Las Vegas Strip – Part 1

Aria Resort and Casino

Owned by MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development, and operated by MGM Resorts International, the Aria Resort and Casino is the largest property associated with the CityCenter structure on Nevada’s Las Vegas Strip.  It is located at 3730 South Las Vegas Boulevard in Paradise, (that’s right, NOT Las Vegas) Nevada.  

The Aria is home to roughly 150,000 square feet in total gambling space, 4,004 total guest rooms and suites and opened its doors to the gambling masses in 2009.  The rooms and suites are situated in two massive hotel towers coming in at 61 and 51 stories, respectively.  

Most MGM-operated casinos are owned solely by MGM Resorts International, but funding became an issue as the last stages of construction were smack in the middle of the United States’ Great Recession, so it was thought that the project would have to be halted for a bit.  Fortunately, Infinity World Development was willing to pony up 2.7 BILLION dollars for a 50% stake in the project, so construction was able to continue without significant delay, thereby resulting in the property opening in December of 2009.  

Aria isn’t just a fancy sounding made-up word, but actually refers to the focal point at the centers of Opera Houses, whereas Aria was the focal point of the City Center project.  

Despite the moniker, Aria is not opera-themed.  In fact, Aria is one of only a few Las Vegas Strip casinos not to have any specific theme to speak of.  It’s visually appealing, well-designed and extremely modern, but they don’t have any sort of thematic gimmick associated with the property.  

The hotel at Aria is currently advertising a $45 Resort Fee, so even though these fees are objectively ridiculous, we will give them credit for stating it upfront before you go putting in your information to book a room…some websites don’t take it on until the end.  

And, unlike many properties who charge a Resort Fee, Aria is at least, you know…an actual resort!  If you really feel like shelling out some money, you can pay several hundred (or even over a thousand dollars) to have your very own cabana for a day.  These apparently include a coffee table, large couch, ceiling fan, side table, non-alcoholic beverages, dining chairs and tables, music docking station, umbrella, fridge, telephone, TV, and towel service all for the low price of more than your room may have cost!

My word!  I must be one of the only people who go to a hotel’s pool to actually swim!

You can also reserve a day bed for the low price of $300-$350, or a lounge chair for the bargain basement price of a hundred dollars!  (Am I using it for the day, or buying it!?)  

Most people go to the casino area of a property and lose money there, but it seems like the casino area is the only place where you might actually be able to hold onto some of your money at the Aria!  Where are you supposed to sit if you don’t rent a lounge chair?  

Aria is deservedly a AAA Five-Diamond Resort and the clean, spacious and modernly appointed rooms back up such a designation.  There’s no question that the Aria is one of the finest places to stay in all of Nevada, but the question you’d have to ask yourself is if it’s really worth the price.  Weekday rooms will still typically run north of $150 for the lowest-end room (which is still pretty nice) and that’s before the Resort Fee gets slapped on.  

Aria once had a theater that sat more than 1,500, but that closed a few years ago, so now major entertainment options can be found at other MGM casinos, or the T-Mobile Arena.  Many of these are at the Park Theater at Park MGM, and high-rollers should be able to get comps to some of these shows through Aria.  

Aria is a place to have your weddings hosted and catered with a capacity eclipsing 1,000 guests.  Other amenities include a spa (additional charges) on the property, as well as a 6,000 square foot fitness center equipped with state of the art machinery.  Personal training services are available at $50 for 25 minutes or $85 for 50 minutes, as of the time of this writing, which is on the high end of reasonably priced.  

They also offer group events such as Yoga, Spin, Cardio and exercise routines to focus on specific areas of the body.  

That’s all well and good, but let’s get into what you’re really here for: The casino offerings!

According to their website, Aria offers a wide variety of slots, video keno games catering to players of all bet levels.  A player could play some of the penny slot machines (which probably have some of the worst RTP’s in the entire state of Nevada) or play slots for as much as $5,000/spin, so this casino is clearly not scared of high-roller action.  

Speaking of High-Limit Slot and Video Poker players, they’ll probably be more than pleased in the SPIN high-limit room, because the software in there tracks a player’s W2-G’s so that a player can take care of Uncle Sam all at once at the end of a session, so no more waiting for handpays to take place every other spin.  This service, called QUICKPAY, eliminates the hassle and is good for such players, but it’s also good for Aria because it means that a player will barely need to stop playing and that they won’t have to devote as much staff time to taking care of the payouts.  

It has been stated that Aria is home to over 2,000 combined video poker, video keno and slot machines.  Once again, it’s hard not to encourage slot players, especially low-denomination players, to try to play somewhere other than the Las Vegas Strip, if possible, those returns have been the lowest in the area (on average) for years.  

As should be expected, a casino the size and scope of Aria is going to feature a wide assortment of Table Games with a wide assortment of Maximum Bet Levels—minimums on the Las Vegas Strip will tend to be higher than most other casinos.  These games include Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Casino War, Crazy 4 Poker, Free Bet Blackjack, Blackjack Switch and Big Six.  

It’s possible that not all of these games operate around the clock, yes, even on the Las Vegas Strip, so we would recommend that you call or E-Mail them in advance to get the typical operating hours of any of the novelty games.  

The Aria Poker Room consists of 24 tables and deals Texas Hold ‘Em (Limit and No Limit), Omaha 8 or Better, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Mixed Games, and uniquely, some draw-based Poker Games…which you’re typically only going to see as a novelty or in a major poker room.  There’s also a regular tournament schedule that is posted and updated on their website.  Once again, not all of these games are necessarily going to be dealt around the clock, so we would recommend calling ahead and inquiring about some of the less typical games.  

Finally, Aria is home to a BetMGM Sportsbook location with hours for live service and seating available on their website.  

It should come as no surprise that such a large casino would have a wide variety of dining options, so we are going to discuss some of those now.  

MoneyLine Pizza and Bar is located right next to Aria’s BetMGM Sportsbook (hence the name) and does what it says on the box, with a wide variety of pizzas, drinks and appetizers.  It opens in the morning hours and stays that way until the late evening.  

Javier’s is a semi-upscale Mexican food establishment that opens in the late morning hours and stays open until nearly midnight.  The dress code for this establishment is business casual, but that’s likely not strictly enforced.  Reservations are recommended, especially for the busier times of day.  

Blossom is the go-to place for fine Chinese food and is also semi-upscale in its pricing.  This establishment, as of the time of this writing, is open during the evenings every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with reservations being strongly recommended.  If you’re going to go here, then you absolutely must try the tableside Peking Duck, at least, that’s what I would get!

We’re going to drop it right in the middle here that Aria, unsurprisingly, is home to a Starbucks.  This location is open every day from 6:00a.m.-8:00p.m., but don’t be surprised if you end up having to wait in line—everybody loves Starbucks!

Let’s see what Pressed Juicery, open from the early morning to early evening hours, has to say about itself Four—the pounds of fruit and vegetables you will find in one bottle of these specialty juices. Pressed Juicery was established in 2010 by founding partners Hayden Slater, Carly De Castro and Hedi Gores, and created with the goal of making high nutrition a realistic option for all people. Juices never contain additives and are cold-pressed using a custom hydraulic press to gently extract the maximum vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. At Pressed Juicery, wellness is a right, not a luxury.  Hmm…if it’s a, “Right,” does that mean I can get it for free?  I doubt it.  The good news is they probably accept comp dollars.  

Posh Burgers might have a Posh name, but you’ll find the prices to be quite affordable, especially by Aria standards.  This location serves up delicious, but simple, burgers and fries around the clock, with exception only to the early morning hours.

Din Tai Fung is your place to go for noodles and dumplings seven days per week, though it is only open in the evenings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Despite the fact that reservations are strongly recommended, the prices are more on the low end compared to the Aria’s other eateries.  

Salt and Ivy as well as Bardot Brassiere should be your breakfast go-to’s when staying at, or just visiting, Aria Casino and Resort.  They have a wide variety of different breakfast favorites with very affordable prices, considering the quality of the food.  Bardot Brassiere is a little more pricey when it comes to their other offerings, but the breakfast is both excellent and reasonably priced.  

Jean Georges Steakhouse is open in the evenings seven days per week and is a signature steakhouse of the Aria.  This is the place to go for some of the best Kobe A5 beef or Chilean Sea Bass that you will ever have in your life.  If Kobe isn’t your thing, then you’ll certainly enjoy the Wagyu steak that is offered.  

Carbone is a high-end Italian restaurant that has all of the traditional Italian favorites that you could ever want.  The key to this place is that it’s no gimmicks, just great Italian food.  It’s also open seven days per week, though reservations are basically required if you want to get in here.  

Julian Serrano Tapas does what it says on the box with some of the best Spanish food to be had in Las Vegas.  As of the time of this writing, it’s open every day of the week except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, evening hours only and reservations are recommended.  

Open seven evenings per week (with brunch on weekends also), CATCH is the place to go for a true Asian seafood experience and features some of the best sushi that you’re going to find in Las Vegas, or anywhere, for that matter.  Reservations are recommended and you can expect somewhat upscale pricing, but hey…great sushi is worth almost any cost!

Lemongrass is your place for Asian dishes that are as bold and colorful as they are flavorful.  Believe it or not, this place is open seven evenings per week and will be lighter on your wallet than most of the other eateries at Aria.  This definitely goes on the recommended list if you are going to be staying at the property especially.  

Aria Patissiere is your place to go for breads and desserts, the way the French do it, AND at a very wallet-friendly price.  It’s open 24 hours, so you know where to go if you’re up late on the gambling floor and want a delicious snack and cup of fine coffee.  

Aria is also home to several lounges and nightclubs scattered throughout the property, you can see the website for more details on these.  

That about does it for the Aria, which has an entire vacation’s worth of restaurants all conveniently located in one resort.  Of course, you’re going to need to be prepared to part with some money as this is NOT the location for a low-roller in Vegas.  Still, going in and taking a look is free (unless you actually want to park there), so you should definitely at least take a peek inside on your next visit to the Las Vegas Strip.  

Aztec Inn

That’s right!  You guys are familiar with some of the big names on the Las Vegas Strip: Wynn, Aria, Caesars Palace, Luxor, The Venetian and…the Aztec Inn!

Wait, what?

Having opened in 1957, the Aztec Inn is a hotel that consists of 45 rooms with an astounding 3,120 square feet of gambling space.  This is located just south of the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino which is, technically, the Northern terminus of the Las Vegas Strip…which means, yes, Aztec Inn is (technically) a Las Vegas Strip property. 

Visitors from out-of-town likely won’t find themselves here, unless the gambling didn’t go particular well for them, but they managed to save themselves just enough to stay in a dirt cheap hotel while they wait for their flight home.  Don’t be that guy!  Make sure that you play and spend within your budget when you come visit, otherwise your most vivid memory might be of a night at this place.

This property is home to a bar, buffet, the aforementioned motel and just under forty slot machines.

Believe it or not, there are definitely worse places to end up than this, and it currently sits at an average score of 3.9 on Google Reviews.  Visitors generally think that the rooms aren’t THAT bad and they enjoy the cheap food and drinks.  Hell, you could definitely do worse than the Aztec Inn, now that I really think about it, I’ve definitely seen worse in the Las Vegas area.

Bally’s Las Vegas

Bally’s Las Vegas is a monolithic casino that is currently owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment, although it was formerly the location of the MGM Grand.  Having opened in December of 1973, Bally’s is a major strip property consisting of 2,812 guest rooms and suites.  Additionally, there is more than 68,000 square feet of gaming space, which is nothing to sneeze at, even though it makes it nowhere near the largest of Las Vegas casino properties.

Even before MGM Grand, part of the physical space that Bally’s Las Vegas occupies now was once the Bonanza, which was one of the smaller Las Vegas Strip casinos at that time.  The Bonanza changed ownership a few times in its history and eventually ended up in the hands of MGM, who sought to build a casino that was somewhat based on its movie empire.

They kept the hotel of the Bonanza open for a bit, but eventually got rid of that to make space for what would become the MGM Grand, a property modeled after Grand European hotels.

In the Mid-1980’s, this property would be sold to Bally Manufacturing, which would rebrand some of its ventures as Bally Entertainment, only to itself be sold to Hilton Hotels Corporation in the 1990’s.  A few years later, Hilton would spin casino-hotel operations off into a division called Park Place Entertainment, which means that Bally’s Las Vegas was technically owned by a different company once again!

Park Place Entertainment would later rebrand as Caesars Entertainment Inc, which was then bought out by Harrah’s Entertainment in 2005 (even though it’s called Caesars now…sheesh!).  In 2010, Harrah’s would rename itself Caesars Entertainment Corporation, a name that continues to this day, though Caesars was merged with El Dorado Gaming in 2010, so it’s technically a different company once again.

As we can see, Bally’s has quite a history and remains a fixture of the Las Vegas Strip that continues to be a popular destination for middle-tier gamblers, at least, middle-tier by Las Vegas standards.  The overall quality of the property is still pretty good, but by no means is it the newest and shiniest one dotting the desert.

For those who don’t mind going to Vegas on the weekdays, this hotel is very affordable with weekday (non-event) rates sometimes even under $50/night for standard rooms.  Of course, it’s important to keep in mind the $37 Resort Fee (which isn’t disclosed until you are almost done booking), so the Resort Fee is almost as much as the room itself, in some cases.

Hotel amenities include Wireless Internet, pool and fitness center.  Actually, hotel amenities don’t, “Include,” anything, unless you are of a card level that can get out of the Resort Fee, because it’s not like you don’t have to pay for them.

This property is conveniently located in the center of the Strip, so if you’re looking for economical room rates, but you want to tool around to different casinos during your visit, Bally’s Las Vegas will put you within comfortable walking distance to a great many.  The main outdoor pool features DJ’s spinning the hottest tracks during certain hours and cabanas are available for a fee.

On their website, Bally’s states that they are home to 1,250+ slot machines, video poker and video keno games, so there’s going to be plenty to play while you’re there.

I really don’t know how to describe the casino floor there.  It’s kind of like what someone may have thought, “Futuristic,” would look like in the 80’s and 90’s combined with a sort of industrial theme.  There’s definitely a lot of purple in the place.  Either way, it’s not the biggest or the brightest of the Vegas bunch, but it probably compares favorably to your local casino if you are located in one of the smaller gambling markets in the country.

The property is home to 65 Table Games and spreads Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Pai-Gow Poker, Let it Ride, WSOP Heads Up Hold ‘Em Poker and more.  For whatever reason, their website doesn’t seem to provide a full list of games.

Bally’s is home to a Caesars Race and Sportsbook betting location that is open from the morning hours until the middle evening hours seven days per week.  At one time, this was one of the largest in Vegas, but is now probably about average by Vegas Strip standards.

Bally’s is also home to Jubilee theater, so you can see their website for events.  Events are typically musical or comedy offerings.

Bally’s is also home to a tennis complex, an exhibition on anatomy called, “Real Bodies at Bally’s,” (that sounds interesting!) as well as a Twilight Zone themed mini-golf course, which should be fun for the kids, even though they probably won’t know what Twilight Zone is…hell, I barely know what it is.

The only thing better than gambling is eating, so let’s get into some of the food offerings at Bally’s Las Vegas!

Well, there’s actually surprisingly little, given the size of the property.  Once again, Bally’s, by Las Vegas Strip standards, is kind of a bargain property, so you’re not always going to have the most affluent clientele there.  That doesn’t mean it’s a poor property; it’s a good one, it’s just not where the mega wealthy spend their time these days.  If I absolutely had no choice but to stay on The Strip for several days, and I actually had to pay, I’d probably go to Bally’s.

Bally’s Food Court is home to four eateries, which include, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, Subway, Pan Asian Express and Sbarro (assuming it reopens).  If this seems like the sort of food court a low end mall would have, it is, but that’s fine.  At least you know the food is going to be reasonably priced!

BLT Steak is a casual American steakhouse, but it’s currently closed as of the time of this writing, so it’s hard to say what’s going to happen with that.

LavAzza Coffee Shop is open around the clock and has a wide assortment of java to keep you going as well as some pastries and grab and go sandwiches.  The pricing is pretty much what you would expect from a casino coffee shop, a little bit more than the corner coffeeshop in your town, perhaps, but nothing too bad.

Nosh Deli is your place to go for made-to-order sandwiches…at least, in the mornings and early afternoons on weekends, as of right now.  It’s closed any other time.

Here’s the deal: Bally’s Las Vegas is past its prime, let’s not beat around the bush, here.  However, it’s still a very useful property to the budget-minded Las Vegas visitor in that it’s convenient to some of the major sights and casinos of the Las Vegas Strip, has cheap eating if you’re in for the night and the hotel rooms are reasonably-priced.  Not everyone going to Vegas is going to be comped, especially not first-time visitors, so if you don’t mind doing a little walking to the major attractions, this is about as cheap as it gets on the Las Vegas Strip.

Bellagio

Having opened in 1998, and known for its fountains, Bellagio is about middle-aged as far as Strip properties go, but is still considered amongst the most luxurious of them.  Owned by the Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts, this property comes in at 3,950 guest rooms and suites and well over 100,000 square feet of gambling space, which makes it one of the largest of the Las Vegas Strip casinos.

The original idea for this property came from Steve Wynn and it occupies the space that the Dunes once did, for a Las Vegas long ago…and one with good Blackjack rules.  At the time of its opening, Bellagio was the most expensive hotel ever built, but that record has been dwarfed many times over since then, and not even necessarily always by other Las Vegas properties, as The Revel in Atlantic City was more expensive to build.

Originally owned by Mirage Resorts, it became an MGM Resorts property when the two merged into MGM Grand Inc. to create MGM Mirage, which would later become MGM Resorts International.  Other than that, there have been no changes in the ownership of the casino operations.  The Blackstone Group would purchase and lease back the physical property as of October, 2019, but that didn’t change anything about the casino’s operations and it still remains under the MLife player’s club umbrella.

Aside from the fountains, the Bellagio is perhaps best known for its poker room, which has the highest of limits that you are going to find in Las Vegas and is frequented by top-level poker professionals for both tournaments and cash games.

The Bellagio Fountains were once the largest fountains in the world, though now (while still amazing) they sit in at third place. The water show takes place every thirty minutes in the late afternoon to early evening hours on weekdays and every fifteen minutes from 8:00p.m. to midnight.  The hours are the same on holidays and weekends, except the show starts at noon (as opposed to 3:00p.m.) instead.

Room prices are pretty similar to another MGM Resorts International operated property, Aria, and Resort Fees are also $45 per night here, which is disclosed pretty early in the booking process, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.

It should be no surprise that this property is home to a salon and spa, as well as several pools with rentals for cabanas and loungers available, similar to Aria.  In addition, the property is home to a sizeable fitness center with state of the art equipment.  The property is home to five different pools.

The casino floor is home to more than 2,300 slot, video poker and video keno games ranging in denomination from pennies to hundreds.  Much like the Aria, Bellagio is home to a high-limit lounge with the paperless jackpot reporting system, so players will hardly have a break in the action when they hit taxable handpays and it can all be dealt with electronically at the end of a player’s session.

There are a wide variety of Table Games that include a private lounge for the highest of high-rollers.  Games spread on the casino floor include Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Pai-Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Let it Ride and more.  Not all of their games are going to operate around the clock, so we would recommend calling in advance for general operating hours if you have a specific game in mind.

The poker room is one of the largest to be found with over 7,000 square feet of space dedicated to the game, as well as forty tables and two private rooms for high-limit games.  Games dealt include both LImit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud and mixed games.  Finally, their version of BETMGM sportsbook is your place for sports and racing simulcast and consists of well over 5,000 square feet of real estate.

If you’re all about the eating, then you’ll probably have it even better here than at the impressive Aria when it comes to dining selection!

Michael Mina is a high-end seafood restaurant with reservations strongly recommended that features the most finely prepared of fresh caught fish from both coasts!  If your wallet can handle it, then you really can’t go wrong with this one!

LAGO by Julian Serrano is high end, small plate, Italian dining and is open during the evenings Monday-Thursday and from the early afternoon on on weekends.  Reservations are strongly recommended, and the prices will set you back, but these bold and modern Italian dishes are truly second to none if you have room in your stomach and don’t mind creating room in your wallet.

Saddelle’s Cafe features brunch seven days per week and stays open into the evening on Fridays and Saturdays.  This place is simply one of the best brunch choices in all of Las Vegas with the French Toast and Saddelle’s Tower being my recommendations.  The best part?  You can eat their even if you’re on a budget, so it’s a combination of great dining with friendly prices.

Open every evening and with a view of the Fountains, Mayfair Supperclub strictly requires business casual dress and features somewhat upscale American dining with prices to boot.  As far as the ambiance goes, this might be the best Bellagio has to offer, especially if you can book a reservation during times that the fountains are going off every fifteen minutes!

Prime Steakhouse is the property’s highest end steakhouse and is also set against the Fountains.  Once again, business casual attire is strictly required and you should expect this restaurant to set you back a pretty penny.  The good news is, the food will be well worth it if you can get eating here in your budget.  It’s open seven evenings per week and I would probably go for the chilled shellfish platter, personally.

Spago by Wolfgang Puck is another fine dining establishment, though not as pricey as a few of the others, with a view overlooking the Fountains.  Business casual attire is strictly required, and it is open every evening of the week as well as open for lunch on weekends.  In of the dining selection, they have a little bit of everything, with their website saying, “At lunch and dinner, the market-driven menus feature handmade pastas, wood-oven pizzas, fresh seafood, all-natural meats and prime steaks, alongside handcrafted cocktails and a robust wine list.”  Anyway, this is a good spot if you want a view of the Fountains and you’re not into something quite as expensive as a few of the other fine dining selections, or the others are fully booked already.

Harvest, as of the time of this writing, is a somewhat upscale healthy dining restaurant that focuses on freshness and reasonable portion sizes, so this isn’t going to be the place if you want to, “Load up.”  As this is written, it’s only open on weekend evenings, but that might change if business picks up.  They describe themselves thus, “Harvest will treat guests to menu selections that include: charcuterie and artisanal cheeses and preserves; opulent vegetarian dishes; sustainable seafood cooked in a stone oven; grilled, dry-aged and grass-fed beef; organic poultry and game from the rotisserie; along with adventurous small bites, market-driven sides and a line-up of classic cocktails featuring cold-pressed juices and homegrown herbs.”  Anyway, if you’re looking for lighter fare and you don’t mind opening up your wallet, then this might be the place for you.  I would make sure to get your reservations well in advance as they are currently only open two evenings per week.

Bellagio Patissiere is your place for desserts and coffees.

Fix Restaurant and Bar is a casual place where you can basically wear anything that’s not a swimsuit.  It functions primarily as a lounge and serves American food with an emphasis on the appetizers–with the Buffalo wings being very popular.  That’s not to say that entrees are not available, as they also serve a few different styles of steak as well as chicken dishes.  Unfortunately, it is closed as of the time of this writing, though it is still listed on their website…so we have to assume that they intend to reopen it, at some point.

Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant and Lounge is brought to you by chef Akira Back, and the restaurant has this to say about itself, “His menu, traversing authentic traditional and modern Japanese, includes seasonal fish and ingredients flown in daily from the finest markets and purveyors around the world. These products are brought to your plate in an array of preparation ranging from raw, off the knife seafood to 48 hour braised Wagyu beef.”  Of course, not all seats are created equal in the restaurant, where business casual is required, so we would recommend trying to request a table with the best view of the Fountains when you make your reservations.  The website says that the restaurant overlooks the Fountains, but that’s only kind of true.

