News / Dave Allan / 10 July 2009 / Leave a comment

Vegas is starting to grow on me. (writes Simon Zammit) I am getting used to all the great things going on and can really imagine myself being on of the regular visitors to this great city. Last night was another fun dose of everything from meeting new people, trying out cocktails, visiting different places and learning which shows are the best to try and go see.

Twice in the same amount of days, my colleagues, some of our players and I headed to the Imperial Palace for some cheap Blackjack and then walked a few minutes to the Carnival Centre. Amazingly, the security at the door recognized us from the 1,000's that attend and let us through without asking for ID again (something that I am asked for every other minute). A great live rock band was playing cover versions of popular and classic rock tunes and they really knew how to put on a show - all this for free!

As soon as they finished, we all turned around facing the inside of the club and I immediately spotted a girl that put most of the others in her shadow, and not in a fat way! This girl really looked amazing but I thought nothing of it at the time so proceeded to buy drinks for the gang. Not five minutes go by and I am tapped on my shoulder, just a little to make sure I realize it's not someone bumping into me (as usual) and surprise, surprise - it's her!!!

I thought "Why the hell does she want to talk to me?" and I soon found out that all she wanted was a lighter. I don't smoke anymore but I still carry one for these reasons and was expecting a smile and her walking away but this one actually introduced herself and we spoke for quite a while. Of course, her cousin had to come interrupt when things were getting interesting so again, I turned around and finished my beer as I watched her walk away.

In the meantime, this forty-something year old woman at the bar with her husband started asking me a bunch of questions as she found my accent intriguing. As I am explaining to her where a tiny drop in the ocean called Malta is located, her husband pulls me over and I quote "Stay away from my wife and f*ck off". Both of us were surprised and I asked him why, to which he replied "Just get the f*ck out of here". This bothered me a bit and my colleagues overheard his kind request and pulled me away before anything kicked off.

Half an hour goes by and mystery girl, who I had come to know as Leah from Portland, comes next to me again but before she could speak, Rob jumps up and says "Body Shots"! The night before I didn't mind but this time I really liked the girl so I felt a bit embarrassed but to my surprise, she insta-replied "YES, but only with Simon". My face went from embarrassed to excited and one drink then led to other stuff which I will not write but will leave to everyone's imagination.

All of us were now getting hungry so after some dodgy food from Burger Palace, we headed into O'Shea's, a friendly, Irish and cheap casino with a Craps table having three empty seats. As we each sat down and exchanged cash for money, it was soon my turn and I was on a roll - a big one! The table loved me as I had rolled them all a huge profit, including myself and after almost an hour of hitting good numbers, I hit the dreaded seven but people actually cheered for me! I was cheering too when I saw that my chip stack had trebled!

One thing I learned early in life is to quit while you're ahead so we each cashed out and proceeded to go to bed as the sun was starting to shine again. In the morning, we all met around 11:00 and met the rest of our players in the cabanas Betfair had kindly booked for us to entertain our players on their one day off from the World Series. I was glad to meet them in person as before, without being rude, they were all just another of the thousands of Poker Aliases on Betfair. I have to say Paul is lucky to work with such a cool gang of players and they too seem to be quite fond of him.

After grabbing a quick light meal, Rob and I headed towards the Fashion Mall to buy discounted tickets for ourselves and the players as we decided to go watch a hypnotist live at the Paris Theatre. Unfortunately, theatre is a very popular thing in Vegas and a lot of people decided to go to the same ticketing shop as we did. Standing in the afternoon sun, in July and in Vegas for an hour was not ideal but we made it in eventually and got hold of our tickets.

During my stay here, I have also been collating some information, opinions and also having a think myself about various comparisons that might be useful to people wanting to come here. Today, I will mention what I think are the best five hotels/casinos to visit in Las Vegas, but not just in terms of luxury but also fun factor and costs.

Number One in my list has to be the Encore for the sheer luxury and splendor that surrounds you from the moment you step inside. The red chandeliers, the amazing carpets, the way every single thing is strategically placed to entice people to try different things out is amazing. I still take a deep, happy breath each time I go into my room or go down in the lobby to meet with colleagues of other Betfair guests.

As a Casino, the Wynn and Encore put together pretty much have every game imaginable and the Poker room is always busy. They hold a daily $70 Buy In tourney at 14:00 and have many variations of cash games going on. To be fair, the casino is a bit pricey as minimum bets on all the different tables (Blackjack, Craps, etc) are about $15. The pool areas and restaurants are all amazing and you can literally spend a month at the resort and still not seen it all.

Next in line has to be Caesars Palace as it really is different from anything else I have seen. The interior is everything Roman and they really have pulled it off. The great thing about Caesars Palace is that not only is it a good hotel but also has hundreds of shops and restaurants scattered around so you will never get tired of walking through the different areas. The casino is huge and a section of it has players hosted by dealers (female) dressed up like the Pussycat Dolls and it was funny that they get prettier the higher the stakes the table. If you want luxury and at the same time can take your family out, children and all, Caesars Palace is a winner.

Number three on my list is The Bellagio. In terms of luxury and shopping it really is the same as Caesars but in my opinion is not really intended for family holidays. Of course, the dancing fountains make it a destination for all and the casino has got to be one of the largest in Vegas. It also has one, if not the most popular Poker Rooms on the Strip and they even have a high limit room that is guarded by about four security personnel. The windows were not perfectly clear but we could see that some of the players had over a million dollars sitting in front of them!

Treasure Island makes it onto my Number four spot as it is the most entertaining hotel for families. I never get tired of walking past the Pirate Show every time we travel down the Strip. It also seems to offer the best compromise when it comes to price and quality and the people I met staying there had nothing too bad to say about it.

Last but not least, if you are in Vegas to have a really good time and not spend much is the Imperial Palace. You really do get what you pay for but it has the strongest, cheapest drinks and you can sit down with $10 and have a good time playing on their $1 Blackjack tables! They also have live singing impersonators that really make you laugh. It is also right in the middle of the Strip and next to Carnival Centre, which is now my favorite partying destination!

Finally, I want to give a massive congratulation to the Betfair Players that have made it through to Day 3. Sorel Mizzi has about 166,000 in chips whilst our other remaining Pro, Peter Jepsen will be sitting with just under 120,000 when he starts playing again tomorrow. Follow our Twitter updates for the latest news on the World Series of Poker, Betfair Qualifiers and Pro's!

Till then, as always, I thank you for your time!