Longhorn
Dec 04, 2016
Preface:
This review was written in the mid-2010's. Since then, they have removed their blackjack game and are now slots only (updated July 31, 2020).
Introduction:
Located on Boulder Highway, approximately eight miles from the Las Vegas Strip, is a small casino known as the Longhorn Casino & Hotel. While the casino may be less than ten miles from the glitz & glamour of the Las Vegas Strip, it is many metaphorical miles away in terms of the opulence, or lack thereof. For this reason, it is not for everyone, but for those who are seeking a good gamble, inexpensive place to stay, and don’t mind the comparatively bland atmosphere, there are definitely worse places to visit.
Location and Ownership:
The Longhorn Casino is largely a locals establishment located on Boulder Highway, far from the monolithic casinos of the Las Vegas Strip. In terms of the overall ambiance, the Longhorn even pales in comparison to casinos in Downtown Las Vegas, and certainly in terms of size. For those who haven’t been to the Longhorn Casino, but have been Downtown, it is perhaps easiest to just imagine a much smaller and even more dimly lit Fremont or Binion’s. For those of you who have been to Ellis Island, with respect to ambiance, this is almost the same thing.
The casino is privately owned, and upon calling the establishment, I was able to gather that there are three individuals who make up the ownership group.
The location is not that bad as it is extremely convenient to two much larger casinos, Eastside Cannery and Sam’s Town. Both of those casinos are significantly larger and more aesthetically appealing than the Longhorn, but for anyone looking for a decent gamble, the Longhorn is a pretty good choice.
The Games:
The Longhorn Casino does not offer very many games at all, but that is mainly because it is such a small establishment. Upon speaking with the Floor Manager, the best approximation of how many slot machines they have was, “I think about 200,” so that’s what we’re going with here. Having been there and looked around, that seems to be a reasonable enough estimate.
Given the limited size of the casino, it should come as no surprise that neither poker or live Keno are offered. The casino is home to a William Hill Sports Book location that is open daily, furthermore, they also have a betting kiosk giving players the access to make bets through the William Hill Sports Book 24/7.
In terms of Table Games, the only Table Game offered is Blackjack, but the Blackjack is one of the best games in town. There are three total tables, and at least one table is guaranteed to have a $2 minimum at all times, as of the time of this writing. The blackjack game is quite liberal and offers one of the most interesting rules out there in that a player may double on any two or three cards. The possibility to double on three does not come up frequently, but it is certainly a fun twist to be able to do so when one has the chance and it is the proper play!
Don’t think for a second that the Longhorn hits their players with bad rules to make up for this fact. Players are able to resplit to an unlimited number of hands, with exception to aces, which may be split twice to a total of three hands. However, the, ‘Double on three,’ rule does not apply to splits, players may only double on the first two cards (of the new hand) after splitting. The casino also allows surrender.
The only Video Poker game that VPFree2 deems worthy of mentioning is what they refer to as, ‘LV Airport/Illinois Deuces,’ which is a 800-200-25-9-4-4-3-2-1 paytable. The game returns 98.91% with Optimal Strategy and is perhaps better known as, ‘Ugly Ducks Deuces Wild.’ I can confirm that the game was there the last time I was, but it should be noted that was over a year ago.
The Longhorn is pretty generous with Video Poker promotions, however. For example, for December of 2016 the offer is $4.00 Free Play for any Natural Four-of-a-Kind with a ten-coin bet on nickels, dimes and twenty cents. For quarters or fifty cents, if a player is betting five credits, then the player will get $10.00 free play for a Natural Quad. $1.00 players win $20.00 free play while $2.00 players win $40.00 free play. If all of the paytables were equal for these denominations, (which I don’t know) single-line quarters would have the most value for this promotion as it is eight times the amount bet.
Given its status as a locals place first and foremost, as with many other locals places, The Longhorn tends to run several of these sorts of promotions, and the savvy advantage player can often find value in them. For instance, I discovered another promotion they are running on a non Video Poker game that I told a few of my friends about which could be worth $20-$45 per hour depending on the specific conditions.
As of the time of this writing, the Longhorn also hosts a Blackjack tournament every day (except Sundays and Thursdays) with a $10 buy-in ($20 on Saturdays). The Longhorn returns 100% of the entry fees to its players as prices.
The Property & Chuckwagon Restaurant:
Once again, the property is a far cry from the opulence of The Strip, but one thing that cannot be argued is that the players are getting a much better gamble. The front of the building has a Western theme with a prominent brown bull and other types of cattle and livestock in black on either side of it. The left front of the building near ground level usually advertises the Players Club in some way while the right side of the building near ground level advertises the restaurant located within the establishment.
Facing the building, one might even think the hotel is unconnected or belongs to a different property, it does not appear (from the front) to necessarily be directly connected to the casino. As of the time of this writing, the Chuckwagon Restaurant usually runs either a $3.99 special on chicken-fried steak, two eggs and hash browns, or a $4.99 special on a, ‘Giant Ham Steak and Eggs.’ The other items at the restaurant are very reasonably priced, and the food is pretty good.