I bet you can guess the menu when the name of the restaurant is, literally, Noodles.  Headed up by Executive Chef Patrick Lee, Noodles pretty much has a little of something from anywhere East, with Thai, Japanese, Korean and Chinese dishes all on the menu.  The dress code is basically anything but swimwear, and the prices are cheap—especially by Bellagio standards, but that doesn’t change that the simply prepared food is still delicious.  It is open seven days per week, as of the time of this writing, from 11:00p.m. through the better part of the evening hours.

Open everyday from 7:00a.m.-7:00p.m., like Aria, Bellagio is also home to a Juice Press location.  They refer to themselves as an organic, “Grab and Go,” health food provider and are very modestly-priced, particularly by Bellagio standards.

From American, to Italian to Japanese to Chinese, the buffet at Bellagio is one of the least pricey options and promises quality similar to what you would get at one of their more traditional restaurants.  As of the time of this writing, the Buffet at Bellagio is only open for breakfast and lunch, from 8:00a.m.-3:00p.m., seven days per week.  Given the slight downturn in traffic given Covid-19, we assume that they are not open for dinner, at this time, in order to drive business to the other restaurants.

While it is closed as of the time of this writing, Le Cirque offers highly upscale French fare and would normally be open, at least, during weekend evenings.  Business casual attire, at an absolute minimum, is strictly required if it ever does reopen.  What we will say is that there is an emphasis on elegant, though small, portions, so this isn’t going to be your go to if you have a huge appetite that day, but if you’re looking for something where you can thoroughly enjoy the taste and presentation, this is a strong contender, assuming it reopens.

Picasso is a restaurant headed up by Chef Julian Serrano and features some of the most authentic Spanish food you’re going to get this side of the Atlantic.  As of this writing, it is open during the evening from Wednesday-Sunday, with reservations highly recommended.  Business casual attire is absolutely required and the prices are as high end as Bellagio’s other upscale restaurants.

Another restaurant that is currently open from Wednesday-Sunday evenings is Jasmine, which describes itself thus, “Enter this exquisite garden and lake-view destination and breathe in the exotic aroma of Cantonese, Szechwan and Hunan cuisine. Welcome to a Chinese restaurant that exceeds all expectations.”  Reservations are recommended and business casual is the mandated attire.  In of price, it’s semi-upscale both and food and in price, so while it’s not at the top end of Bellagio’s offerings, it certainly isn’t cheap.

The Pool Cafe and Bar is mostly grab and go stuff that you can get during breakfast and lunch hours, seven days per week.  Prices are cheap and the food is casual, and as you probably assumed, it is located near the pool.

Bellagio makes note of the fact that they are also home to a wide variety of high-end stores, with a complete list of them to be found here.

Overall, if you’re looking for one of the finest resorts in Las Vegas, and have the money to spend, with food selection such that you never actually have to leave if you don’t want to, then Bellagio is right up there in our recommendations.  If you’re looking to do Vegas on a budget, however, then we would recommend going in and seeing the Fountains all the same.  If you do have a few nights of really expensive dinners in your budget (even if you plan for your hotel stay to be cheaper elsewhere), then Bellagio certainly has a number of fine dining restaurants for your consideration.  Gentlemen, just make sure to bring your polo or collared shirt along, and ladies, an evening dress, skirt or pantsuit should get the job done.

Caesars Palace

Opened in August of 1966, Caesars Palace is one of the oldest and most iconic properties on the Las Vegas Strip.  This is the Vegas Strip Casino that virtually everyone has heard of, at least in ing and has been a staple in other areas of pop culture.  For example, it was even the title casino for a Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo video game that I reviewed here.

Caesars Palace likely needs no introduction, but I am going to give it one anyway: Opened in 1966 with a Roman Empire theme that begins outdoors with the impressive promenades and archways, Caesars Palace was instrumental in leading the tourist charge away from Downtown, (which is sometimes called, ‘Old Vegas,’ by those who frequented it then) and into casinos with a focus on other activities, such as dining, incredible aesthetics and, for a time, the notion that all major Las Vegas Strip casinos must have some sort of theme for the property.

This monolithic property comes in at over 124,000 square feet of gambling space, which was almost unrivaled at the time of its opening, and houses an incredible 3,960 guest rooms and suites.  Currently, the real property is owned by Vici Properties, a Real-Estate Investment Trust that works closely with the property’s operator, Caesars Entertainment, which itself was formed when Caesars and El Dorado Resorts merged last year.  Despite the name, it was actually El Dorado who bought out Caesars.

To this day, Caesars Palace remains considered a luxury casino, though there have been properties to open since (Wynn and The Venetian are two examples) that more than rival it in that regard.  However, that does nothing to take away the fact that Caesars is still going to be heralded, possibly for all time, as one of the casinos that make the Las Vegas Strip what it is.  When people think, “Las Vegas,” one of the first images to pop into their head is that of Caesars Palace.

More than just a casino, Caesars Palace is also home to The Colosseum, with a similar aesthetic to the rest of the property, that is capable of seating just shy of 4,300 guests for musical, and other, performances.  The stage of The Colosseum comes in at a sizeable more than 22,000 square feet, so this is going to be one of the most impressive entertainment venues in all of Las Vegas, even 55 years later.

Why doesn’t the name have an apostrophe?  The answer to that is that the original builders, with the main brainchild being Jay Sarno, was to create a property and entertainment venue in which all guests would feel like Emperor Caesar.  The idea is that everyone walking into the property would feel as though they were treated like royalty, so Caesars is a plural, rather than a possessive, because everyone there is meant to feel like a Caesar.

Despite Circus Circus being its own Las Vegas Strip Casino, that was the original name of the casino at Caesars Palace.  The first change in ownership would be when the Chief Finance Officer was accused of having ties to organized crime, which would result in the property being sold for sixty million dollars, in 1969 (about 447 million today, quite a bargain!) toa  couple of restaurateurs, who would later divest their restaurant properties to focus on the casino.  This company would soon be renamed, Caesars World.

The company would later be renamed to Caesars Entertainment Inc., which was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment in 2005, who itself would change their name to Caesars Entertainment in 2010.  They did this because Caesars was seen as the more powerful brand name, but it does make one wonder why it took them five years to discover that.  Eventually, in October of 2017, the real property was sold to Vici Properties, who would then lease it back to Caesars Entertainment, who handles the operations.  Though El Dorado essentially bought out Caesars, the name of the company remains Caesars Entertainment, though that does technically mark another change in ownership.

The physical property is also home to an indoor shopping mall that consists of more than 600,000 square feet of space and features a huge number of stores, many of them considered high-end.  Opened in 1992, this addition to the main casino building is called The Forum Shops at Caesars.

Some of the greatest musical acts in history would find themselves performing in The Colosseum, at one time or another.  These acts include all-time icons such as Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Cher, Liberace, Elton John, Diana Ross, David Copperfield (magician), Dolly Parton, Gloria Estefan, Ike and Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Jerry Seinfeld (comedy), Mariah Carey, B.B. King, Ricky Martin and countless others.

If you stop and think about it, that list of iconic performers throughout the years is nothing short of baffling!!!  How many actual halls and other concert venues that ONLY exist to hold concerts do you think had all of those performers visit, at one time or another?  My guess is not very many!

In of other popular culture, Caesars Palace has played host to WWE’s Wrestlemania, on more than one occasion.  Additionally, it has been featured in several movies with Rocky III, Rain Man, Fools Rush In, Ocean’s Eleven, Dreamgirls and Iron Man perhaps being the most well known movies to have featured this legendary property.

Of course, this is but a brief history with some high points of what happened in this casino in its more than half a century of existence.  There simply wouldn’t be room to hit upon everything, so let’s see what the property looks like today.

According to their website, the property is presently home to ten bars and lounges, as well as twenty-two full-on restaurants…though some of these are undoubtedly in the same physical space as some of the bars and lounges that are being included.

In addition to Wireless Internet for all guests, the property is home to a jaw-dropping seven pools, though perhaps not so surprising when you consider the fact that they have almost 4,000 guest rooms…there are certainly days where a great many people want to go swimming simultaneously!  It should come as no surprise that the property also houses a sizeable fitness center with state of the art equipment, as well as a hotel and spa that offers a full range of services.

Weekday rates are sometimes reasonable, given their, “We need to fill up,” offers.  Weekday night accommodations can sometimes be had for just under $100, and perhaps even lower during the less busy Winter months.  Weekends, even with specials and package deals, will generally run over $200 even for the most basic of rooms.  The property does have a Resort Fee of $45/night, which I suppose is disclosed reasonably early in the booking process, though this writer would still like to see it come up a little earlier.  People might think they are getting an, “Out the door,” price that they are not.  It also bears mentioning that this Resort Fee can sometimes end up being more than half of the actual room rate!

For those of you who just want to stop in and look around without staying, the good news is that you don’t have to pay a Resort Fee for that, though you might end up having to pay for parking, if you don’t plan to do any gambling during your visit.

In of its gambling operations, the property boasts that it is home to precisely 1,324 combined slot, video poker and video keno games…which seems highly specific, but I’ll take it as it’s much easier than physically counting them all!  High rollers have no fear, slot denominations range from pennies all the way up to five Bennies ($500) per credit.  Naturally, if you are looking to gamble on a budget and prefer your slots to be low denomination, it’s tough for us to advise playing on the Las Vegas Strip as it is well-known to have the worst slot returns in the State of Nevada.

Table Games offered include the staples Blackjack, Roulette and Craps, but you will also find a new strategy game called Gamblit’s Naval Warfare, which is kind of a PVP sort of game that relies on both luck and skill.  Advantage players once felt that these Gamblit games might hold some promise, but many have suggested that the house hold (overall RTP) is simply too high (low RTP) for anyone to readily get any real advantage.  Other Table Games include Let it Ride, Three Card Poker, and Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus.

There are other Table Games, of course, but Caesars did not see fit to list any others on their website, so we’re not going to list any others here.  What we will say is that you should call ahead for the typical operating hours for any Table Games that are not the casino staples of Blackjack, Craps and Roulette, because many other games likely do not operate around the clock.

Open from the morning to the late evening hours, Caesars heavily promotes their race and sports book, where you can make all the simulcast horse racing bets, or bet on any of the big games, matches or fights that you want.  It features a full bar and any number of huge screens for comfortable viewing wherever you may happen to find a seat.

You can check out their website here for entertainment.  As of the time of this writing, Usher has a residency (means regular performer) going on, Keith Urban is scheduled to come in and Absinthe is their regularly-occurring variety show.  Most of the acts scheduled in the near future are a bit past their prime, but that’s how it goes.

It’s time to get to my favorite part of the casino…the restaurants!  If Caesars doesn’t have something for you, then nobody does, because it has one of the best varieties of eateries that puts it up there with any Las Vegas Strip casino.  Let’s grab our forks and knives and dig in!!!

Open daily from 11:00a.m. to the late-evening hours, Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen is a restaurant experience that is inspired by the TV show, except you probably won’t be yelled at, and it seems that dining is available for both eat-in and take out!  Why would anyone get takeout if they are going to eat at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant…the hell with that!  We obviously have to recommend Gordon Ramsey’s signature dish, Beef Wellington, which is sure to be the best that you have ever had…it’s Gordon Ramsey!

Speaking of celebrity chefs, Amalfi is an upscale dining experience brought to you by the world-renowned, and popular TV personality, Bobby Flay!  This restaurant focuses on Mediterranean-inspired seafood and has this to say about itself, “A focal point of Amalfi is a fish and seafood display, staffed by a knowledgeable fishmonger, who will be available to answer any guest’s questions – from where the fish is from, when it arrived in Las Vegas and more.”  How about that?  You know how you can go into some seafood restaurants and pick out the lobster you’re going to eat?  This is basically the same thing, except essentially with any of the dishes.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a better seafood experience anywhere in Las Vegas.

Bacchanal Buffet is nothing short of legendary, which it had better be, because the price tag is going to set you back as much as any of the high-end sit-down fine dining experiences, such as Amalfi.  Understandably so, as Bacchanal is one of the few casino buffets that IS a fine-dining experience.  Bacchanal describes itself thus, “At the newly renovated Bacchanal Buffet, you’ll explore dozens of cuisines and hundreds of perfectly prepared offerings from specialty chefs. With food prepared right in front of hotel guests and non-hotel guests alike in open kitchens, it’s like having your pick of nine high-end restaurants in one location.”  Their website currently represents that they have fifteen signature dishes every day, nine kitchens and you have ninety minutes to eat as much of it as your heart, and more importantly, your stomach, desires.  Just go to the restaurant and look at the picture of all of that meat that will be smoking right there in front of you—yeah, I’ll see you there!

Open seven days per week for lunch and dinner, Beijing Noodle Number 9 is a casual Asian eatery that emphasizes freshness and pure taste in its somewhat simply prepared dishes.  They have this to say about themselves, “With the wide selection of authentic dishes on our menu it means you’ll never eat the same thing twice. Whether you’re craving chow mein, fried rice or a lychee martini, you can find it. Walk through a dramatic entrance flanked by giant fish tanks and immerse yourself in energy reminiscent of the streets of Hong Kong or Beijing.”  This is a popular choice if you’re looking for something tasty, cheap compared to other Caesars restaurants and you would like to have it reasonably quickly.

Do you love coffees and desserts that are both delicious and affordably-priced?  Of course you do, I really had no need to ask.  You’re sure to enjoy Brioche by Guy Savoy, which is the Caesars sweet shop and caffeine stop, sure to delight the taste buds and put some fuel back in your tank.  This stop is open from 6:00a.m.-9:00p.m. every day of the week.

Open from noon-midnight for Casual American and Latin eats, Cafe Americano is a popular stop for those who want something relatively quick;ly that is also light on the wallet.  Their website says this, “At Café Americano you can enjoy classic American dishes as well as Latin fare made with high-quality ingredients. Whether it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or something from the late-night menu, you can savor food and drinks that are made fresh all the time.”  Hey, sometimes you just want a simple cheeseburger, at least, sometimes I do.

Available from 7:00a.-11:00p, although it’s not the popular 7-11 convenience store, Food to Go is certainly convenient if you want something delivered to your room, or want to grab a fine dish to go and don’t have time to eat in, after all, there’s a lot of Vegas to see!  They say this, “Enjoy the convenience of fresh and delicious food the whole gang will enjoy. With choices from nine different restaurants and ordering at your fingertips, it’s never been easier and safer to enjoy your favorite foods.”  Anyway, Food to Go will happily get some selections from Hell’s Kitchen, the steakhouse, Gordon Ramsey Pub and Grill, Beijing Noodle No. 9, Nobu, Pronto by Giada and Difara either delivered to you or ready for your pick up.  Myself, I would want to dine-in at any of these places, but if you can’t be hassled, call Food to Go.

The Forum Food Hall is just a fancy name that is given to the food court, but maybe it’s a well-deserved fancy name, given the wide variety of choices that is sure to please anyone who wants to dine in a casual atmosphere with wallet-friendly prices.  Selections include: Bobby’s Burgers, Earl of Sandwich, Smoke and Sizzle, Difara Pizza, Taco, the Hilal Guys, Starbucks and Crepes and More.  Some of these are temporarily closed from time-to-time, especially in light of Covid, but there are plenty of these that are open such that you’re sure to find something you want.

Open seven days per week from 11:00a.m. to Midnight, Gordon Ramsey’s Pub and Grill is aesthetically fairly simple, probably because they are busy focusing on delicious English Pub-Style food!  They have this to say, “For an authentic English pub experience, look no further than Gordon Ramsay’s Pub & Grill. The celebrity chef serves up traditional British pub fare in an elevated style. You’ll find all of his signatures like fish and chips, Beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding.”  As you can see, this place also has his famous Beef Wellington, but personally, I’d get that from Hell’s Kitchen and would want to try out the Fish and Chips if I am stopping here…how can you go to an English Pub and not gets Fish and Chips?  That should be against the law.  Don’t worry, they have a selection of 36 beers that you can use to wash it down!

Michael Chow presents MR CHOW (Caps not mine), which is a restaurant that specializes in the sort of food that one would find in Beijing.  I must it, I’m not sure what foods come from Beijing specifically, but I certainly wouldn’t mind making a stop in at MR CHOW and finding out.  The restaurant is considered somewhat upscale and seems primarily concerned with its aesthetic, saying, “MR CHOW features elegant white, modern décor with one-of-a-kind design elements including a kinetic “moon” sculpture that hangs over the main dining room. Touches like the sculpture add a bit of a show element to your meal and that’s exactly what MR CHOW likes to do. Not only is it a culinary experience, you’ll also be entertained during your evening. The sculpture is suspended from a domed ceiling in the center of the room and it comes to life every 20 minutes slowly morphing into different shapes.”  That’s nice, but I don’t care!  How’s the food?  What sort of dishes are unique to Beijing?  That’s what I want to know.  I guess I’ll have to visit MR CHOW to find out.

Next we have Nobu Las Vegas, which is your go-to place for upscale Japanese food seven evenings a week.  Additionally, for those of you who need vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options, they apparently have those in spades!  I never really thought of Japanese food as being ideal for vegans, but that shows what I know…of course, I’m getting sushi, sushi and MORE SUSHI any time I go to a Japanese restaurant.  Is there a sushi sampler?  I don’t even need to look at the menu if there is.

Old Homestead Steakhouse is the casino’s mandatory upscale steakhouse, and it is also open seven evenings per week.  They do declare, “Brothers Marc and Greg Sherry, whose family has been associated with the original Old Homestead (est. 1868) for decades, gives Vegas a taste of its fine cuts. The standout menu items are the famous cuts of meat, selected and butchered with attention to detail that made the original iconic.”  The aesthetic setting is that of a classic fine dining steakhouse, so expect to see your traditional red, black and white decor and accommodations that are meant to emphasize comfort rather than marvels for the eye.  Couples swear by the ultimate dinner for two, but don’t you be eyeballing her side of the steak until she’s done with it, gentlemen!

As of the time of this writing, Pronto by Giada appears to only be open for breakfast and lunch hours, seven days per week, but has this to say, “Pronto by Giada offers breakfast, lunch and dinner made of the freshest ingredients and prepared fast. Menu options include house-made pastries, specialty coffee, paninis, salads, antipasti, meat and cheese platters and gelato for dessert. Be sure to check out the adjacent wine bar.”  The good news is that the prices are not going to set you back, as they are as casual as the restaurant.  It’s usually going to run a bit more than some of the other food court selections, but it’s economical.

Rao’s Las Vegas is a semi-upscale restaurant that is just a small step down from its high-end counterparts, of course, if you’ve eaten at every restaurant we have listed, then you’ve probably shelled out a ton of money already!  Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, this eatery is open the other five evenings of the week for dinner.

Get your taste buds and wallet ready, because Restaurant Guy Savoy is a highly upscale French dining experience that may come delicious, but it definitely doesn’t come cheap.  Of course, Guy Savoy also has a world-renowned restaurant in Paris, so you know that this food is legit.  The restaurant has this to say, “Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace has been called the best restaurant in Las Vegas, serving elegant French Cuisine in a fine dining environment. Designed to emulate the menu of his Paris restaurant, the Restaurant Guy Savoy Caesars Palace menu includes many classic Savoy dishes.”  If I see seafood, I eat seafood, so it’ll be the Octopus Terrine’ for me, please.

While closed at the time of this writing, one other eatery that would normally operate is Searsucker Las Vegas.  It’s American BBQ and fried-food, baby, please open back up soon!!!

Additionally, the property is home to a wide variety of bars, lounges and nightclubs, so you can look for the full list of those locations on their website here.

That about wraps it up for Caesars Palace, which despite its age, we have to put right up there with even the newer properties on the Las Vegas Strip if you are looking for shopping, dining and an all-around luxury experience.  It may not be the most modern casino these days, but considering that the theme is the Roman Empire, can it not be said that it was always meant to be a classical blast from the past?  Besides, I think there’s something to be said for the fact that you can tell your friends that you stayed at, arguably, Vegas’ most iconic property.  

Oh my God, and the dining?  Mmmmwwahhhh!  It’s amazing!  The dining selection at Caesars Palace is still arguably the best that any one property in Las Vegas has to offer.  You could stay there for two solid weeks and you will leave with dishes and places that you still want to try…I wouldn’t even know how to choose the first place to eat…maybe make a Roulette wheel and put the names of all the restaurants on it?

Casino Royale

Formerly known as Nob Hill Casino, as well as Casino Royale, the name is now technically Best Western Plus Casino Royale.  I guess nothing quite captures the splendor and icon that is the Las Vegas Strip quite like Best Western, a hotel chain associated with business-class Limited-Service hotels…oh, the opulence, oh, the magnificence!  Can they please drop the, “Best Western,” from the name?

This is actually one of the Las Vegas Strip’s more simple properties that hardly counts as what a person would think of when they think of Las Vegas Strip casinos.  Having opened in July of 1978, Casino Royale is known for being nice-enough and catering to low-rollers.  If that means you, then don’t worry, it’s a perfectly fine property and there’s no shame in staying.  In fact, you’re perhaps better off to save your hotel rate money to do other things, like dining in the finest establishments of the major strip properties.

Casino Royale consists of a 152 room hotel, so not THAT much bigger than some Best Westerns and includes a scant 17,500 square feet of gaming space.

However, such an old property on the Las Vegas Strip is still bound to have a little bit of history to it, and this one is no exception.  The hotel itself was once Bill’s Place, Bon Air Motel and Motor Inn Motel and many restaurants have been in and out, in fact, this place was once home to a Denny’s.  Originally, this place was called the Caravan Motor Hotel and would eventually rebrand as the Caravan Travelodge, upon being bought out by that company.

The Nob Hill Casino would later become owned by the company that owned Harrah’s, which was called Holiday Casino at that time, back in 1978.  This is relevant because the two properties are all one thing now, but at the time, the hotel associated with Casino Royale was operated separately and as a Travelodge.

In 1983, Holiday Inn (yes, that one) would eventually acquire Holiday Casino, and in so doing, would get the operating rights to Nob Hill Casino, though it would allow those operating rights to expire in 1990.  In 1992, the owner and General Manager of the Frontier casino hotel (no longer exists), Tommy Elardi, would purchase the former Nob Hill Casino and rebrand it as Casino Royale.  It was at this time that the hotel and casino would come to operate as a single entity.

Eventually, Tommy Elardi would divest his interest in the Frontier, though he or his family still own Casino Royale, which they would rebrand as a Best Western (franchise agreement) in 2013.  It has remained that way since and is hopefully going to continue to be fairly stable.

In addition to being relatively affordable on room rates, Casino Royale is also known to be low-roller friendly, offering such things as $3 Craps Minimums (with 20x Odds) and 100x Odds on Craps for those betting $5 on either of the lines, or more.  It also made an appearance in a Grand Theft Auto game, GTA San Andreas, as Royal Casino.

For those of you who may be booking with BestWestern.com, it’s important to understand that, while the rates may look similar to other Strip properties, Casino Royale does not charge a Resort fee…so the rate you see is the rate you get.  Isn’t that nice!  The 152 rooms and suites can usually be had for less than $100 on non-event weekdays and generally between $100-$200 per night on weekends, usually depending on demand season.

Despite the lack of a Resort Fee, the property does offer some nice amenities.  In addition to the complementary (yes, that’s actually true!) Wireless Internet, the property features a heated outdoor pool and a 24 hour, modern exercise facility.  Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with that in conjunction with no resort fee, at least, not by Vegas Strip standards.

Slot games are going to be some of the more low-roller friendly on The Strip, with denominations ranging from pennies to five dollars per credit, so Abe Lincoln’s all the way!  I’m not sure that I would necessarily trust the slot returns to be better than the mega properties on the Las Vegas Strip necessarily, but one would think that they should be, since they are low-roller friendly in other ways.

