Luxor

Introduction

The Luxor Hotel and Casino is a hotel casino situated between the Mandalay Bay and Excalibur at the South end of Las Vegas Boulevard, or the Strip as its more commonly known and is virtually opposite McCarran International Airport, which opened October 15th 1993. The property is owned by MGM Resorts International (formerly MGM Mirage) along with the Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, MGM Grand, New York New York, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Mirage, Circus Circus and 50% of the City Center properties.

       

The most famous features of the Luxor are probably the “Inclinators”, elevators that move both vertically and horizontally to get to the rooms inside the pyramid, and the “Skybeam” a vertical beam of light emanating from the peak of the pyramid that is claimed to be the brightest in the world. It is also worth noting that the Luxor is not actually black, but rather an exceptionally dark bronze, that appears black. There is also a free tram connecting the Luxor with the Excalibur and Mandalay Bay, but be warned, to get to the Mandalay from the Luxor you have to go via Excalibur, as the trams only go in a single loop.

     

Hotel

The 2010 American Casino Guide lists the Luxor as having a total of 4204 rooms and 473 suites. By comparison the MGM Grand is listed as having 5005 rooms and 753 suites.

We stayed at the Luxor for two nights on the 17th and 18th of June which would have cost around $190 for a Pyramid room direct with the Luxor. This price includes a resort fee of around $15 per day. We booked with Expedia at home in England, and were charged a similar price, with taxes and resort fees to be collected on arrival. The Luxor has rooms in the Pyramid as well as two further towers which were added in 1998, roughly doubling capacity.

     

We attempted to check in around noon, and were confronted with a huge line. We were informed by a member of staff walking the line that the computers were playing up, and that they hoped to have the problem fixed soon. No sooner had this been said and the line started moving.

Upon check in we were offered an upgrade to a Tower Room for an extra $20 per night, a Pyramid Suite for around $30 per night, and a Tower Suite for $50 per night, which we turned down. The check in had detailed flyers printed up so it seems it may be a long term promotion if space is available, and saves any embarrassment for anyone not sure of how to pull off the $20 trick. We were also presented with a coupon book, containing around 30 coupons redeemable in different places at both the Luxor and Excalibur, most of which were for discounts on purchases of show tickets, food, or select stores.

       

The room itself is probably of the standard you would find in any mid budget chain hotel worldwide, namely clean, comfortable and basically equipped. The rooms also contain bottled water which is included in the resort fee, and wired internet access which is subject to further charges.

The room we had gave us a great view of the pools, over to The Orleans and The Palms and out to the mountains. One thing to note however is that the pool facing rooms are subject to quite a bit of noise contamination from the poolside sounds systems during the day.

Pool

 

There are three different pools at the Luxor, the smallest of which was closed for the duration of our stay. The pools are accessed through the rear of the property and are a fairly long way from the tower rooms. It gets most crowded between 10am and 1pm, then dies off as the heat peaks later.

Food

There are a variety of dining options at the Luxor:

The Pyramid Cafe

   

The main casual dining restaurant it the Luxor and as far as I am aware still operates 24 hours. It serves the usual array of breakfasts, sandwiches, salads burgers and entrees. On display at the entrance are a variety of really tasty looking cakes that are available to purchase to take away. The food is nothing special, and around the standard price for this type of restaurant on the strip. It tastes better than it looks. A PDF menu can be found here at the Luxor web site.

TENDER Steak and Seafood

TENDER is the Luxor’s steakhouse. It looks classy yet relaxed and encourages business casual attire. A PDF menu can be found at the Luxor web site. It seems to be fairly mid priced and also offers a $39 prix fixe menu. It is open for dinner only.

Tacos and Tequila

T&T is a modern twist on a Mexican restaurant designed to appeal to a younger crowd. It gives as much space on the menu to its cocktails as the food. Casual attire is allowed and it seems to be more about fun than the food. A PDF menu can be found at the Luxor web site

MORE — The Buffet at the Luxor

The Luxor Buffet is located downstairs from the main casino, and offers a $29.99/$34.99 weekend brunch all day passes which covers breakfast lunch and dinner, or individual breakfast/lunch/dinner for $14.99/$17.99/$19.99 (I think). The selection and quality is fair to good, with a limited but tasty seafood (shrimp and sushi), soup and salad sections. It also has individual Carvery, Italian, Mexican and Chinese sections. I measure a buffet by the quality of its bread, and these bread rolls were good. There is also a decent dessert section, with a good selection of sugar free desserts for diabetics. The quality is pretty good relative to the price and I would definitely go again.

