First time going to vegas. Questions about hotels on the strip...

[bph]

Hi, a couple of friends and I are going to vegas early in October for the first time and want recommendations regarding the nicer hotels on the strip. I've tried searching for this and found surprisingly little. Basically, according to travelaxe, its gonna be around 400 a night average for either the wynn, bellagio, or THEhotel at Mandalay. We are also considering MGM which would go for 270. Based on what I've read about the poker rooms, it seems that they all have some 2-5 nl which takes care of the poker aspect since that is what we will be playing almost exclusively. Aside from that, are there any recommendations out of this group? Which has the best location? Which is the nicest overall? Are all these hotels within walking distance from one another on the strip? I looked at the developmental maps and can't really tell the relative distances. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.