Las Vegas Live Poker
Writing about live poker facilities in Las Vegas is one hell of a challenge, in the sense that I can’t possibly squeeze nearly enough information about the Vegas poker scene into a regular-length article.
Well, I guess I’ll just have to single out those that are most representative of the world capital of gambling.
With that in mind, what better poker room could I pick to start with than the Bellagio? Quite possibly the classiest poker room in town, the Bellagio is the definition of professionalism. Their dealers are the best in town, (no room for rookies there) and the whole atmosphere the poker room has about it, oozes exclusivity. It is the meeting place of the best of the local player-base, and don’t be surprised if you have to wait for hours on end before you’re granted a seat at one of their low stakes/limit tables. Value-wise however, it’s probably 
not the best place in town. The competition is very skilled here, and – especially at higher limits – you will probably be skinned alive if you’re not a good poker player yourself.
At lower limits, quite a big percentage of players are what they call ”average”, so if you’re one of them sharks, it’ll probably pay for you to play at these limits.
If you plan to go to the Bellagio to take advantage of the freebies they offer, change your plan. The Bellagio doesn’t have to lure players to its tables, there are already more than they can sometimes handle. If you play for 4-5 hours you will get a $15 food voucher, which you can use at their snack-bar, but that’s about all there is.
If you’re looking for a secluded poker hideout, Caesar’s Palace has just the thing for you. With a well hidden entrance, this poker room is guaranteed to have only players who were especially looking to play poker there. No innocent bystanders sucked into the action here, although that may not be so good in regards to the competition. You’d generally want to play people who don’t really have a clue about advanced play, but unfortunately, at Caesar’s Palace, most players are pretty good.
The room itself is huge, with a separate dedicated section for the daily poker tournaments which provide the best value money-wise in the whole room.
The dealers are good, but probably not the best Vegas has to offer. Word has it, some of them have certain personality-issues, but all in all, it’s not a bad bunch.
As for the freebies: players in possession of a comp card will get $1/hour extra value.
It seems like every poker room in Las Vegas sets the standards for a different thing: the Bellagio is the classiest, Caesar’s Place is quite possibly the biggest, and the Venetian is the most elegant. It instantly makes its players feel like VIPs.
It might be the lavish interior, or the table side food service (available to every poker player, no matter what limit they play at) or it might be the fact that the management didn’t get greedy at stuffing as many poker tables in as possible. There are two VIP areas, a regular one and a premium one, both well hidden in order to keep “tourist traffic” to a minimum.
Just about the only problem with the Venetian is the competition you’ll face there. As they say: if you like swimming with the fish, you should choose a different pond.
That is never good news for someone looking to make some money, but it probably won’t bother you if playing at the Venetian is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you.
In terms of speed, the dealers at the Venetian are all within reasonable limits, and they seem to lack the personality issues dealers in other rooms often display.
As far as poker promotions go, the Venetian is the best poker room in town. Players here will get $2-3 in comp value per hour, plus there is a house-funded $25.000 bad beat jackpot. It’s true that you have to have your 4Ts or higher beat in order to win it, but it’s something not many poker rooms can boast.
Freerolls are also available for those who play more than 50 hours a month here.