What is the difference between the strip and down town Las Vegas ...

What is the difference between the strip and down town Las Vegas ...

Is it like i am picturing in my head - down town i cheaper and more poor then the strip with is more up to date with glamor - is that correct.

I also some years back see pictures of parts outside central Las Vegas where people live in the streets - homeless people - just remember that as when you read or hear the word Las Vegas mention you think glamor, party and high life.

The differences are blurring now.

First as to neighborhoods or things like that, i couldn't care less. Let's focus solely on casinos in those areas.

It used to be that the Strip was more glamor and glitz and was very tourist oriented. When people said "Vegas" they meant the strip.

Slots were not as generous on the strip... gamblers have to pay for glamor you know. Craps was dealt faster on the strip...gotta keep the dice moving to pay for all that glamor. Downtown had to offer smaller but better quality buffets, Downtown offered a tad bit better odds on two craps bets. Downtown got bargain-hunting sharpies while tourists flocked to the Strip.

Dealers dreamed of making it to a Strip job with higher tips.

Quote: AverageJOE

What is the difference between the strip and down town Las Vegas ..

The City Limits of Las Vegas end between the Stratosphere and the former Sahara Casino. All of the mega resorts were built outside of town. The strip and downtown were almost the same (in terms of gambling revenue) until the Mirage opened up in 1989. After the Mirage opened it brought so many people to Las Vegas, that downtown benefited as well. But within a few years the MGM Grand, and the Excalibur opened on the strip. After that no more casinos opened up downtown, and they made the decision to close the street off to automobile traffic. The year 1993 or 1994 was the peak gaming revenue for downtown.

But in many ways, downtown is still nicer than "North strip" which is roughly defined by Riviera, Circus Circus, Stratosphere, and Las Vegas Hilton plus a number of shuttered casinos and empty lots that used to be casinos.

The strip is for people who never outgrew Disneyland. They will play 6:5 BJ so they can see a neat pirate or roman theme while they play.

Downtown is for people who want to go to a GAMBLING HALL and not a "casino resort." They want a feel that they are in the same kind of place Frank, Dean, and Sammy played.

Average Joe

Apparently you haven't been to LV but you should go and check it out. The strip is a beautiful array of great hotels but it's quit pricey. The best showrooms and acts are on the strip as many downtown hotel/casinos have none.

However, if you go to LV for gambling, which my wife and I do, downtown is the place. Especially for BJ. Most games are still 3:2 for a BJ. Few strip casinos are anything but 6:5. Better crap odds and better VP games.

We still like going to the strip for most every thing except gambling.

Go and have a good time.

Quote: duffytootx

Go and have a good time.

I think that is the best advice ever. Whether you choose Gambling Hall or Casino Resort, as long as it is a knowing choice that is fine. If you like glitz and glamor and huge resorts with various themes... so be it. Just remember you chose to pay for the glitz and glamor. If you want to focus on the dollars, stay downtown and be happy to just gawk at the strip.

Quote: duffytootx

Average Joe



However, if you go to LV for gambling, which my wife and I do, downtown is the place. Especially for BJ. Most games are still 3:2 for a BJ. Few strip casinos are anything but 6:5.

This is true if you want to play $5 per hand. If you are playing $25 per hand or higher you have better rules at MGM properties on the strip. The El Cortez single deck game is the sole exception. The Wizard's survey doesn't list a single S17 game downtown. Even at the $10 or $15 minimums you don't have to play 6:5 on the strip. There are plenty of H17 games with similar HE to downtown.

Quote: JimRockford

This is true if you want to play $5 per hand. If you are playing $25 per hand or higher you have better rules at MGM properties on the strip. The El Cortez single deck game is the sole exception. The Wizard's survey doesn't list a single S17 game downtown. Even at the $10 or $15 minimums you don't have to play 6:5 on the strip. There are plenty of H17 games with similar HE to downtown.

On the strip -- many of the MGM properties (if not all?) have a large # of 3:2 games. The CET properties are guilty of 6:5 overabundance, so watch out.

Downtown is Vegas. The Strip is, well, something else.

