I took my first trip to Vegas this past week. I stayed at Excalibur, which was pretty decent, had a food court and some very nice eateries. (Stay away from the buffet there, trust me.) The poker room is OK, not the nicest room in Vegas, but the competition was the worst I found in the city. The tournament is a worthless all-in where you start with just 300 chips, and are moving all-in or folding from about the third level on. There was a bad beat jackpot for cracked aces and a money wheel for making a hand of four of a kind or better. Theres nothing better than getting your aces cracked and still having a chance to win $300. On a side note visit Frank at the Big Money Wheel in the casino, we had alot of fun there and won some money during the day.

Aladdin - Not worth your time to make a trip here unless your staying there. Only about 8 tables and when we got there around 3 p.m., the dealers were playing amongst themselves with tourney chips because there wasnt a single game going (not joking).

Bellagio - Nicest poker room in Vegas, nicest chips, best drinks, best service, best dealers. Need I go on? Take a look in the Bobby Baldwin room and high limit area. Best competition I faced, even at 4/8, which is their lowest limit.

Binions - Not the nicest room, but you can just feel the history while your there. Visit the World Series Main Event Champion wall and the Poker Hall of Fame. Had a good tourney structure that will cost you $110 to play. I finished just out of the money.

Caesars - I didnt actually play here but I did go in the check it out. Nice room with lots of tables, very clean and seperated from the rest of the casino. Just a great casino in general with lots to see.

Harrahs - Not too much to say, unimpressive, only about 12-15 tables, kind of hard to find, Id expect more from a casino associated with the WSOP.

Luxor - (Yawn) Weak, no tables, no players, bad tourney structure.

Mandalay Bay - Similar to Luxor, nice casino but when you get to the poker room you wonder why you came there. Pretty small room with few players, nice sports book though.

MGM Grand - Next to Excalibur I played the most here. Nice tables,(at least 40, probably more)plenty of breathing room. Average competition, some good, some very bad, I even played with a guy who didnt know what a blind was and lost $200 playing 3/6 in about 30 min. Visit around 8 p.m. and dont be suprised to still be there at 8 a.m. (again, Im not kidding) The Centrifuge Bar is right nex the poker room and plays really loud music that does get annoying after a while, but thats the only downfall I saw there. Money to be made at 3/6 and 4/8 limit and 1/2 2/5 NL. Visit the Lion Exhibit.

Paris - A very small room of about 8 tables but there was just something I liked about it. Had a very home game feel. You could see the big screens in the sports book from your table and the people were just enjoying the game, a nice change from the bigger, nicer casinos.

Venetian - Very nice room, very big with lots of tables. Kind of reminded me of the Borgata if youve ever been to Atlantic City. Good dealers, friendly staff, and I cant lie, the most amazing waitresses ive ever seen in a casino in my life. I had bad luck there though playing 1/2 NL and 4/8 limit. I'll spare you the bad beat stories.

All in all I loved the town, its something everyone should do once. The airport is a real pain in the a$$ be prepared. Great food, the city truly never sleeps, and you'll come home needing a vacation from your vacation. Trust me. One last thing, being in the Excalibur Sports Book (I would guess any Vegas Sports Book) for the first round of the NCAA tournament is something I will never, ever forget. Ill definitely be there for the opening tip next year, you should too.