Sin City. Lost Wages. The neon whore of the desert.
My favorite place in the world.
So this thread is to discuss Vegas, share stories, favorite spots (food, shows, gaming, etc.) and whine about how long it is before your next trip. Have a question to ask? Have advice to share? This is the place for it. Just don't tell me when to hit or stand. Unless I'm drunk. Which I probably am. Oh I'm sorry, I thought those were my chips.
First I'll share a few good sites;
http://www.vegastripping.com/
Vegas Tripping is a great site for news and reviews. Decent writing, pretty informative.
http://wizardofodds.com/
I mean, you're gonna gamble a little bit right? Don't bet a penny on a coin flip without first going to this site. A Berkeley math professor who works in the casino industry. Pretty much everything about every legal game is explained in detail.
http://www.cheapovegas.com/
Cheapo Vegas. A fun site with a lot of good Info on pricing and value.
Me? I like to stay on the strip. Have done the Caesars properties (Caesars, Flamingo, and Planet Hollywood) but last time was really wowed at the Cosmopolitan. Vibe was kindy douchey/swanky at times, but the view from the balconies is incredible.
As far as gaming goes, I'm beginning to prefer downtown/Fremont. The last time we were there, had a blast. It really seems like it's coming back. We might even stay there on our next trip. I love the proximity of all the casinos, and the experience is a little more fun. it's better to watch a good street magician than to be handed porn. And I love porn.
So what's your Vegas trip like?
Posts
For those not in the know, it's a phrase used when someone new gets the dice at a craps table.
I totally thought this, too.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I know what the phrase was supposed to mean, just with the news recently...
I'm sure it says something when the first thing I thought when reading the thread title was "Another shooting? Shiiiit" rather then "Cool, a Vegas thread". I'm not sure what it says, but I doubt it's anything positive.
Last time we stayed 2 days at the Venetian, then 2 days at the Gold Nugget on Fremont St. I will say, I enjoyed our time downtown, though I do have one problem with it. The only things to do down there are really drink and gamble. There's not a fantastic vibe or anything, and it doesn't have any of the shows or sights of the strip. However, I do love cards down $5 black jack and there are 2 breweries inside casinos down there (one inside 4 Queens, the other in Main St Station).
The Venetian was super nice and I would totally recommend it. Also, in the tower we stayed in, right at the bottom of the elevator was the Sin City Brewing outpost. We had so many good beers that the server there started giving us discounts and free beers!
If you make it down there sometime soon, go check out where the Imperial Palace used to be. It's turning into The Quad, but they're still working on it. You have to trek through construction, but you will be rewarded. We were able to seat 5 people all at the same $5 blackjack table 4 days before New Years (point of reference, at Venetian it was difficult to find a $10 table with a seat open).
Fitzgeralds.
I will miss O'Sheas. That was our 7AM starting spot.
I will say what freaks me most about visiting non-vegas places is the lack of slot machines and porn boxes. They are just these omnipresent things you just tune out. Until you go somewhere else and wonder what is wrong with every 7-11, and why street corners seem oddly empty.
I used the think the porn slippers were cool. I collected about 1000 cards on my first trip. Brought them home to my wife to demonstrate just how incredible this magic city really was (she was unimpressed). But by trip 6 or so, I found them to be pushy and annoying. I ended up just ignoring them like they weren't even there, something I'm uncomfortable doing to other humans, and it made me resent them even more.
So Yeah, I can imagine that living there lessens the appeal of many things by a few orders of magnitude.
Hash House A-Go-Go
Joel Robuchon
In-n-Out Burger (I'm an East-coaster)
Anywhere in the desert
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Like, I've meant to go to each one of these places, and I've been 7 times now, and each time I'm in too much of a no-food, no-sleep, vodka-fueled stupor.
I lost my ass off on the slots and the weather was shitty. (I walked up to the Belagio and you couldn't even see the fountains it was so foggy).
I wouldn't mind going back especially when the weather is nice though. I really liked the little art gallery that was in the mall or whatever its called at PH.
I wish I had a chance to get to L'Atalier (Joel Robuchon's place), but the MGM is such a dump. Batali's steakhouse in the Venetian (B&B) is also fantastic, I hear, but the seating arrangement is totally fucked, with the middle of the restaurant being a common walkway for regular casino patrons.
Gallagher's in NY, NY is surprisingly good for the locale and price.
The Wynn/Encore is nicest place to stay (I haven't checked out the Aria yet), but prepare for some gaudy shit and a ton of table-gamers from China getting really bitchy if they don't like the way you play.
Both usually nab you free drinks, but video poker can generally be played right at the bar, so you don't have to wait too long.
edit; I take that back. I guess they are around 80-90% now.
Not "hip, fedora-sporting, waist-coat-and-tie, wayfarer, Williamsburgian" douchebags, but "45-year-old, leather pants, bedazzled v-necks, 'roided up, tribal tattoo, hair gel" douchebags.
--LeVar Burton
Oh, man. Sad that I cringe when I see the latter. At least I'm a 39-year-old dork that tries to hip, but those shiny-UFC-shirt,Jersey shore types drive me nuts.
I've heard nothing but good things about the Gordon Ramsey Steak House at Paris. Don't know if you find him to be annoying or whatever, but you probably wont see him for what it's worth.
