I vote for L.A. over Vegas too, based upon OP's stated desire to just play as much poker as possible. Even more of a ++ for LA if you are not playing big bet games. If you get tired and want to take a break you have a ton of things you can go do that are not way overpriced and/or designed for the purpose of taking as much money from you as possible.

Just stop, the man is visiting the US don't send him into the fly over states

Yes, things which are anywhere from 45 minutes to 1h30m (each way) from the greasy areas where the cardrooms are located. I live in LA and can barely bring myself to hoof it through traffic to those squalid neighborhoods to go play half the time.

I understand the appeal of LA poker in terms of game quality, but for me I'd rather play in a tougher Vegas game 10 times out of 10. I can't concentrate in an un-themed, dirty, glorified warehouse next to a cat food factory. Not to mention the rampant, unchecked dealer abuse. I guess I'm really sensitive to my surroundings and susceptible to letting the environment impact my focus.

This is a bit of an exaggeration. Assuming you don't leave in the middle of rush hour you can get to Santa Monica or up to Pasadena in about 30 minutes, to the Getty Center in 40, and to Malibu in under an hour. (Destinations chosen for example purposes only.)

Try Hawaiian Gardens casino in LA - it is one of the nicest poker venues in the whole USA and I have been to pretty much every major casino in the USA.

It is much nicer, yes. But calling Hawaiian Gardens "in LA" is more than a stretch.

#1 spot = Macau

If you have a car, you might want to visit Boston and see where the Pilgrims landed. The MGM Springfield and the new casino in Rhode Island both have crazy soft action.

It's not even a stretch. Outside of a region, locations in a major city county are going to be referred to as located in that city for simplicity/convenience. Hawaiian Gardens casino is located in LA county, so it's referred to as located in LA. That might be why when you click on LA Poker Rooms on PokerAtlas, Hawaiian Gardens casino is included.

Hawaiian Gardens might as well be in Orange County for how far it is from LA proper. Basically if you're in the LA metro it will be the farthest casino from you unless you're coming from south of it or right on top of it.

"LA" is basically one large metropolis from SFV to Irvine, connected by a web of congested freeways. Commerce, Bike and Gardens are near the center. Gardens is in a decent residential area, while the other two are in sorta industrial ghettos.

TIL: The 605 isn't part of LA.

You guys are being too exact/technical. Again, for people from outside of the region of SoCal, in passing reference or brief location discussion, Hawaiian Gardens casino is going to be referred as an LA casino, eventhough it's in Hawaiian Gardens.

your dates fall perfectly for the Irish Open at citywest hotel, Dublin

https://www.irishpokeropen.com/events-2019-2/

it's a MUST play, i have been 3 years in a row, it's amazing action in the cash games, as it overlaps with the Norweigen Poker series, I have first hand experiance of some of the best cash games i have ever played.

if you are mainly a cash player, if your going to make the trip, i would choose LA over Vegas personally. LA has much better value/action at the cash tables, and loads to see and do.

drop me a pm if you want any info, or search for some of my posts, i did a few trip reports that might help.

It's almost as if we both have valid opinions about this

Vegas hotels can make the trip costs increase just for the several hundred you will shell out in resort fees.

Since you are coming from Europe, I would say look at Washington DC and Baltimore areas which are 1hr apart. You could rent a car or take the train. DC has MGM National Harbor which is quite busy, and Baltimore has MD Live which also has a lot of action. Hotel cost could vary though depending where you stay.

If you want to put more travel into it, get a cheap flight from DC to New Orleans and enjoy some time down on Bourbon St then play at the poker room in Harrahs.

Now southern California has many poker rooms, tons of actions, great weather, and good travel experience.

When you look on Bravo app, Vegas does have a lot of open rooms, but still only a few rooms have a large selection of active tables even during peak times. I would stay out of AC, hell Parx Casino in Philadelphia had better action than AC.

Also the type of play is different from people on the east coast compared to in Las Vegas, so that should be considered in the decision.

I believe the most profitable place to play poker in the USA right now has to be Florida?

Tampa Bay/St. Pete has at least 3-4 rooms all within 30-45 minutes of each other with plenty of action.

A group of my friends moved to St. Pete in November 2017 and have absolutely crushed it down there.

Rake is generally $5 + $2 but they run crazy high hand promotions almost every day.

I have booked 3 nights at the Citywest for the Irish Open in Dublin on the 19th till the 22nd of April.

Vegas booked for June 13th to 20th.

Your plans are all set and have fun and good luck. Haven't read all posts, so I don't know if this has already been suggested, but Vienna came to mind.
Maybe you'd consider it for future.
I've only been there once and have never played poker there.
I just heard that it's supposed to be a great city for poker.
It's a beautiful city in itself.

Good luck!

Also be careful in Dublin and be aware of your surroundings. A poker player recently went missing there.

Also hope you crush Vegas.