A couple of poker rooms that are in hotels that aren't in the Bellagio/Mirage category (either for room cost or poker costs) try Flamingo (wonderful pool), Palms (home of our own Gene Trimble, good pool) Orleans (nice rooms, good poker room, transportation to the Barbary Coast every 15 mintues, pool is large but unspetacular), Mandalay Bay (great pool--good card room--costly). Mirage has a great pool. I'm too poor to know what Bellagio's pool is like but I suspect that it is a good one.