3:2 blackjack is still pretty common, especially at MGM properties (Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, NYNY, Mandalay, Mirage, Monte Carlo. I believe Bellagio only offers 3:2 games. If you’re playing at $25 a hand or less and as long as blackjack pays 3:2, you’re getting a good game with odds that beat the beat the pants off slot machines. Bring out the strategy card, tip your dealer, and play basic strategy. The dealer wants you to win every single hand. Her or his tips depend on it.
As far as dining, I’d suggest using a buffet for breakfast. If you’re paying, may as well pay the $15 or so, but this is also an easy comp to get. Coffee alone plus anything to eat is going to bring you close to the $15 level at any restaurant. I like to load up at a buffet, usually skip lunch, and then have a decent dinner. At MGM properties, having a players club card at the Pearl level (easily obtainable with the smallest amount of gaming) will get you a fast pass at most buffets.
The Hash House is the bomb. While it is likely that one my die of a heart attack after eating a Hash House meal, it would be worth it. The chicken and waffles are awesome as is everything else I’ve ever tried there.
In fact, they just opened a Hash House in the Rio. The wife and I got a free room there this weekend and debated Martorano’s vs. the Hash House. Martorano’s won, but only because the wife really wanted italian.
The Hash House certainly beats the standard buffet food.
I beg to disagree. Violently. HHAGG is only famous for their enormous portions of truly mediocre food. There are so many other places to eat in town that HHAGG wouldn’t even make my Top 100. I’d eat at Denny’s before I’d go back to that place. Any location.
For large portions of good food, hit Peppermill. They’re on the Strip just north of Encore. They’ve got a nice firepit lounge too.
Peppermill and Lotus of Siam are on my list for my next trip. At which point, you WILL be held accountable. We nearly made it to Lotus in December. One day, dammit…
Even better, get a room at The Jockey Club. They have a full kitchen, and are in a good spot on the Strip. Go to the grocery store on Flamingo in town, hit a liquor store, and you’ll save tons of money. You can eat frozen pizza at 3 am, start drinking whatever you want, poured however you want, all the time. Take a road pop when you go to casinos.
Or, I always like the IP, which is now something else. Get a room overlooking the Carnival Court at Harrahs, and you’ll always have an evening party. Plus, it’s in a great spot, and you can go to the Denny’s at Casino Royale anytime.
I love cheap Vegas - more money to gamble with! The Ellis Island dinner special is excellent - salad, rolls, steak, vegetables and a beer for like $7.
Carnival Court is gone, the IP is now the Quad (and is in the middle of a major (much needed) overhaul), and the Denny’s above Casino Royal is closed. CET has ripped the entire stretch between Flamingo and the Venetian to pieces as part of their Linq development. Bill’s is now The Cromwell, a boutique hotel with rooftop club by Drai’s and Stripside resterauntage by Giada. Flamingo is basically untouched, but Margaritaville is much changed. O’Shea’s is gone from the Strip and moved into Linq, abutting the Quad.
I love the rooftop Voodoo Lounge at the Rio, just because of its beautiful nighttime view of the Strip, but it does have a dress code. The Lounge is different from the Voodoo Steak House, the Steak House is on the 50th floor, the Lounge is on the 51st floor. The Rio’s seafood buffet is also one of the best for dinner.
Is Casino Royale still there? Last time I was there, OSheas was shuttered, and I knew IP was not long for this world, but I had no idea they were taking/changing everything…
The last time I was in Vegas, I saw two middle-school age girls mug a drunk. I wish I was kidding but I saw it and there was nothing I could do but report it because I was too far away and in a moving vehicle at the time. I never did like Vegas.
That said, you can catch great shows just about anywhere. The front desk of your hotel can help you. And decent food is all around you. Don’t get drunk. Don’t wander from the main streets and you should be okay.
Royale is still there, and Denny’s will be back, bigger and better. CET just decided to redo the entire block all at once. I have to admit, I was leery at first. But the stuff that is going in as part of Linq is looking pretty cool. Not only do they have the world’s tallest observation wheel, but also Brooklyn Bowl, Tilted Kilt, Yard House, Goorin Brothers, Haute Doggery, Flour & Barley, the new O’Shea’s, Kitson, Chayo, Purple Zebra and a bunch more. It’s definitely turning into a destination.
For off strip accommodations try Tuscany Suites. It’s clean and quite, the rooms are large with a couch, tables and a wet bar. It’s laid out like a condo complex, with the casino, a few restaurants, and the pool in a large building in the center and smaller buildings full of rooms scattered over the grounds. I like it because you can hit the grocery store and stock up on liquor, lunch meat and snacks and be set for a few cheap meals and drinks, and it’s nice to have a quit place to escape to at times.
Incidentally, I never did end up going on the vacation I mentioned in the thread quoted by the OP. (Paying for major dental surgery is a hell of a thing.)
A timely thread since hubby just booked BlackHat/Defcon again so we’ll be in Vegas Aug 5-11. It’s mostly a solo trip for me since he’ll be in conference sessions all day every day but every year it ends up being the most relaxing trip ever.
