The Wynn poker room combines the opulence of a high stakes room with the friendliness of your neighborhood poker room.  They seem to want to provide the high roller environment for everyone  --  even if you don’t hand the floor man a hefty tip.  In that sense they won me over quickly to their way of doing business.

The poker room couldn’t be more convenient to the parking lot.  Just park on the second level and walk in.  You are within ten feet of the room when you exit.  You are greeted by a beautifully appointed place to play poker.

The room is airy,  with high ceilings,  no smoking and an open feeling that comes from:  the most comfortable chairs in Las Vegas,  tables far enough apart for easy access between them,  and a room that’s nicely broken into small playing areas on a couple of levels so you don’t feel trapped or herded in with lots of other players.

The game selection is excellent.  When I was there they were spreading limit texas holdem of $4/8,  $8/16,  $15/30,  and $40/80;  No Limit holdem of $1/2,  $2/5,  and $5/10,  as well as an Omaha 8 game of $6/12 with a full kill.  They will spread other games upon request  --  though they have Stud only rarely.  The rake or time charge is reasonable,  with between a 5% and 10% rake up to a maximum of $4 a pot on the low and mid-stakes games and a time charge of $6 for the $5/10 No Limit and $7 on the $40/80 game.

The room holds 27 tables,  all but two of them were in use when I visited on a Monday evening.  The head staff person,  the Director of Poker operations,  is Deborah Giardina.  Her philosophy is to give the players the high stakes experience without the officious attitude of a room that caters only to the high stakes players.  For example,  all of the staff are trained to be friendly,  gracious and helpful to all players regardless of their level of play.  I found this to be true and a refreshing change from less friendly rooms  (that shall remain nameless in this article).  And unlike other rooms where you have to grease the palm of the floor person to get a pass to the buffet,  in this room every player earns money toward comps every hour.  They earn $1 an hour at the raked games and $1.50 an hour at the higher stakes time games.  These can be accumulated and earned without limit and used for food or lodging.  When I next return to Las Vegas I plan to use my grand total of nine dollars  (earned during my two brief sessions)  on a nice lunch  -- supplementing it with my credit card if necessary.

The room is not without room for improvement.  They do not currently have tournaments,  although Deborah told me that they are thinking of having them in the future after they have been up and running for a while...  And there are no truly high stakes games.  If you want to play higher than $40/80 your only option is still the Bellagio.

As far as the dealers and floor staff are concerned,  they seemed perfectly well trained to me already.  My dealers dealt quickly and quietly,  with just the right amount of good humor to relax a table without ever getting intrusive.  The one problem that arose came from an abusive player who was silenced immediately by a floor person who issued quiet and decisive instructions to the player that he would be removed if there were any further outbursts.  In another instance that could have gotten ugly,  a completely exhausted player who could barely keep his eyes open and lapsed occasionally into inattention was politely and humorously  “helped”  from the table with his chips and escorted,  presumably,  back to his room in the casino with a wheelchair.