Our biennial trip to Las Vegas found us staying at the Imperial Palace due solely to pricing ($500 per room for 5 nights rather than $1000 or more elsewhere) over Memorial Day Weekend 2006. Our group of 5 played just about everywhere we could. The IP offers some good low buy-in tournaments ($55 -- with and without rebuys) in their poker room located right at the casino entrance. The levels are 15 minutes and move pretty quickly, but the starting chips (1300 with an extra $5, all of which goes to the dealers) are more than enough to allow a player to make a few moves before absolutely needing to double up or perish. Fun room with player abilities from absolute newbie to seasoned player. Bonus: Bust out early and watch the action up close from the bar located in the poker room itself.

We also played at an old favorite -- Mandalay Bay -- while checking out the WPT tournament and satellite action. Didn't happen to play in any of the satellites but did take in a little $4-$8 action. The game has mini-blinds ($1-$2) rather than the usual $2-$4 which allows the opportunity to see more flops cheaply. Would have had a nice session had I not gotten snapped off by running diamonds in a pot that was capped post-flop and again after the turn. Still a fine room with good action. The wait was longer than other rooms, but not terrible.

We strolled by the Luxor poker room, and while we didn't play there, the space is much expanded and the constant "Wheel -- Of -- Fortune" cries from the circular bank of slot machines featuring that game are missing as those machines have been quieted (mostly) and moved to the far wall.

The Mirage is an old standby for us but the changes they've made are great. They annexed the keno pit space and are running a bunch of sit'n'go 1 table tournaments on a constant basis. Good $3-$6 action as usual but these games aren't as soft as other places. Fantastic sports book expansion as well as the proximity of the California Pizza Kitchen makes the Mirage Poker Room a winner every time.

The MGM Poker Room is the pinnacle of chic. At least as far as poker rooms go. Not an actual room but more a poker area, the waits are short, the action excellent, and there are limits for all bankrolls. The $4-$8 game was crazy as chips flew like candy from a busted pinata. I got my share, but not much more than that. At a neighboring $4-$8 table, a buzzed member of a bachelor party had a little over $600 in $1 chips in front of him and while he didn't win _ALL_ of it (he bought in for around $300) it was pretty funny to see 30 stacks of 20 chips at a low limit game. Bonus: The chocolate chip cookies at the nearby deli counter are delicious. $2.50, but delicious all the same.

The Aladdin poker room is not much more than a roped-off area that isn't particularly well-marked or well-appointed. Lots of locals in the $1-$2 no-limit game which wasn't the most beatable table I've seen. Good action in spite of that but without much to show for it as my flopped 2 pair and all in bet were called and beaten by a flopped 4 flush which caught the 5th diamond on the river. It's encouraging to see people play their flush draws like this. I just wish he hadn't hit it... Bonus: They have high hand jackpots and my fiancee took $250 (the minimum) with her flopped quad aces, not to mention the $300 pot after her heads up opponent moved all in. Not a great poker environment, but great action.

I walked through the Wynn Poker room, and wasn't terribly impressed. In fact, the casino is very much a Bellagio clone some decade after the original. The space itself seemed nice enough, but it wasn't very inviting with a lot of dark wood and unnecessary commotion. Admittedly, I did not play there, but honestly, I didn't really want to.

The Venetian was simply amazing. I had my reservations about the new kid on the block (it's less than 8 weeks old) but I was impressed on every level. The staff, although somewhat green, was incredibly friendly and helpful in calling names from the list or starting new tables (in some cases completely clearing a given list) and making sure chip runners and cocktail servers were available. It's well lighted, quiet in spite of the slot machines and table games near by, the tables are felted with a maize-colored surface and the chips are brand-spankin' new. Tables at all limits were quite profitable as there were people new to poker everywhere. Dealers were friendly and talkative, keeping the games moving and making sure the action didn't slow on account of a newer player. Bonus: They offer a bad beat jackpot (quad 10's beaten) that's (at the moment) completely supported by the house. The house does not take any drop to finance this feature which is currently at $12,000. I imagine the split is the typical 50%-25%-25% and the qualifying hand is higher than usual, but since the Venetian is footing the bill, how can you complain?

Great trip, great action, great additions to the Las Vegas Poker Room landscape. Can't wait to get back and do it all again. (Hopefully next year rather than 2008...)