Room Quality: Nice, plush rooms. They are average size, have great bathrooms with big tubs. There are fake plants in the rooms, which is sort of lame. The furniture is also sort of mediocre, but the light color scheme is pleasing to the eye. Free wireless is a huge plus. Spa rooms upgrade you to a jacuzzi tub and better toiletries. Premier rooms are larger with even nicer bathrooms and better views of the lake.

	Check prices for this property with Expedia and HotelDiscount.com. Weekday $70-$130 Discount Weekday $60-$120 Weekend $100-$250 Discount Weekend $80-$200 What does discount mean?

Service Quality: Aside from the usual inconvenience of long check-in waits, you'll probably feel like everything is up to snuff here. Nobody's going to call you names or stick out his tongue as you walk through the casino, unless Matt happens to be in town. There is a high-falutin' spa in the hotel, where you can exercise or get a massage for the right price.

What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Shampoo, conditioner and lotion, in fancy little bottles.

Clientele: Like most Tahoe resorts, the crowd is pretty well-heeled and relatively young. Especially during ski season, it's a very popular destination for Northern California's upper-middle-class types.

How's the Pool? Aside from the bitter smell of chlorine which accompanies all indoor pools, this is a fine place for a dip. The pool is open year-round, and has a little waterfall for your visual and aural pleasure.

Table Games: Fair show blackjack. Craps has 345x odds, which we hate because we get confused when they start bringing drinks. Also play double-0 roulette, Pai-Gow, Let it Ride, mini-baccarat, 3-Card Poker and on and on. Phew!

Bet Minimums: Just about everything starts at $5, except roulette, which has $1 chips, although you have to play at least $5 at a time. Prices can jump to $10 for everything pretty quick. Pai Gow will set you back $10/hand. Machines start at pennies and go way on up.

Machines: Loads and loads of older, reel-style slots. They have some of the newer varieties, and lots of non-full-pay video poker, too.

Cocktails? Not too shabby. The Montbleu almost looks as cool as they say it is when you're sort of soused.

Who Gets Comps? Playing anything less than $25/hand at the tables will get you nothing but bored looks from the pit. The slot club is pretty generous, so make sure to get a Cobalt Player's Club card if you're going to play at all. You might just get some offers in the mail.

The Buffet: The name should tell you all you need to know. It's a buffet. Heck, they didn't even dress it up much, they just gave it a name that we think is supposed to be ironically simple. Overall, the Buffet is the okay and the plain.

Ciera: Big steaks and other traditional steakhouse grub. They also have a pretty good wine list. The food is good, and the room is elegant. It's only open for dinner, so don't come here looking for a fancy steak at 10 a.m.

Del Soul: This Mexican joint on the casino floor wants to fancy it up and make it "cool." To be fair, it's pretty good. But the fact it opens onto the casino floor means no privacy and a good amount of noise.

The Zone: The sportsbook/deli serves mostly sandwiches and finger foods and pub grub. We wouldn't bother coming here unless we were at the nearby poker tables or watching sports. Expect to pay a premium on the food.

Blu: A very very large nightclub, with a very very large dance floor. It's got a house vibe with big name DJs and little cabanas you can rent.

Montbleu Theater: Popular entertainers appear here, including comics, rock bands and singers. Expect acts that appeal to crowds in their twenties and thirties.

Opal Ultralounge: It's not really an ultralounge in the sense of super pricey drinks and long lines to get in. It's actually pretty easy to get in and there are drink specials a lot of nights. On the weekends, ladies often get in and/or drink for free.

Number of TVs: 40 TVs. They would be big in your house, but this isn't your house. Or in our case, basement apartment. There are some big screens for horse racing.

Number of Seats: Around 50. Some are reserved for race bettors, and all of them are nice and comfortable. Twelve seats have individual TVs.

How Many Betting Windows? Around eight, with nice big electronic signboards.

Snack Bar? The Zone deli will sell you some overpriced sandwiches and salads with a smile. There is a bar there too, so drink up.

Minimum Wager: $5 for sports, $2 for races.

Other Notes: If you can get past the forced "cool" vibe all over this property, this is a pretty decent room to watch a game. Just don't bring a lot of friends unless they like to stand.

Number of Tables: Eight tables are set in a huge room that feels more like a theater than a poker room.

Comfort of Chairs: The chairs are downright average.

Closed Room or Open to Casino? It's an open room, but it's set off from the rest of the casino. So, it ain't too noisy. Heck, the room's so dang big that you may not even be able to hear the people at the next table.

Game Spreads and Limits: Hold 'em, and we don't mean your horses. We mean the card because all they deal is Hold 'em, in a $2-$6 spread and lots of cheap No Limit. On sunday's they have a Dealer's Choice game, so you might actually get to see Omaha or Stud. Heck, maybe even Razz.

Beginner Games or Classes? Nope. Just sit down and hope to God that nobody else knows what he's doing either,

How Crowded is the Room? Not crowded at all. There may be a wait on weekend nights, especially during winter. Overall, though, they have more supply than there is demand.

Comps? Woo hoo! 50 cents an hour. Heck, play two hours and you can practically buy some gum in the coffee shop.

How Good Are the Players? Not good. It's a TV-type crowd that is almost 100% tourists. It may be tight, it may be loose, you never know. But you can be sure somebody will passively call the river with any draw.

What Else Do I Need to Know? The rake is 10% up to $4 in $1 bites, and they have daily tournaments. This room looks like it was built to grow, so expect more tables and more aggressive marketing over time.