Recent reports have indicated that the Table Games at Casino Royale are closed, as of this time, with whether or not they plan to reopen unknown.

There are a surprising number of dining options at Casino Royale, mostly consisting of national chains such as Denny’s (American Diner,) Outback Steakhouse (Steakhouse), White Castle (fast food), Fat Tuesday’s (frozen drinks) and a food court that includes Pizza Hut, Subway and Foot Long Hot Dogs.  I don’t know that this would be my place to eat, necessarily, unless you perhaps have some sort of package deal and are only eating their for lunch, but this is going to be one of your more economical options for staying, so you can hold on to some of your money and save it for great dining elsewhere!  This might also be ideal if you normally stay at Best Westerns elsewhere and have racked up a ton of reward points.

It is what it is.  It’s on the Las Vegas Strip and it’s affordable if you’re on a budget, by Vegas standards, which means the rooms are still a bit expensive.  If you’re thinking of staying here, we wouldn’t say not to, but the public transportation in Vegas is great and we think you might have more fun at one of the Fremont Street properties Downtown at a similar price point.

Circus Circus Las Vegas

When someone thinks about the luxurious accommodations and pampering that come with only the most high-end of Las Vegas Strip properties, the first place that comes to mind is the Circus Cir—

No, that’s not true at all.  

Circus Circus Las Vegas is one of the more economical options for those who wish to stay on the Las Vegas Strip and this place’s entire existence is almost surreal.  If there’s one place that looks like it doesn’t belong on the Las Vegas Strip, or really much of anywhere, that place is the Circus Circus.

This property features 3,767 guest rooms and suites and is on the Northern end of what some people might consider The Strip, proper.  We would remind our readers that, if you want to get very technical, Stratosphere is considered as being the Northern terminus of the Las Vegas Strip.  Owned by Phil Ruffin and known for its regular circus acts, coming in just shy of 124,000 square feet of gambling space, this was once considered one of the Strip’s main attractions and does not exist as just a small novelty type of casino.

In addition to the ongoing trapeze and circus acts in the world’s biggest permanently-operating circus, this property also features an indoor amusement park, called the Adventuredome.  Most properties would think that most people are not going to be inclined to take their small children on a trip with them to Las Vegas, and indeed most parents don’t, but for those who do, Circus Circus was built with you in mind.

Actually, it seems that it might not have been that bad of an idea.  Many Native American casinos across the country, as well as casinos in other areas (such as Golden Nugget Atlantic City) have devoted some part of their properties to activities for those of all ages since Circus Circus was built…so say what you will, but there is a market for the family casino goer.

In August of 1993, the Adventuredome originally opened as Grand Slam Canyon, a moniker that it would carry into the late nineties.  Essentially, this construction consists mostly of 300 pound pink tinted glass panes that are built in a dome structure that encomes, yes, an entire amusement park mainly for kids.  The most notable components are two reasonably large roller coasters, an eighteen-hole miniature golf course, an all out arcade, a rock-climbing wall and carnival games.  Anywhere else, this would be considered a huge activity center for kids and would be a destination of its own, but it currently exists as a part of a Vegas casino.

Look, I don’t hate the idea.  Would I take my kids to Las Vegas?  Definitely not.  However, if there’s a niche market that consists of people who would, then why not capitalize on it?

Originally opened in October of 1968, and surprisingly without a hotel (!), it was the first (and probably still the most) family-oriented casino in all of Las Vegas.  That makes sense, of course, because if you asked me to list my travel destinations that are not ideal for families, Las Vegas would be very close to #1 on that list!  The casino would continue to operate for a few years without a hotel, though one finally opened in 1972.

The first few years were tough for the property, and understandably so, because what’s the point of having a family-friendly casino if the families that you are supposed to be marketing yourself to cannot actually stay on the casino’s property?  Anyway, then owners Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin, would quickly come to the same conclusion and build the hotel.

Property operations would later be leased to Bill Bennett and William Pennington in 1974, as Sarno and Mallin were under investigation for various financial crimes—welcome to Las Vegas circa 1970’s.  It was pretty common for casino ownership to have crime connections at this time, usually something to do with money laundering (easier when you deal with a ton of cash anyway) and tax evasion, with the two often going hand-in-hand.

Bennett and Pennington would demonstrate tremendous prowess in their management of the casino property, and over the ensuing decade, would continue to build new hotel structures, nearby motels and just generally expand the property’s offerings.  They were so successful, in fact, that they would purchase the property themselves in 1983 and add a 29 story new hotel tower just a few years later.

As we mentioned, the original Grand Slam Canyon amusement park would be added in 1993, and given that expansion, a thirty-five story hotel tower would again be added somewhere around 1996, which essentially meant that Circus Circus had as much guest capacity for overnight accommodations as virtually any other Las Vegas Strip casino.

The company that owned the property was named Circus Circus Enterprises, but would later change its name to Mandalay Resort Group to reflect its higher-end Las Vegas Strip holding, which is on the Southern end of the Las Vegas Strip.  This company would later be sold to MGM Mirage in 2005, which increased their holdings on the Las Vegas Strip, and they would later rebrand to MGM International in 2005.

Unfortunately, Circus Circus–while still immensely popular for families–was considered as MGM Resorts International’s lowest end holding and, in the eyes of some, was seen as being kind of an embarrassment for the casino monolith.  More than that, MGM Resorts owned a significant portion of the casino properties on the Las Vegas Strip and was generally more interested in having the image of providing luxury accommodations.

At one time, MGM Resorts International considered rectifying this by doing a massive remodeling of Circus Circus, though it would have still kept its theme and the marketing would still be geared towards visitors with families.  Significant upgrades to the rooms, restaurants and public areas would have proved a costly undertaking, and if I may, a risky gamble as the prices would have gone up accordingly…and it was also seen as a great Strip bargain property for travellers.  In the light of the Great Recession of the late-2000’s and early 2010’s, such an investment was seen as too risky, so MGM Resorts abandoned that plan.

However, the problem remained that the property is more than out of place on the Las Vegas Strip, it was totally out of place in the MGM catalog of properties, with some seeing it as kind of a joke that they would even own it in the first place.  Circus Circus more than holds its own for what it is, but MGM Resorts eventually got to the point that they didn’t want to cater to the bargain traveler market, so they would sell the Circus Circus to Phil Ruffin in 2019.

For those of you who have heard the name Phil Ruffin before, he is also the owner of the Treasure Island Resort and Casino, which is also located on the Las Vegas Strip.  Future plans for the Circus Circus property include a wave pool and lazy river.  Whilst Treasure Island is more of a higher end property than Circus Circus, it’s not quite the chasm that there is between the latter and something like MGM Resorts owned Aria or Bellagio.

Circus Circus is also home to the Slots-A-Fun Casino, but we will give that a separate listing later on and talk about it a little bit.

Circus Circus remains great for families and bargain hunters, with room rates sometimes under $100, even on weekend, if it’s not too busy.  On weekdays, rooms can occasionally be had for as low as just under $20, but it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a $35 nightly resort fee, which the site isn’t really great about clearly disclosing as a single line item.  Still, it’s one of the best prices that you are going to get.

Most of the accommodations and furnishings of the guest rooms are simple and a bit dated, but generally pretty clean.  The rooms themselves look like what you might expect from a chain middle-tier economy hotel elsewhere in the country.  They’re serviceable and should not be seen as a total dump…but the Aria, it is not.

It should come as no surprise that weekend rates compare to properties that are considered generally nicer.  Given the fact that the casino primarily exists to cater to family travelers, they tend to get as busy on the weekends as anyone else would.

The Carnival Midway opens in the early afternoon most days, and features a wide variety of over 200 games, including new and classic arcade games, for children and adults of all ages.  There’s also a combination Skee-Ball and horse racing game that, as far as I know, is one of a kind.  Obviously, you should expect the prices to be a little bit higher than whatever arcade may exist in or near your neighborhood, but after all, you are in Las Vegas and the prices aren’t too bad.

Circus Acts take place every day, starting at 1:30p.m. on weekdays and 11:30a.m. on weekends at the center stage of the Carnival Midway and, believe it or not, are free to attend!  Even if you happen to be staying elsewhere, if you’ve taken your kids to Las Vegas, you owe it to them to cut out an afternoon or evening to check these acts out, and also throw them a few bucks for the arcade games, after all, you’re probably going to be playing the adult equivalent soon enough—and those are often more expensive.

The Splash Zone and Pool are currently open on weekends and feature a 50 foot waterslide, which the kids are sure to love.  The best news is that, unless you want to rent one of the cabanas, all of this is included in your hotel stay—or, perhaps we should say it’s part of the Resort Fee, however you want to look at it.  With Splash Zones and Circus Acts included in the price, I have to it that the Resort Fee is more justified here than at many other places.

As should be expected, the over 40,000 square feet of retail shopping space features outlets and stores that are catered for kids and adults alike, with a full list of offerings to be found here.  Additionally, there are also convenience stores and liquor stores with reasonably priced wares, at least, by Las Vegas Strip standards.

Just because you’re travelling with the kids doesn’t mean that you won’t want to look your best, besides, you deserve a little pampering.  I should know that travelling with kids can be a massive undertaking, and I’m sure Las Vegas is no exception to that rule, so check out the salon, open daily, for a little bit of pampering for yourself.  Just try not to sweat too much in the arcade after, or you might ruin your do.

Oh, right, there’s still a casino to talk about!

The Circus Circus Casinos consist of the Main Casino, West Casino and Slots-A-Fun, the last of which will receive a separate listing.  These three casinos combine for well over a thousand slot, video poker and video keno games, ranging in denomination from pennies to $25 per credit.  Being something of a bargain property, this machines could generally be expected to have slightly better RTP than the slots you may find at other casinos with the website advertising, as of the time of this writing, that their Magnificent 7’s dollar denomination slot machine has a Return-to-Player of 97.4%—which is actually better than some $1 Video Poker offerings in other casinos!  Additionally, there is a section of the casino proper that belongs to the Midway, so if you’ve ever wanted to watch a circus performance and play a slot machine simultaneously, which is something I can say I have honestly never contemplated, this is your chance!

Consisting mainly of Craps, Roulette, Blackjack and Three-Card Poker, Circus Circus is home to thirty gaming tables with minimums that are generally going to be a little more low-roller friendly than those of other Las Vegas Strip properties and are probably comparable to Downtown Las Vegas casinos.  While the property has no Poker Room, it is home to a William Hill Sports and Race Book for those of you who want to check out the big game, and maybe get some money down, when you get a break from the kids.

The property’s eateries consist of four proper restaurants as well as the Food Court, so let’s take a minute to address those:

The highest end offering is the Steak House at Circus Circus, which has a casual dining code (though not business casual), which basically just means to dress cleanly.  This Steak House, as one would expect, is less pricey than most other steakhouses in Las Vegas, but still isn’t going to be light on the wallet.  That said, they feature a mesquite broiler and the finest selection of Midwestern beef…and hey, you say what you want about Waigu and Kobe, but my taste isn’t quite so refined that I’ll turn my nose up at some American Midwestern cattle!

Blue Iguana is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but is open for breakfast and lunch the other five days of the week.  This is a casual style and casually priced Mexican restaurant that mainly features simple, yet delicious, tacos and burritos.  You honestly can’t go wrong with this one, and if you want something quick, we’d still recommend maybe stopping in even if you aren’t staying on property.  Besides, how can you not check out the Midway while you’re on the Las Vegas Strip—just for the novelty alone!

The Pizzeria does what it says on the box and is open, every day, starting at 11:00a.m.   If you’re not in the mood for pizza, don’t worry, they have a wide assortment of calzones (including build your own) as well as several salads to choose from.  Prices are as you would expect.

Sandwiches, soups, salads and other simple items can be had quickly and cheaply at Westside Deli, but don’t worry, all of these simple vettles are still made to order.  What are the hours?  Yes.  It is open 24/7.

Quick Eats can be had at the food court which includes McDonald’s, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme (donuts many people swear by—they’re okay), Tasti D-Lite (mostly fruity desserts), Cocolini (Italian gelato featured) and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.  Snicker all you want, but the next person that I see to refuse some Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Bites will be the first!

Overall, we would have to recommend this property for anyone traveling to Las Vegas and bringing kids along, after all, this place was literally built for that.  There’s going to be plenty of entertainment for the entire family, including the adults and there are enough different eateries that it should be mostly satisfactory in that regard.  We would definitely recommend checking out the finer dining elsewhere, at least one or two nights of your visit, but there can be no doubt that the Circus Circus is great fun and will have most of your needs covered!

If you’re an adult traveling alone, then it would be much tougher for us to recommend this place for overnight accommodations.  Still, we think you should pay the Midway a quick visit during the day, as it’s sure to bring out the kid in you.

Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is the official name of this place, but it’s more typically known as, “Cosmopolitan,” or, “Cosmo,” for short.  One of the Vegas Strip’s newer additions, the Cosmopolitan opened in 2010, which some of you might recognize as being in the heart of the Great Recession, so the owners must have had some faith that the property was going to be successful.

This sizeable Strip property comes in at just over 3,000 guest rooms and suites and is home to a respectable (even by Vegas standards) 110,000 square feet of total gaming space.  Additionally, the property is home to a theater that seats as many as 3,200 and comes with an astounding 300,000 square feet of retail shopping space.

The best way to look at The Cosmopolitan is that it kind of captures a moment in time when the emphasis of the Las Vegas Strip turned a bit away from the pure gambling and into shopping, dining and other areas of operations.  To wit, gambling still drives the most revenue for many of these casinos, but does not necessarily drive the majority of the revenue, taken alone, anymore.  The Cosmopolitan was built to focus on a total travel experience and has the shopping facilities and meeting and convention space to back that up.  Soon after its opening, it was named the best hotel in Las Vegas by multiple publications.

Even one of the property’s three pools is designed to be a nightclub, of sorts.  The other two pools are a dayclub pool, whatever that means as well as a pool just for rest and relaxation—which is definitely the one that I would want to visit.

The Cosmopolitan opened amid financing struggles and had a few changes of ownership, with the property now being owned by the Blackstone Group.  We are not going to detail all of these, however, because being a relatively new property, the Cosmo is not what we would consider a casino particular relevant to the history of the Las Vegas Strip.

To the extent that the casino floor has a theme, it’s mostly just dark with a lot of gold.  I guess if I had to think of it as anything, I’d think of it as what a high-end cocktail lounge might have looked like in the 1930’s, just huge.

Good gosh almighty are the rooms ever expensive!  Cosmopolitan is NOT the place to go for the budget-conscious, with even the most basic rooms costing over $150/night, even on slower weekdays, and that’s before you even get into the $50/night Resort Fee.  Weekends, particularly on busy nights, can run anywhere from $200-$500 even for the standard rooms.

Of course, these rooms have kept up with the times and are nothing short of marvelous in of furnishings and aesthetic, but one would expect your four-night budget to be at least five figures if you’re going to want to stay here.  After all, you’re still going to need to have money for eating and gambling.

Naturally, the Cosmopolitan is meant to attract an affluent crowd, and it shows.  Those who look to variable state slot machines to provide an advantage will often find themselves politely (or not so politely) asked to leave the property if they are not discreet about what they are doing, and don’t even try the high-limit area if you’re not dressed to the nines.

In of entertainment options, The Cosmopolitan continues to strive to offer an opulent and classy experience.  For starters, The Chelsea is designed to be a grand concert hall consisting of 40,000 square feet of real estate and is adorned by a magnificent chandelier, which is not something I would usually associate with concerts, but there you go.

Bright, and arguably garish to the point of being over-the-top, the Marquee Day Club is situated along one of the property’s pools and consists of curtain-adorned daybeds and cabanas, which can be reserved by the property’s guests.  Again, all of this is meant to reflect high society, but one has to wonder if it crosses the line into being almost a parody, at least, I wonder that.

The Marquee Nightclub is a 21+ only establishment overlooking the Las Vegas Strip and features DJ’s spinning the hottest tracks high up in one of the hotel towers.

Opium is….I don’t even know.  Look at the website for more details.  It seems pretty bizarre, to me.

With live bands every night starting at 10:00p.m., The Barbershop is meant to be a throwback to the Prohibition-Style era of hidden speakeasies, which again, seems pretty consistent with the overall theme of the property.  Also, part of the venue is an actual barbershop, no, really!

Located in The Chelsea Tower, Clique is kind of a high-end lounge that features some eats (street tacos and salads, mainly) and is open from the late afternoon to early morning hours all seven days of the week.

Okay, let’s get to the gambling!

The casino floor features more than 1,300 combined slot, video keno and video poker machines ranging in denominations from pennies to $500 per credit, so no matter your desired amount of risk, you’re sure to find a machine that suits you.  Of course, we don’t expect the returns to player to be that great on low denomination machines for one of the highest end casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.  The gaming floor continues the garish and dimmed theme of early 1900’s opulence and features many what I will call raindrop chandeliers.

For those of you who want to spin big with only minimal interruption, Cosmopolitan features a proprietary system called FASTPAY in the high-limit lounge, which will enable electronic tracking of handpays that players can self-validate to avoid being paid in cash and having the machines shut down for long periods every time.  Of course, we would vastly prefer if the IRS would just raise the mandatory reporting threshold, but that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Of course, The Cosmopolitan features several gaming tables which include games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Three-Card Poker, Baccarat, High Card Flush, Fortune Pai Gow Poker, Single-Zero Roulette (probably high minimums), Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Casino War and Three-Card Poker.  As always, we would recommend calling in advance for typical operating hours if you are looking for anything aside from the usual staple Table Games as they may not all operate around the clock.

I’ll give The Cosmopolitan credit that they can explain their high-limit Table Games area better than I can, so let’s borrow from their website, where they say, “Located just off the main casino floor on Level 1, the lounge offers 17 classic Las Vegas table games with minimum bets of $100, including baccarat, mini-baccarat, single-zero roulette and blackjack. The intimate, luxurious space features contemporary sculptures, glimmering chandeliers and a high-end audio system, creating a refined gaming environment unlike anything else on the Las Vegas Strip.”  So, there you go.  At least you can play a hand of Blackjack for less than what was probably the cost of your room.

The Race and Sports Book is just as opulent as anything else in the place and is also home to a bar with plenty of Video Poker bartops.  If I ever stop in there, then I’ll make sure to come back and let you know about the denominations and paytables.  As always, it’s the exact opposite of what I think of when I think of how a casino sportsbook should look, but the times, they are a-changing.

As unusual and garish as I think the casino areas might be, I always love eating…and I really don’t care what my surroundings are if I am digging into great food, so let’s see what sort of plates you can get at Cosmopolitan, shall we?

The property describes Superfrico as Italian and American Psychedelic, and if you have any idea what Psychedelic has to do with anything, then you’re already a step ahead of me.  In any event, this restaurant is open in the evenings Wednesday-Sunday and is considered a high-end eatery.  They describe it on their website thus, “The cuisine—Italian American Psychedelic—honors the recipes and traditions ed down by generations of Sicilian family cooks while taking fearless detours with ingredients and techniques. As irreverent as Spiegelworld itself, it’s an all-senses-overloaded take on grandma’s favorites, all night long—including Falco’s showcase selection of pizza perfection, pasta, steaks, seafood, signature desserts and late-night finales.” Which, I must it, doesn’t tell me a whole lot about the food…it’s both traditional and modern with, “Fearless detours,” just sounds like a lot of bloviation to me, hard .

Open daily for Breakfast and Lunch, Overlook Grill is Cafe style causal dining at one of the lower price points that you’re going to find for a Cosmopolitan eatery.  I’m actually surprised that they would begin to offer such a thing, but it’s nice that they do.  After all, the commoners, like me, might want to grab a bite when they peek inside…mainly out of morbid curiosity, in my case.  Burgers, fish tacos and omelettes…nice pictures of simple and tasty food…I’ll take this over the Italian place that seems to consist mostly of fancy-sounding words.

The Wicked Spoon is the property’s Breakfast, Lunch and Brunch buffet, which is considered high-end by buffet standards, and stands in direct challenge to Caesars Bacchanal, though the people who I have talked to who have had both tend to swear by Bacchanal.  In any event, Cosmopolitan describes this buffet as follows, “We’ve taken a wicked twist on the traditional buffet, now offering a unique market dining experience unlike any other on The Las Vegas Strip. With its mix of top quality, familiar staples and imaginative seasonal dishes, this Las Vegas buffet satisfies cravings and invites discovery.”  I don’t know, the food looks great, but surprisingly, (especially for Cosmo) the aesthetics are just that of an ordinary buffet…I guess they’re going to go with substance over style just this once.

Keeping it classy and open for breakfast and lunch, Eggslut (no, I did not make that name up) describes itself as, “Eggslut is a chef-driven, gourmet food concept founded in 2011 by Alvin Cailan. The menu is a balance of comfort and innovation, celebrating food that appeals to both novice and extreme foodies through classic comfort fare with a twist, all-encoming the key ingredient, eggs.” So, I mean, it’s breakfast food.  Let’s call it what it is.  That said, it’s reasonably priced.  How do the burgers not have an option to add a fried egg on the menu!?  Come on!

Bang Bar by MoMoFuKu, as long as we are still using profanity to describe our restaurants, is your place for Asian-inspired flatbread wraps and rice bowls.  It’s on the lowe end of Cosmo’s price range and is delicious and affordable.

Beauty and Essex is a somewhat upscale Cosmopolitan eatery that describes itself as, “New American,” again, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.  They have this to say on the website, “Hidden behind a pawn shop storefront, Beauty & Essex invites discovery in every sense of the word. After you walk through this lavish pawn shop inspired storefront, you’ll then find a stunning restaurant with your table in one of several jewelry box rooms.”  With that, the menu features selections that appear to be inspired from…just about every country you could ever think of, although, I guess that would be quite American, in a manner of speaking.  Either way, it seems like a solid enough choice…although, I’m always concerned with places that don’t lead by talking about the food.  I could eat in a nondescript office and be fine, as long as the food is terrific!

Blue Ribbon is a somewhat upscale American (as opposed to New American) style restaurant that is open during the evening every day of the week.  Here’s a paragraph about the actual food, from their website (Yay!), “Blue Ribbon’s dinner menu is heavily inspired by the original SoHo location, with long time favorites including Beef Marrow & Oxtail Marmalade; Cheese Fondue; Pu Pu Platter; and Pan Roasted Skate with Crispy Potatoes, Shrimp & Bacon. New creations exclusive to the Las Vegas location include Pan Roasted Dover Sole with Artichokes and Capers, Bourbon-Glazed Prime Rib of Pork, and most notably, an array of offerings from the raw bar including shellfish, oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster and crab.”  It seems kind of all over the place, but I suppose this restaurant also exists in New York City, at least a version of it, and it does well.  I’d recommend giving this one a try, especially if you happen to be staying at Cosmo anyway.

China Poblano is open from the late morning to late evening hours and features a wide variety of Chinese dishes on offer at a mostly casual price point, especially by Vegas Strip standards.  Of course, it’s also a Mexican restaurant, hence the Poblano.  Don’t worry, they’re not trying to do mash-up dishes of Chinese and Mexican food…mostly because that would objectively be insane…but rather they encourage guests to take advantage of this eclectic menu in a way that the Chinese and Mexican dishes complement one another.  I’m going to take their word for it and just order one or the other, but I’m old school that way.  Dim Sum with beef tacos in the same meal…only if I am at a buffet.

