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The Player is a classic, one of the best Hollywood satires ever made, but there are a lot of those. There aren't, however, a lot of films like Short Cuts (Altman's own Nashville, its predecessor and Magnolia, its progeny are the only two that come to mind). Sure, its impressive to fit so much action into one long shot, but more impressive still to fit so many stories into one single film.
Also, as a general rule I find it wise to vote for whichever film Tom Waits wanders into.
While Short Cuts is more intricate, The Player is frankly the most entertaining of Altman's films. As many directors found, sometimes the best films come when we point the camera at our own.
Shortcuts is an achievement but the Player is a touchstone for 1990s themes of a backlash against excess and moral ennui. It is a bit like comparing Magnolia with There Will Be Blood, both are great but only one will be remembered as an icon of it's era.
The Player wins for me - Altman plays so well with Hollywood - he laughs at it, with it, and points out the hypocrisies (and our willingness to go along with them), all with a good murder - while I really liked both movies, I'd say The Player is more tightly constructed and a better movie.
Another tough choice. But since movies are a visual medium I tried to conjure up as many images as I could recall from both pictures. A naked Julianne Moore confessing to her infidelities won out.