Bellagio Poker Room

So.. went to Vegas for Rolling Stone’s 40th anniversary weekend bash and it was sick! Snoop Dog Friday night, 50 Cent and Kanye on Saturday night. It was amazing. But.. we are here talk poker…
I am at the 2/5 table for a while and the table sucks. There are only 2 – 5/10 tables and I am waiting to get there. The table I am at is pretty ABC and no one was really messing around. I stole lots of little pots when the action was checked to me, but nothing exciting. I finally get moved and add-on to the $1000 max.
I am up to $1130 and in late position. UTG+2 raises to $50, gets 1 caller and its folded around to me and I squeeze KK. I raise to $180 and then he re-raises me back for $200 on top. I have only been here for an orbit or two and he was def an action player, calling to see lots of flops and firing bets if checked to him. I go all-in and he insta calls and turns over AA.
SHIT! Just my freakin luck..
Flop comes…. K4K!! Ain't that a bitch! Flopped quads and doubled up. I have to admit that he took it very well (where I woulda shit my pants and gone nuts). He got moved to the main table and Tommy Vu sat down and the table went to shit.
He bet every hand big and there was nothing I could do, I had nothing. It didn’t matter, if there were 4-5 limps, he would make it $150. I raised to $60 with TT, he was the only caller. Flop came K85 and I bet $100. He makes it $300 (and has about $10K in cash ready to reload with), I think for a while and fold. He says he had the best hand, passes it to me to see and I look and he has Q5.
Thankfully I was moved to the main game and away from that maniac. Normally I would love to play with someone like that but wasn’t getting the cards to do so.
I got to the main game with $2200 and left with $3360. I had two major hands:
1. UTG+2 raised to $50, 2 callers and I called with 44. flop came T42, Check, Check and the guy to my right bets $120, I called and the other 2 folded. K on the turn, he checks. I am pretty sure that hit him by the way he checked. He was very thoughtful on every play he made and he checked very quickly. I bet $200 and he called. 7 on the river was great, no flushes and no straights. I am 100% sure I have the best hand, he can’t have KK he would have raised pre-flop. He could have TT, but again, I think he would have raised based on how I had seen him play. Add to that, he checks the river. I made a small value bet of $150 into a pot of $840, and he min raises me to $300. This gets me thinking and again I put him on AK. Also, after that bet he only has $300 left. So I think for about 2min, count out the $150 like I am going to call, then announce RAISE, throw in the $150, think for a few and say ALL IN. He actually folded AK face up and saved his last $300, even though the pot was over $1600.
2. Limped pot with 4 players. I have J9 and the flop comes 982. Checked around to me and I bet $40 into $40 pot. BB calls and the other 2 fold. (there are two clubs on the flop) The turn is the Jd, he checks and I bet $80, he thinks and just calls. He could have QT or 7T, plus sets to beat me. Thankfully the river is a 9 giving me 9’s full. He checks, I bet $200 into a pot of $280, and he says “missed your flush huh?” I don’t say a word and am keeping super still and holding my breath, hoping to give off a tell as if I am bluffing. He says “I really should raise you but just gonna call” and turns over 9T.
I played the Bellagio $540 daily earlier in the day, got no cards and busted out early.
Overall a great weekend, saw some great shows and won some $$$$. (including $1200 playing craps when a guy hit the Hard 10 and Hard 8 in back to back points and I had $40 on the hard way both times)
Playing the PS WCOOP $1050 tomm, $15K in chips and 30min levels. Wish me luck!

Impressions: The room is very nice with nice tables and chairs and good dealers, but the wait to get a seat is way too long and the tables are too close together for my liking.
Atmosphere: As mentioned above, the tables are nice and the chairs are comfortable but the tables are too close together.
Dealers: The dealers were top notch.
Food: Drink service was better than average.
Service: The wait to get a seat is the longest I have experienced in Vegas.
Comps: Don't know, didn't ask.

I’m pumped to play at the B. Before this trip I was intimidated by the place and had never even thought of playing there. Also, before this trip I had never made a poker profit without hitting a jackpot. But I’m up $522 at this point and think it’s time to test myself.
Well, if I really had wanted to test myself, I’d have tried 8-16, but I’m not that ballsy yet, so it’s 4-8 again. I come in with $160 and hover between that and $200 for the first couple hours. It’s a fun table and I’m wishing I didn’t have a flight to catch (but really who doesn’t wish that in Vegas?). Two hands I’m proud of, but maybe I shouldn’t be:
I get 33 on the button. Two limpers and no one’s raised, so I bop it up and get four callers. Flop’s like a 9 7 4 rainbow, and everyone checks to me. I have a pretty tight table image and decide to see what I can do with it, so I insta-bet. Everyone calls. Turn’s a K. Check-check-check-check to me, and I have my 8-stack fingered and ready to fire, but I very slowly check. River’s a 2 and it’s checkville to me; I confidently fire 8; everyone folds.
A little later, I raise UTG with 77. Everyone folds except the BB, who re-raises, and I call. Flop’s 8 8 3. He bets; I raise; he calls, and I think he has AK, or else he would’ve re-raised me. Turn’s a 3. He checks; I bet; he calls. River’s an A. Hmm. He checks. I think he wouldn’t check-raise on the river if he hit that, so maybe he has KQ, and I bet. Oops, he does check-raise. I deliberate and know that you shouldn’t fold on the river, but I tell him “you have ace king” and muck. He flips over A K and apologizes for staying in the hand that long.
I play another orbit and leave +$8, the eight chips that I saved by folding on that hand. We fly back to Chicago that afternoon.
Steve, your turn.
---end of report---
Summary: 8am on a Monday = no limit games at TI or Venetian. Green tea intimidation at Mirage 3-6 = +$30. Free prime rib lunch at Venetian = +++EV. Aggro-playing Larry Bird and river folding at Bellagio 4-8 = +$8.
Whole trip all gambling (poker, Butler bet, slots, BJ, craps, bowling, frolf) = +$530
Whole trip all poker = +$462
Whole trip all limit poker = +$627
Whole trip winnings - expenses = +$198.