Backstage Deli

The Backstage Deli is a great place for a quick bite. It offers a decent range of deli-style sandwiches and salads. A PDF menu can be found at the Luxor web site. There is also a food court offering amongst others McDonalds, Quiznos, Nathans, Little Caesars and others.

Entertainment

The Luxor offers a number of shows and exhibitions, and should have something to keep most people entertained.

Criss Angel — Believe

Believe is a show put together to fuse magic and the amazing showmanship of Cirque du Soleil based around the concept of Criss Angel being trapeed between the world of the living and the world of dreams and imagination occupied by Cirque. Tickets start at $70, but are available as part of a promotion to let you see two shows at the Luxor/Excalibur for $75.

Fantasy

Fantasy is the Luxor’s long running adult revue (topless show) and has been around for about ten years. It is currently starring Angelica Bridges, of Baywatch and Playboy cover girl fame. Tickets start at $39 plus tax.

Carrot Top

Tickets to see the stand up dark prop comedy of Scott “Carrot Top” Thomson start at $49.99 plus tax. The offbeat comedian has been voted comedy performer and comedian of the year by a number of publications, and also appears in a number of skits on the Luxor’s in house TV advertising various parts of the hotel.

Menopause — The Musical.

Tickets for this comedy musical extravaganza start at $49.95 plus tax, or $65 with a free drink. It also stars Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle in Walt Disney’s Beauty and the beast.

Titanic/Bodies — The Exhibitions.

For anyone interested in how the human body works, the Bodies exhibition is a must. The exhibition features a number of full and partial human body specimens that have been preserved in a special polymer after death, and dissected to show the delicate working of the human body. It is definitely one of the most interesting things I have ever seen, especially when you stop and think that these were real people.

Which leads nicely into the next exhibition, Titanic. Probably the most famous story about a boat of all time. The exhibition itself focuses on the ship, as well as the stories of a number of remarkable people on board, through items they owned. It also has recreations of typical cabins, and a recreation Iceberg that you can touch to feel the cold.

Both exhibitions are exceptionally tastefully handled, especially considering the subject matter. With ticket prices of $31 for Bodies and $27 for Titanic, it could be considered steep. They are however part of a promotional deal where you can visit 3 attractions for $54, which is a hell of a bargain.

Casino

 

The 2009 American Casino Guide says that the Luxor has 100,000 square feet of casino floor space. The MGM Grand by comparison has 156,023 square feet of space. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Luxor has 78 table games, and 1,400 slots.

Blackjack

There are a number of BJ tables, the lowest minimums being $10.Most games are multi deck H17 DAS, but there are a few 6-5 tables in the party pit area.

Craps

Craps tables start at $10 minimums, with the standard Strip odds of 3-4-5x.

Roulette

The Luxor has the standard 00 wheels and rapid roulette. There is also a single-zero wheel in the high-limit room.

Other Table Games

The Luxor has Pai Gow Poker, Let It Ride, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, Three Card Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, Big 6, Mini-Bac, and a few other I forget off hand. Safe to say there is a good selection of games on offer.

Video Poker

vpFree2 entry lists the best available machines at the Luxor as 98.98% Double Double Bonus Poker $1 minimum. Not a great place for VP players it seems.

Live Poker

The Luxor poker room offers a number of daily tournaments and cash games at range of levels to suit the bankroll of most players. Cash games are offered in both limit and no limit Texas Hold’em. Tournaments are all no limit Texas Hold’em.

Sports

The sports book at the Luxor seems a reasonable size, with a few big screens and a number of smaller screens on the main board. It doesn’t strike me as a great place to watch the games, as while there is plenty of seating it isn’t that comfortable, which led me from sitting in the (nearly empty as it was closed) sports book, to moving to the nearby bar to watch some of the World Cup games. As well as the usual College and Pro Football and Basketball, Baseball, Hockey and Boxing bets, the book also offers odds on English and European soccer when in season, as well as MMA for those who might be interested in that sort of thing.

