Vegas Baby?

Amazing how a simple punctuation mark can change the meaning of two words. Anyway... I'm trying to throw together a last minute Vegas trip (doing next Friday->Monday). Obviously things just get more expensive the longer I take. Unfortunately, I can't kick my friends any harder than I have. So it might just be me and one buddy... I'm not worried, less people to keep track of that way.

Here's my quandry. Where to stay? I was aiming for The Palms, but they went from available to not over the weekend. That leaves me looking at the other options. I want to stay near the strip, since I figure most of my time will be spent there... so I have no desire to cab back and forth from downtown... plus, other than the Nugget, how're the downtown hotels anyway? Also, I'd like to keep it around or under $300 (Canadian) per person for the hotel for 3 nights. So that eliminates the Belaggio, Caesar's, etc.. It keeps the Mirage, Rio, MGM, Aladdin and others still in reach though.

I know the Aladdin is undergoing renovations to Planet Hollywood... what about the Mirage? Rio? Luxor?? What's decent for a young (25-35) demographic?

And of course, the big question - best places to play poker? I can pick up a game of craps anywhere... but where are the best places for a game of cheap hold'em?

Not that I'm really expecting any responses... I'll probably just railbird the WWdN tonight and ask there.