[Wahoo73]

Here's another vote for either the Gold Coast or the Orleans.

I have stayed at both and have always been satisfied with price, quality and service. Both provide shuttle service to mid-Strip. Gold Coast is next door to Rio and across the street from Palms, so you have three casinos within walking distance. The Orleans is not near any other casinos but is near some strip clubs (most notably Seamless), if you're into that sort of thing.

Both have "lowest rate" guarantees. However, my experience has been that you won't find a lower rate through a third-party booking service than the "internet specials" the two hotels offer themselves.

As for poker rooms, the Orleans has one of the best and largest in Vegas, and they run some excellent tourneys for value. However, it is frequented by a lot of locals and generally I have found it to be one of the tougher rooms in town in terms of competition. The Gold Coast has a small poker room that usually has just 2/4 and 4/8 LHE. Although it is also predominantly locals, the competition there is much softer and the games can be pretty wild. Also, comps at Gold Coast are generous and max. rake is only $3.

Good luck!