Open from 7:00a.m. until the evening hours, District Donuts, Sliders and Brew does exactly what it says on the box, but also features a variety of more than 100 (!!!) uniquely flavored donuts that are featured on a rotating basis as well as the best coffee drinks money can buy.  It’s more expensive than something like Dunkin’ Donuts, but the flavors are highly unique and interesting, so it should be!  If you stop in here during your visit to Cosmo, you’ll undoubtedly see some off-the-wall donut flavor that you’ll just have to try!

Open Wednesday through Saturday at 5:30p.m. AND 8:30p.m., and with reservations required and suggested to be made up to three months in advance, E’ by Jose Andres, is not just a dining experience, rather, it’s an all-out culinary performance.  It should come as no surprise, given that they only seat two parties, every night, of up to nine total people each, that this should be probably the most expensive dining experience that Cosmo has to offer.  How much you ask?  $290 per person.  I’m not going to lie; I’m almost tempted.  Feel free to invite me to your party if you decide to go!

Open from 4:00p.m. to Midnight, Ghost Donkey Mezcal and Tequila bar is an upscale place for South of the Border alcoholic concoctions and appetizers.  It carries the theme of a quiet speakeasy type of place and people swear by the Truffle Nachos.

Open from 11:00a.m. until the late evening hours, Hattie B’s Nashville Hot Chicken is the place to go to get some of your Southern-Style fried chicken that brings both flavor and heat.  Unless you’re used to it, you’re going to want to have a glass of water very close to you, because you’re going to need it.  They have this to say, “The menu standout, perfectly-fried chicken, bathed in hot melted spices, is served in a variety of heat levels from Southern (no heat), Mild, Medium, Hot, Damn Hot to the daredevil’s dream, Shut the Cluck Up. Hattie B’s also features complimentary comfort dishes, including pimento mac and cheese, Southern greens, and local Nashville favorite banana pudding. Come find out why this is some of the best fried chicken on The Strip.” You really can’t go wrong with this, it’s basically just traditional fried chicken, at a very friendly price by Vegas Strip standards, with your choice of spicy sauce poured over it.  I’m probably going to go normal hot with a side of that Mac & Cheese if I ever have occasion to stop here.

Don’t worry, we’re still only halfway there!

The Henry is your place for casually priced late-night dining that opens in the late evening hours and closes mid-afternoons, seven days per week.  They have this to say, “A modern American eatery with casual upscale charm, The Henry is the round-the-clock spot for a unique twist on comfort food. A treat for all of your senses, colorful accents and eclectic presentations combine with savory aromas for an elevated neighborhood dining experience. Enjoy cuisine and cocktails served in fun and untraditional methods. Stop by and enjoy a satisfying late-night snack, lively lunch, or a first-class Sunday brunch.”  As far as the menu goes, it’s pretty much all over the place and doesn’t even really have a singular focus.  This is definitely the place to go if you’ve been doing some drinking and want to get something substantial in your stomach before going to bed.

Holsteins Shakes and Buns claims to have the best burgers on The Strip, and these can be had at a casual and wallet-friendly price.  Open seven days per week from 11:00a.m.-10:00p.m., this location is known for its American snacks, appetizers and alcohol-infused milkshakes, as well as the delicious hamburgers.  We’d probably recommend giving this one a try and letting us know how you think it compares to other burger ts on The Strip, is it really the best?

Another Jose Andres headed restaurant, Jaleo is a Spanish establishment that brings the best of Spanish cuisine, featuring great tapas, to The Cosmopolitan.  This place is closed on Mondays, but is open every other evening of the week and is just south of upscale in of its pricing.  Jose Andres, in case you wondered, was named one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine, how many chefs can say that?

The Juice Standard features cold-pressed juices and nut milk at a reasonably casual price.  I could see where this fits in at The Cosmopolitan.  While we’re on the subject of seemingly random beverages, Chef Christina Tosi brings to you the Milk Bar…yes, you are reading that right…which is casually priced and actually features a wide variety of desserts as well as alcohol infused with milk beverage concoctions.  I know some people like White Russians, but aren’t alcoholic milk specialty drinks taking it a little far?

Open during lunch and dinner hours seven days per week, Lardo (snickers) is brought to you by Chef Rick Gencarelli and actually features unique, but flavorful and high-quality pork sandwiches.  Have YOU ever had a good pork sandwich?  At casual prices such as this restaurant offers, if you go when I’m in Vegas, I might just see you there!  Lardo actually started out as a food cart!

Red Plate is a Chinese Restaurant with a very modern decor that also throws in some floral dynamics and hints of traditional Chinese culture to bring into a being an aesthetic that…I’ll be honest: Really works!  It’s actually quite eye-catching, and I don’t say that often.  Don’t tell the guys this, but I kind of dig flowers in designs.  Open Thursday-Sunday evenings and high-end both in quality and price, emphasis is placed mainly on seafood and duck dishes, which are sure to be top-notch.  If you’re looking for a fine dining experience from the Far East, then this should be one that you consider even if you’re not staying at Cosmo.

Scarpetta is a just south of upscale Italian restaurant, traditional this time, that is open every evening of the week.  They have this to say about themselves, “The philosophy of Scarpetta’s kitchen is one of creating bold flavors by amplifying the essence of seasonal ingredients. The signature pastas are made in-house daily and are paired with the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients. Scarpetta’s famous Spaghetti Tomato and Basil is classic simplicity in both taste and preparation. With restaurants in Las Vegas, New York City, The Hamptons, Philadelphia, Newport, London and Miami, the understated, yet elegant approach to design creates an environment in every city that is simultaneously chic, welcoming and inspiring.”  I’ve not been to Scarpetta in Cosmo, but I have been to the Philadelphia one, and it is honestly quite good.  If you’re in the mood for Italian and don’t mind shelling out a few bucks, I’d feel comfortable outright recommending this.

Cosmo is home to a Starbucks, everyone knows what that is.  Why go there, though?  I like the place with all the donuts much better than a boring Starbucks…you can get Starbucks anywhere, I think they’re even building one in my basement.

STK is the obligatory high-end steakhouse for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.  What is it about places getting rid of vowels and making that a name?  There’s a restaurant called BRGR near me, for example, and I promise it is nothing special.  In fact, there are two other places in the mall I am talking about that serve burgers (and just consider themselves American restaurants) that are better than BRGR.  Apparently, this is a celebrity hot spot and also has a location in Miami.  Well, they can have it.  Celebrities just go to where they are told is the hot spot.  If you want to know where the great food is, you just find the oldest and most weathered-looking guy playing in a Bingo Hall and ask him—he’ll point you in the right direction.  But, seriously, you need to tell me celebrities go there instead of telling me about the food?  No thanks.

Tekka Bar Handroll and Sake is a Japanese place for Sushi and Sake!  Here’s what they have to say, “Tekka Bar: Handroll & Sake draws inspiration from the ancient gambling destination in Japan dating back more than 100 years ago, with “Tekka Ba” translating to “old gambling place.” Tekka Bar debuts a signature Tekka Tuna roll, featuring the restaurant’s notable spicy sauce, alongside an eclectic sake program. Handrolls are prepared counter-side and made to order for guests, highlighting the freshest seafood, including blue crab, yellowtail, salmon and more.”  Look, I don’t even care.  If the question has the word, ‘Sushi,’ in it, then my answer is probably yes!

Va Bene Caffe is a polished Italian-style coffee bar, according to the website.  I’ve never been to a coffee shop in Italy, but maybe some of you have and know what that means.  Let me know if this is similar to that experience…I’ll be at the place with the cool donuts if you need to come find me.

Finally, Zuma is a Japanese restaurant that has this to say, “Zuma features modern Japanese cuisine and award-winning world-class cocktails in an elegant and sophisticated environment. Inspired by the informal izakaya dining style, the international restaurant features a modern Japanese cuisine that is authentic but not traditional.”  Once again, leading with the aesthetic and not the food, apparently it’s also pricey…no thanks.  I’ll go to the place that specializes in sushi rather than how it looks.

It’s tough for me to give a recommendation on this one, overall, because I’m extremely biased.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t like the Cosmopolitan (as a casino) at all whatsoever, but the restaurant selection is pretty outstanding.  As far as the casino, lounges and other amenities are concerned, it’s so garishly over-the-top to the point of being pretentious, almost as if the goal is to satirize the very people who would want to visit there.  Granted, this might be fitting if the casino isn’t the main reason why you’re there, but for an old-school guy like me, Cosmopolitan represents everything that gambling IS NOT.  I don’t want to be at a Pai Gow Poker Table and feel like I’m in the study of some billionaire’s mansion sipping 200 year old scotch…I want to feel like I’m in a damn casino!

With all of that said, my word, how can you argue with some of these restaurants?  Ironically, the selections that I am most impressed with (exception to E’) are the second and third-tier choices, pricewise.  I just can’t trust these high-end places that emphasize how sophisticated the aesthetic is and barely say anything about the food.  Say what you want, but every restaurant should lead with talking about the food..aesthetics don’t always matter if the food is excellent, and they NEVER matter if you think the food sucked.

What can we say?  I guess all we can really say is to spend the time checking out Cosmopolitan’s website, as well as looking around at other pictures and reviews to see if it fits your vibe, or whatever vernacular the trendsetters are using these days.  To me, this seems like a gathering spot for people who consider themselves social media influencers, and honestly, I can’t stomach being on the casino floor here for longer than an hour.  Just not my scene, sorry, best you ask someone else.  

Ellis Island Casino and Brewery

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, even though Ellis Island is tucked behind the Las Vegas Strip on Koval Lane…I am going to list it in with Las Vegas Strip casinos just to piss the other ones off!  Besides, who cares?  Ellis Island is a REAL Las Vegas CASINO, baby, with value gambling, value accommodations and value prices!  It also has a great brewery not just for beer, but also some of the best root beer you’ll ever have in your entire life, if not THE best.

When I think of good old fashioned gambling, this is the sort of sawdust that I think of, although, it seems that there have been some renovations in recent years, which is a total shame.  Some places should stay kind of trashy or they actually lose something, you know?

Consisting of 28,500 square feet of gambling space and offering in the neighborhood of 350 combined video poker, video keno and slot machines, Ellis Island Casino and Brewery opened in 1967, back when the Vegas Strip wasn’t catered only to the rich.

At the time of its opening as Village Pub, in 1967, it was owned by Frank Ellis, who would later it on to his son, Gary Ellis.  Multiple attempts have been made to buy the property over the years, but none were successful.  The name was changed to Ellis Island in 1985, but a number of bars in the Las Vegas area are owned by Gary Ellis and are called, “Village Pub,” so make sure to check one of those out should you happen to be off the beaten path.

At one time, there was a Super 8 Hotel adjacent to the property, but it has since been purchased by Ellis and is now officially part of the casino’s property, thereby upgrading the Casino and Brewery to a Casino—Brewery—and Hotel!

Or, maybe it should be Ellis Island Resort?  This property is NOT—BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION—a Resort, but son of a bitch, wouldn’t you know they have a Resort Fee of almost $30 a night now?

Boycott.  It’s over.  They have all sold out, except Best Western at Casino Royale, I guess, but their rooms are more expensive.

Besides that, the rooms are just as basic as they were when the hotel on the property WAS a Super 8…there’s no way this should qualify as a resort in anyone’s mind.  If Ellis Island is a resort, then my apartment is a resort.  At least they still have $5 Blackjack minimums and good rules, at least, for now.

The casino floor is now brightly-lit, so for those of you who liked the old type of hidden backroom gambling feel of the place, that’s gone.  I guess if you turn the lights up a place becomes a resort, I don’t know.

In addition to the aforementioned Blackjack and 250+ combined Video Poker, slots and Video Keno machines, Ellis Island is also home to a Craps Pit and a Roulette Table, with friendly minimums.

In of eateries, the Village Pub and Cafe still features its $7.99 steak special and remains open 24/7, so that aspect of the property remains a great deal for visitors.  The Front Yard is your go to for great food and casual American food at comfortable prices, so make sure to check that out during the evening hours, seven days per week, if you’re there.  Other options include Ellis Island BBQ and Metro Pizza.

Ellis Island is still a pretty good destination for budget-friendly dining and gambling, so it’s still kind of it’s same old self in that sense, but the change to a more modern aesthetic is less than ideal.  Although, I guess it had to happen sooner or later.  The addition of a Resort Fee is patently ridiculous, but you knew it was going to happen sooner or later, they’ll all sell out and snatch that unearned money in the end, it’s just a shame it had to be sooner.  It’s still one of the better deals you will find, unfortunately, that just means all the deals are getting worse.

Encore

Encore is one of the more average-sized Las Vegas Strip casinos with total gambling space coming in at a relatively trim 74,000 square feet.  The property consists of just over 2,000 rooms, is owned by Wynn Resorts and serves as something of a sister property to Las Vegas’ Wynn.  Wynn Resorts is named after then-CEO Steve Wynn and the Wynn and Encore sit side-by-side on the North End of the Strip.  

The Forbes Travel Guide absolutely adores these two properties, and they combine to hold more five-star ratings from FTG than any other resorts in the world.  If you count the two properties together, then they become the seventh-largest hotel in the world, but these two casinos are usually looked at separately, even though this one was built as a sister to the other.  

This property originally opened in 2008, just in time for the Great Recession, but Wynn Resorts has plenty of money backing them up and have also done extremely well both in Macau, as well as making profitable investments elsewhere in the United States.  Steve Wynn himself tends to be against any gambling expansion that he sees as not benefitting him, so he has been one of the most vocal opponents of online gambling, sports betting expansion into other states as well as general expansion of legalized gambling into other states.  Of course, he’ll get his ticket for the gravy trained stamped if there’s nothing he can do about it and will proceed to capitalize on it wherever he can.  

Encore is perhaps as well known for Encore Beach Club as anything else.  This 55,000 square foot space features daybeds, lounges and cabanas built around three different sizeable pools.  Additionally, there is a pavilion for high-limit gambling, because, why go swimming if you’re not going to take some time to gamble?  Cabanas include flat screen TV’s and refrigerators, and yes, day rental of these cabanas is very expensive, for most.  

Naturally, Encore and the Wynn are not meant to cater to most, but much like other luxury-class Las Vegas Strip properties, are meant for only top dollar guests, but that said, those with a wallet deep enough will find everything they could ever want at this decadent property.

One area where I will give them credit is their customer service, at least, in my experience with them.  They must have seen me as just some low-rolling guy taking advantage of new member offers, because that’s exactly who I am and what I was doing, yet they were still very nice to me.  

From here, the listing would get messy as the two casinos have a shared website.  With that, we’re going to move on for now, but all restaurants and other details, for both properties, can be found in the Wynn Las Vegas listing.  

Excalibur

In my opinion, Excalibur is absolutely fantastic and is kind of the over-the-top and thematic silliness that I would expect from a casino on the Las Vegas Strip!  Personally, I think that places like The Cosmopolitan that exist just to be aesthetically garish and appeal to the affluent and those who consider themselves sophisticated are mostly boring, especially from the outside.  The Excalibur, on the other hand, is designed to look like a Medieval palace, which is ridiculous in the best possible way.  

The property consists of nearly 4,000 guest rooms and suites, just shy of that mark, in fact, and opened back in June of 1990.  While it was certainly considered a marvel for the eyes at the time, it is currently seen as being kind of on the lower-end of Las Vegas Strip properties, but is definitely where I would want to stay if I spent a full knight, excuse me, night, on The Strip.  

Total gaming space comes in at 100,000 square feet on the nose, and the main highlight of the property is King Arthur’s Arena, which features live jousting exhibitions…and that’s just totally amazing.  The casino proper doesn’t really move the needle for me, but you can be darn sure that I want to watch some jousting!

The Excalibur was not the Las Vegas Strip’s first mega-resort, but it was supposed to be, in a sense.  The property was originally going to be the location for an Asian-themed resort called Xanadu, but that project did not end up coming to fruition.  

As far as who built the Excalibur, it should come as no surprise that it was the brainchild of Circus Circus Enterprises, then-owners of Circus Circus Hotel and Casino and prior to those companies being bought out by MGM Resorts International.  (Circus Circus itself would later be sold to Phil Ruffin by MGM Resorts).  At the time that it opened, Excalibur was the largest hotel in the world by room count, but now it is only seventh in Las Vegas alone, as well as 11th worldwide.  

Unfortunately, most of the Medieval theming has since been removed from the interior of the casino, but there are still some pieces here and there that hint at it.  If they ever meaningfully change the outside of the casino, then I will be very upset.  This property (other than size) wasn’t really ever meant to take itself too seriously!  It’s supposed to be silly!

While MGM Resorts International would go on to sell Circus Circus, they have hung onto Excalibur, for the time being.  It still wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see MGM eventually divest itself of this property.  That would certainly be good for the players, as most Strip properties are owned either by MGM resorts or Caesars Entertainment, so more competition would always be nice for Vegas visitors.  

At $35/night, for what it’s worth, Excalibur is tied with Luxopr for the lowest amongst MGM Resorts properties’ resort fees.  Of course, that’s not worth a ton, because the ideal Resort Fee would be $0, but Las Vegas has long since abandoned any notion of being value-oriented, particularly so on the Las Vegas Strip.  

Resort Fee aside, Excalibur remains one of the Las Vegas Strip’s more wallet-friendly options, with room rates often under $50 on slower weekdays, sometimes even as low as $25, but they can be as expensive as anything else, with rates often $150+ even for the most basic rooms, on weekends.  I think the most amusing aspect of the Resort Fee is that, for many weekdays, it’s actually more than the room itself costs…which should tell you everything you need to know about the rip-off concept of Resort Fees.  

However, I will give them credit for being pretty upfront about is as the nightly resort fee is—more or less—prominently displayed in the picture with their price listings before you even click to start booking.  Caesars Entertainment could at least take notice of that and mirror it.  

Guest amenities include wireless internet access, a pool, an arcade and game room which is nice for those traveling with kids, a spa (extra charges) as well as a fitness room, which at least comes as part of the Resort Fee…of course, it was also included before there was a Resort Fee.  

Regular shows in the property’s showroom include Thunder from Down Under, which some of the ladies out there are sure to enjoy as it takes the cabaret concept, but instead, the performers are buff dudes as well as the Australian Bee Gees being in residency.  

The Tournament of Kings is the jousting competition we referred to earlier, and if you’re going to be in Vegas for any meaningful length of time, then you should really make it a point to get yourself some tickets.  If you play the MyVegas Facebook (and phone) apps, then you might even be able to score some free tickets if you earn enough loyalty points and happen to be looking up rewards at the right time.  If you’re not a Vegas local, just make sure to look up the rewards before you get to Vegas, otherwise, you will see different sets of rewards that are not nearly as good.  

Other forms of entertainment include the Mac King Comedy and Magic How, which usually gets pretty good reviews from attendees.  The Ultimate 4-D Experience is a fifteen minute thrill that basically puts you inside of major Hollywood movies.  Finally, the Fun Dungeon is the arcade and game room that we mentioned earlier.

Speaking of arcades, the casino proper is the arcade for the adults, so let’s turn our attention to discussing what the one at Excalibur has to offer in its 100,000 square feet of real estate.  

The casino floor features well over 1,000 of the newest and hottest slot, Video Poker and Video Keno games ranging in denomination from pennies to $100 per credit.  Naturally, we wouldn’t be surprised if Excalibur has low denomination slot returns that are slightly better for the player than other Strip properties, but these games probably aren’t going to be your best bet compared to other areas in Vegas if budget gambling is your primary motivation for visiting.  For those of you who dare to dream, they do list the top jackpots won for the previous month on their website, at least, for select slot machine titles.  

The Table Games offerings include Craps, Roulette, Blackjack, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, but they don’t include a comprehensive list of their other offerings on their website, so we won’t on ours.  They boast that they offer Blackjack with $5 minimums, but make sure you’re paying attention, because it could be abomination Blackjack that offers 6:5 payouts on player naturals rather than 3:2.  The best way to play 6:5 Blackjack is not to play it; it’s a straight rip-off.  

Open from the morning until the late evening hours, Excalibur is also home to a BetMGM sportsbook location, for those of you who want to get your money down for your sporting event of choice, or those of you who want to do some simulcast horse race wagering away from home.  

Finally, Excalibur is, albeit a little surprisingly, home to a poker room.  At least, they usually are.  The Poker Room at Excalibur closed at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic and, as of the time of this writing, has yet to reopen.  No reopening date has been announced at this time, so it is possible that the casino may decide just to scrap the poker room.  

With that, we will turn our attention to my favorite activity-eating!

The Buffet at Excalibur is currently open during Breakfast and Lunch hours five days per week, with it being closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  This buffet is extremely wallet-friendly, and as such, is obviously not going to be in the upper tier of Vegas buffets, but it will certainly get the job done if you’re hungry and want to pig out on a budget.  I wish I could give a comprehensive review, and I was supposed to eat there once, but something came up.  

Vagabond is a casual American-style restaurant and bar that serves up simple, but delicious, foods at a low price point, especially by Vegas standards.  This place is great for unpretentious sandwiches and appetizers and is definitely recommended if you want to eat fairly quickly and are staying on the property.  If you’re not staying on the property, then there’s no reason to go out of your way for this one, but it’s fine.  

Naturally, Excalibur is home to a food court, and this one, like the resort itself, is going to be one of your more budget-conscious options.  This food court includes Auntie Anne’s pretzels, Big Chill (cocktails), Breakfast and Burgers (does what it says on the box), Cinnabon (cinnamon rolls and coffee drinks), Einstein Brothers Bagels, Hot Dog on a Stick (Nathan’s Hot Dogs, except as a corn dog)., Krispy Kreme Donuts (some people swear by them, I think they are just okay), Pick Up Stix (Asian quick eats), Pizza Hut Express, Popcornopolis, Popeyes Chicken, Schlotsky’s (flatbreads, soups and sandwiches) and two Starbucks locations.  

Naturally, Excalibur, as with Circus Circus, is considered something of a family destination, by Las Vegas standards, and we see this clearly reflected in the food court selections.  

Camelot Steakhouse is the obligatory Las Vegas upscale steakhouse on the property, at least, as upscale as Excalibur is likely to ever get.  Unfortunately, it closed at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen, so it’s tough to say whether or not it will anytime soon.  

Open in the late morning to late evening hours, Dick’s Last Resort is an eclectic Casual American Restaurant that describes itself on the property’s website as follows, “A daringly different dining experience on the Las Vegas Strip, Dick’s Last Resort at Excalibur! Famous for deliciously messy cuisine, oddly entertaining décor, rowdy and unpredictable service, live bands and let-loose atmosphere. Dick’s Last Resort offers a casual, down-to-earth entertainment option for visitors of the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”  Anyway, the food is certainly at least pretty good and it’s a fun atmosphere, so if you’re dining on a budget and are in the mood for familiar American food, with an odd twist, then you might want to check this place out.  

Buca Di Beppo is a casual Italian eatery that can be found in a few Las Vegas casinos, so there’s a fair chance you have seen one of these before.  This place is open from the late morning to early evening hours seven days per week, and while it’s nothing special, it’ll get the job done if you’re in the mood for Italian and are dining on a budget.  

Johnny Rockets is a somewhat well-known burger chain and is a familiar sight in the Las Vegas area.  This place is pretty no-frills and is just a small step above fast food, but the burgers are delicious and are never frozen, so that’s something that can be said for it.  This is a great place to go with the kids, or even by yourself, if you want to grab lunch on the cheap.  On weekends, it’s open almost all night, so if you’ve had a couple drinks too many and need to get something substantial in your stomach before bed (and think you can hold it down), then you might want to stop in.  

