Downtown Vegas Review
1) Homeless people and street performers...About every 5 feet is a homeless person with a sob story sign or someone dressed as Mario wanting to take a picture with you for money...
2) Golden Nugget's buffet is absolutely horrible...One of my co-workers wanted to eat at a buffet, so since the GN appeared to be the "nicest" property downtown we thought that would equate to it having the "nicest" buffet as well...Boy were we wrong. On a positive though, the buffet waitress was probably the most pleasant buffet worker that I have ever come across, so the buffet gets a 1 out of 10 because of her...if not it would have been a 0....
3) Was the GN's interior architect thinking "Hey, here's 15 feet of empty wall space...let's shove an overpriced bar here!"....there are like tons of these throughout that property which just look out of place...
4) Is there a requirement that in order to be a cocktail waitress downtown, you must be collecting a social security check? Let's just say it was pretty rough....some of them looked like they were "day one" employees...
5) I thought it was pretty funny that the strip club downtown was promoting its video poker bar, like as if it was the draw to go inside....First of all, if I'm in a strip club, the last thing on my mind is a royal flush...
6) VP paytables at some of these properties were down right atrocious....like I'm talking 97% payback at the quarter level....I didn't realize that the strip was moved about 5 miles north....
7) Table games dealers were awesome....each table that I sat down at had a great dealer who was always friendly and talkative....much better than the cold, robot-like dealers that MGM and CET have on the strip...
8) Golden Gate looks great since they did the renovations...although the "hot" dealers were more like "lukewarm" dealers, but hey, at least they were young....
9) There is no way in hell that I would ever stay at any of those properties right on Fremont because the noise from the bands and the hourly "light show" is pretty loud....I would never be able to get some sleep....
10) There were lots of the newer "flasher" slot machines at most of the properties...I guess I was expecting the machines that still had the internal mechanical parts (j/k)....
Overall, I had a great time seeing the "old vegas", and I definitely would come back to play some tables...but I definitely could do without all the hocus pocus of the street performers....thanks for listening to my 2 cents....
BTW, the places I visited were GN, Golden Gate, 4 Queens, Binion's and Vegas Club...
i wonder why the people that manage (and the casinos that pay the operating fees) allows the bums to beg there?
what hapened to secruity?
Quote: 100xOddswow.. sad to hear about fremont canopy area degrading.
i wonder why the people that manage (and the casinos that pay the operating fees) allows the bums to beg there?
what hapened to secruity?
I did see some LVPD walking around down there, so I'm assuming their presence is the norm....also, I never felt in danger around there because none of the homeless people followed me...they would just stand there holding a sign...
Quote: rdw4potusNot sure if you're still in Vegas, but the buffet at Main Street Station is one of the best in town - easily the best downtown. They have decent VP over there, too. 99%+ payback...
Damn...not in vegas anymore....flew back today, but I will remember that for next time....thanks for the info!
of Fremont but not anymore. And the same ones
are they everyday with the same signs, like its a
job. When I was there in May I gave a full tumbler
of vodka to one of the older ones, made his day.
not only do the casinos have the house advantage working for them, ..they also have the people who gamble and drink and stare at the waitresses.
I guess if I had a drinking issue, I would want a nice dealer to talk to and hope that he/she pretends that they really really care. Or pretend they never heard the banal comments streaming from a impaired gambler.
After the first drink...you are impaired.
Alcohol is a depresant...it depresses your ability to make a cogent sharp decision. Its a fact.
If you gamble to have a good time, and you want to kill brain cells at the same time, and not remeber how you lost the money...then go ahead...have a blast. Drink up.
But for people who seriously want to win, and play to win,.....diet coke would be the drink of choice. They know they can drink alcohol all they want when they get home. And if they want someone to talk to...they can talk to their spouse when they get home.
They can make a long night of it....unless they have to get up early to deliver papers.
top step sir..remember
My biggest gripe about the GN is that they put a bank of slot machines in front of the Starbucks. Here's a spot where there should be some tables and chairs for the SB customers, but in their greed, they drop some slots instead. I mean, this is a mile away from the casino. Do they really need to put a couple slots there? Can't they draw a line and keep the casino out of the resort side? Mind you, I don't drink coffee. I'm not a SB customer. But it still irritated me.
Quote: LarrySsomething just a little less foolish/stupid than drinking alcohol and driving,....IS GAMBLING WITH ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM.
not only do the casinos have the house advantage working for them, ..they also have the people who gamble and drink and stare at the waitresses.
I guess if I had a drinking issue, I would want a nice dealer to talk to and hope that he/she pretends that they really really care. Or pretend they never heard the banal comments streaming from a impaired gambler.
After the first drink...you are impaired.
Alcohol is a depresant...it depresses your ability to make a cogent sharp decision. Its a fact.
