The million dollar question has been answered. The Bellagio poker room is still THE high-limit poker room in Las Vegas. And yes, I know that the Wynn poker room opened tonight also. I am including the Wynn poker room in my statement. Bellagio trumps Wynn for high stakes action.

Why does the Bellagio have the best room in Vegas for high stakes poker action? Because the Bellagio built the most beautiful high-limit card room I have ever seen. It's called “Bobby's Room”, and it is named after Bobby Baldwin, a top casino executive at MGM/Mirage (click on and see the pictures of Bobby's Room in the right column).

Bobby's Room is the smaller room inside the main Bellagio poker room where the “big games” are played. The games that start at $2,000/$4,000. The public can not walk into Bobby's Room. It is protected by security guards. But the walls are made of glass, so the inside of the room can easily be seen. And, let me tell you -- this private little room is something else! There are two poker tables, a private bar, and a small lounge area with gorgeous furnishings. If I were a pro player, this is where I would want to play.

There were quite a few “rail-birds” looking through the glass, trying to watch the professional poker players in action. I was one of them. I saw two world champions in Bobby's Room while I was there – Jennifer Harman, and Eric Seidel. I heard that several other famous pro players were there throughout the night.

These professional poker players appreciate privacy. And, Bobby's Room delivers. It protects the big-game players from hand shakers and autograph seekers. This protection, and the Bellagio pedigree have convinced me that there will always be a big game at Bobby's Room, despite the competition from Wynn.

Aside from Bobby's Room, several other improvements have been made to the Bellagio poker room. The lighting is better. The carpet is new. And, each poker table was re-covered with new felt and a new rim. In essence, the place was jazzed up.

Also, the chairs were replaced. I was a big fan of the old Bellagio poker room chairs. The new chairs are equally as comfortable as the old chairs, but sadly, they're now the second best poker chairs in Las Vegas (behind Wynn).

Thankfully the Bellagio added 10 new tables to the poker room. This was a necessity because the wait-lists were getting ridiculous for the 4/8 to 15/30 games. Two hour waits during the weekends were not uncommon. However, the additional tables came at a cost. There is less room to move around.

The low limit tables are especially cramped. The actual tables feel pretty large, but they are very close together. There is barely enough room to walk between the 4/8 tables. By contrast, the higher limit areas at the Bellagio seem to have a lot more room. And, of course, Bobby's Room only has a few poker tables, and some very cushy seating for the high rollers.

The cashier area has also been enlarged, but the cash-out process is disorganized. It is not clear where the cashier line begins. People were very confused about whether there were three separate lines, or one line that fed each cashier. Even the Bellagio poker room employees were confused. Perhaps a sign, or a few ropes should be added to make the cashier lines more clear.

The podiums have also been moved. The first podium, seen as players walk in the main entrance, is for the lower limit games. There is another podium for the elevated higher limit games (80/160), and finally a special podium only for players at Bobby's Room.

All poker tables at the Bellagio now have auto-shufflers. This is quite an upgrade from a few months ago, when only three poker tables in the whole room had auto shufflers. This equipment means that players should see more hands, dealers should pocket more tokes, and the Bellagio should earn more money. The auto-shufflers are a win-win for all concerned.

Finally, the plasma televisions hanging on the walls were re-arranged. They are now easier to see for most players. Also, two new plasma televisions were added to the entrance. One lists the games that are being played in the poker room, and the other displays information about the World Poker Tour. Unfortunately, none of the televisions display wait-list information, which is something I would really like to see. In this respect, the Bellagio poker room is old-fashioned.

In conclusion, the Bellagio poker room is as beautiful as ever. It looks the best I have ever seen it. It is easily among the top-three poker rooms in Las Vegas (along with Wynn, and MGM).

So, is the Bellagio the BEST poker room in Las Vegas? That depends. If you're playing $2,000/$4,000 or higher, then I say yes. But, I don't play that limit. And, you probably don't either – Therefore, despite the Bellagio's undeniable appeal, there may be a better poker room in Vegas for us.