Then it shoots an old fashioned bingo-ball looking thing up and whatever it lands on is the multiplier.
It's not that you can just sate whatever weird food/entertainment/sexual fetish you might have, it's the pure convenience to which you can obtain it.
Most places make you drive around seedy parts of bad neighborhoods for that kind of action. In Vegas, if you want a kobe beef ribeye prepared by Bobby Flay and you want to eat it off the stomach of a juggling transsexual callgirl, you just pick up the phone, tell the concierge, and it comes to you.
Some reflections on my trip last year:
I found the Luxor to be a disappointment in 2012, particularly for the price. Look out for added "resort fees" when booking. They can add a lot on to your total bill.
The sweet spot for dining/shows/shopping seems to be around the city center with the Aria, the Cosmopolitan and Planet Hollywood but this is also the priciest area.
The North end of the strip past the Wynn seems to have declined significantly in the past few years. I would recommend avoiding that area around the old Sahara property.
Mandalay Bay aquarium was a ripoff, but they have an amazing buffet there and a really neat bar on top of the Hotel that overlooks the strip.
The monorail that they built is completely worthless. It's a block's walk away from the strip itself, and then doesn't even connect the strip with Fremont street.
They have started "gamifying" the slot machines recently, and I expect that trend to continue. I only play dice myself these days.
Has anyone stayed at Bally's in the past few years?
No. In fact it's one of very few places on the strip that I know of no one who has stayed there. We've gamed there a few times and it just felt old and dead. I don't mean in age of the clientele, but rather just the vibe. Everyone in there from grizzled old grinder to the kids on pseudo spring break acted half alive. Staff too.
I really, really enjoy playing at Paris. I'm not sure if I've just had good luck, or good timing, but I always seem to have an enjoyable table. The dealers have always been very friendly, and usually everyone at the table is chatty, very excitable during wins/losses, and very forgiving of new players making mistakes. Also I like how they do a hand shuffle at the end of the shoe, since it gives everyone at the table a good opportunity to get up, stretch, hit the restroom, etc.
Conversely, I capital 'H' HATE playing at the Bellagio. Possibly just bad luck, but all of the tables I've played there have always been filled with older people who basically just sit there glaring at their cards the entire time, unless they need to bitch out someone at the table for not playing a hand by the book. The dealers are also a mixed bag on the "friendly" scale, and they use the endless shuffle machines so there is essentially never a break in the action.
I usually try to hit at least one casino I haven't been to whenever I visit, but although most of the other places I've played have been enjoyable, I always seem to find myself going back to Paris. As with anything, YMMV.
Not bad, though. I'd go back, and I don't gamble ever. My wife has no interest in returning, though, and while some of my friends would be interested in a weekend trip to Vegas and some of my friends could afford a weekend trip to Vegas, the Venn diagram is two circles with no football.
I feel like the only poker worth your time at a casino is tournament poker, but it's hard to find a game that has a buy-in under $100.
Poker is definitely an area that just about every casino could shore up. While poker rooms abound, they're almost always unfriendly, hard to get into, and filled with douchebags.
Getting into a low-stakes/low-max cash game is basically throwing your money away to which ever asshole decides to buy every card in every game.
Why are the hotels the week of March 25th so cheap?
I'm helping to put something together for a last minute wedding and that week seems super double plus ideal
It's not a casino but you can not go outside and be in the Bellagio pretty quickly, so it's a win.
If you're looking for something that's quieter, not a total bro-fest by the pool but also has access to the really nice casinos, I'd give it a shot.
Didn't gamble once.
Hm. Funny thing, if I ever go back there I think the Strip would be the last place I'd visit.
Apart from all the usual boozing, gambling and shows, we drove dune buggies in the desert and it was fantastic. So much damn fun, really recommend it.
I didn't win a ton, but you seem to get more out of your money (it lasts longer because nearly 50% of the time it's a push) and it was less complicated than I expected.
What's everyone's favorite casino games? ( have still yet to find someone who knows how to play baccarat)
Winning a hard way 8 with a $100 bet, plus another $20 bet for the house, is such a great feeling.
Personally A fan of blackjack because there's some play involved, but gambling in general is memory about the crowd than the game.
Aside from Baccarat, craps basically has the best bet in the casino; The free odds behind the pass line. check out the www.wizardofodds.com for a good explanation.
Stay away from the proposition bets (hard ways, etc.). The only time I will do them is when I'm tipping. I'll ask the dealers if they want the cash or their tip on a "2 way yo" (a one time 2 dollar bet that nets you and the crew 10 bucks each if an 11 is rolled).
If you drink when you play, tipping is hugely important. The dealers will see how you bets and remind you if you forget something.
Generally, I'll play the minimum bet on the pass line, and once the point is made, max my odds behind the line. This sounds complex, but it really isn't. It's an intimidating game, but once you understand the few simple bets to make its easy and super fun. very social game.
I tend to play with a mentality that every time I win, half goes into my pocket, a quarter goes onto the rail to be used in future bets, and a quarter goes back onto the board to win me more money. I have never done worse than break even, and usually end up with more than enough money to get some hookers and blow. Or maybe it was blow and hookers? Either way, an evening of craps ends with me not remembering how I made it back to my hotel room without losing any money