If you gamble to have a good time, and you want to kill brain cells at the same time, and not remeber how you lost the money...then go ahead...have a blast. Drink up.
But for people who seriously want to win, and play to win,.....diet coke would be the drink of choice. They know they can drink alcohol all they want when they get home. And if they want someone to talk to...they can talk to their spouse when they get home.
They can make a long night of it....unless they have to get up early to deliver papers.
top step sir..remember
Umm...not sure where this post was going...but if you were trying to say that my observations were done drunk, you are absolutely wrong....I actually did not have any alcohol that night because I wanted to take in the sights....but thanks for your crazy rant....
Quote: DJTeddyBearMy biggest gripe about the GN is that they put a bank of slot machines in front of the Starbucks. Here's a spot where there should be some tables and chairs for the SB customers, but in their greed, they drop some slots instead. I mean, this is a mile away from the casino. Do they really need to put a couple slots there? Can't they draw a line and keep the casino out of the resort side? Mind you, I don't drink coffee. I'm not a SB customer. But it still irritated me.
I totally agree about the GN...I was very disappointed at the layout of the casino...everything seems very contrived and no spacing for people to actually walk through....
Quote: IAchance51) Homeless people and street performers...About every 5 feet is a homeless person with a sob story sign or someone dressed as Mario wanting to take a picture with you for money...
There are about as many as on the Strip, though perhaps in a higher concentration. I've noticed the performers on Fremont are less pushy than the ones on the Strip. We also don't have as many club "promoters," show shills, or any porn slappers at all.
Quote:2) Golden Nugget's buffet is absolutely horrible...
I've never tried it. but everyone knows the buffet Downtown is at MSS. The one in the Fremont hotel is about as good in quality, but lacks as many options. Considering the price, too, I'd rate the MSS buffet as the best buffet value in Vegas, with the addition of the nicest dining room thrown in for free.
Quote:6) VP paytables at some of these properties were down right atrocious....like I'm talking 97% payback at the quarter level....I didn't realize that the strip was moved about 5 miles north....
Where were you looking? GN? At the 4 Queens there are banks and banks of 9/6 JoB and full-pay 10/7 100.1% return Double Bonus for quarters and dollars. The Cal has the same DB for 50 cents and dollars, with the addition of a 1,000 coin bonus for a royal in hearts.
Quote:9) There is no way in hell that I would ever stay at any of those properties right on Fremont because the noise from the bands and the hourly "light show" is pretty loud....I would never be able to get some sleep....
1) The noise closes down at 12:30 am or so.
2) If you ask for a room facing away from Fremont St., you can't hear any noise at all the whole night
Bonus: on very HOT days, the pedestrian areas under the shadow of the canopy are fit for human activities. it's still HOT, but bearably so.
Quote: LarrySsomething just a little less foolish/stupid than drinking alcohol and driving,....IS GAMBLING WITH ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM.
not only do the casinos have the house advantage working for them, ..they also have the people who gamble and drink and stare at the waitresses.
I guess if I had a drinking issue, I would want a nice dealer to talk to and hope that he/she pretends that they really really care. Or pretend they never heard the banal comments streaming from a impaired gambler.
After the first drink...you are impaired.
Alcohol is a depresant...it depresses your ability to make a cogent sharp decision. Its a fact.
If you gamble to have a good time, and you want to kill brain cells at the same time, and not remeber how you lost the money...then go ahead...have a blast. Drink up.
But for people who seriously want to win, and play to win,.....diet coke would be the drink of choice. They know they can drink alcohol all they want when they get home. And if they want someone to talk to...they can talk to their spouse when they get home.
They can make a long night of it....unless they have to get up early to deliver papers.
top step sir..remember
Someone obviously doesn't know the magic that is a vodka red bull.
Quote: NareedThere are about as many as on the Strip, though perhaps in a higher concentration. I've noticed the performers on Fremont are less pushy than the ones on the Strip. We also don't have as many club "promoters," show shills, or any porn slappers at all.
I would imagine so, but because the strip is spread out over a couple miles and you can walk through casino to casino via skywalks in some places, the homeless downtown seemed more concentrated....
Quote: NareedI've never tried it. but everyone knows the buffet Downtown is at MSS. The one in the Fremont hotel is about as good in quality, but lacks as many options. Considering the price, too, I'd rate the MSS buffet as the best buffet value in Vegas, with the addition of the nicest dining room thrown in for free.
Like I said before, I went based off the "nicer" overall appearance of the GN, since I am not from vegas, I didn't know what was good and not good food-wise downtown....however it sucked and I will definitely go to MSS next time...
Quote: NareedWhere were you looking? GN? At the 4 Queens there are banks and banks of 9/6 JoB and full-pay 10/7 100.1% return Double Bonus for quarters and dollars. The Cal has the same DB for 50 cents and dollars, with the addition of a 1,000 coin bonus for a royal in hearts.
