I headed to Vegas 2/21 - 2/25. I was staying at Bally's the nights of 2/21 and 2/22. They didn't have rooms available the nights of 2/23 and 2/24 so prior to my trip I did some online shopping and made reservations for those nights at the Flamingo. Before leaving I got to thinking I should confirm my reservations. I pulled up an old email from Harrahs/Flamingo with my confirmation. It said arriving 1/23 and departing 1/25!!!!! So it turns out they had treated me as a "no-show" and I was out my deposit. The customer service rep said there was now no availability on the nights I needed but she would refer it to her supervisor who would go back and listen to the call. About 3 hours later, the supervisor called, said she had listened to the call, and I was booked for the nights of 2/23 and 2/24 at the original rates (prior to being booked up, rates had gone up substantially). I was impressed with the service and the fact that they corrected their mistake.

Got into Vegas 2/21. If any of you are trying to have a bunch of people stay in one room so you can sleep cheap, I recommend Ballys. This was my first stay here and the rooms are HUGE (I was in the south tower with a view of Barbary Coast, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, the Mirage, and a bit of the Bellagio (I could see about 1/10 of their fountain show out my window). Although I was staying at Ballys, I went over to the Flamingo to ease into things with some 2/4 LHE. Walked past the Ballys "room". Lowest limit was 3/6. A few 1/2 NL tables going. Just kept going to the Flamingo because I like the feel of the Flamingo poker room better since it is more of a room and has 2/4 LHE. The Flamingo also had at least two $1/$2 NL tables going. Seven tables were busy in all.

I played about 3 or 4 hours. I was card dead 95% of the time (I apologize to those that hate to hear/read that) and ended up down -$96. I won exactly two pots, both with sets. Lost 3 or 4 good sized pots on the river due to the 7 or 8 players seeing the flop. I lost to 9/7 offsuit after I had raised pre-flop and on the flop, 10/4 offsuit after raising pre-flop and on the flop, and 6/4 offsuit after raising pre-flop and on the flop (at least that guy was in the big blind). I watched a bit of 1/2 NL at the Flamingo and people seemed to play "real" poker for the most part. During my play, the dealers were decent. Two misdeals. One "situation" when a player turned his cards over on the river meaning to check. He didn't realize there was a player left to bet or check. The remaining player was allowed to bet. He did so and turned his cards over. The player that screwed up was allowed to call or fold. The sad thing was he didn't speak English and didn't understand he could fold. So he tossed out $4 when it was plain to all he had lost. The dealer did the best he could to explain things to the guy but there was no getting through to him due to the communication barrier. My table was generally quiet and boring. When I'm only playing 2/4 LHE I prefer fun people! I would note the Flamingo now tracks play with the Harrah's Total Rewards card, however it is not combined with your Total Rewards Card points for other games (slots, etc.) or other Harrah's poker rooms. You just need to ask the poker room for your comp when you want to eat (at that Harrah's casino) and they'll give it to you assuming you've accumulated enough time. They indicated that it will eventually be tied into your overall Total Rewards points.

The next day I returned for a 4 hour 2/4 LHE session at the Flamingo. This table was MUCH more fun/friendly than the table I had there the first night. Still fairly loose but it at least resembled real poker, unlike the prior night. Dealers were good and management was on top of things. Waitresses were not eye candy (for those who care...I don't) but they come around frequently and are fast getting your drinks. They also serve Red Bull. Finished up $9 for the session, down $87 for the trip. Headed to dinner (on a vendor's tab) Ballys Steakhouse. It was very expensive but the food (I had a New York Strip medium rare, asparagus, wine, and coffee) and service was excellent. If you are looking for steak, you can't go wrong there.

Next, I put in a 1 1/2 hour 2/4 LHE session at the Venetian. I'd hoped to play longer but they only had one 2/4 table so I had to wait quite a while. Fortunately, they have a very comfortable players lounge and a nearby bar had a great band. It was a good table and I hated to leave but I had to give a presentation in the a.m. Left up $6 so I'm now down -$81 for the trip. The 2/4 poker was reasonable. I only got burned badly once on the river by someone who had no business in the hand due to raises and reraises. But that's 2/4! The Venetian is the best room I've ever played.

The next day my first session was few hours of 2/4 LHE at the Flamingo. It was a fun table and I finished up $17 moving my net trip total to -$64. After a quick and relatively cheap dinner at Denny's on the strip, I played $2/$4 LHE until 2:30 a.m. at the Venetian. I had a good time other than being down -$46 for the session and -$110 for the trip. The Venetian is such an impressive room. I'd only played there briefly the day before at a 2/4 table. I walk in the next day and the floor manager remembers my name! I told him I left my players card at home so he sends me right to their back desk in the poker room. The girl/woman looks up my name on her computer and prints out a new card in about 30 seconds. Now that is service! My table at the Venetian was pretty boring at first but as it turned over it became much more fun. Three southern Cal kids in town for their 21st birthdays joined us. They were good kids and fun to talk to (I'd brought my 21 year old son here earlier in the year). They were staying at the Excalibur with 4 in their room. They were, however, drinking alot and I have a feeling they were in great pain the next a.m. Oh, to be young again! The dealers seemed to have more personality at the Venetian on my last session vs. my earlier visit. They did seem to have an above average number of misdeals. Also, our table was the closest to the exit and it actually got darn cold as people went in and out of the casino. By the way, if it is important to you that the waitresses look good, the Venetian is the place. Additionally, they came around often. That didn't used to be the norm at the Venetian poker room.

On Saturday, the 24th, I determned I had to stay in Vegas another day due to freezing rain/snow storms in Iowa. Went online and changed my departure from Sunday to Monday along with a reservation at IP for the last night. I was at Ballys my first two nights and the Flamingo for nights 3 & 4. So if anyone wants to know how Harrah's mid-strip mid-to-low end properties compare, I'm now an expert!

My next session was more 2/4 LHE at the Flamingo and I finished up $63. For the trip I was down -$47. A guy at my table hit a royal flush in hearts and took down a $599 high hand jackpot. Needless to say, he was happy.

During the remainder of my stay I played a little at TI and primarily at the Flamingo. I like TI, although the room is a little small and too dark. TI had trouble keeping players at the 2/4 LHE tables when I was there. I finished my trip down -$195 over many hours of play after a bad (but fun) all night session.

While this was my second losing trip in a row to Vegas(-$62 in January and -$195 this time), after a couple of winning trips last year, I had a great time. I play the $2/$4 so I don't lose my rear end (I usually finish very slightly up....really!) and because the players are generally relaxed, fun, and from interesting places. The wife of a husband/wife team at one of my tables was the sister of one of the main guys on the Bounty Hunter TV show. Some of the interesting people I played with included the senior partner of a law firm in London, the 21-year old college kids at the Venetian, a fun guy from Israel, a guy from Death Valley, a father and his 21-year old son from North Carolina, a couple of lesbian teachers from Delaware, and a grandma that took her first hold 'em lesson at IP in the morning and won $150 in a couple hours (she was making terrible mistakes but hit the right cards constantly and was absolutely thrilled). And hey, I found a Subways at O'Shea's so I could have a half-way healthy meal (low-carb wrap) for a reasonable price when I was hungry and/or needed a poker break!

I can't wait to go back and thanks to everyone on this site for all your contributions. Sorry I missed catching LVMichael and Minton in the poker rooms. Maybe next time! And maybe next time I'll take that shot at $1/$2 NL!