Looking for best low buy-in texas hold'em tournaments in Vegas near MGM grand

[p5woody]

This is my first time to Vegas.  I am staying at MGM Grand Monday-Friday last week of June.  I am looking for the best low buy-in (Under 100) Texas hold'em tournaments near my hotel during the day.

I have been looking at http://www.allvegaspoker.com/tournaments.php

Is this a good one?

Game Type:  NL Hold'em
Day of Week:  Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa,Su
Time of Day:  11:00 AM
Total Buy In:  65
Admin Free:  15
Fees Returned:  76%
Rebuy:  No
Rebuy Description:
 
Addon:  Yes
Addon Description:
 $5 dealer add on for $800 in chips. This is including in Total Buy in, Casino/Dealer Fee, and Starting chip count
Starting Chip Count:  2000
Avg Number Players:  60
Payout Structure:
 i. 4-49 players pays four (4) places 40%-30%-20%-10%
ii. 50-59 players pays five (5) places 40%-30%-15%-10%-5%
iii. 60 + players pays six (6) places 40%-25%-15%-10%-5.5%-4.5%
 
Level Time:  00:20
Avg Tourney Length:  3-4 hours
Blind Structure:
 Small/Big/Ante
25/50
50/100
100/200/25
200/400/50
400/800/100
600/1200/200
800/1600/300
1500/3000/500
3000/6000/500
5000/10000/1000

[p5woody]

Here is another one I was looking at:

Tournament Detail

Casino Name:  Tropicana
Game Type:  NL Hold'em
Day of Week:  Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa,Su
Time of Day:  12:00 AM
Total Buy In:  60
Admin Free:  20
Fees Returned:  66%
Rebuy:  No
Rebuy Description:
 
Addon:  Yes
Addon Description:
 There is an optional $10 add on that goes to the tournament staff and is included in the "total buy in" and "dealer fee" above as well as "Starting Chip Count" below. This must be taken at sign up and you will recieve 1000 additional chips.
Starting Chip Count:  2500
Avg Number Players:  20
Payout Structure:
 All payouts below are in percentages.

Total tables / Payouts
1 table 100
2 tables 65/35
3 tables 50/30/20
4 tables 45/25/20/10
(max number of payouts is 4 places)
Level Time:  00:20
Avg Tourney Length:  2-3 hours
Blind Structure:
 25/25
25/50
50/100
100/200
200/400
300/600
500/1000
1000/2000
2000/4000
3000/6000
5000/10000

[pathand]

The Tropicana card room was a dump a few years ago. Unless they've made some changes, you might not like the place. The MGM games were OK, but it's been 2 years since I made my last deposit.   

[Martini]

There are always exceptions but by and large you get what you pay for. In general, higher buy ins will get you deeper stacks and better structures. Assuming poker tourneys follow the general principles of supply and demand, you will probably find the better deals at the lesser traveled casinos instead of the big brand name mega-resorts.

That first one sounds bad. $65+$15 for T2000 in chips and you'll be start 100/200/25 after 40 minutes? You'd better hope to be a card rack for your first dozen hands or so if you want to do well in that tourney.

Second one sounds a lot better. $60+$20 for T2500 and only 50/100 blinds at 40 minutes. The fact that you are even starting with 100xBB is a luxury.

I can't speak for the quality of the card rooms though. If pathand says that the Trop is a dump I'd believe it. How much juice you want to pay for a nicer table is up to you.

[p5woody]

I am more interested in poker then what the room looks like.  I normally play in in garages and basements, I just enjoy the game.

[p5woody]

If I up the buy-in would this one be better then the previous ones posted?

Tournament Detail

Casino Name:  Caesars Palace
Game Type:  NL Hold'em
Day of Week:  Mo,Tu,We,Th,Su
Time of Day:  12:00 PM
Total Buy In:  125
Admin Free:  25
Fees Returned:  80%
Rebuy:  No
Rebuy Description:
 
Addon:  Yes
Addon Description:
 A single $10 add on is available at signup for 2500 more chips. This goes directly to the tournament staff and is optional.
Starting Chip Count:  5000
Avg Number Players:  50
Payout Structure:
 Entries / Payouts

1-9 100
10-18 60/40
19-27 50/30/20
28-36 40/30/20/10
37-45 40/25/15/12/8
46-54 38/22/15/12/8/5
55-63 38/22/14/10/7/5/4
64-150 (top 9 paid) 38/20/11/8/7/6/5/4/3
151-250 (top 18 paid) 33/18.2/10/8/6/5/4/3/2/1.4/
1.4/1.4/1.2/1.2/1.2/1/1/1

251+ (top 27 paid) 32/17.6/9/7/6/5/4/3/2/1.2/1.2/
1.2/1/1/1/0.8/0.8/0.8/0.6/0.6/0.6/0.6
/0.6/0.6/0.6/0.6/0.6
Level Time:  00:30
Avg Tourney Length:  7-8 hours
Blind Structure:
 BLINDS ANTES
25/50
50/100
100/200
200/400
300/600
400/800
600/1200
600/1200/100
800/1600/200
1000/2000/200
1500/3000/300
2000/4000/400
3000/6000/500
5000/10000/1000
8000/16000/2000
10000/20000/2000
15000/30000/3000
20000/40000/4000
30000/60000/5000
50000/100000/5000
75000/150000/5000

[Martini]

Better is relative. The structure is clearly an improvement but whether or not it is worth the extra money to you is another question.

