A wall of water dulls the desert heat as you make your way to the front entrance of Aria. There are plenty of seats and benches to relax and take in the incredible views. Visitors are scurrying about, taxis are picking up and dropping off various characters, and water is dancing in a nearby fountain (a much smaller version of the fountains of Bellagio). I found it funny that there were seats designed to look like pigeons, which is probably what management considers all its customers.

The hotel at Aria has 4,004 guestrooms, including 568 suites. Floor to ceiling windows offers incredible views of the surrounding mountains, and the strip. Aria’s tower is specifically designed to offer corner window views from every guestroom.

You will not be disappointed at the collection of top chefs and restaurateurs assembled for your dining pleasure. For example, Spanish Tapas are available from renowned chef Julian Serrano, while Michelin’s Three Star chef Masayoshi Takayama, offers up his take on Japanese cuisine. You’re not going to find a McDonalds here; however, I did notice that Todd English was offering happy hour twice daily and sliders for three bucks.

The 150,000 square-foot casino offers an incredible array of games, and like most big resorts, offer a few decent games scattered among the duds. Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, Roulette, European Roulette, Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Crazy 4 Poker, Let It Ride, Casino War, and Blackjack Switch round out the gaming lineup. There was a large pit located in about the center of the casino with eleven craps tables with $15-$5000 betting limits, and a twenty-four table poker room. Large brass playing cards, as if falling from above, decorate the entrance of the poker room.

There are four tables of double-deck blackjack with the following rules...

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