Staging a grand opening last week, the $1.8 billion Palazzo is the first new major hotel-casino on Las Vegas Boulevard since the nearby Wynn Las Vegas debuted in April 2005. The new kid on the block represents a continuing trend away from Disneyesque casino-hotels to a more refined chic - at the Palazzo, with a European flair.

Although the 50-story, 3,066-room Palazzo is being promoted as a distinct resort, its retail area and the Venetian's meet at an octagonal, domed atrium. And guests of the Palazzo can use the Venetian's amenities, such as the swimming pool.

The 7,000 guest rooms in the two hotels differ in style - Renaissance palace in the Venetian, ultra-contemporary in the Palazzo - but the layouts are similar.

As in the Venetian, all of the Palazzo rooms are suites. The standard room, the luxury suite, is advertised as 720 square feet with 32-inch, flat-screen TVs in the sleeping and living areas and a 17-inch LCD in the bathroom. There are floor-to-ceiling windows with remote-control shades and curtains, a king-sized bed and a sleeper-sofa, wireless Internet, and a marble-and-granite bathroom with separate shower and tub and double sinks.

In March, these suites are averaging about $230 a night midweek and about $330 on weekends. To ensure a good view of the Strip, there's an extra charge of $40 to $50 per night. There are also three categories of suites above the standard luxury.

Like the Venetian, the Palazzo will have a Canyon Ranch SpaClub for fitness workouts and pampering. And when the swimming pool area is completed in spring or summer, it will be about five stories up, overlooking the Strip.

Restaurants carry the signatures of well-known chefs: Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Trotter, Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse.

Puck's restaurant, CUT, will reprise his dining room of the same name at the Beverly Wilshire, showcasing steaks ranging from Illinois corn-fed bone-in filet mignon ($53) to Japanese Wagyu New Yorks ($120 for 6 ounces). CUT is scheduled to open mid- to late-February. Trotter's restaurant is expected to spotlight fish; Batali's leans toward Italian, and the name of Lagasse's Table 10 at the Palazzo honors his first New Orleans dining room.

Other eateries range from Mexican and Asian to French bistro.

The hot nightspot at Palazzo is 40/40, hip-hop artist Jay-Z's combination lounge-sports bar like those in New York and Atlantic City. For its main entertainment offering, the Palazzo is importing the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys, scheduled to open in April.

Barneys New York will anchor more than 60 upscale stores, including Diane von Furstenberg, Jimmy Choo, and Australian jeweler Canturi (think Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge).

For more information, go to www.palazzolasvegas.com.

Shuffle up and deal. Each year, the famous World Series of Poker in Las Vegas has a twist. This year, there will be eight events that require a player buy-in of $10,000, up from two last year. They include the granddaddy of them all, the World Championship No-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament, now simply called the Main Event.

Last year, Jerry Yang, a social worker from California, outlasted more than 6,350 competitors in the Main Event and won $8.25 million.

The other high-stakes buy-ins will be for world championships in games such as heads-up hold 'em, seven-card stud, and Omaha. And for the third year there will be a $50,000 HORSE event, featuring five variations of poker, that mainly attracts accomplished pros.

The poker World Series, played at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino, is actually a collection of 55 tournaments that culminates with the Texas Hold 'em championship. The World Series is scheduled to run from May 30 to July 3, when the Main Event will start for about 13 days.

Some of the cheaper events, expected to draw as many as 3,000 players, include seven $1,500 no-limit hold 'em tournaments and qualifying tournaments, called satellites, that cost as little as $330.

Another change this year is the elimination of the outdoor poker tent that Harrah's Entertainment tried last year. The tent was meant to add playing space but was unpopular with players.

For the complete schedule and information on the tournament, go to www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

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