Flamingo

Introduction

The Flamingo is an old strip casino which has changed hands several times, and is currently owned by Harrah's. Perhaps the most famous owner was Bugsy Siegel, whose name lives on with "Bugsy's Bar" (located amongst the table games closest to the strip) and "Bugsy's Cabaret" which features a nightly adult show called X Burlesque.

       

         

Casino

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Flamingo (whose counts are combined with O'Sheas) has 127 table games and 1,900 slot machines.

Blackjack

According to the Current Blackjack Newsletter, the Flamingo has 23 tables of 6:5 "blackjack" and 18 tables of 3:2 blackjack. At least 3 of these tables can be found in the high-limit room.

Roulette

Only American (double-zero) roulette is offered.

Craps

The craps tables at the Flamingo offer 3-4-5x odds, 14:1 and 29:1 hop bets, and a short-pay field bet (2:1 for rolling a 12).

Other Table Games

Here are some of the other table games observed:

• Let It Ride
• Mini Baccarat
• Mini Pai Gow
• Mississippi Stud
• Pai Gow Poker
• Three Card Poker

Video Poker

The best video poker games are 9/6 Jacks or Better and 8/5 Bonus Poker, located in the high-limit slots room. There is only one machine with these games on it, and the denominations are $5, $10 and $25. If standing outside the high limit room (with your back facing the table games), this machine is in the southeast corner (the first machine on your right as soon as you enter).

Slot tickets expire after 30 days.

Sports Book

The sports book has 36 cubicles (smoking permitted in all of them). There are also 27 "student desks" located on the left side of the sportsbook for keno players. The lounge area has 3 rows of various-sized seats, which can seat about 30 people. In the main area of the sportsbook there are 2 large screens and 16 small. The lounge features 5 large screens and 9 small. Sports and race tickets both expire after 120 days.

Poker

The poker room at the Flamingo is small, with 10 tables (all of which are non-smoking). The rake is 10% of each pot up to $4.

Player's Club / Cashier

The player's club has one line for entry-level members, and another line for Diamond or Seven Stars members. The cashier follows the same structure.

The Flamingo is part of Harrah's Total Rewards program. I managed to get most of my one night (which only cost about $75) comped after playing blackjack and mini-baccarat at $100/hand for about 2 hours. I also played some 9/6 Jacks or Better at the $5 coin size ($25/hand). I still had a small balance to pay after my comps were applied to the room, so it's safe to say that the Total Rewards program is fairly stingy, although this should come as no surprise to those who are familiar with Harrah's.

Hotel Room

The room at the Flamingo was very small; the bedroom area was 13' by 12.5', and the bathroom was just big enough to house the tub, toilet and sink.

           

Food

The buffet (which I did not try) is located near the wildlife habitat (see below). The prices were $13.99 for breakfast, $16.99 for lunch, and $21.99 for dinner. For late-night dining, there is a café located in the same hall as the buffet where you can get a cheeseburger and fries for $14.

Wildlife Habitat

Quite possibly the best thing about the Flamingo is the wildlife habitat, located outside near the entrance to the buffet. The wildlife habitat features real flamingos, wild turkeys (one of which nearly entered the casino), as well as lots of large fish and turtles.

         

Overview

Overall, I did not find the Flamingo to be one of the best casinos. Lines were very long and slow-moving. The hotel rooms were small. The mens room lacks dividers between urinals. There are different styles of $25 chips being used, and one of the styles resembles the $1 chip style, which players often found confusing. Some dealers were unfamiliar with the house way for Pai Gow Poker, and some employees were rude.

I think the Flamingo can best be summed up by a comment I heard a dealer make when he saw two beautiful girls walk by his table: "Don't they know they're in the Flamingo?"

Links

• Wikipedia entry
• Cheapo Vegas entry
• vpFree2 entry

Acknowledgement

The Wizard would like to thank Karina for her modeling services and J.B. for the review.

Contact Information

Address: 3555 Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: 702-733-3111
Web site: flamingolasvegas.com

Games at Flamingo

Blackjack	Location	Decks	Min	Max	Soft 17	DA	DAS	RSA	Surr	Tables	CSM	Party Pit	6/5 BJ	Video	H. Edge
Blackjack	Strip	8	10	1000	H	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	4	No	No	No	No	0.56926
Blackjack	Strip	8	10	1000	H	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	38	No	No	Yes	No	1.92724
Blackjack	Strip	2	25	2000	H	Yes	No	No	No	2	No	No	No	No	0.60225
Blackjack	Strip	6	100	5000	S	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	3	No	No	No	No	0.35361

Poker variants	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet
Crazy 4 Poker	2	5	200
High Card Flush	1	5	200
Let It Ride	2	5	200
Mississippi Stud	1	5	100
Pai Gow Poker	4	15	3000
Texas Hold'em Bonus	2	5	200
Three Card Poker	12	5	300
Ultimate Texas Hold'em	2	5	200

Baccarat	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet
Baccarat	6	10	5000

Craps	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet	Odds	Field12	Video
Craps	5	10	3000	3-4-5 x	Double	No

Roulette	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet	Rules	Video
Roulette	10	10	200	00	No

Video Poker	Rank	Avg Return	Grade
Video Poker	67	95.27%	F

Video Keno	Rank	Avg Return	Grade
Video Keno	66	87.57%	D-