I looked at the GN, Binion's and 4 Queens....I will say that I did see some good paytables at the 4 Queens...I didn't make it over to the Cal...
Another controversial area is the alcohol heavy theme. Although before my time here in Vegas, it would seem as some point in the past, the decision was made to go with that party-in-the streets, Marti gras atmosphere. Every casino crams as many bars into whatever available space they can find, even outside the casinos in the sidewalk common areas.
Now this alcohol heavy atmosphere, only adds to the draw of the homeless. Obviously many are alcoholics and are drawn to an atmosphere where cheap or even free alcohol is readily available. Add to this the close proximity, walking distance to a number of homeless shelters and organizations and it is just a natural fit. Now surely all those homeless folks are a negative for the area as far as tourism. So why do they allow it? If I had to guess, I would guess they have no choice. Probably some court rulings saying they have a right to be there, similar to the porn slappers having a right to be out on the strip. I don't know, I am not a lawyer...nor did I sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Lol
Interestingly enough, there was a story on the local news just last night, about how Metro is cracking down on alcohol related offenses in the downtown area. The report said something to the effect of more arrests in last 30 days than the previous 6 months. Part of that may just be a temporary knee jerk reaction to the highly publicized 3am stabbing by a homeless guy.
I personally like the old Vegas downtown feeling. A number of casinos still have coin dropping machines. I don't play slots, but I like the sound of real coin drop slots and enjoy watching. D resort has the old arcade style horse racing game, which is very popular. Again, I often stop by to watch for a couple minutes. This year I have spent more time downtown than anytime since I have been in Vegas, but not because of this old Vegas feel that I just spoke of. I am there for the AP opportunities. :-) There is still some decent VP to be found downtown and several properties offer real strong bounce back mailers. But my primary game is blackjack and there 3 very playable BJ games in very close proximity, including one strong unique side bet game. As long as these opportunities exist, downtown will remain high on my play rotation and I will find my way there frequently.
I guess my biggest gripe of downtown is the food selection. My partner and I eat out at least once a day, sometimes twice, courtesy of the casinos. It is part of my 'compensation'. :-) But, of the 3 locations that I play heavily, I am only interested in eating at one, the D resort (even for free). Lol
Quote: IAchance5I totally agree about the GN...I was very disappointed at the layout of the casino...everything seems very contrived and no spacing for people to actually walk through....
Very concise description of this place. To me GN felt particularly crammed vs. other downtown casinos. Also their VP is generally terrible vs. other casinos there.
Quote: djatcI'm resisting the urge to have a deep fried twinkie at Mermaids everyday since it is walking distance on Fremont..... The eye candy on the street is amazing, thank God for competition.
Def trying a deep fried Oreo when I get back to Fremont. But you live there now, so stay strong!
The Nugget has always been a downtown wanna be the strip. It's good for validated parking, but that's it.
There are many web sites that you can go on to research before your trip, and if you have a smart phone or a lap top even better.
You should drink while you gamble, that's part of the fun. But, you shouldn't get drunk. That's when you loose!
Downtown has better options for the true gambler, but the casinos aren't going to give you anything for free.
So., look for the good games and VP. As far as the strip clubs, well, those girls work for a living too.
The homeless? So don't give them any wine money.
Abe Lincoln said, "People are only as happy as they make up their minds to be"
Quote: BenJamminSounds to me like you look for the negative in anything. What was good besides the dealers? With a little research one can find good buffets and dining options, and decent video poker. Just Google vpFREE2. The Main Street Station,has a good buffet, and the 777 has a good and reasonable steak. Fremont comes to mind as well. Good seafood buffets.
The Nugget has always been a downtown wanna be the strip. It's good for validated parking, but that's it.
There are many web sites that you can go on to research before your trip, and if you have a smart phone or a lap top even better.
You should drink while you gamble, that's part of the fun. But, you shouldn't get drunk. That's when you loose!
Downtown has better options for the true gambler, but the casinos aren't going to give you anything for free.
So., look for the good games and VP. As far as the strip clubs, well, those girls work for a living too.
The homeless? So don't give them any wine money.
Abe Lincoln said, "People are only as happy as they make up their minds to be"
Man, you need to chill out...if you actually read my list, most of my "negative" comments had a funny or witty statement at the end, to show that I was being playful...
With regards to your "research" comment....I had 2.5 hours free from my conference, so I had no time to get online and look up and reviews. Also, I did not play any of the horrible paytables, rather I was merely making an obvious observation when I pushed the "See Pays" button...
Finally, I usually do have a cocktail when I gamble, however as I stated in my previous post, I wanted to take in all of "old vegas" with a 100% clear mind...
It definitely looks like you clearly have too much free time in your life to critique a funny, yet real take on something I experienced....good luck to ya!
