edit - sorry, this is really long, but if you want some Vegas info before you go, it would be worth the read, IMHO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reidjr
The luxor.
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It's recently been renovated inside, and has been "de-themed". It looks pretty nice in there now, per the pictures, but the carpet is really boring, and kinda dulls it a little. You'll see what I mean, especially when you compare it to other casinos.
There's a cool bar in the casino, Liquidity, I think, hit that up for a drink.
You don't see to realize this, but if you are over 21, most alcoholic drinks are free, if you are gambling. This is at the discretion of the servers, usually, but any table games or slots you won't have any problems getting drinks. I tip $1 per drink, $2 if I want better service, or I'm just getting drunker.
If you're at a bar, there's usually video poker on the actual bar, you can play that to get "free" drinks, but the bartender knows what's going on, and knows how much you've actually bet, so you can't really fake it there, like you can on the real slots. The only downfall of faking on the real slots, is that the servers don't come around all that often, unless you've primed them with good tips, or you're at one of the higher end casinos.
In general though, just tip what you feel is right. The better the service, the better I tip. And, although this is sexist, the better the eye candy, the more I tip as well.
If you aren't enjoying the service you are getting, or you don't like the dealers, or whatever, because some servers and dealers are total dicks, then take your business elsewhere. There's a ton of competition in the city, and as far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to stand for people who hate being at their job, and take it out on you, the customer.
For places you'll almost never have poor service, The Wynn and Encore are without a doubt #1. Venetian and Palazzo are pretty solid, but they have a ridiculous rule about not accepting Canadian driver's licenses, and a few beer and a cocky attitude got me in trouble with them before. Nonetheless, it's a decent place. However, at the Venetian, I've sat there waiting for service for ages, asking the dealer, the pit boss, etc to call someone, they do, and the girl serving the table next to us even refused to serve us, so I guess they can be hit and miss. (That was just a case of poor scheduling, and absolutely ignorant co-workers)
Mirage I always find great service, and entertaining dealers.
I don't care much for Harrah's properties (Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Bally's on the strip, and Rio off the strip). They always seem to just feel smokier and dirtier, and nobody seems happy to be working there. Caesar's is also Harrah's, but they are higher-end, so people seem to be a bit more cheerful there. Nonetheless, I'd much rather give my money to the MGM casinos (MGM Grand, Luxor, Excalibur, NYNY, Bellagio, Mirage, Mandalay Bay).
Planet Hollywood was recently bought by Harrah's, so I hope it hasn't been poisoned, it was one of my favourites, although I've had weak service/dealers there before as well. I get the feeling, early on, they were trying to be more higher-end than their clientel dictated, but now they've established themselves as one of the better places to be, so I guess it worked for them.
I can't give an opinion of City Center, as I haven't been since it opened, but it's an MGM property, so I'd give it a good grade by default.
M resort is one of my favorites ever, but it's a long way off the strip. They have a great beer bar with like 100 beers on tap. They have skylights in the casino, so it's very different from most other places that don't want you to see the outdoors, and they had very very friendly staff when I was there.
Treasure Island was an MGM property until recently, but even when it was, I found it too smokey, and the ceilings were too low, making it feel like a crappy Harrah's property.
Wynn/Encore, as I stated are awesome. They are owned by Steve Wynn, separate from any other casinos, although he started off at the Golden Nugget, and later defined the strip by building the Mirage and TI.
Venetian/Palazzo are owned by Sands Corp and Sheldon Adelson.
Lower end places I usually stay away from on the north end of the strip. Riviera, Sahara, Stratosphere, Circus Circus. They can be ok if you want to play the lowest limits on the strip, but they're really hit and miss with respect to quality. The Sahara's roller coaster is awesome, though. Tropicana is a lower end place too. I think it sucks, but it's being renovated currently, or soon, so it could be improved.