The Hotel:
The rooms at the Longhorn Casino are pretty basic, but clean. The rooms all come equipped with a flat-screen TV and a refrigerator. Additionally, as of the time of this writing, upon checking-in guests will receive a $5.00 Match Play Coupon, a Free Ace coupon for the Blackjack Table as well as a free drink coupon. Longhorn states that this coupon book has a value of $24, so I must assume that the Free Ace can be played at a bet greater than $5.00, either that, or the assumed drink price is extremely expensive!
The hotel at the Longhorn contains 150 rooms, and until recently, it was actually a Super 8 franchise. At the time of this writing, it is operated by the casino and functions as an independent hotel. The hotel also has a small outdoor pool and hot tub that is open during the season.
Bigshot Players Club:
The Bigshot Players Club could not be simpler, $1.00 coin-in equals one point. 400 points can be redeemed for $1.00 food/beverage credit in the restaurant and 500 points convert to $1.00 in cash, (0.2%) though cash redemptions must be made in $5.00 increments.
Bigshot Members, as of the time of this writing, earn 2x points.
Overall:
The Longhorn Casino is a locals casino first and foremost, but it offers a ton of little promotions, many of which are potentially beatable by AP’s. While many of these promotions may seem like small potatoes, under the right conditions, some of them are worth in excess of $20/hour.
For those of you who enjoy the glitz and glamour of The Strip, both the atmosphere, and some would say, the clientele, are the precise opposite of that. For those of you out there who enjoy a good gamble, particularly Blackjack players who love getting a good deal, it’s tough to beat the value offered by the Longhorn Casino.
Resort and Parking Fees
| Resort fee | $13.50 |
| Parking fee | Free |
Games at Longhorn
| Video Poker | Rank | Avg Return | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Poker | 16 | 97.49% | B- |
| Video Keno | Rank | Avg Return | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Keno | 45 | 90.51% | C+ |
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Comments
I've always liked the place and have usually stopped there on any trip to Vegas. As mentioned, they do have some good promotions. It's been a couple years since I've been there, but they did have "Illinois" Deuces, in quarters and dollars, a few were progressive. It's a friendly place, I liked the atmosphere. Staff are friendly, people are friendly. A lively bar, with video poker. I had Christmas dinner there once, alone, that was a little sad, but no regrets, the food is decent, and I just like the place. The Bellagio it ain't, but I recommend it and would rather go to the Longhorn any day. Should be an automatic stop on any trip to Vegas that brings you to Boulder Hwy.
FYI They haven't updated there website and they are NOT offering this promotion for December. They have hot-seats this month or something like that.
The local Henderson giveaway shopping newspaper often has $10 match play coupons, that you can use once a day.
Bobbartop, Great comment, The Bellagio, it ain't...it's better! Axel, Thanks for the correction, I called and someone said they were doing BOTH promotions. I guess that is where the double check comes in the phrase, "Check and Double Check," I should have asked two different people. BillRyan, Great tip and deal! I'll look for that next time around.
Anyone who is on an annual vacation would be unlikely to "go slumming" and much more likely to seek out at least some degree of Vegas Baby atmosphere, however, someone already in the area and used to partaking of the lower tiered casinos should well be aware that the Longhorn does offer bargains. About ten years ago a group of dealers descended on the place after work to sample some of the offers and enjoy the benefits of one of the best players club points systems in town. I don't know if its worth a trek to get there though.
Fleastiff, I don't disagree with you at all that they are, 'Unlikely,' to do so, though I am suggesting that they should. I think that's especially true even more of people who have something more like a seven day vacation rather than a three or four day affair. It's a lot of fun, it's kind of the, 'Other side,' of Vegas, and that's a day that would be particularly friendly on the budget. It would be a trek to drive there, yes, but one should not forget about the free BConnected shuttles that can be picked up at Harrah's (Strip) two different Off-Strip locations and also Downtown that run to Boulder Highway with a drop off at Sam's Town.
When I vacationed out here prior to moving, the Longhorn was part of many a coupon run. I'd team up with a fellow LVA member or two and hit the Boulder Strip and end up in Henderson. Another day, we'd hit Rampart, Sun Coast, Red Rock and then the Red Rock Park and Bonnie Springs. On the way back sometimes hit The Alamo when it had a truly great BJ game.
Anything recent on this? My son's grandfather is going to Vegas for his 82nd B Day and wants to play some "21" so I thought this place would be right up his ally! Last I remember you could scrape the scuz up off the carpet with a spoon. What a dump! The blackjack was OK but I lost. I went in with a match play from American Casino Guide.
You get what you pay for and this place is near Sam's Town, Almost right across the street from the Eastside Cannery, Not too far form Boulder station, Arizona Charlies and a ways down toward Henderson is the "Joker's Wild" home of the cheapest Crap Game west of anywhere! And the infamous Skyline ! That's as far down as I go on The Boulder Highway because I go right at the Y there and head up into Downtown Henderson on Water Street to the El Dorado, Emerald Island, and the Rainbow Club! If you really want to step up there's the Fiesta Henderson, but that's a chain casino and isn't nearly as dumpy as those locals joints aforementioned. So for a day of Slumming at the locals joints how can you go wrong? You'll need a car or uber it though, just don't drive drunk unless you like prison food. See Ya! Let's Go To Vegas!
2/25/19 Walked over from Sam's Town and found it to be far smaller than I imagined, almost claustrophobic.