I was just thinking some of what you had mentioned. I have never stayed on the strip so I can't speak for any suggestions there. Also I am not a poker player so I am not sure how good one poker room is over another. However from my experience with the few places I have stayed, along with reputation, what I have read here and on USENET The Orleans might be a consideration if the original writer is willing to stay Off Strip. In fact I have written a couple of posts to alt.vacation.las-vegas recently where I point out some of the pros and cons of my experiences at The Orleans.

Top of the list is that while it is off strip and somewhat removed in an inconvenient location the FREE Shuttles to The Barbary Coast and Gold Coast are HUGE PLUSSES that more than over come all concerns. If friends are staying at Bellagio you would simply take the shuttle which runs about every 15 minutes till, I think, midnight and cross the overpasses to Bellagio. From Barbary coast you are also conveniently accessable to Caesars, Mirage, Bally's, Paris, Venetian and TI. You would also not be too far from MGM, NY NY, Aladdin, Monte Carlo and Excalibur/Luxor/Mandalay Bay. The value for room rates to what you get at The Orleans is also a big plus. Further, I think it is kind of nice to have a more quiet place to withdraw to and be able to easilly get to the activity on the strip when you want it. Some strip properties can seem a bit hectic and busy.

If you want to go to Palms or RIO, you can choose a shuttle, Again Free, from Orleans to Gold Coast. RIO is a bit more inconveniently located but I was amazed at how well situated it was to Palms. Simply walk down to the end of the building and cross at the light. There is a stop light that crosses you right at the entry to PALMS. If I had known that sooner I would have gone to PALMS long ago. I look forward to my next trip to LV so that I can get a better more comprehensive look around. I have been reading lately that The Palms also has a good Poker Room.

As for some of the other ammenities that were mentioned, The Pool at Orleans is very good. Lots of shade and sun. A bar at poolside. This year they actually had the bar open when we were there. Last year they didn't have it open during the day. There is a nice water fall, plenty of misting jets, cabanas, Whirlpool, Wadding pool and the main pool has some nice ledges where you can sit up to your chest in the water and dangle your legs into the pool. It is really nice. There is also a grassy area where some people had spread out their towels to sunbathe.

The buffet is good, there are theaters, showroom, bowling center, a wide range of restaurants from Prime Rib Loft to Big Al's Oyster Bar, Brendans Irish Pub, Subway Terrible Mikes, Kate's Ice Cream and Seattles Best Coffee... there are others as well. They just opened their new areana recently and now have monster truck shows, circus, concerts, Professional Hockey and other areana type events. Check out www.orleanscasino.com and www.orleansareana.com for more information.

Rooms are nice with sitting areas in front of windows with nice views of either the mountains and pool or the strip. Warnings though..... Rooms with Low numbers will be VERY FAR from the elevators. I had 1002 last trip. Even numbers in the old section of the hotel overlook strip odd numbers mountain and pool. NEW TOWER WARNING..... While the rooms in the new tower have nicer trim and furnishings some rooms have NO VIEW. I don't know what floor numbers are effected but I do know that some friends on the second floor had views of a concrete wall that was about 30' to 40' accross from them. There is a door between the bath area and dressing area in the old rooms but the new tower does not have such a door. All rooms have a sliding pocket door between the suite and the dressing area. It appears that wider doorways for accessability (wheelchair... (?)) might be the cause of no door in the new rooms going into the toilet and shower area. In the old rooms the doors barely swing past the fixtures to begin with. Wider doors certainly wouldn't swing past the toilet in the new rooms. While we were there, every morning there was construction on an adjacent floor. Work started every morning at about 8am. Can't remember if it was 9 or 11. I took a look one afternoon and noticed that carpet and wallpaper was torn out. They may be renovating the old rooms floor by floor so some old tower rooms might be changing.