The Hard Rock, a few blocks off the strip is really nice, and I hear they expanded and renovated their casino recently. They have a really cool poker room as well.
Downtown, they're mostly garbage, similar to the north end of the Strip, but if you want some real old school Vegas, it's worth checking out. Golden Nugget is the highest end down there, and is a very nice hotel and casino.
Speaking of poker, if you want to know about that, check out
http://allvegaspoker.com for room reviews, etc. Almost all casinos have poker rooms these days, but the smaller ones will only have a table or two going with 1/2 NL, usually. For more variety, the Venetian has the most spacious, and largest poker room, with a wide spread of games. Bellagio is THE place to play, given that the "big game" goes on in Bobby's Room, a segregated area from the main poker room, but all the big names are visible inside, if a game is going on (usually depends on where the tournament circuit is).
The Wynn has a very nice, albeit slightly cramped room. The Mirage and MGM have respectable rooms as well. The Rio is really only good for poker during the WSOP when they have all of the convention space turned into giant poker rooms, otherwise it's just your standard few tables of 1/2 NL, and maybe the odd 2/5 NL or 3/6 limit game.
Planet Hollywood had a good poker room, but they moved it since the last time I was there. They might have been adding a bigger space for a permanent room, but the temporary area wasn't worth going to.
For food, you can find literally anything you want. Each mega resort will have half a dozen different places, ranging from a deli, to a prix-fixe french restaurant. Most places have good steakhouses, if that's what you want. I can't speak for most of them, but Delmonico's at the Palazzo/Venetian complex was utterly amazing.
If you want a burger, go to the Burger Bar in Mandalay Place (the mall that connects Mandalay Bay and Luxor; very convenient for you). It's the best burger I've had that didn't come from the Works.
I like the deli at the Mirage, Carnegie Deli, but it's like the NY version, where the sandwich is 12 inches tall and impossible to eat. The food is good if you trim it down to size though, albeit expensive.
You can also head downtown, or the north end of the strip if you want the classic cheap Vegas deals. I don't know much about them, but you can usually find the cheap steak dinners, cheap shrimp cocktails, etc around there.
Oh, and all of these mega resorts have buffets as well, which range. I've had the Mirage and enjoyed it, but can't comment on the others. I hear Wynn is the best, though. They vary in price and offerings, so check the menus posted outside, or online.
If you want shopping, most of the mega resorts also have malls. Caesar's has the Forum Shops, with a wide range of places. City Center has a very high end mall, The Crystals. Bellagio has a promenade of high end shops between the north east end and the casino. Planet Hollywood has a standard mall inside of it. There's also an actual mall, the Fashion Show Mall, across the strip from the Wynn, and across one of the cross streets from Treasure Island. Wynn also has The Esplande ships, but are also very high end.
There is an outlet mall maybe 5 minutes south of the strip, right on Las Vegas Blvd, as well as one closer to downtown.
Hmmm... can't think of anything else you might want to know. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I love Vegas, and love writing about it, and recommending places I like.
Oh, one more thing. Shows! I haven't heard anything about Criss Angel, but it could be fine. Anything Cirque is spectacular. Ka was mindblowing. I actually haven't seen any other Cirque shows though. Penn and Teller was the only other thing I've see, and it was pretty funny. It is at the Rio.
And clubs, I'm not a big clubber either, but I've been to Pure and Jet. Both were too crowded and too expensive. I guess that's the nightclub scene, though.
I do like the ultralounges, which are more laid back, but still have a very exciting vibe, and good music. The one at the top of Mandalay Bay has amazing strip views. MiX, I believe is the name. There's a lounge at the top of Rio too, with good strip views.
Oh, dunno how I almost forgot this. Fontana Lounge and Bellagio is spectacular. If you can, get a table on the patio and you have a front row view of the INCREDIBLE Bellagio fountains. There's also usually a live lounge act inside.
Ok, I think I covered everything I like to do.
Now enjoy, and stop making me jealous!
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