Drenched Bar and Grill is typically open seven days a week from the middle morning to early evening hours and is your stop for a poolside lunch.  Just that you’re supposed to wait a little bit before getting back in the pool, especially after a juicy burger or some pizza, or you might get cramps.  

Open from the late morning hours until about midnight, seven days per week, Baja Fresh is a very economical Mexican Grill with reasonably tasty and well-prepared food.  If it seems like this casino has a wide variety of cheap lunch options, that’s because it certainly does!  The Resort Fees might not be terribly friendly to the budget-oriented, but everything else about Excalibur sure is.  

Open for breakfast or a reasonably early lunch, though on weekends only as of the time of this writing, Castle Coffee is a great place to grab a quick breakfast sandwich, along with some java, and get a good start to your next day in Vegas…as long as you actually manage to get your day officially started by one in the afternoon.  I know, not always the case!

Finally, for something old and familiar, Orange Julius and Dairy Queen has a location at the Excalibur that opens at noon on Saturday and Sunday, and is also opened starting in the early evening hours on weekdays.  

Overall, Excalibur remains a great destination going back to the days when every Las Vegas Strip casino was Government-mandated (that’s a joke) to have some ridiculous, but fun, theme.  Second perhaps only to Circus Circus, this property has everything that someone traveling and bringing the whole family along could ever want.  While visitors should certainly save some money in the dining budget and do their fine dining elsewhere, Excalibur does offer a wide variety of choices and won’t break the bank for most of your meals whilst visiting the Las Vegas Strip.  

Even if you have no plans to stay at this property, and it’s understandable why you wouldn’t if traveling solo or as a couple, you should really consider at least checking out both the exterior of the place as well as getting some tickets for the Tournament of Kings!  Not everything has to be serious and glamorous, you know.  

Flamingo Las Vegas

Historically, Flamingo Las Vegas is one of the first major properties to make up the Las Vegas Strip, in fact, it was there before the Vegas Strip actually was THE Strip, in any real sense.  It’s kind of a shame that, at least for me, The Flamingo is something of an afterthought.  

What I mean is if you asked me to list the Vegas Strip casinos, then the Flamingo is one of the last ones I would come to, and we would be well after the rest that I rattled off just off of the top of my head.  That would still be true if you asked me to just list Caesars Entertainment operated properties, but the Flamingo has a long and remarkable history that we will touch upon here.  

Above all else, the South Miami themed Flamingo Las Vegas is a survivor.  While it was the third casino resort destination to be built on the Las Vegas Strip, it is currently the oldest surviving one, which makes it the oldest Strip property still in operation today!

Having opened in December of 1946, Flamingo has outlived a substantial number of people who were even alive when it was completed, and even a significant number of those born after the fact.  While it has gone by a few different names, officially, “Flamingo,” has always been somewhere in the title and has been what most people have called it.  Its original designation was The Fabulous Flamingo, which makes a certain kind of sense when one thinks of the monumental, “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,” sign.  Even then, it was still mostly known as simply, “The Flamingo.”  The official name was also the Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas for over twenty years (mid-seventies to 2000), but almost nobody put the word, “Hilton,” in there.  

The brainchild of Billy Wilkerson, who could be said to be one of the first true pioneers of what the Vegas Strip is today (for better or worse), he originally envisioned a resort in every sense of the word, complete with world-class restaurants, swimming pools, salons and spas, a golf course, a showroom and a nightclub.  He might not have known it at the time, but this move away from strictly being about the gambling operations would go on to help mold Las Vegas into what it has become today.  Perhaps this sort of forward-thinking is one of the reasons why The Flamingo is the oldest survivor of the Las Vegas Strip, and one that may yet still have some life in it.  

Bugsy Siegel was a historical mobster who was instrumental in the Las Vegas scene and had known crime ties.  Unfortunately, Billy Wilkerson had run out of funding needed to continue to build his masterpiece, so with few (or no) other potential sources of funding interested, he decided to work with Bugsy Siegel to see his grand design to completion.  Bugsy Siegel would be the chief financier for several other Vegas casinos and the Siegel Slots and Suites (multiple small hotels with slot areas) still bear his name today.  

The main reason that Siegel was interested in the Flamingo property is because he had attracted unwanted attention from Las Vegas city officials with his purchase of the El Cortez, which would later come to be owned by Jackie Gaughan.  As many readers are certainly aware, the El Cortez remains successful, for what it is, and is located on Fremont Street just past the Fremont Street Experience.  

Some of you may wonder, “Why was El Cortez a problem for Siegel, whereas The Flamingo wouldn’t be?”  The answer to that is simple: The Flamingo is not located in Las Vegas, in fact, most of the Las Vegas Strip is not located in Las Vegas!  It’s actually located in Paradise, though it is still part of Clark County, like Las Vegas.  

Bugsy Siegel may have had many friends, but he certainly made his share of enemies.  After the construction of The Flamingo, Siegel (now with 2/3rds ownership) had a Presidential Suite built for himself complete with bulletproof glass as well as an escape hatch ladder that would lead to an underground garage where a chauffeured limo was always waiting, according to his memorial.  Being ready to drive the limo away must have been the easiest job in the world, at least, most of the time.  Of course, it would have also been pretty boring, smartphones would not be invented for several decades!

The hotel would originally open as, “The World’s Greatest Hotel,” and that designation (given to it by Siegel, of course) with a modest 105 rooms, at least, by today’s standards.  The property is home to 3,460 guest rooms and suites these days!  

Unfortunately, Siegel wouldn’t be around to enjoy the project that he had a big hand in financing for very long, one of those enemies got to him outside of Las Vegas about six months after the Flamingo’s opening.  

After Siegel’s death, Flamingo would go on to be called, “The Fabulous Flamingo,” of course, most people would have just called it The Flamingo, for short, even if that had been the original name.  Upon its opening, The Flamingo was meant to be a fairly exclusive paradise for only wealthy visitors, but upon being taken over by Moe Sedway and Gus Greenbaum, who were running El Cortez at that time, they opened up the Flamingo to whomever might want to visit and made the rooms and restaurants affordable.  That would pay great dividends not only for the property itself, but also for leading the opening stages of the Las Vegas Strip starting to really compete with Downtown (yes, you read that right!) for visitors.  

Throughout all of these years and into the 1960’s, stakes in the property would change hands, sometimes by small(ish) percentages, a number of times.  In 1960, it would be sold to a different group headed up by Morris Lansbaugh and Daniel Lifter, which was fitting given that both of those gentlemen were from Miami.  Not so different than Bugsy Siegel, both of these gentlemen also had some pretty strong ties to organized crime, but it was a different time back then, so Clark County was inclined to mostly look the other way as long as the visitors and money kept rolling in.  

Kirk Kerkorian would go on to buy the entire property in 1967, only for the Hilton Corporation to buy it from him five years later, in 1972, and rename it the Flamingo Hilton (which probably no guest called it ever) just two years after that.  

Ownership under Hilton would remain stable until the next change, which occurred in 1998, when Hilton opted to spin gambling-related properties into a totally separate company called Park Place Entertainment.  Park Place Entertainment would later become Caesars Entertainment in light of Caesars Palace being the flagship property at the time, but that would not actually be considered a change of ownership, just of name.  

Harrah’s Entertainment would buy Caesars Entertainment outright, including all properties, in 2005.  Similar to Park Place Entertainment changing names, Harrah’s Entertainment would change its own name to Caesars Entertainment in 2010.  Ownership technically changed somewhat given the merger between Caesars Entertainment and El Dorado wherein the latter bought out the former.  

The Art Deco and South Miami themes remain, but much about the property has changed since Siegel floated the cash to help it get finished.  For one thing, it now houses 3,460 rooms and is one square foot shy of 72,300 square feet of total gaming space.  

Aesthetically, when compared to the more modern Vegas casinos these days, the Flamingo is nothing special.  Even so, we would encourage all Las Vegas visitors to pay it a visit and walk in the same spots where the truly iconic and historical figures who established early Las Vegas, and from which it grew to arguably the entertainment capital of the world, walked nearly three-quarters of a century ago.  It’s honestly pretty cool if you think about it.  

Weekday rates can range in the neighborhood of around $50 to just under $100, for the most basic rooms, if there’s not any kind of special event going on.  Weekend rooms are easily going to run over $150 per night, unless that particular weekend is absolutely dead slow.  You should also take these rates with a grain of salt as they do not include the $37 resort fees.  That’s right, The Flamingo originally became successful for being affordable and catering to almost anyone with any budget who wanted to gamble, but the better part of the city forgot about that somewhere along the way.  Not all changes are good ones.  

The Flamingo Wildlife Habitat is really neat and definitely out of place in a desert!  It features streams, waterfalls, gardens, turtles, fish and exotic birds including, yes, flamingoes!

Guests will also enjoy either of the property’s two swimming pools, wireless internet access (we are not going to say complementary, as there is a resort fee), a fitness center with equipment on par with the newer facilities as well as a salon and spa at an added charge.  

The Flamingo Promenade is home to a convenience store and a bunch of retail outlets from economical to high-end, however, many of those closed during Covid-19 and have not reopened yet, so we would recommend looking at their website here to see which ones are open at any given time.  The two pools are The Beach Club Pool and the GO Pool, with the second one having more of a dayclub vibe going on.  

But, we know that you’re here for the gambling!  This is the oldest casino property still rolling those bones on the Las Vegas Strip, so let’s get into the gambling offerings available to you at The Flamingo!

The casino floor is quite busy with 1,600+ slot machines and 130 Table Games, according to their website, so given the square footage of the casino, you should already realize that things can get a bit cramped in places.  Many casinos in Vegas have a larger casino floor than this and a few hundred fewer machines.  

Table Games include Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Mini-Baccarat and Palace Baccarat.  Palace Baccarat is essentially the same thing as EZ Baccarat, but you don’t have to pay a licensing fee if you call it something else and these sorts of games can no longer be protected by patent unless they come with original and unique equipment.  Other card games listed on their website include Three-Card Poker, Let it Ride and Pai Gow Poker.  There are almost certainly other games available, but since their site doesn’t want to list them all, neither will we.  

Caesars Race and Sportsbook is also found at The Flamingo, because it’s probably too much to ask a multi-billion dollar corporation to come up with things such as unique names and designs for physically separate locations.  The sportsbook is open from the morning hours until 9:00p.m..

As far as current shows go, The Flamingo might be old, but this old dog still has a few tricks up its sleeve.  Piff the Magic Dragon is a music and comedy act that most attendees have seemed to enjoy, RuPaul’s Drag Race Live is at The Flamingo, which kind of seems fitting in a certain way and the showroom is also home to X Burlesque, which I assume does what it says on the box.  Either way, perhaps these aren’t the most premiere of Vegas entertainment choices these days, but the spread of shows certainly seems to yell, “Old School Vegas.”

After all of that, let’s turn to your favorite subject and mine—what sort of delicious things are there to eat!  Anyone who has read this entire page so far must think that I weigh 400 pounds; I promise I don’t, not yet, anyway.  If I spend too much time in Vegas, then I might.  

Open seven evenings a week and requiring business casual attire, Bugsy and Meyer’s Steakhouse is a classic throwback to the Vegas of old, in what appears to start out in a corner bakery.  The decor is pretty traditional and kind of says 40’s elegance, but the menu is fairly modern and it’s cheaper than other Vegas Steakhouses and probably equally as good as most.  We would probably recommend this one for the aesthetics, given that the food is at least almost as good as any other.  In fact, why not have a fun night with your date and also dress in clothes appropriate for the period?  

Cafe to Go is a great place…well, to go…if you have had a bit too much to drink.  It’s open from 8:00p.m.-4:00a.m., so is probably as business as other Vegas Strip locations are during proper breakfast hours.  This place consists mostly of pizzas, sandwiches and salads, but if you’ve had a few too many, then it’s probably a good idea to get a little something on your stomach before bed, and drink some water while you’re at it!!!  (It’s nothing personal, I speak from experience.)

Carolos and Charlie’s offers casual Mexican breakfasts, lunch and dinners at equally casual prices from 8:00a.m. until the late evening hours on weekdays and early morning hours on weekends.  The food there is lively and colorful and every bit the quality, taste and freshness that you would expect from Mexican restaurants with dishes that are twice the price.  You really can’t go wrong with this one, especially if you want to grab a tasty and reasonably light lunch. 

For Breakfast, Lunch and Caffeine, check out Club Cappuccino, your stop for breakfast sandwiches, various teas and delicious coffee drinks.  For those of you who are late-risers, and even some normally early risers are late risers in Las Vegas, don’t worry, they stay open until the early afternoon.  You should be recovered from the previous night by then.  

It should come as no surprise that The Flamingo would be home to a food court, which has offerings such as Bonanno’s New York Pizzeria, Johnny Rockets (fresh, never frozen beef burgers), Pan Asian Express which does what it says on the box and L.A. Subs and Salads.  What’s different about subs and salads in L.A. than elsewhere, I have no idea, so I guess you’ll have to eat there to find out.  

Finally, Margaritaville is one of the few casino restaurant locations baring the moniker of Jimmy Buffet’s most famous song!  This place serves up great drinks as well as American food staples at reasonable prices.  It features a laid back and kind of tropical atmosphere that fits the overall Miami vibe of the property, so it fits!  

We have to give a huge BOOOOOO!!!!! To Resort Fees, but what can you do?  Even Ellis Island has resort fees these days.  Still, The Flamingo is worth a stop for those of you who want to grab a piece of Vegas history and the steakhouse has a unique ambiance by virtue of being so traditional, of all things.  We tend to believe that other properties that are comparably priced might be nicer overall and come with more interesting themes and restaurant offerings, but we still think a full Vegas trip wouldn’t be complete without at least stopping in and checking out the Las Vegas Strip’s oldest operating resort casino!

Gold Coast

Okay, the rest thing that we should say is that the Gold Coast is NOT actually directly on the Las Vegas Strip, but it is very close and a Vegas visitor can conveniently walk to and from.  Located in Paradise, Gold Coast Casino is located on Flamingo Boulevard, across from Palms Casino and Hotel and Rio All Suites Hotel, just west of the Las Vegas Strip proper.  It’s actually a pretty cool little area if you want something that’s just a little more quiet.  

This 711 room hotel casino opened in December of 1986, consists of 87,000 square feet of total gambling real estate and is owned by Boyd Corporation, which owns a huge number of off-Strip and Boulder Highway Las Vegas properties.  It is part of the BConnected Players Club program.  

Originally, the casino was built by Michael Gaughan, son of Jackie Gaughan of El Cortez (and others) fame, and he now owns the South Point Casino, which we will talk about later on.  At this time, Gaughan owned Barbary Coast Casino, which was a property directly on The Strip, but that property is now called The Cromwell and is owned by Caesars Entertainment.  

The Gold Coast is notable for being the first Vegas casino to have a movie theater to have, “First run,” movies, which simply means that the theater would show movies that had just come out.  A few casinos elsewhere in Vegas, such as The Cannery in North Las Vegas, and elsewhere around the country have done the same thing, but The Gold Coast was the first to pioneer that idea.  

The Gold Coast originally had an Old West kind of theme, but has since been modernized by a renovation in the late 1990’s and doesn’t so much have a discernible theme anymore.  In 2004, all of the, “Coast,” branded casinos were merged and would later become a part of Boyd Gaming, which is the current owner to this day.  

Being an Off-Strip property, guests of Las Vegas may find themselves a more wallet-friendly bargain by staying here and walking to The Strip, or taking a short cab or rideshare there.  

Unfortunately, it’s not quite the bargain that you would think as the prices aren’t THAT far off from properties on the Las Vegas Strip.  Worse than that is the fact that the prices that you will see on their booking site do not reflect the $35.14/night Resort Fee, which is a ridiculous Resort Fee for this property, and seems to be charged separately when you arrive…those are some pretty shady tactics for sure!  That’s the sort of policy that would make the organized crime figures that made Las Vegas what it is blush!

What does this Resort Fee get you?  Apparently, access to a small outdoor pool, wireless Internet (but an extra $10.00/night if you want reliable Internet) and access to a fitness room…and most of this stuff isn’t what similar Resort Fees are getting you at higher end properties.  These Resort Fees are farcical, at this point, but what can you do?  The consumers could have taken a stand when they first started to be rolled out, but of course, most of them just put up with the rip off.  

At least the gambling is pretty good.  The website puts them at 86,000 square feet for the casino and the floor features well over 1,000 combined slots, video poker and video keno games.  

As far as the Tables Pit is concerned, it’s situated somewhat in the middle of the casino property and consists of a few long rows of tables.  They offer Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Pai-Gow Poker, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em.  These games will not all operate around the clock on slower nights, so we would recommend calling in advance for the hours on anything that is not a casino staple game.  

Gold Coast is one of the few properties near the Strip to continue to offer a Live Bingo and Live Keno area, so you know where to go if those are your games of choice.  Unfortunately, the Live Keno returns aren’t that great when compared to a property like The D.  However, if you do want to play Keno at The Gold Coast, the station is open from 8:00a-10:00p on weekdays and until midnight on weekends.  Live Bingo is available all week long and consists of seven daily sessions.  

The Gold Coast Race and Sports Book is a simple affair compared to others, with a heavy emphasis on just worrying about the action.  You can get your bets down on your favorite sporting and racing events from the early morning until the late evening hours.  

One interesting little gimmick on their website is that you can actually search for your slot game of choice here in advance of visiting the property.  If you have a game of choice at your local or regional casino, or perhaps a game available on an app that you like, this is a great way of seeing if you can expect to find it at Gold Coast!  More casinos should do it this way!  They certainly seem to have a few games that I would like, at least, I’d sometimes like them.  

Ping Pang Pong is one of the Top 10 Chinese Restaurants in America, according to Travel and Leisure Magazine, and this location is open from 10:00a.m. until the wee hours of the morning.  The menu features a wide variety of Asian staple dishes and all of this is brought to guests at the property at a more than reasonable price, especially by Las Vegas standards.  

If they don’t have enough noodle dishes for you, then perhaps you can check out Noodle Exchange, which isn’t open quite as late, but features a wide variety of noodle dish selections and opens in the morning hours.  The best part about Noodle Exchange is that the prices are cheap by ANY standard, not just Vegas standards.  

T.G.I. Fridays is a casual American restaurant, and actually one of this writer’s least favorites, that is kind of like Applebee’s if all of Applebee’s dishes were totally bland.  Still, T.G.I. Fridays has a number of customers who swear by it, so if you’re one of them, there you go.  My apologies, but I’ve never been a fan…I just think most of the food is unflavorful.  

In of quick eats, Gold Coast is home to a Subway location, which I think is a reasonable choice if you just want a quick six-inch combo for lunch and you’re in a hurry, or something.  Hot drinks, cold drinks, juice, smoothies and pastries are all available at Java Vegas Coffee Shop, which is open from the early morning to the early evening.  If there’s nothing else that can be said for it, at least it’s a change from Starbucks.  The Bowling Snack Bar just has casual American snacks and is located in the bowling center, open on weekends.  

Overall, the Gold Coast is a pretty decent value option for everything except the staying and is a somewhat popular t amongst Las Vegas locals.  We certainly wouldn’t recommend it for your vacation necessarily, because it’s not THAT much of a bargain compared to bona fide Vegas Resort properties, but it’s at least a fun spot to gamble and has reasonably good food offerings, particularly if you like Asian food.  

Harrah’s Las Vegas

Harrah’s Las Vegas is one of the older Las Vegas Strip properties, having opened in July of 1973.  At the time of its opening, there was a Holiday Inn at the center Strip in front of the casino property, so it was named, “Holiday Casino,” and would operate as such for the better part of two decades.  In fact, Holiday Inn would actually purchase 40% interest in the casino property in 1979 and would then buy the rest of it four years later.  

In April of 1992, the property would take on the Harrah’s branding, having been named after William F. Harrah.  “Who’s he?”, you might ask.  Well, let me tell you: Harrah actually owned a number of bingo and casino properties and was instrumental in the early creation of what would become the Nevada Gaming Commission.  In his view, it was ideal to clean up gaming a bit and try to eventually weed the organized crime figures out of it.  That would eventually come to fruition, unfortunately, the casinos are now run by mega-corporations and most of the odds and games offered to players have a lower RTP than they once did.  One of the most egregious changes that have been made is the spread of 6:5 Blackjack at low limits rather than 3:2…sure, the mob might rough you up a bit if you cheated, but players who were playing fair certainly seemed to get a much better game when the mob was involved!

Either way, Harrah had been dead for quite sometime, so unfortunately, he did not have the opportunity to see this casino resort named in his honor.  

The total gaming space of the property is 90,637 square feet, and after several renovations and additions over the decades, it currently sits with a room count of 2,542 guest rooms and suites.  Harrah’s Entertainment would go on to takeover Caesars Entertainment in the mid 2000’s, but around 2010, Caesars was seen as the more iconic brand, so they would become Caesars Entertainment.  

In 2017, Caesars Entertainment would sell the real property to Vici Properties, which is a Real-Estate Investment Trust, who would then lease it back to Caesars Entertainment.  A few years later, Caesars Entertainment would merge with El Dorado, which was actually the latter buying out the former, but they would choose to instead adopt the Caesars Entertainment name for the newly-merged corporation, though that’s still a change in operational ownership.  As far as the casino’s real property is concerned, it remains owned by Vici Properties.  

Harrah’s is far from a forgotten property, in fact, they were quite busy during the Covid-19 pandemic.  In 2020, they remodeled the hotel rooms to the tune of 200 million dollars, as well as building a skybridge to Caesars Forum Convention facility (probably to facilitate large groups comfortably staying at either property for major conventions) and invested in some new exterior signage.  Given the age of the property, the willingness to reinvest shows that Caesars Entertainment, and particularly the new management since being merged with El Dorado, believes that the property has a long and very lucrative life in front of it.  

With that, let’s see what the property has to offer its visitors today!

Located almost dead center of the Las Vegas Strip, which makes almost any Strip destination a reasonable walk for people who are reasonably physically able, weekday rates at Harrah’s for the most standard rooms can range from under $40 to around $100, depending on the demand season and how busy those specific days are.  Weekend rates will typically be north of $150, except they might perhaps be lower during the absolute slowest weeks of the year.  

Unfortunately, Harrah’s charges a $37/night Resort Fee, which isn’t disclosed until the very end of the booking process, but at least it’s before you put your credit card info in.  On busy weekends, even standard rooms can run well over $200/night.  The amusing thing about the Resort Fee is that the rack rate for some Mondays and Tuesdays I see is only $35, which means that the Resort Fee sometimes costs more than the room itself!  Does that make sense?  Of course not, but we all know that Resort Fees are objectively ridiculous.  

Hotel amenities include a full service spa (extra charges), hot tub, sauna, hair salon (extra charges), fitness room, valet and outdoor pool.  The property s free Wi-Fi, but that’s not even at all true, because guests must pay a Resort Fee, so my tendency is to look at it as nothing is free…unless it’s free for everyone who happens to be there, whether they are staying or not.  

As of the time of this writing, regular entertainment includes Donny Osmond, who currently has a residency at the property.  If you are reading this after October, 2021 and want to see Donny Osmond, then you should check their website to see if that is still the case.  

Tape Face is a gentleman who performs a silent comedy show.  These performances occur regularly, as of the time of this writing, with schedule available on their website.  X Country is basically a, “Burlesque,” show by which women, ‘Tease,’ and dance to country music…it’s basically a thematic topless performance.  Menopause the Musical is about, ‘The change,’ that women experience at a certain point in their lives; I’ve not seen it, but I’m told it’s pretty hysterical.  As with anything else, I might go if I can get free tickets…the only show I’d pay to see is Tournament of Kings at Excalibur…but I’m not really into shows.  There is a Whitney Houston hologram show, so if that’s your thing, there you go.  Finally, The Piano Bar features live entertainment, for free, seven nights per week.  