My Own Gambling

My gambling at the Luxor was quite conservative for a number of reasons, one of which was being early into a long trip I didn’t want to blow through my bankroll. I did play around an hour of $10 H17 DAS no RSA at the minimum, losing it slowly. The majority of gambling was done on the Penny Slots, which seemed to me to be set to reasonable payout levels, but I am human and my perception is most probably flawed. I did however get a couple of $200 hits and finished up at the time of leaving the Luxor.

Promotions

The main promotion happening throughout all MGM properties for new MGM cardholders was an earn points for stuff promotion. There were three tiers to the promotion, and all points had to be earned within 72 hours of signing up.

• 500 points got you $10 in free slot play, which by my spotty maths equates to a 2% rebate.
• 1000 points got you a free buffet dinner at the Luxor, Excalibur, or Monte Carlo.
• 1500 points got you two free tickets to Criss Angel’s Believe, Carrot Top, Lance Burton, Frank Caliendo, Zumanity or the Tournament of Kings.

There was also a “See two shows for $75” promo, which was limited to shows at the Excalibur and Luxor.

And one promotion we did take advantage of was the “Three attractions for $54” promo. Included in this was Bodies: The Exhibition, Titanic: The Exhibition, CSI: The Experience (at MGM), Spongebob 4D Special FX ride (at the Excalibur), The Roller Coaster (at NYNY), and the Shark Reef (at Mandalay Bay).

Summary

If you believe everything you read on Tripadvisor, the Luxor is nothing but a shell, and no better than a fleapit $7 a night motel, with peeling wallpaper and the corpses of hookers underneath the bed. It all depends on your levels of expectation. If you go in expecting the Wynn’s best suite, you will be disappointed. If you go in expecting a clean comfortable well kept room, something in the mid range of hotels, you will be perfectly satisfied. It is maybe not as polished as it was in 1993, but are any of us? The service all round was of a good standard, and I would be happy to stay there again.

The main problem with the Luxor, and this extends to the Excalibur, is the proliferation of Time-Share sales agents harassing ( and I don’t use that term lightly) everyone who walks through the door, offering “free” show tickets. Whilst the agents were perfectly polite even when refused, the fact that you had to dodge them every time you returned to the hotel took the edge of what might otherwise have been a great stay.

Links

• Wikipedia entry
• Cheapo Vegas entry
• vpFree2 entry

Acknowledgement

I'd like to give a big thanks to Nikkia for modeling in the pictures.

Contact Information

Address: 3900 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 877-386-4658
Web site: luxor.com

Games at Luxor

Blackjack	Location	Decks	Min	Max	Soft 17	DA	DAS	RSA	Surr	Tables	CSM	Party Pit	6/5 BJ	Video	H. Edge
Blackjack	Strip	6	10	1000	H	Yes	Yes	No	No	25	Yes	No	Yes	No	1.97532
Blackjack	Strip	6	10	1000	H	Yes	Yes	No	No	10	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	1.97532
Blackjack	Strip	2	25	2000	H	Yes	Yes	No	No	2	No	No	No	No	0.45688
Blackjack	Strip	6	100	10000	H	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	3	No	No	No	No	0.63873

Blackjack Variants	Decks	Min	Max
BJ Switch	6	10	1000

Poker variants	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet
Let It Ride	1	10	100
Pai Gow Poker	2	10	3000
Texas Hold'em Bonus	1	10	100
Three Card Poker	2	10	100
Ultimate Texas Hold'em	1	10	100

Baccarat	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet
Baccarat	4	10	3000

Craps	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet	Odds	Field12	Video
Craps	4	10	3000	3-4-5 x	Triple	No
Craps	1	2	500	2 x	Double	Yes

Roulette	# of Tables	Min Bet	Max Bet	Rules	Video
Roulette	9	10	100	00	No
Roulette	1	3	1000	00	Yes

Video Poker	Rank	Avg Return	Grade
Video Poker	48	96.41%	C-

Video Keno	Rank	Avg Return	Grade
Video Keno	43	90.69%	C+