Stayed and played (mostly) at the Mirage. I played their Thurs. night tournament. This was my third time playing, first time to cash. The other two times I've played they had in excess of 100 players so I was surprised when they only had four tournament tables available. Still, with alternates, they had 77 players, 66 of whom rebought (1 w/ add-on in the 1st hour). For T1000, 25-25 blinds seemed fair enough. I couldn't believe my first four starting hands--AK off, AJ suited, AA, AA. Suffice it to say, I did not need to rebuy. Then I didn't seen any cards for a while, got short stacked but played well enough to make it into the money (they paid 9 spots). Continued to play solidly, finally busted out in 5th.

After a little celebrating at the Palms, my buddy and I headed over to the MGM. This room is everything everyone has said it is, both good and bad. The room looks so hip, the vibe is just amazing. The flat screens only add to this. Players were all young and having a great time. I splurged and got a 20 minute massage at the table--thank you Heather! This was worth twice the $2/min. I paid. I agree with those who are annoyed by the marble rims on the tables. I guess they look nice enough, but just kind of a hassle to manage chips and cards when the felt and marble are not perfectly flush. Played 1-2 NL exclusively and the game was very beatable, although I dumped $65.

Played at the Mirage the rest of the weekend. Avoid the 3-6; it's no foldem holdem. Also, the drink service was HORRIBLE. Rude old ladies who come by every 30 minutes is not what this place needs. Management, however, is and always has been great IMO. The 1-2 NL game required patience and most players knew what they were doing. Aggressiveness would be rewarded with a fold from the rocks/locals but you better have a hand against the tourists. Not because they were great players, but most of the tourists were there to gamble and they paid each other off with loose play. Unfortunately, over the weekend, I probably played a little too loose and dumped maybe $250 over Fri. and Sat. Tight-aggressive is the way to go here. Fortunately, the tournament winnings more than made up for any losses.

Walked over to Wynn Sat. morning but didn't play. Hard to tell because they weren't busy, but the room did not seem cramped, as others have suggested. Beautiful, though, as you'd expect.

Thanks to allvegaspoker and others who have posted.