.
I played 4-8 kill holdem. The game was a bit tight for my standards. Seemed like many of the players were tourists and played well. Not super tight, but a raise seemed to get most of the garbage hands out. It was easy to pick out the fish. I would need more time at other casinos and the Venetian to get a better comparison. Would love to see higher limits like 15-30 w/o the kill.
Tables and seats look and feel new. It's crowded, but you can get around easy. The food may be the best attraction. I saw several people eating and it looked great. I talked to others that did eat there and they raved about it. I got a menu and looked it over. Lots of good stuff and the prices are not bad at all IMHO. You can get all sorts of drinks at the table also.
Summary is that if you go to the strip I would consider this the best poker destination. Better table selection than others. Good tournaments. Great food. Staff needs to step it up a notch. Maybe I should cc Sheldon on this. Parking sucks. See hotel reviews for more details on getting lost in the 14 story parking structure. I parked at the Mirage.