Impressions: I play here because of the great competition, and the kick out of seeing some of the notable poker stars who play here regularly, mostly in "Bobby's" room. Just like playing golf right in front of Tiger Woods. Just an exciting place to be if you love to play poker.
Atmosphere: The room's tables and chairs use to be kind of shabby, but have been refurbished this year. The lone minus here is the crowded set-up, not much room between tables, and the constant noise. I do like a quieter atmosphere, but the room is most always busy, with lots of conversation.
Dealers: Great group of dealers, among the best in town. They are always efficient and fast, and never any problems with rules or interpretations.
Food: Service is as good as possible, because of the crowded situation between tables.
Service: Management is top drawer and does a terrific job under these hectic conditions. Most important is that they are always polite and keep a smile on. They are as good as you get in this town.
Comps: They do not have to offer comps, so do not expect too much.

Impressions: I'm not sure why I even bother playing here. The games are among the toughest around. I played mostly $5/10 NL here and didn't do well at all. There were some really strong players and they show lots of aggression. I'm usually one of the more aggressive players at the table, but not here.
The room is pretty large and very nice and I saw about a half dozen professionals which was pretty cool. There was actually a guy who played at my table who I recognized from a WPT broadcast from Foxwoods. I think his name was Ron Rose. I like this place a lot and would recommend it. Probably the most famous place to play in Vegas.
Atmosphere: The room is very fancy, with antique looking decor. The room is very cramped though. They put too many tables in there and it can be tough to move around at times. Overall, very high quality.
Dealers: No complaints about the dealers. All were professional. We had this one dealer who I swear looked like Mike the Mouth. He wasn't but he was a dead ringer for Mike.
Food: The waitresses were very hot and they had all of the top shelf drinks. I didn't have to wait long. I highly recommend the Orange Julious.
Service: They didn't have the lists up on a screen which was surprising. I suppose it was organized but I didn't wait about 45 minutes for a table to open up. I didn't find the managers to be particularly friendly or unfriendly. They were there and did there job.
Comps: The first time I played I just introduced myself to the poker manager and told them that I was staying in the hotel and wanted the poker rate. She gave it to me without checking on hours of play or anything else. Since that first time they have my name in their files and I just calle and always get the poker rate.

Impressions: I really like this place. When I come to Vegas I often stay here -- their poker rate is pretty good and they don't make you jump through hoops to get it. You just introduce yourself the to poker manager when you're there and in the future you call and they are very friendly and never hesitate to lock in a room.
The room is pretty large by Vegas standards and the quality of the room is first class all the way. The players are usually better here than at most other rooms, so you better know what you're doing. I especially like the daily tournaments. If you read my profile you'll see that I normally don't play daily/weekly tournaments, but here, the daily tournaments are more like larger events with bigger buy-ins ($500 weekdays, $1000 weekends) and a good structures. They give $3000-5000 starting chips.
Atmosphere: First class all the way. One of the nicest rooms around.
Dealers: Nothing stands out, but no problems either which probably means that they are good.
Food: This is the one area where this room falls short. There is no problem at all getting drinks inside the room, but the food options near the room are bad. There is one snack counter nearby but the options are limited and it's usually fairly crowded (it's also next to the sports book so you're competing for service). There really aren't any good food options at this room.
Service: The service is good, but you often have to wait a bit since this is such a popular room. They do their best to keep things moving though.
Comps: They don't seem to promote comps much; probably because they don't need to.

Visited Vegas last weekend with some old friends. Unfortunately they are not poker players but we hadn't seen each other for a few years and had a great time. On Saturday night after a few hours of partying we made our way to the Bellagio and left the gang at the craps tables and headed over to the poker room. I just love the Bellagio. Haven't played here much, but it is so classy and I have always done well here. Yes, I know the players are usually pretty good, but I find that late at night you get some fishy players, especially at the $5/10 NL tables. I think some of these guys are out with their girlfriends and are trying to impress. They probably don't have the skill level for $5/10, but are letting the beer tell them that they can score big.
Anyway, nothing happens for the first hour and then this hand comes up. I get dealt K[h] 3[h] in the BB, and a really loose player in EP makes it $40 to go. He's done this about 5 out of the last 8 hands and only showed down his hand once. It was A5o. Two players call so i do the same.
The flop comes:
3[c] 3[d] a[d]
Not too bad. I decide to check to Mr. Loose. He hesitates for quite a while and pretends that he is going to throw away his hand then makes a 'what the heck' type look at us and throws in $150. He has about $1,000 behind. One guy insta calls who has $1,500ish behind and I call too also with about $1,500. I'm a bit worked about A3 or even AA, but not too worried just yet.
The turn is the beautiful case 3! I check again and Mr. Loose again goes into the act, saying how he knows that one of us has AA, but that he just can't get away from his hand so he pushes. Wow! The other guy calls too. Of course I beat the guy into the pot. The first guy had the nut flush draw (KQ[d] ) and the other guy really got screwed with AA.
Nice hand.
The rest of the session was fairly boring. Fold, fold, fold, raise and everyone folds, etc., etc. I played for about 2 hours and was up $3k until my friends came and got me. Can't wait for my next Vegas trip.