First time to Vegas to play poker. Previous to the trip I had researched this site many times, so I thought it would be good to share my findings.

My girlfriend and I, along with 6 other friends hit Vegas early Thursday to satisfy our lust for poker. We played a few marathon sessions, a couple quickies and 2 tournements.

Day 1 we spent at the Excalibur, playing a NL tournement and 2 sessions of 2/4 Limit. The tournement was allright, if you can stand the 9 AM start time. None of us did too well but it was a nice warm up for the action to come.

The 2/4 games were good fun, not too serious with a nice friendly feel. Cocktail service was decent, most of the time I had a fresh Bud before the last one was done, so no complaints there. The tables were decent, with enough room between tables so you weren't having to move your chair to make way for passersby.

The best thing about the Excalibur is the Money wheel you get to spin whenever you have AA cracked or hit 4 of a kind or better. One friend of mine got to spin twice and walked out with $150 buck more than he made at the table. My girlfriend hit Quad 9's at the Luxor and all she got was $20, so she was a little dissapointed we werent still at the 'Bur.

The rest of the trip we bounced around from hotel to hotel but never had as much fun as the Excalibur. The nicest room we played in was the Monte Carlo, which had a nice poker atmosphere, tucked off in a quiet corner with nice soft lighting. The most sterile was at the Hilton, with almost operating room quality lighting, bright harsh fluorescants. It was located just off the Sports book, which was nice as you could look outside and watch the game as time dicated.

The most crowded award goes to both the MGM and the Luxor. Didnt have much luck at either room, but felt obligated to give them a try after reading the reviews here.

Easiest money (and therefore best time) goes to the Golden Nugget up on Fremont. It was the first day of the NFR when we entered, so had lots of drunken cowboys and tourists to collect from. Tables were spacious, dealers friendly and cocktail service decent. Walked away from a 3 hour 2/4 game with $300 extra dollars. Good times.....

Next trip down, Im sure we will try a bunch more, but without a doubt we had the most fun at the Excalibur and will definatly play there again.