FR
The Venetian seems all about the tournaments and the low-limit NL action, so if you want anything else, it's a crap shoot. Even though they are doing a promotion of $2 max rake for the $8/$16 game, I arrived one midweek evening to find it not going. I spent some time in a usually short Omaha/8 game. I also spent some time in a short $8/$16 game where one player was gone for more than an hour. (One comment I heard was that a player could be away from the table for an hour and 15 minutes. That's way, way too long.) The staff at the front was friendly, got me on lists or directed me to tables, and answered my questions. The tables, while they look nice, are too small for 10 players to sit around comfortably. Players are squeezed in. One night, I played on a very dirty table with grit all over. Another night, I was at a table that had a lump in the felt. All in all, the tables did not seem to be well maintained. They are, however, spread apart well enough. The seats are somewhat comfortable, but height and swivel are not the be-all, end-all. They are more comfortable than the seats at the Mirage, but they do not meet the comfort standard of the Orleans. I like that the room is right by the front entrance off the Strip. There's a nice lounge area with plush, comfortable couch and seats to wait for a game. The size of the room, plus the fact that it's partially walled off from the casino and has just a small casino floor exposure, means that there is no noticeable second hand smoke in the room.
Most of my time was playing $8/$16 limit. The play was very tough, with some locals and some aggressive Europeans. Few pots went unraised preflop. Lots of 3-barrel bluffing. It's a high variance game, but it's also beatable if you play a solid game. It attracted just enough loose players to make it so. The small time I spent in the Omaha/8 game, players tended to be fairly conservative, playing a pretty solid game.
Dealers were mechanically very good. Most ran the game well, calling bets and raises. They engaged in the occasional table chatter without letting it distract from the running of the game.
I don't notice the "attractiveness" of the cocktail waitresses, but I noticed that they came by frequently to ask if anyone wanted anything. People who did drink (I never even got water, my sessions were so short) seemed to get the drinks quickly.
The folks at the podium all seemed approachable and friendly. They pointed me to the tables when I asked where the open seats were (once got led to it).
Comps are $1/hour, plus a poker rate. The bad news is that you can't use the player card; you have to get a slip with the comp amount, and then go spend it. Kinda kludgy. Even if I wanted to pay that much for a room at the poker rate, I likely would get the rate because my sessions per day don't add up to enough hours.