Quote: EvenBob

Downtown is Vegas. The Strip is, well, something else.

It is important to note that the City of Las Vegas and Downtown Las Vegas are not the same thing either. The city is divided into 6 wards with an average of 100K people per ward.

The odd numbered wards are clustered around the interstates and to the east.

• The even number wards 2, 4 and 6 are the wealthiest wards in the city, with median incomes of $58,857 and $58,880 and $55,045 respectively.
The odd number wards Ward 1 ($39,446), Ward 3 ($33,825) and Ward 5 ($32,708).

• Ward 6 has 22.4% , Ward 2(17.4%), and Ward 4 (16.9%),of Las Vegas’ population.
Ward 5 (15.0%), Ward 3 (14.4%), and Ward 1 (14.0%).

• Population Growth by Ward, 2000-2005
Ward 6 is also the fastest-growing ward in the City, with a 53% population growth in the past five years. Ward 2 (18%) and Ward 4 (18%),
Slowly growing are Ward 5 (13%), Ward 3 (5%), and Ward 1 (4%).

• Wards 1, 3 and 5 are the most racially diverse in the City.
Ward 1 is 59.1% white with an Hispanic/Latino population of 25.7%.
Ward 3 is 32.5% white with an Hispanic/Latino population of 49.5%.
Ward 5 is 37.2% white with an African American population of 22.7% and an Hispanic/Latino population of 33.4%.
The even numbered wards are mostly white.

The Golden Nugget is probably the most successful casino/resort inside the city limits. The only serious challengers are Palace Station, Rampart and Boyd's Suncoast. I should note that Station Casino's Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch are not inside the city limits of Las Vegas. The bulk of the gaming and non-gaming money is spent outside of the city limits.

In the last fiscal year ending 30 Jun 2011, the 16 downtown Las Vegas casinos had revenue of $900 million of which 55% was from gaming. They collectively reported a net loss of $60 million before income taxes. That is far less than the single major resorts on the strip like Venetian/Palazzo, or Wynn/Encore.

Quote: pacomartin

It is important to note that the City of Las Vegas and Downtown Las Vegas are not the same thing either. The city is divided into 6 wards....

While that's true, it's equally important to note that most tourists, even those who never visited Vegas, know that downtown is different from the strip. What they may not know is that, with the exception of the Stratosphere, none of the strip casinos are in Las Vegas.

And while all of your city demographic info is interesting, I don't think that's what the original poster was talking about.

I get the feeling the original question was posed as a point of info for a tourist, possibly a first-time tourist.

One of the biggest differences is scale.

Downtown is basically the area of the Fremont Street Experience, which comprises four city blocks. And they are short blocks. Are most cities laid out the same way, where the space between streets is shorter than the space between avenues? That's what I mean by "short" blocks. All of the downtown casinos are in that four block area, or right near it. On the strip, many of the casinos have a frontage that is as big as that four block area!

And the strip architecture is deceptive. The outside of the buildings are designed to make them look closer than they are. I.E. Many of the window treatments appear to be for single hotel rooms, but they are actually four or six rooms!

Maps also tend to be deceptive. This includes the newest WoV maps, which I designed myself. The Valley and Downtown maps are drawn to a rigid scale, but design considerations forced the Strip map to use a variable scale. I've seen maps elsewhere do the same thing for the strip.

You can easily walk from the Main Street Station to El Cortez, the two most distant casinos listed on the Downtown map, and do it without feeling the need to take the shortest path possible. On the strip, in some cases, you almost want to take a cab just to get to the very next casino!

Another big difference is the theme. Each of the strip casinos has it's own theme. How well the theme is executed, or how well they have tried to maintain the theme is another story, but there is a theme. Downtown, all the casinos share the same theme: Block party. Which, because the street is permanently closed to traffic, there is the overhead Fremont Street Experience, and all the street vendors and fun things to do and see, the theme works.

First time visitor, I would say definitely go to the Strip.
Lots more to see and gawk at.

And when you get back home, you'll relate better to your
other friends who have been to "Vegas", but were probably
out on the Strip somewhere.