Harrah’s’ property is also home to a modest number of shopping outlets, though many closed during Covid-19 and have yet to reopen.  To see what’s open at any time, you can check out their shopping page here.  

With that, let’s turn our attention to the gambling side of the operation.  Their website speaks to some of the slot offerings, so let’s see what they have to say about it:

When you want to come out and play the Las Vegas slots, there’s only one place to start the fun – Harrah’s Las Vegas Casino! Our exciting, action-packed casino floor features all your favorite slot games in formats ranging from traditional three-reel Las Vegas slot machines to video slots where you can play dozens of lines at a time, and in denominations ranging from pennies to $500 a spin.

Hot new slot machines have arrived at Harrah’s Casino with more ways to win big jackpots. We’ve got a selection of new reel, video and poker slot machines.

Our casino slot games feature liberal payouts up to 98 percent and the chance to win a life-changing progressive Las Vegas slot jackpot on games like Megabucks or Wheel of Fortune. We also feature a wide variety of video poker games where you can test your casino gambling skill as well as your luck.

Be sure to use your Caesars Rewards card every time you place a bet so you can earn free slot play, comps, offers and special event invitations.

The first relevant thing is that they have slots for both high-rollers and low-rollers, with denominations ranging from pennies to $500/credit on their video poker, slot machine and video keno offerings.  

We take note that they claim that their, “Liberal payouts,” are, “Up to 98 percent,” but we would encourage our readers NOT to take this as a promising sign.  There is nothing that regulates what they are permitted to call, “Liberal payouts,” and, “Up to 98 percent,” could mean that as few as one machine on the entire casino floor is set to 98%.  In theory, it could also be referring to Video Poker, which should ideally be more than 98% RTP anyway.  One thing that you can be sure of is the MegaBucks is definitely not 98%, not unless the progressive happens to be way up there whenever you happen to be there.

Do you see that little advertising trick that’s happening there?  What they are doing is saying, “Up to 98 percent,” and then talking about Wheel of Fortune (highly doubtful) and MegaBucks (absolutely not) games right after…so that you will associate those two things in your mind with 98 percent, even though it’s definitely not true.  Anyway, you should always pay attention for little tricks like that, not just in casino advertising, but in all advertising.  

With that, we will turn our attention to what is spread at the more than eighty Table Games at the Harrah’s property.  These games include Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Casino War, Let it Ride and Pai-Gow Poker.  Harrah’s is a busy place, but not all of these games will operate 24/7, so we would suggest that you call ahead and ask what times you might expect a specific carnival game to be open if you are looking for one of those.  

Harrah’s has yet to give up on Live Keno, though many other Strip properties who once had it have done so.  As of the time of this writing, Live Keno is offered from Noon-8:00p.m. every day except Tuesdays and Wednedays.  If you are reading this after October 2021, then you might want to check their website or call ahead to make sure that is still the case.  

Harrah’s would normally be home to a poker room with seven tables, but it closed at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen as of the time of this writing.  If staying at a casino with Live Poker is going to be important to you, then we would recommend checking their website to see if that has changed.  

It should come as no surprise that Harrah’s would be home to a Caesars Race and Sports Book, so whether it is getting a few bucks down on your sporting event of choice, or perhaps picking the ponies and watching on simulcast, you can get your bets down from the morning to late evening hours and enjoy watching the action on one of their many big screen TV’s.  

Anyone who has read enough of these knows what I really like on the Las Vegas Strip, and that’s the food!  Let’s talk about some of the restaurant offerings on the Harrah’s property:

Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill is a Southern Style place to get your vittles and enjoy free live country music five evenings of the week.  Reservations are recommended, but not required.  This restaurant not only has Southern staple dishes, but puts a Southern spin on other classics, such as the Reuben.  If you’re feeling especially decadent, then you can even get a deep-fried Twinkie for dessert.  Just , what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…except the pounds you gain, those go home with you.  I should know.  Personally, I think the Texas Cheesesteak and fries looks pretty stellar!

Ruth’s Chris Steak House is the property’s obligatory upscale steakhouse, and if you think you’ve heard of it before, it’s because you probably have.  Ruth’s Chris has many locations around the country and isn’t shy about spending a few bucks when it comes to advertising themselves both on radio and TV.  I’ve actually never been to one because I prefer unique locations almost as a matter of principle, especially if I’m shelling out a good bit of money, but I hear they are pretty good.  The Petit Filet Mignon with Shrimp is supposed to be pretty stellar.  

The Oyster Bar Las Vegas is an upscale selection for the freshest and most well-prepared seafood that you’re going to get in Las Vegas.  They have this to say, “Oysters are fresh and shucked to order. Have them on the half shell, grilled, or Rockefeller. The Oyster Bar serves Las Vegas seafood lovers items like crab cakes, tuna poke, squid ink pasta, and its signature dishes such as the OB’s Pan Roast and a flavorful shellfish boil simmered in garlic Cajun butter.”  Personally, I would be inclined to go with the Shellfish Platter.  My take on world-class fresh seafood is this, “The less that is done to it, the better it’s going to be.”  

Fulton Street Food Hall describes itself as, “Not a food court, but a chef-driven marketplace.”  That’s a fancy way of saying that this is a food court.  The Fulton Cafe serves casual American food; the Sandwich/Soup/Salad Station does what it says on the box; the Coffee Station should be self-explanatory; the Burger/Taco/Breakfast station does what it says, the Pizza Station is actually a Japanese Steakhouse…just kidding, it has pizza; and, the Noodle Bar has noodles and other Asian dishes.  If that doesn’t sound like a food court, then I don’t know what does…a food court with better than average selection is still a food court.  

Harrah’s is home to not one, but two, Starbucks locations.  Harrah’s must have been so big that Starbucks could not imagine having only one location there…it seems like there is one Starbucks for every ten Americans.  

The pride of Vermont (maple syrup aside), Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream has a location here, so whether it’s Cherry Garcia or one of the new concoctions they’re always coming up with, this is a great snack choice if you are playing or staying at the Harrah’s.  

Overall, the eateries are not as expansive as some of the other Las Vegas Strip casinos, but there are a few really solid options and your Total Rewards points will work at any Caesars Entertainment property with that players club, so you’ll have your pick of any of those eateries on the Las Vegas Strip.  Toby Keith’s restaurant might be a good choice if you enjoy country music while you eat and I’d probably go out of my way for the seafood place, but that’s about it for me.  

In of other outlets, Carnival Court is kind of an open-air street party and place to drink, right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, no less!  It kind of has a block party feel going on, so guests should enjoy that.  Another cool place at Harrah’s, at least for the suds enthusiast, is the Las Vegas Signature Beer Bar; this location is home to sixteen craft beers, unique cocktails and video poker…I hope the paytables are good.  

Overall, it’s really tough for us to flatly recommend Harrah’s, unless you’re staying with a convention, or something.  While it is a somewhat historic Las Vegas Strip property and the rooms are recently renovated, we just feel that the weekend prices are a little high for a place that is somewhat limited when it comes to restaurants, at least, when compared to the other Las Vegas Strip casinos.  With that said, if you are going to be walking to the other Strip Casinos a good bit, then you really can’t argue with Harrah’s being the location for your, “Home Base,” given that you’re near a wide-variety of other casinos and equidistant from the north and south ends of the main Las Vegas Strip.  

Lucky Dragon Hotel & Casino

Actually, this place is closed and lived probably the shortest history of any Las Vegas Strip casino.  We’re only going to mention it here as a demonstration of why building a Strip Casino and competing against the big boys is not an automatic home run.  

In theory, the Lucky Dragon probably could have worked.  The main focus on the property was on an Asian theme and the goal of the property was to attract an Asian clientele.  This was seen in the slots area, which actually had a separate room specifically for Asian-themed games (which many slots are anyway) as well as several dozen of these sorts of games on the main floor.  

In of Table Games, the focus was primarily on games that tend to be popular amongst Asian visitors, such as Baccarat and Pai Gow Tiles.  It’s really hard to say why that concept didn’t really draw Asians in, but our guess is that it has a lot to do with marketing.  

The Lucky Dragon Casino was not one of the ones owned by one of the big boys such as Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International or even Boyd Gaming.  Given that was the case, they really didn’t have any base that they could use to target their marketing.  

The property opened in November of 2016, with a couple hundred guest rooms and a scant 27,500 square feet of gaming space.  

While we have seen casinos successfully cater to niche markets in the past in Las Vegas, specifically, Circus Circus with its focus on those traveling with their families, an attempt to appeal to a specific demographic usually doesn’t end well.  We saw this with Revel Casino in Atlantic City who, in addition to being buried by substantial debt, also failed to garner strong revenues due, in part, to being Atlantic City’s only 100% non-smoking property and basically advertising themselves as catering only to high-end guests…good job, Kevin DeSanctis.  

Just over a year later, all of the property’s restaurants and the casino floor would close due to low guest turnout.  It would seem that Asian visitors to Las Vegas already felt that they were being catered to enough by existing casinos, and that there was nothing in particular about the Lucky Dragon that would be a lure for gamblers not specifically seeking out an Asian-themed casino.  Once again, they simply didn’t have the marketing resources to target the people who were their intended visitors, and in the meantime, didn’t really do much that would cater to a general audience.  They were also perceived as not caring about anyone except high-rollers.  

Ultimately, after right around fourteen months, this property was finished as a casino.  Even Revel Casino in Atlantic City lasted longer than that, albeit not by much.  The property was later sold to Don Ahern who runs a hotel and restaurants out of it and also intends to convert the former casino floor into convention space, so at this time, there is no reason to necessarily believe that the property will operate as a casino ever again.  

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the theme and offerings of the property actually worked for the intended clientele, but they felt that the comps were a bit stingy.  Of course, the casino property was underwater on its loan, but one problem that many businesses in all customer-facing industries have made (think Kmart, Sears and Big Bear in retail) is that they think cutting costs in a way that gives the customers less is going to solve anything.  It won’t, because at the end of the day, no matter how much financial trouble your company is in, you need revenue to survive…and to get revenue, you have to deliver a great experience to your guests and they must feel they are getting strong value.  

More than that, the Las Vegas Review Journal stated that many Asian customers felt that they were being more than adequately catered to elsewhere.  Specifically, the Review Journal mentioned the Gold Coast, where all the Baccarat Tables were full, because the majority Asian guests felt that they were being treated well in of comps and hosts drawing up food comps, and what have you, on the spot for them.  

It’s a shame, but maybe one of the big boys out there with big time hosts and marketing lists will try something similar at some point in the future.  Personally, I could see something like this really working as long as a company has the financial ability to entice the customers in the door, can target known, “Whales,” and comp them for their expected gambling at the property rather than essentially requiring that they give action first.  I really just see this whole failed experiment as more of a failure (or inability) of marketing than anything else.  

Luxor

Haha!!!  We get another fun one from the time that Vegas thought that every property had to have a somewhat silly thematic gimmick…which honestly, is probably only the second of two things that I love about the Las Vegas Strip; the first being all of the terrific restaurant destinations!

Luxor was built as a big black pyramid of glass with an Ancient Egypt theme that appears here and there throughout the entire property, but is most prevalent on the exterior.  In addition to the Pyramid structure, there’s also a huge sphinx looking out over the Las Vegas Strip.  

This property would open in October of 1993 and is currently operated by MGM Resorts International, which is a company that owns and operates a substantial percentage of the properties on the Las Vegas Strip.  At this time, Luxor is not considered one of the high-tier properties in the MGM Resorts catalog and is seen as something of a bargain destination for Las Vegas guests, at least, by Las Vegas Strip standards.  

As it stands now, Luxor is home to 4,407 (!!!) guest rooms and suites as well as 120,000 square feet of gambling space, which makes it one of the largest casino floors (though it actually doesn’t seem that way if you are inside, for some reason) in all of Las Vegas.  

For those of you who are wondering what a, “Luxor,” is, it’s actually just the name of a city in Egypt.  It’s basically the same thing as if they had made an Australian-themed casino and named it, “Canberra.”  Actually, that would be a GREAT casino, the centerpiece could be a huge Steve Irwin exhibit…if anyone does that, I want credit for the idea!

Originally, this casino was built by Circus Circus Entertainment and was to be located just South of the property’s Excalibur (which is also now owned by MGM Resorts, and Circus Circus used to be) property.  It was actually this company that made the biggest push into creating destinations on the Las Vegas Strip with a central theme, and younger gamblers and Vegas visitors today probably couldn’t even imagine the Strip without these places!

The family-friendly themes of Circus Circus and Excalibur, since the opening of Circus Circus, were seen as successful and had since been emulated, at least at the time, by casinos such as Treasure Island.  Given Treasure Island’s location on The Strip, the originally-designed to be highly family friendly Luxor was intended to act in direct opposition to Treasure Island basically piggy-backing Circus Circus Entertainment’s marketing.  

As of the time of its completion, the Pyramid of Luxor was actually the tallest structure on the Las Vegas Strip, though still impressive, it has been sured a few times over.  

While Gold Coast was the first Las Vegas casino to put a first-run theater in a casino property, Luxor thought it was clearly a pretty good idea and would go on to install an Imax theater during a renovation in the late-1990’s.  MGM Resorts International would later go on to purchase all of Circus Circus Entertainment outright, which would include Luxor, and ownership of the property has not changed since then.  

The Luxor, of course, is best known for its Luxor Sky Beam that projects out of the apex of the pyramid.  Even to this day, it is the strongest such light beam in the world and can be seen by aircraft flying low as well as at cruising altitude.  I bet some pilots who didn’t know that this would be coming were shocked the first few days that the Luxor Sky Beam operated, probably though it was extraterrestrial in nature, but certainly all pilots flying in the Las Vegas area know to expect it now.  

One myth that we must dispel is the notion that Luxor Sky Beam can be seen from Outer Space.  This statement was made by a Marketing Executive of the property shortly after the property opened in order to generate attention…I’m going to label this statement as a, “Harmless white lie,” because it’s technically true.  

The reason that it’s technically true is because Las Vegas itself can be seen, at night, from outer space.  However, astronauts are seeing a collection of all of the lights going on in Las Vegas, which is also true of a few other major cities…so they ARE (in part) seeing the Luxor Sky Beam, but at the altitude that is Outer Space, the Luxor Sky Beam is actually NOT distinguishable from the other lights in Las Vegas.  

In fact, if astronauts were to look down and see only a single point of light in Las Vegas, then they would probably think that something had gone terribly wrong in the city.  

With that, we will turn our attention to the interior of the casino.  Let’s start with some information about the casino’s hotel, which consists of the main hotel and two separate towers that were added later on.  

The hotel aspect of the property consists of Tower Rooms and Pyramid-rooms.  Yes, it is an actual Pyramid when it comes to the Pyramid rooms, you can tell by the angled windows.  While the property is considered to be something of a bargain property, at least by Las Vegas Strip standards, we would consider the in-room accommodations to be basically equivalent to a higher end Limited Service Hotel—perhaps something that you would expect to see in a Hyatt, or something.  The furnishings are modern and great care is typically taken to ensure the cleanliness of the rooms.  

Rates on standard rooms can typically run anywhere from $100 (extremely slow weekends) to close to $250 on weekends, with certain special event dates being much more expensive than even this.  Weekday rates are sometimes under $50, and usually under $100 for standard rooms, unless it’s a really busy week in the high demand seasons or during special events.  The Resort Fee for this hotel is $35/night, which is sometimes almost as much as the rate that you are paying on the room itself—which just proves that the concept of Resort Fees is stupid and ridiculous.  

Guests will enjoy Wireless Internet, business services (such as fax and printing), the property’s fitness center with state of the art equipment, the pool and perhaps the salon and spa, with the latter two coming with additional charges for services.  The main draw for Luxor is in how neat it is on the outside, as well as the rooms being really nice, but there’s not really much else in the way of amenities that are included with your stay.  The outdoor pool has a neat location behind the pyramid and cabanas as well as daybeds are available for rent, if you are someone who enjoys paying to lay down.  

In of entertainment options, as of the time of this writing, Luxor is home to America’s Got Talent, which is a nationally broadcast TV show that is basically similar to American Idol in concept.  That’s actually pretty interesting that you would be able to get tickets to such a thing, and starting at $49, this writer probably wouldn’t have any desire to actually attend, but does think they are reasonably priced…especially if you’re a fan of the show, which I’m not.  

The Terry Bradshaw Show…I wish I was making this up…is a combination musical, comedy and storytelling show.  Some people are fans of Terry Bradshaw and some people aren’t.  Personally, I can’t stand him whatsoever, but that’s how it is with Terry Bradshaw—you either love him or can’t stand him.  Anyway, if you’re on the love him side of the equation, or are just a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, then you will have the opportunity to see his show.  

Carrot Top has had a long-standing residency at Luxor, and is still there, as of the time of this writing.  He’s a well-known prop comedian who has his name because of his crazy red hair.  Again, I’m personally not a fan of this particular comedian, but many kids who grew up in the 90’s (as I did) may very well be, so this is your chance to relive your youth.  

There’s a Titanic artifact expedition which is more my sort of thing, but tickets apparently start at $32 as of the time of this writing, and you can get into some of the nation’s most historic and iconic museums for far less than that.  

Luxor is home to HyperX ESports which was just a brilliant thing for this property to add, in my opinion.  ESports began to increase in popularity around a decade, or so ago…and eventually would become it’s own enterprise with high dollar tournaments, betting and everything else.  Tremendous credit should be given to the Luxor for taking advantage of this increase in popularity, but also, doing eSports itself a favor as this arena being located is such a prestigious Las Vegas property does a lot to further legitimize eSports.  If you’re a gamer, then you should definitely check this marvel out, whether or not you’re specifically into eSports and whether or not you’re actually staying on property.  

Luxor is also home to the iconic Blue Man Group, which is a musical and variety act that is massively popular for reasons that will never be within the realm of my understanding.  Finally, Fantasy is the Luxor’s burlesque show where you can go to pretend to be classy while looking at naked women, if you want to.  

Either way, when it comes to the live entertainment options, not everything will be for me, but they definitely have something for everyone!  There’s got to be something here you want to see, even if you’re not staying on property.  The good news is that the MLIFE players club program applies to all MGM Resorts International Las Vegas casinos, so if you do most of your staying and playing at a different property, if you qualify for comps at all, you might be able to use them to attend one of the Luxor’s fun shows or events.  

Not everyone even goes to Vegas to gamble anymore, but certainly the majority of our readers do, so it’s now time to talk about the Luxor’s many gambling offerings in one of the largest (by square footage) casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Luxor boasts that they have a total of more than 1,100 combined slots, video poker and video keno machines that range in denomination from pennies to C-Notes ($100 per credit), which kind of explains why I didn’t think the casino was as big as the square footage claimed.  The machines are generally spaced with a reasonable amount of room between rows, which makes it comfortable, but it makes the casino floor to not appear as expansive as it otherwise might.  

Luxor is also home to a high-limit room and lists the following on their website for what you can expect to find:

• Blackjack – $100 minimum – $5,000
• maxBaccarat – $100 minimum – $5,000
• maxRoulette – $25 minimum – $200 max
• Reel Slots from $1 to $100
• Video Reels from $0.25 to $1
• Video Poker from $0.25 to $10

The Table Game minimums obviously make sense for a high-limit room, but I just it that the video poker and video slot minimums come as a bit of a surprise, unless they consist of multi-play games that force you to Max Bet.  Even in smaller regional casinos around the country, I want to say that you only see the $0.25 Video Poker denomination available in high-limit…probably half the time or less.  

Including those in the high-limit room, this property is home to a total of 62 gaming tables, upon which are spread Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, Craps, Let it Ride, Three Card Poker, Mini Baccarat, Free Bet Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus.  For those of you who have a specific carnival game in mind, we would recommend calling ahead to inquire about the general hours of operations, as we would only expect the casino staple games to operate around the clock.  

Finally, Luxor is home to a sizeable BETMGM sportsbook and racebook location.  Personally, I think it would be more fun for the individual properties, even when owned by a mega-corporation, to have individually-themed sportsbooks, but I’m sure the casinos don’t care about what I think.  They’re doing well enough not to have to worry about the opinions of mere players, after all.  Anyway, you can get your bets down on your favorite games, matches, or races, from the morning to late evening hours.  

With that, it’s time to turn our attention to my favorite thing to do in Las Vegas Strip casinos, which is eating!  The Luxor, as one would expect, has a wide variety of dining options that are sure to please any palette, and here we put them for your perusal:

Diablo’s Cantina is a casually priced Mexican restaurant with an emphasis on quality food fairly quickly.  It’s a great stop for either lunch or dinner and is open from 11-11 seven days per week.  Chef Saul brings a fun and flavorful take on Tex Mex with unique and colorful dishes, personally, my suggestion would be Diablo’s Finest Alambre Tacos, which are actually made with filet mignon.  Some of you steak snobs might consider that a waste of Filet Mgnon, but some of you also squander a good filet mignon by putting A-1 on it (blah!), so don’t knock these tacos until you have tried these tacos!

I think it’s actually illegal to own a casino in Las Vegas without having an upscale steakhouse, because certainly all of the Las Vegas Strip casinos seem to have one.  Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, TENDER (all caps, theirs) is open five evenings per week and has this to say, “TENDER steakhouse + lounge offers one of the most impressive selections of dry- and wet-aged steaks you’ll ever experience.” That, to be honest, doesn’t tell me what makes it any different from other Las Vegas steakhouses, but we’re sure it’s fine.  

The Public House is an American style casual lounge and restaurant with great America burgers and brews.  We would recommend this place, and for those of you with a serious appetite, the following challenge is made, “Try and conquer Public House’s four massive double cheese burgers, a basket of loaded fries and a 22 oz. milkshake. Eat it in 30 minutes and it is FREE + a souvenir t-shirt.”  I actually feel pretty confident that I could take this one down, although, I think I would have to ask how much each of the beef patties weighs first.  Maybe you should go and give it a try!

The Buffet at Luxor is currently open for breakfast and lunch Wednesdays through Sundays.  I’ve had this one myself and I will say that I particularly enjoyed the wide selection of desserts as well as the made-to-order omelettes, which are a must have if you want to maximize your value.  Other than those standouts, I would consider this a serviceable buffet by casino standards, not necessarily THAT much better than the buffet at your regional casino.  At the time, I did like that you could get up and get your own coffee, not because I don’t like tipping (I tipped anyway, of course), but because it’s convenient to never have your cup go dry…I don’t know if they still have that or not anymore.  

The Pyramid Cafe is aesthetically appealing for what serves Casual American diner style food seven days a week for both breakfast and lunch.  I’ve also been to this restaurant myself and declare it to be just fine.  There’s nothing particularly that stands out about it, but the food is solid and reasonably priced, so that’s what matters most.  

The Backstage Deli is open every day except Tuesday, as of the time of this writing, and features some great salads and sandwiches, which prides itself also on its Kosher selection.  I haven’t stopped here myself, but you should consider it if you’re looking for a quick and economical lunch option.  

Luxor, as one would expect, is home to a Starbucks that is open from 5:00a.m. until the late evening hours, seven days per week.  There’s nothing wrong with Starbucks, of course, you certainly know what you’re getting, but you can certainly get Starbucks at home.  For me, I’d rather try to find a unique outlet for my java when visiting Las Vegas.  