Another thing, I cannot imagine a scenario where you would *not* want to do the dealer bonus add-on thing which is often offered. It not only makes sure the staff gets their share but you'd be crazy to turn down such a huge chip/$ ratio that they offer.

[pathand]

I am more interested in poker then what the room looks like.  I normally play in in garages and basements, I just enjoy the game.

I understand, I too enjoy the game. I'm just saying that with so many nice cardrooms around within a short taxi ride, you would enjoy the game even more with better surroundings. You don't want your first trip to be an unpleasant one. All I'm suggesting is that there are a lot better venues than the Slopicana, IMO. Who knows, maybe they've changed, but I doubt it. Good luck with whichever you decide.

[Martini]

I am more interested in poker then what the room looks like.  I normally play in in garages and basements, I just enjoy the game.

I understand, I too enjoy the game. I'm just saying that with so many nice cardrooms around within a short taxi ride, you would enjoy the game even more with better surroundings. You don't want your first trip to be an unpleasant one. All I'm suggesting is that there are a lot better venues than the Slopicana, IMO. Who knows, maybe they've changed, but I doubt it. Good luck with whichever you decide.

Good point. You can always play in cheap surroundings at home! You should at least stop by and take a look at some of the fancy poker rooms like the Venetian or Caesars even if you don't want to play there.

[Squiggly]

The Tropicana's poker room is closed. I got bit by the same out-of-date information.

[p5woody]

You have recommendations?  I agree nicer room is always better if the tournament structure is good.

There are just too many choices when you have no experience.

Thanks, for any advice you can give

Squiggly,
Thanks for the heads up on the tropicana

[pathand]

The Tropicana's poker room is closed. I got bit by the same out-of-date information.

There wasn't much to close. The rooms are just as bad. It's really time for the place to be leveled. Maybe when Vegas recovers from their current slump, they can improve that property. Thanks for the info, Squiggly.

[Martini]

You have recommendations?  I agree nicer room is always better if the tournament structure is good.

There are just too many choices when you have no experience.

Thanks, for any advice you can give

Squiggly,
Thanks for the heads up on the tropicana

Well since you are going to be in the MGM, definitely walk by that one. Other nice rooms are Caesars, Bellagio, and Venetian if you are in that area of the strip.

[Squiggly]

I was looking for the low dollar tourneys as well. Walking in to the Tropicana on day one to find out the poker room was closed was a bummer, since that killed that day for tourneys for me. Day 2, Sunday, I tried the ultra low dollar buy in at the Gold Coast - off strip and a taxidrive away. Of course they moved their tourney to the afternoon and I was out of time for a tourney on that day.

The problem with the tourneys at the Luxor and Excalibur is they are crap shoots. $45 buy-in for 350 chips with 15 minute blinds and 10/20 starting level, 25/50 second level. There's no skill involved there at all.

When I do it again, and if I were you, I would start at the $60-65 level and go for the good rooms... Caesar's Palace has an excellent reputation for tourneys and have them in that price bracket. If you want to spend more, as Martini says, go for Bellagio or Venetian.

[Squiggly]

Planet Hollywood was busy for tourneys as well, and if I recall correctly their structure isn't bad, middle of the road, but it's a smoking area in the middle of the casino and I don't smoke.

[nutN2Lewz]

If you can afford it, skip the rinky-dink rooms and go straight to Caesars or The Venetian. Play the $65 tourney at Caesars to see how a poker tournament should be run. After that you can try some of the smaller rooms to see if you can stomach it.

The MGM isn't too bad - it's a nice poker room in the middle of the general casino and their tournaments are (just barely) okay. There are more tourists playing poker at the MGM than there are at Caesars/Venetian. The other tournaments at the south end of the strip are real hit-and-miss and you might be disappointed.

Good luck, nutn

[ripian]

This is my first time to Vegas.  I am staying at MGM Grand Monday-Friday last week of June.  I am looking for the best low buy-in (Under 100) Texas hold'em tournaments near my hotel during the day.

I have been looking at http://www.allvegaspoker.com/tournaments.php
 

When we were in Vegas for my brother's stag 2 years ago, we played at the Binon's Horseshoe morning tourney, granted it's nowhere near the MGM but it was decent action. You may want to check out the Mirage room as well, a buddy of mine just got back and he was telling me that the tourney's there are reasonably pricing and decent action too...

Have Fun!

[brianb10]

I know you said near the MGM Grand but I would seriously check out the tournaments at Treasure Island.  I believe they have a nightly $65 in which the structure is good (levels are kind of short at 20:00) and they also have a $125 headhunters that may be out of your price range but is a very good tournament and with it being a bounty tournament you can get your buy in back without winning the whole thing.  The levels on this one are 30:00.  I've played the crap shoot's at Monte Carlo and Riveria, the $65 at Ceasars, the $40 (I think it was $40) at Planet Hollywood and the one at TI and TI was the best by far even though I won at Riveria