LAS VEGAS -- Before I came to Vegas, I read a columnist's piece on the Wynn that basically said the Wynn is very reminiscent of the Bellagio. When I visited, I found that's shockingly true. Especially the signs, which use the same (or similar) typescript as the Bellagio. The Wynn's poker room appears smaller than the Bellagio. It doesn't have that familiar crush of people like the 'O has. The automatic card shufflers pretty much set the standard for the industry now. I've felt very comfortable playing at the Wynn, almost a cozy feeling. It's not hard to get into games and there are plenty of tables. At the Bellagio, the wait times can be pretty long. I wish I could rock back in the Wynn chairs like you can at the 'O. But the Bellagio, I think, offers much more of a overall casino experience. You have to walk through the lobby of the 'O and most of the casino floor before you can get to the poker room. And to me, there's nothing else like it in the world. You're walking under the Chihuly glass on your way to work, wearing poker clothes more than likely, sidestepping Asian couples in full wedding gowns and tuxedos (this really happened to me today) or tall blondes wearing miniskirts and stilleto heels, trying to negotiate the tile in the middle of the Bellagio casino pathway. The redesign of the Bellagio's poker room is incredible. The only way to compare it is that it is to its old incarnation like what the refit of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture was to the old USS Enterprise from the TV series. It is totally different but plays on its previous elements. You walk into the main floor. Directly in the back is Bobby's Room, a place for private high limit games. That's Bobby Baldwin, the former World Champion, Super/System chapter author and president of the Bellagio. The regular high limit area is the same but the poker room goes to better lengths to shield it from the stares of players in the regular floor. At the Wynn, the poker room is right next to the parking garage. I like that because it's easy to get in and out but I likely won't see the rest of the casino for a long time. It's also good that there's a sundrie and sandwich shop nearby- it's a big deal when poker players get hungry! But you don't get the poker-is-bigger-than-me feeling you get at the Bellagio. Everything said, I'll probably be at the Wynn much more, at least until my bankroll and play can support and justify playing at Bellagio's bigger limit games. That might not be for a while! New player bonus on Party Poker, 20 percent to $100: KURO1

Source: Poker Cats