Blizz is a nonfat frozen yogurt shop that is open seven days per week from 11:00a.m.-8:00p.m.  I’m actually surprised that it doesn’t open earlier as frozen yogurt with fresh fruit, especially if you’re indulging anyway (and what else would you come to Vegas to do?) is a perfectly serviceable breakfast.  Of course, in Vegas, 11:00a.m. is the time that many WILL start to think about breakfast, especially if they have been partying the night before.  

The Luxor Food Court mostly consists of a bunch of fast food options that are readily found in other Vegas casinos, but it’s still great if you need something quick.  This food court is home to Johnny Rockets (burgers and fries with never-frozen beef), Bonanno’s Pizzeria (New York style), Subway, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and Original Chicken Tender.  This one will get the job done if you need something on the go.  

In addition to the food outlets, Luxor is home to three major lounges that include Flight, Aurora and Centra, the last as you might expect, being in the center of the casino itself.  

Overall, we would recommend Luxor as a vacation destination for those of you who might have some cash to spend, but also want to keep that spending somewhat reasonable.  The gambling offerings certainly don’t seem like anything unique, at least, not by Las Vegas standards, but we are most impressed by the dining options and the wide variety of shows that are available on the property.  In fact, for those visitors to Las Vegas who are going mostly for the shows, Luxor would probably find itself on our, “Highly Recommended,” list, if we were to make one.  In of overall variety, we really think that they have a lot to offer.  

M Resort

The first thing that we want to make clear is that M Resort is NOT considered a Las Vegas Strip Casino, but we are putting it here because it is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and is the Southernmost Las Vegas Casino property on that street.  For some reason, Stratosphere counts as the Las Vegas Strip, technically, but this one doesn’t…but we do consider the two casinos as bookending Las Vegas Boulevard.  

M Resort is a fairly new addition to the Las Vegas scene, having opened in March of 2009, which is in the early stages of the Great Recession.  Of course, things we’re looking great prior to the burst of the housing bubble, as well as several other events that were largely triggered by the same, so construction of this property began during economically good times.  Many economists had called for the housing bubble (which is really just part of an overall credit bubble burst) to take place, but not everyone listened.  

Fortunately, unlike so many other grand projects that were planned to open in the late 2000’s or early 2010’s, M Resort has survived and appears to be doing reasonably well.  

Smaller in room availability scope than many Las Vegas Strip properties, the hotel tower of the M Resort can accommodate as many as 390 rooms worth of guests, and often does, especially when a smaller scale business meeting or convention is taking place at the property.  It’s also a popular destination for tourists who prefer to visit the Las Vegas Strip, or Downtown, during the day, but would prefer something a little quieter and less in your face by night.  

The casino floor was built to impress, though, as it consists of a meaningful 92,000 square feet of total gambling space, which is actually more total gambling space than a few of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip proper.  

Anthony Marnell III of the Marnell family was the brainchild of this property, and he was able to secure enough financing to make the project happen.  Unfortunately, as we mentioned, this property would open in the early stages of the Great Recession, when Vegas tourism numbers were as low as they had been in about a decade or more.  If not for this unfortunate timing, Marnell might have been able to handle the debt load and the property fulfill its loan obligations on time, but that wouldn’t be the case given the poor initial traffic.  

The good news is that Penn National Gaming is very forward-thinking and knew that this south of the Strip property would be successful and viable in the event of an economic recovery.  As a result, they decided to purchase the full amount of Marnell’s debt load, which effectively made the property something of a t venture, at least, in effect.  Just a year later as the property continued to struggle early, with the economic recovery perhaps not coming as quickly as Marnell might have hoped, Penn National Gaming would purchase all of the property in 2011 as they were financially capable of weathering what was left of the storm.  

The owner of the real property (physical land and building) is actually Gaming and Leisure Properties, which is a Real-Estate Investment Trust that leases the property to Penn National Gaming, who continues to own the operations end of things, to this day.  Penn National Gaming is well-known for being based out of Pennsylvania and mostly owning regional casinos that are roughly the size and scope of M Resort…to wit, they own all Hollywood Casino branded properties and casinos such as The Meadows, which is located in Washington, Pennsylvania.  

The M has been quite forward thinking, in many ways.  When it was signed on the dotted line that the Las Vegas Raiders would be coming to town, The M secured a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders by which they would rent 300 rooms at the casino the night before home games, which is great for guaranteed occupancy.  

More than that, The M was a destination casino that was built mainly to cater to Las Vegas locals, though they certainly won’t object to some tourists coming to play and stay when they have the availability.  While the concept of a locals casino is certainly nothing new, the idea of having a brand new one built specifically for locals, and so close to the Las Vegas Strip, is somewhat novel.  

Another novel concept was to build an outdoor concert venue, which itself is nothing new, but is highly unusual for a casino that is mostly designed to cater to Las Vegas locals.  An outdoor pool that is capable of hosting as many as 6,000 guests, which compares favorably to smaller pools at locals casinos, and even some major casino offerings, was also meant to be something of a draw.  

Essentially, The M Resort is designed as sort of a staycation type of place by which locals can relax and unwind over a weekend.  Essentially, M Resort is doing what many sizeable regional casinos elsewhere in the country try to do, and those who thought that such a resort would not prove successful in Las Vegas have been proven wrong so far.  

With that, let’s take a look at what this property has to offer, starting with more information about the hotel.  

As mentioned before, the hotel at M Resort consists of a somewhat trim 390 guest rooms and suites situated in one hotel tower.  Many of these rooms overlook the M’s truly amazing pool, and many overnight guests would be remiss not to cut out some time to go and take a dip.  I don’t know if any official study has ever been done to compare the size of a property’s pool to a hotel’s room count, but the M would certainly be up there if such a study were ever done.  

The property is very resort-priced, with weekday rates on standard rooms generally being well over $100, even on days that normally wouldn’t be so busy for Vegas overall, and weekend rates often at a baseline of around $200 for standard rooms, and occasionally as high as more than $500, especially if there is a Raiders home game the following Sunday as that means the hotel starts the day at over 75% occupied.  

Unfortunately, just because it’s technically not on the Strip doesn’t mean that there aren’t Resort Fees, despite the higher than average room rates, Resort Fees still come in at $21.92 (which seems like a ridiculously specific amount) per night.  Their Resort Fees are probably lower than some specifically because the room costs a lot…the reality of Resort Fees is that they only exist so that the casinos can a lower price when it comes to the rack rate.  

In addition to the pool, the property offers guests use of wireless internet and is home to a sizeable and state-of-the-art fitness center that is for hotel guests only.  Reservations are required for use of the property’s spa, which of course comes with additional charges.  

One nice thing for guests looking to attend Raiders games is that the property does include transportation to Allegiant Stadium in the room rates for ed guests, of course, the room rates are themselves remarkably high, so one might say, “Well, they had better!”

As of the time of this writing, Nevada, California and Arizona residents may get a discount of 30% off of the room rate, so that’s quite a friendly offering if you live in one of those states.  I don’t, but this is more than I would be willing to pay for a room in Las Vegas, even with the discount.  

The Daydream Pool Club is scheduled to reopen in Spring of 2022 and features a small and more private pool with rentable cabanas at an extra cost.  Reservations are highly recommended, sometimes required, so make sure you book early if you want to avail yourself of this adults-only pool.  

The M Pavillion is the outdoor concert venue that hosts one or two events in an average month, with the schedule of performers that can be found here.  

Additionally, The M Resort features weekly entertainment at a few of its indoor venues, typically weekends only at the M Bar, M Cafe or Ravello, all of which we will discuss more later on in this listing.  

With that, let’s turn our attention to the casino aspect of operations.  After all, a property with such a limited number of rooms must have nearly 100,000 square feet of gambling real estate for a reason, right?

My favorite aspect of their Table Games link is that the title is, “Let it Ride,” even though the guests pictured are clearly standing in front of a Craps Table.  I understand that they are just using let it ride as a phrase and are not literally saying a Let it Ride table is pictured, but it still tickles my funny bone a little bit.  

The property is home to a combined more than 1,000 video poker, slot and video keno machines.  Given the size of the property, the High-Limit room is somewhat impressive given that it consists of more than seventy unique machines.  That’s not to say that is a ton by casino standards, but it does mean that more than 5% of the machine offerings can be found in the high-limit room.  Denominations on all machines across the floor range from pennies to Bennies ($100/credit).  

The property is also home to a Table Games pit and High-Limit Lounge which combine for forty tables that spread Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, Roulette, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker and HIgh Card Flush.  Midi-Baccarat (as opposed to Mini) can also be found in the High Limit room.  If you are looking for any specific game aside from Blackjack, then we would recommend calling ahead for the usual times of operation as games such as High Card Flush almost certainly do not operate 24/7.  

The M also features a modest sportsbook with 23 TV’s that is capable of seating 90 guests.  

With that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to some of the dining options:

The 16 Rooftop Bar would normally be open and features steak and sea items that won’t break the bank, but it closed at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to reopen as of the time of this writing.  If it does reopen, then the dress code will probably continue to be business casual, which is somewhat strictly enforced.  

Anthony’s Prime Steak and Seafood is the property’s mandatory upscale steakhouse and is open seven days a week during the evening hours for dinner.  The website has this to say about it, “This Wine Spectator Award-winner offers a unique dining experience featuring an exhibition-style kitchen with outstanding views and impeccable service, plus outdoor patio seating with views of the M Pool and Las Vegas Strip. Enjoy fresh fish (flown in daily); dry-aged or wet-aged prime cut filet, ribeye and New York strip steaks; 450 different wine selections; and an amazing array of innovative side dishes and appetizers.”  I haven’t been there myself, but it certainly sounds fantastic and you can’t go wrong with dining while looking out over the property’s absolutely gorgeous pool, especially not after the sun has set on Sin City.  

Baby Cakes Artisan Bakery is your go-to place for the most unique and delicious pastries and cakes.  Additionally, they are able to make customized cakes there, so if you wish to take your loved one to the M Resort for an overnight birthday celebration, this bakery has you covered, especially when you consider that they are also open 24/7.  

M Cafe serves a dual-function operating during the morning hours, seven days per week, as a stop to get some of the best breakfast that can be found in all of Las Vegas.  When the breakfasts have all been eaten, M Cafe closes up for a few hours and reopens during the evening as a high-end cocktail lounge that also features live entertainment on most weekends.  What should you do in between?  Probably gamble, but I’d also make some time to hang out at the spectacular pool!

Marinelli’s Pasta Bar is delicious Italian food at casual prices that just serves traditional delicious dishes that speak for themselves.  Anyone who knows good Italian food knows that traditional is best, the wheel is working just fine, so there’s no need to reinvent it.  It is open for dinner during the evenings from Wednesdays-Sundays.  

Raiders Tavern and Grill is an American sportsbar that is adorned in Raiders memorabilia and decorations.  As you approach the front of the establishment, you might be led to believe that the prices are sky high, such is the impressive brightly-lit and modern aesthetic, but nope, the food is delicious and the prices are right on par with most Las Vegas American style eateries.

M Resort was home to the Studio B Buffet, but it closed at some point leading into Covid-19 and has yet to reopen.  It’s hard to say if it ever will, given that many Las Vegas properties have since announced permanent closure of their buffets, particularly those that cater to locals, but for now we will just hold out hope that this establishment makes a triumphant return in 2022.  Honestly, it was one of the better buffets in town.

Vig Deli is open seven days a week from the late morning to late evening hours and features a wide variety of sandwiches and salads.  Many of these sandwiches are fairly unique with the property proclaiming, “You can bet on Vig Deli to offer some of the area’s best made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, salads and pizza. Located adjacent to the race and sports book, this old-school, counter-style deli features barbecue ribs, tuna melts, burgers, hot pastrami or French dip sandwiches, and steak and eggs all day. Go green with a chicken Caesar or Asian chicken salad, or try some of the best pizza around, one-of-a-kind Texas beef chili or the excellent pho soup.”  You should definitely check it out if you’re staying.  

While it’s positively fantastic that what would normally qualify as a destination resort property should cater itself to Las Vegas locals, especially given that most locals casinos are kind of dated, it’s really tough for us to recommend M Resort for a vacation for those well out of the area, unless you specifically DO NOT want to stay on the Las Vegas Strip proper, or Downtown.  The prices will set you back every bit as much as higher end Strip properties, and it’s a few miles travel if you really want to go anywhere else, so it’s really tough for us to recommend to outsiders.  For those of you who live in the area and have a few bucks to spend, especially if wanting to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, we would definitely highly recommend this property, mostly for the pool, but probably NOT the night before a Raiders game.

Mandalay Bay

The Las Vegas Strip is honestly far from my favorite destination in Las Vegas, but that’s because the primary reason I go to Vegas is to gamble, and the returns on the Video Poker tend to be worse on the Strip than can be found in other places.

With that said, I have been to the majority of the Las Vegas Strip properties, briefly, in most cases…and Mandalay Bay is my favorite of these aesthetically.  I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but I think that it has a fairly calming aesthetic to it, and even when the casino is really busy, it seems like it has a mostly casual pace to it.  

For those of you who think I am going to cover the Las Vegas Massacre in the history of this property, you’ll have to go look somewhere else if you want to read about that.  Jokes about how much of a rip-off Resort Fees are aside, these reviews are mainly to talk about the positive aspects of the casinos, and where we do detail the histories, we mostly just want to talk about how the properties developed, why they were built and changes in ownership…not about terrible tragedies that have taken place.  After all, these pages are meant to serve as a travel and gambling casino guide, not to talk about horrific events that will just make readers depressed.  

Having opened in March of 1999 with a tropical theme that pervades throughout, Mandalay Bay Las Vegas is currently owned and operated by MGM Resorts International and is home to 3,209 guest rooms and suites as well as 135,000 square feet of gambling real estate, which makes it one of the largest casino floors both in Las Vegas and the world, though not the largest.  

Of course, this luxury resort exists for more than just gambling, adjacent to the property is a convention center that (take a breath) consists of TWO MILLION SQUARE FEET of space. That’s incredible!  Additionally, the Michelob Ultra Arena is the property’s major concert venue and is capable of sitting as many as 12,000 attendees, which puts it in fair comparison with many concert venues that exist absent a casino property!  The size and scope of this overall property is truly incredible.  

The site of Mandalay Bay was once the home to Hacienda, which was a sizeable Mexican-themed casino resort that opened in October of 1956 and would close slightly more than forty years later.  The Hacienda was once a popular casino and was an early stalwart of the Las Vegas Strip, which, as Mandalay Bay now does today, bookended the South end of the Las Vegas Strip proper.  

The Hacienda had started to show its age and the very entity responsible with its demise due to creating the directly competing Luxor and Excalibur properties, Circus Circus Enterprises, would put the final nail in the coffin when it purchased the Hacienda Resort outright, as well as some nearby acreage and would air a televised demolition of the former luxury hotel in preparation to build what would become Mandalay Bay.

Originally, Mandalay Bay was called, “Project Paradise,” but fortunately, they got rid of that stupid name.  Either way, what did not change was the theme as it would have had a tropical based theme in either case.  Believe it or not, the property is named after a poem, of all things.  

Due to the popularity of the new property, as well as its new standing as the company’s flagship property, Circus Circus Enterprises would rebrand the overall company to Mandalay Resort Group.  Of course, the whole kit and kaboodle would be sold to MGM Mirage in 2005, which would later rebrand itself as MGM Resorts International a few years later, though that resulted in no actual change in ownership.  

Of course, there has been one recent change in the ownership of the real property.  MGM Resorts would sell the real estate to two entities, MGM Growth Properties (basically their own real estate investment trust) and The Blackstone Group.  This t ownership venture, of which MGM Growth Properties owns 50.1%, would then lease the operating ownership to MGM Resorts International, so nothing really changed in of how the property is managed day-to-day.  

For those of you who thought that Mandalay Bay was even bigger and had more guest rooms, that used to be true.  The Hotel at Mandalay Bay was an adjacent hotel tower that was once run by Mandalay Bay and considered an official part of the casino property.  This building was designed exclusively as a hotel and never had a casino in it, but was at the time used specifically for guests of the Mandalay Bay property.  For one reason or another, this building was spun-off in a partnership between MGM Resorts and The Morgan Group, which mostly deals in hotels, and became Delano Las Vegas.

As before, the building that is Delano Las Vegas is a modernly appointed all-suites hotel that does not have a tropical theme.  Also, as before, Delano Las Vegas is not home to a casino.  Essentially, this property is now treated as being completely separate from Mandalay Bay…though the silhouettes of the buildings still look similar because that’s much harder to change than a name is.  However, if you want to stay closer to the casino floor, then you will want to stay at Mandalay Bay proper.  

The property is also home to Mandalay Beach, which continues the tropical theme and consists of three kid friendly pools, of which one is a wave pool.  Given that the property was originally owned by Circus Circus Enterprises, this should come as no surprise as some aspects of all of their properties were built with family travelers in mind.  If the excitement of the wave pool is a little much for you, then you can relax and float down the lazy river whilst checking out the waterfall.  

I think that may be why I’m such a fan of Mandalay Bay!  It’s just as likely that you won’t find me on the casino floor…I’ve always loved waterparks!

You’re also in luck if you like to see topless women or be a topless woman.  Not because of the cabaret or anything burlesque, but Mandalay Bay is actually home to a 21+ pool called Moorea…which is, “European-style.”  For anyone who wondered, that’s just a fancy way of saying that women are permitted to go topless.  Call it whatever you want, but I’m certainly not going to complain.  Besides, it’s ridiculous that men don’t have to wear tops in public and women generally do, anyway.  

Standard rooms at Mandalay Bay can range from well under $100 to as much as $500 depending on the day of the week and the demand season.  In fact, I think it’s safe to say that there might be more variance in Mandalay Bay’s rates than you would expect from any other Strip property.  They also have a wide variety of suites with different stylings, so you should check into that on their website if you’re a high-roller.  Even the basic rooms continue with the Tropical aesthetic if that’s what you’re into.  

Resort Fees, of course, are more than $40 per night after tax, which is sometimes a large percentage (as much as 40%) of what your total nightly bill for the room is going to look like.  

We’ve already discussed the pools and the better part of Mandalay Beach, so let’s talk about some of this resort’s other amenities.  Guests will enjoy access to a state-of-the-art fitness center at no extra charge (beyond the Resort Fee) as well as a full-service spa (there are extra charges) and wireless internet access.  The Shark Reef Aquarium does come with an extra cost, but is probably worth seeing if you’re into aquatic life…the kids will certainly love it if you’re bringing them along.  There’s also plenty of shopping to do with an updated list of outlets available on their website here.  

With that, we should be about ready to turn our attention to the casino side of operations, which will be followed by food and drink, so let’s see what’s going on there:

Mandalay Bay is home to more than 1,200 combined video poker, slot machine and video keno games with denominations ranging from pennies to hundies ($100/credit), sorry, but I’m running out of creative ways to say $100 at this point.  It might seem like the casino floor square footage is big compared to the slot count, and that’s absolutely true, but it means that there is plenty of space to move around and enjoy the game.  

Of course, nothing in this world is free, not even space.  Las Vegas Strip, in general, usually has the worst return percentages on penny slots and we would expect Mandalay Bay to be no exception.  While it’s an architectural marvel and my favorite Strip casino to look at, and one of my favorites for dining, you would probably do well to take low limit slot action elsewhere.  

For some reason, Mandalay Bay has surprisingly little to say about their Table Games operations on their website, so we see no reason to spend any great amount of time on it.  For one reason or another, they must not care very much.  In any event, we know from their website that they do have Table Games and they include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Baccarat.  Having been there, I know that they have a wide variety of carnival games, as well, but why should we do their jobs for them?  How hard is it just to put a list of games on their own website?

The Poker Room is a fairly modest affair and deals both Limit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.  They have a price range of $50-$500 on their site kind of without any context, but we would assume that just refers to the buy-in amounts for tournaments.  We certainly couldn’t imagine anyone buying into a $5/$10 blind poker game with only fifty bucks…

Finally, Mandalay Bay is home to one of the BetMGM Sportsbook locations.  It is open from the morning to late evening hours seven days per week and features 17 big screen TV’s.  One thing that is mentioned on their website, that most Vegas casinos probably have (but not many bother to mention) is that you can mail in winning tickets and they will send you a check or some other form of payment by mail.  If you live in a state or country that does not have legalized sports betting already, then this might be convenient for you if you wish to place a large futures bet, or something.  

Before we get into the restaurants, let’s take a quick minute to touch upon the Mandalay Bay’s entertainment options.  Their signature regularly occurring show, at least as of the time of this writing, is Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque de Soleil.  Essentially, it is your usual circus performance and acrobatics accompanied by music from the King of Pop himself.  

Other entertainment options include the Shark Reef Aquarium, which we touched upon earlier.  For those of you who are fans of college basketball on the West Coast, Michelob Ultra Arena will again be playing host to the Pac-12 Women’s College Basketball Tournament in 2022, so you can get your bets down and watch those games live!  

With that out of the way, Mandalay Bay is home to a wide variety of concert venues that we mentioned earlier, so you will want to go to their website in order to look at the schedule for events, we don’t know when you’re going to be reading this!

Let’s now turn our attention to my favorite thing about the Las Vegas Strip—all of the great dining options!  Mandalay Bay has that in spades, so let’s check them out:

Rivea is an upscale French restaurant that is actually located in Delano, but it is listed on Mandalay Bay’s website, so we will go ahead and include it here.  This restaurant features some of the finest French cuisine in Las Vegas at a fairly reasonable price point for what it is, but it’s best to let the restaurant speak for itself, “Menu items inspired by the delectable food markets of Provence and Italy create the carefree and vibrant nature of the Riviera, with a focus on simple, fresh plates and the best seasonal ingredients from the West Coast. The colors, flavors, and aromas of the south of and Italy have arrived at Delano Las Vegas!”  It’s definitely a pricey affair, even if it compares well to the other French restaurants in town, so you’ll want to come here only if your wallet compares favorably to the size of your appetite.  If you’re staying at Mandalay Bay anyway, then we would suggest cutting room in your budget for this dining destination.  It is open Thursday-Sunday evenings and reservations are required.

Ri Ra Irish Pub serves traditional pub staples at a low price point and is open from 8:00a.m.-Midnight daily.  Whether you’re looking for a hearty Irish meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or just want to try some brews, you’re certain to leave here satisfied and feeling like you got great value. I’d probably recommend the corned beef and potatoes!

The Libertine Social is open seven days per week during dinner hours, so for those of you who can’t figure out what that means just from the name (as I couldn’t) we will let their website speak for them, “James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain challenges diners to free their minds from preconceived notions about Las Vegas restaurants and get ready to eat, drink and liberate at Mandalay Bay’s latest hotspot, Libertine Social. The next-generation gastropub will stimulate the senses with New American bar food by the renowned chef, a pioneering cocktail program by Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim and a range of compelling atmospheres to fit diners’ motivations.”  The cuisine says that it’s American, but two of the signature items are a caviar fried egg (shaped like an egg) and Rosewood Wagyu Steak.  If that sounds like it should set you back quite a bit of cash, you’ll actually be surprised.  This outlet is very reasonably priced.  

Chef Charlie Palmer brings Aureole to you, which is actually kind of a fine dining American style restaurant.  One interesting thing about this restaurant are the hours, considering it is open only on Mondays-Thursdays, so this is one option for those of you who would like to enjoy fine dining other than just on weekends.  The dress code is called, “Dressy,” which isn’t a term that specifically means anything to me, but I would assume is a step above business casual.  

Della’s Kitchen is another eatery that’s actually located in Delano Las Vegas, but again, Mandalay Bay lists it on their website, so we will go ahead and do the same.  This establishment serves delicious and hearty country style  breakfasts and lunches, but is definitely most popular for breakfast.  It is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but opens early the other five days of the week and remains so until the early afternoon hours.

Open from 11:00a.m. to the late evening hours, Hussong’s Cantina is a Mexican eatery that you may have heard of if you’re from south of the border or have spent any significant amount of time there.  The Cantina is open seven days per week and is actually its first location this side of the Mexican border.  If you’re looking for authentic Mexican food at really economical prices, then you would be remiss not to check this place out.  

Open from 11:00a.m. to the late evening hours, Slice of Vegas is a pizza place that is economically priced and located at the property.  For those of you who have gluten sensitivities, you’re in luck, Slice of Vegas has a wide variety of gluten-free specialty pizzas, so this is a stop you should consider.

Hazel’s Coffee and Cocktails is a combination Cafe and Cocktail Lounge that is almost open around the clock, closing only in the wee hours of the morning.  Whether you are looking for a specialty java drink or one of their unique and expertly prepared cocktails, igf you’ve got a thirst, they can quench it.  

Lupo by Wolfgang Puck is on the higher end of the price points, but it’s not quite as much as some of the other fine dining selections at the property.  Wolfgang Puck is a world-famous chef who has studied and opened restaurants in many different cooking disciplines, and this one is his first Italian restaurant.  The website has this to say about it, “Lupo by Wolfgang Puck was the chef’s first Italian restaurant. Specializing in tableside service with exhibition pizza, antipasto and dessert stations on full display, Lupo sets the stage for guests to watch culinary creations come to life.”  It’s open for dinner all nights of the week.  

STRIPSTEAK (all caps theirs) is Chef Michael Mina’s first foray into the highest of high-end steakhouses, but it promises to delight both the eyes and the tastebuds with relatively simply prepared fine dishes that focus mainly on the quality and freshness of the ingredients, an area in which Chef Mina absolutely does not compromise.  The good news for you is that you don’t have to be on the property on weekends to enjoy this excellent food, as the steakhouse is open seven evenings a week during dinner hours.  

Border Grill is the property’s second Mexican restaurant and comes in at a similar price point to the one listed above.  This restaurant that describes itself as an, “Urban Cantina,” opens in the late morning hours and stays open until the late evening.  The good news is that, if you’re relaxing in or by the pool, then you won’t have to go far as this eatery is basically poolside.  Personally, I would prefer the other Mexican restaurant because I know those locations are doing well in Mexico…and there are a lot of places to get Tex-Mex even outside of Vegas.

The Foundation Room offers simply the best and freshest ingredients in their effort to present to you a wide variety of astounding Asian dishes.  This eatery is open for dinner Wednesdays-Sundays and is on the higher end of the price point, but is not as high as some of the property’s other fine dining establishments.  They have this to say:

Elevate Your Dining at this luxurious den and taste their International Fine Dining and Lounge fare transcending the global palette with a seasonal cuisine that is as rich in flavor as it is eclectic; boasting dishes like the Skuna Bay Salmon, Korean Fried Chicken and Bao Buns, and Fresh Market fish specialties. Sip a mouth-watering classic libation from the vast Specialty Cocktails Menu focused on new and original creations, like the Cucumber Zen, Perfect Gin & Tonic or the Ginza Fashioned. Dining Guests receive complimentary ission to the Lounge after dinner to enjoy Foundation Room’s nightlife.

Sign me up for the Skuna Bay Salmon!

Fleur is a colorful and eclectic designed experience that might not look like most French restaurants do, but the food is definitely solid.  While a little pricey, it will hardly break the bank and serves traditional French staple dishes during the evenings from Tuesdays-Saturdays.  This is a bistro-style establishment and is definitely a lot of fun.  

The B Side at House of Blues offers a unique dining experience, American-style, with musical accompaniment.  As of the time of this writing, it is open only during daylight hours on Sundays. 

BBQ Mexicana is a very budget-friendly place to grab Mexican inspired burritos, bowls and salads.  Right now, it is open during lunch hours on Mondays-Fridays, so that gives you somewhere to go early in the week when some other dining establishments might be closed.  

Open from 6:00a.m.-Midnight seven days a week, 3940 coffee and tea does what it says on the box and more!  In addition to the caffeinated beverages, you’ll have a wide variety of sandwiches and pastries available to you if you decide to stop in.  I would definitely check it out, the property is also home to a Starbucks, but you can get that anywhere.  

As of the time of this writing, the Bayside Buffet at Mandalay Bay is currently closed, which is a shame, because it had some of the best buffet seafood that could be found in Vegas at that kind of price point.  The buffet closed as a result of Covid-19, but unfortunately, there’s a chance that it won’t reopen.  The charcuterie selections there were stellar and the sushi was delicious and fresh…I can’t really tell you anything about the desserts, because I had stuffed myself full of seafood before I ever had the chance.  

Speaking of sushi, KUMI Japan is the property’s Japanese eatery that serves up fish the way that fish is best prepared—raw!  While it’s not exactly budget-friendly, this establishment won’t kill you.  I also can’t speak for you, but I’ll pay almost anything for great sushi, and this place is it!  My recommendation if you go here is to get a Sakana Platter, it’s so nice you might order it twice!

The Food Court at Mandalay Bay remains open if you need something quick and relatively cheap.  It’s got a wide variety of choices if you’re on the go or just want to get a quick lunch and are not in the mood to be discerning.  Options include Bonanno’s New York Pizzeria, Johnny Rockets (never frozen beef burgers and fries), Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, Pan Asian Express and Subway.  

Citizens Kitchen and Bar is open seven days a week during all but the early a.m. hours and serves up all of the American comfort food that you want.  I don’t know for sure if they still have it, but if they do, the lasagna was pretty good and you certainly won’t need to eat again for awhile.  Additionally, this eatery is also home to a full service bar, so even if it’s a burger and a delicious craft beer you’re in the mood for, then this low-priced casual stop might be right for you.  

Open from 11:00a.m. until the late night hours seven days per week, Noodle Shop is an eatery that brings you hearty, but delicious and affordable, Mandarin and Cantonese dishes.  When I say, ‘Hearty,’ I mean it, this place does not skimp on the portion sizes, so make sure that you’re more than a little bit hungry before stopping at this one, or you’ll be leaving with a box to take up to your room.  

Seabreeze Cafe may have an elegant design, but that’s not reflected in the low prices for this American Cafe that is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch.  There are so many eateries at this property that it would be tough to recommend this one for anything specific other than its calming ambiance and gorgeous views of the property outside.  

House of Blues (not B Side) is a restaurant and bar that serves up American food staples at a casual price point, all three meals of the day, seven days per week.  In addition to the food staples that you’ll be served up from all over the Southern half of the country, Carolinas all the way to Louisiana, there are also live musical performances if you come at the right time.  

Veranda at Four Seasons is a bit more upscale, but is also an American food eatery that is open seven days per week for both breakfast and lunch.  The most popular options for this eatery are the omelette station (who doesn’t love that!) as well as the wide selection of fine desserts.  This is one to go to if you have a sweet tooth that day.  

PRESS at Four Seasons is open most hours of the day, seven days per week, with vastly different things going on in the morning and evening.  Borrowing from their website, they say:

Enjoy Caffe Umbria espressos and gourmet coffees prepared by experienced baristas. Juices and fresh “grab and go” items such as house-made fruit cups, pastries, salads and sandwiches are also available.

And, for the evening hours:

When the sun sets on the Las Vegas Strip, PRESS transforms into a vibrant social hub, featuring unique small plates, handcrafted cocktails and a diverse selection of beer and wine served at the bar or tableside. Guests can also relax fireside with a nightcap or dessert. From 4 – 6 PM, enjoy our evening bar specials, with pretzel bites, fries and cauliflower poppers. We also offer discounted wine by the glass, draft beer and prosecco.

Finally, Beach Bar and Grill is open from the late morning to the early evening hours and is your poolside spot for some quick eats if you don’t want to stray too far from the tropical paradise that is the Mandy Beach.  

With all of that, would we recommend Mandalay Bay?  If you’ve got the wallet for the room costs, then our answer is, Hell yes!  As far as this writer is concerned, aesthetically, it’s my absolute most favorite property on the Las Vegas Strip and is just so inviting, colorful, calming and visually appealing that I would almost forget that it’s a casino.  It’s a very enjoyable property just to walk around and ire everything and the dining choices are so unique, varied and high-quality that the only tough thing to do when staying at this property is to find a reason to leave!!!

MGM Grand Las Vegas

They weren’t kidding when they named it, “Grand!”  The MGM Grand Las Vegas is one of the largest and most sprawling casino resort properties that you will find on the Las Vegas Strip, or anywhere, for that matter.  In addition to the 171,500 square feet of total gaming space, the property is also home to a total of 6,852 (!!!) guest rooms and suites.  Do all of these rooms fill up every night, of course not, but they do fill up many nights of the year which by itself is baffling.  

Actually, it’s more than just a Grand sized casino.  Believe it or not, not New York, not Los Angeles, but Las Vegas and the MGM Grand is the single largest hotel in the United States by total room count.  As of right now, it’s the third-largest in the world, so we will see how long it can hold that position.  

While it opened in December of 1993, it has gone a few full-scale renovations and additions since that time, so guests of the property have no reason to be concerned that anything has fallen by the wayside.  This remains a primary focus property for MGM Resorts International, after all, it carries the MGM name, so why shouldn’t it be?  

For those of you wondering how busy this place gets, it’s so busy that you cannot cross the street.  You have to cross OVER the street using one of the skywalks.  There would be countless accidents if the people going to and from this property were at street level, besides, it’s also located at, arguably, the busiest intersection on the Strip.  

The Marina Hotel and Casino was the original occupant of the land that MGM Grand sits on, and would be there from 1975 to 1990.  Of course, this property was built to last and still fairly young when construction began on the project that would become MGM Grand.  Therefore, rather than demolish it, they simply built around it and it is now the west wing of the main hotel tower, so no matter how young you are, if you get a room on that side you can kind of say you stayed at the Marina!

The Marina would continue to operate during much of the construction of the MGM Grand, during which time it was given the name MGM Marina Hotel.  

Originally owned by MGM Grand Inc., one of the central themes of the property was that of the Wizard of Oz, but for one reason or another, the property ended up scrapping that during the first renovation.  I don’t know if it was poorly-received or difficult to maintain, the only thing that I know is that they got rid of it for one reason or another.  

After getting rid of the Emerald City, in light of the success of casinos such as Circus Circus and Excalibur, MGM Grand would try their hand at offering something for families by building a theme park.  By this time, those traveling to Vegas with children had largely become accustomed to their properties of choice, and keep in mind that Circus Circus Enterprises would have still been around at that time, so MGM didn’t have the marketing information on those guests.  Either way, it wouldn’t take long for the theme park to be declared a failure and it would not continue beyond the first year it had opened.  

The MGM Lion had long been the signature mascot of MGM’s movie operations, MGM Pictures, so they decided to go ahead and make it a staple of the casino property.  They did this by erecting a 100,000 pound bronze statue of the Lion, named Leo, in front of the property.  To this day, it is the largest bronze statue in the United States.  This logo would also become somewhat famous as a progressive slot machine game with long odds, except it wasn’t the same logo.  

The way the story went, Lion’s Share was a slot machine to be found at MGM Grand that had a bit of myth surrounding it with a little sprinkling of fact.  The first myth is that it was a holdover from the early days of Vegas when slot machines were coin-droppers, which is sort of true (in concept), but it wasn’t as old as the property made it out to be.  When it became the last of its kind, supposedly, the story went that the progressive on the machine had never been hit and that the winner would get to keep the machine itself.  Sure, why not?  

The final myth was that the machine would have to remain on the floor for all time, due to gambling regulations, until the Progressive finally hit.  This myth was actually never true, as the Progressive on this machine could be transferred to a different machine only on the conditions that the total bet amount be the same, or less, and the odds of hitting the jackpot remain the same, or be shorter (which is to say, more likely).  

Of course, many people were of the notion that the machine could not be killed until the jackpot was hit, so that generated a sort of buzz (as well as many stories about the machine), but it seems that many people forgot to consult the gambling regulations.  As long as the total bet amount would remain the same, this jackpot could have been transferred to any one machine, or even divided amongst multiple machines, in theory.

Naturally, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, so if this myth is going to get people in the door, then there’s really no reason for MGM Grand to wish to dispel it, and dispel it, they didn’t.  There would often be literal lines of people waiting for their chance to take a few spins and hopefully hit the Lion’s Share!  Whatever gets people to come in, I guess, the theme park certainly didn’t work.  

The only meaningful ownership change to take place at this property, at least as MGM Grand, was when the physical property was sold to a t venture of MGM Growth Properties (a real estate investment trust) and The Blackstone Group, with the former owning 50.1% of the property.  Immediately after the sale, this property was leased to MGM Resorts International for operation, so nothing really changed that would matter to the visitors.  

How do you even describe a property of this magnitude?  With words.  Lots of them, probably.  Let’s get to it:

The smallest of the guest rooms available is the West Wing King, which comes in at a trim 350 square feet and is one of the holdovers of the old Marina property.  We are going to use this room as a baseline for about the lowest price that you can expect to pay on property.  What we see is that even this simply appointed room can range from anywhere from $40-$100 on slower weeknights and will usually be $150-$300 on busier weekends, sometimes even more if there is a special event going on.  The resort fee for the room is $39 per night, which is sometimes basically as much as the room costs.  

Of course, Resort Fees will always be totally ridiculous, but unfortunately, they won’t be going anywhere short of actually being made illegal.  The Resort Fee model was put into place, customers were willing to put up with it, for the most part, so now it’s to be expected.  If guests had taken an early stand against properties with Resort Fees, then they would have stopped doing it on the Las Vegas Strip, now even Downtown casinos and some Regional casinos around the country, which can’t even be called resorts with a straight face, have implemented this money gouging model.  

Of course, these rooms are very nicely appointed with the newest and most modern furniture coming in all the time.  Even on their lowest-priced rooms, you can tell that they didn’t skimp on the costs when it comes to the quality of the furniture and aesthetic appeal of the rooms themselves, so these are arguably worth it.  

Other amenities include wireless internet for guests, access to the Grand Pool Complex, which consists of four pools spread across nearly seven acres with a lazy river, three whirlpools and waterfalls.  While this is all very impressive, we’d still recommend going with Mandalay Bay if the pool amenities are going to be your number one priority.  

Guests will also enjoy one of the fitness rooms, which feature the newest and most state-of-the-art equipment.  When you’re done working on your backstroke in the pool, then you can get your backstroke ready for when you hit the links in the TopGolf swing suite, which is a golf simulator for which extra charges will apply.  

In of special entertainment options, MGM Grand has everything that you could ever want if you’re into shows.  Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club features regular acts; KA by Cirque du Soleil is considered one of their better shows…and they are all considered pretty great.  Jabbawockeez is kind of a variety show along similar lines of Blue Man Group, if you’re into that.  David Coppefield is still around and his current residency is at MGM Grand, some of you 90’s kids might watching his CBS special wherein he guessed which spot on the screen you picked on a numbered grid…because it was a fancy math problem and the only possible spot for anyone to end up!

UFC Fights regularly occur in the property’s arena.  The National Rodeo Finals that is a famous event in Las Vegas take place at MGM Grand.  MGM Grand often brings huge national acts, currently relevant at that, into its arena.  Finally, they have a Hunger Games exhibition.  

Okay, believe it or not, there’s also a casino on this property, so we should probably talk about that a little bit!

In of their online advertising, even in the Casino section of their website, actual casino games are treated almost as an afterthought, so that tells you how the times have been changing in Las Vegas!  Anyway, they do have some, we promise.  To start, the huge casino floor is home to more than 2,000 individual slots, video poker, video keno and electronic Table Games devices.  Denominations range from pennies all the way up to $1,000 representing a single credit, so high-rollers should be happy here.

We would urge lower-limit players to be cautious as low denomination Vegas Strip slots have notoriously poor RTP and while we can’t say for sure, we wouldn’t be surprised if the monolithic MGM Grand features some of the lowest. Whilst the low-limit players may not have as much money to spend and lose, they likely don’t get nearly the same value high rollers do at a property like this.  

MGM Grand does not give an exact Table Games count on their website, but fortunately, they do provide a more comprehensive listing of available games than their MGM Resorts International counterparts.  These games include Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Pai-Gow Tiles, Roulette, Single-Zero Roulette (High-Limit), Pai Gow Poker, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and High Card Flush.  Even though this is the largest hotel casino property in the United States by room count, the Table Games area might not always be busy enough for every game to be open, so we would recommend calling in advance for the usual times of operation if you want a specific novelty game.  

The poker room at MGM Grand is almost an afterthought.  Dealing only Texas Hold ‘Em, Limit or No Limit, this poker room is actually completely closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  It is actually pretty shocking that a property of this size can’t even find enough players to justify opening the poker room seven days a week, but there you have it.  

The MGM is also home to BetMGM Sportsbook, which is what all MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas call their sportsbook, but this one is pretty sprawling.  It’s home to sixty TVs and can accommodate more than a hundred guests at any given time.  

At one time, MGM Grand had live Keno and this was actually featured in Vegas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, but that is no longer the case as Keno and Bingo were eliminated years ago.  If there’s one thing you can count on at this property, they are only going to focus on profitable revenue drivers…when they aren’t trying to build theme parks, that is.  

That brings us to the dining options, of which MGM Grand, which you would expect from a 6,000+ room hotel, has in ample quantity.  Let’s get started:

Morimoto Las Vegas is a somewhat upscale Japanese restaurant that is open for dinner service seven days a week with business casual dress required.  The Tomahawk Ribeye might be the signature dish, but I would go with the sushi.  If there’s one thing about me you must have learned by now, it’s that I will always go with the sushi.  

Joel Robuchon is a positively luxurious high society French dining experience like no other.  Honestly, it looks more than anything like you’re in the sitting room of some sort of mansion or royal place.  This eatery has this to say, “When only the best will do for dinner, visit Joël Robuchon’s unparalleled French restaurant. This unforgettable Three Michelin Star restaurant caters to a sophisticated palate and was designed to resemble a luxurious Art Deco townhouse complete with a lush garden terrace and marble floors. Winner of Forbes Five Star, AAA Five Diamond and Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, Joël Robuchon has redefined Vegas dining. Quiet and intimate, this experience promises to be one of the finest meals of your life.” Say what you want about AAA, but Three Michelin Stars means something…there are few restaurants anywhere, much less other French restaurants in Las Vegas, that can make that claim.  It’s open for dinner all nights except Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill is an American enterprise for this celebrity chef and is actually pretty affordable, though business casual dress is still required.  It’s open seven days per week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

CRUSH is a reasonably priced American eatery with a wide selection of offerings from 8oz Filet Mignon to highly intricate desserts all the way to good old fashioned burgers.  This eatery is open during dinner hours from Tuesdays-Saturdays.  

Avenue Cafe is a bright and cheap little breakfast and lunch t that is open seven days per week.  If you’re looking to save your dining budget mostly for dinners, then this is a great place to get your stomach full on the cheap while still enjoying a quality sit down experience.  It’s another place that features American food.  

Open during dinner hours Wednesday and Thursday, as well as for Lunch and Dinner on the weekend,s Grand Wok Noddle Bar is a modestly-price affair with the traditional Asian staples that you would expect from such a place.  The dishes may appear to be a little more busy than necessary, but they’re quite delicious if you give them a chance.  Just make sure to order them spicy!  Who wants their Asian food without a little kick to it?  Not me.  

Ambra Italian Kitchen and Bar is open during dinner hours on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as for lunch and dinner on weekends.  The focus here is mostly on the cocktails, so that’s your place to go if alcohol is going to be your meal.  

Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak is one of the property’s more upscale steakhouses and features a unique take on the age old tradition of Las Vegas Steakhouses.  Open seven evenings a week for dinner, the Chef brings you the best in farm to table sourced meat and fish that is sure to delight even the most sophisticated of palettes.  

Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House is another celebrity chef restaurant and is open for dinner seven nights per week.  This establishment brings you fresh seafood with a cajun kick at a fairly modest price, especially if you’re into shellfish!  The gumbo sure looks good, but I don’t think I could go there without just loading up on freshly shucked oysters.  

Hecho en Vegas Mexican Grill and Cantina is another outlet that is open from Wednesdays-Sundays, with both lunch and dinner being served on weekends.  Once again, this restaurant is modestly priced and promises to delight the taste buds with modern Mexican food consisting of colorful and flavorful kicks…but what they are really known for is their selection of more than 100 tequilas.  I never knew that Tequila drinkers could be so discerning, but in fairness, that was never really my straight liquor of choice.  

Tap Sports Bar is open seven days per week, but only for lunch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  This is your typical American Sports Bar menu which, while it can be found elsewhere, is sometimes just what you’re in the mood for sometimes…especially after a night of drinking…or during a night of drinking!  In addition to all of the burgers, sides, apps and brews, there are also fifty big screen TV’s which makes this a great location to watch the big game after you get your bet down.   

Pieology is the property’s main place if you’re into artisan pizzas, and is open for lunch and dinner seven days per week.  The best part of this budget friendly dining stop is that the toppings are whatever you want them to be, all guests have the option of choosing from among preselected pizzas, or just building their own.  It’ll be ready for you in just two minutes…as long as there isn’t a line, of course.  

In of java drinks the property is home to a Starbucks, because of course it is, which is open from 6:00a.m. on seven days per week.  Blizz Frozen Yogurt and desserts is also open during the late morning until early evening hours seven days per week, if you or the kids want a cool treat.  

International Smoke is a fine dining establishment that focuses on offering only the finest in smoked meats with a southern BBQ style.  You really can’t go wrong with this one, but we hope you left some room in your wallet as this location is not cheap.  

If you’re really looking for something familiar, and boring, MGM Grand is home to a Subway.  Hey, I’m not judging, in Vegas sometimes you just need something quick that you can carry with you.  

The MGM Grand Buffet features mostly American food and is open during breakfast and lunch hours seven days per week as of the time of this writing.  

Greek Sneek is a Greek and Mediterranean eatery that we are sad to say is closed as of the time of this writing.  This one was a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s difficult to say whether or not it will ever reopen, but we certainly hope so.  There really aren’t enough Greek restaurants in Las Vegas…and if you don’t love stuffed grape leaves, it means you’ve never had them.  Also, Baklava is one of the best desserts in the world.  

Bonnano’s New York Pizzeria is available in the food court Thursday-Sunday, but meh.  There are a ton of these locations and an artisan pizza place where you can build your own at a reasonable price only a short walk away.  How could you not go with that one, instead?  No offense, Bonnano’s.  

Hakkasan is an extremely high-end Asian culinary experience that is sure to delight the palette.  Featuring the freshest ingredients prepared by some of the best in the world at doing it, the restaurant has this to say, “With a focus on innovative Cantonese cuisine, cocktails, and an extensive wine selection, Hakkasan is one of the best fine dining experiences in Las Vegas. The restaurant is separated by intricately carved wooden screens and latticing that echoes the rich and glamorous interiors of the London flagship restaurant. Signature dishes include Peking Duck served with caviar as an option, Chilean Sea Bass cooked in champagne and honey and the famous Crispy Duck Salad made with pomelo, pine nuts and shallots. The kitchen is helmed by Chef de Cuisine Pinyo Saewu, who embraces a personal ion for Cantonese cuisine.”  These flavor pairings sound like most would consider them exquisite, and far be it from an amateur like me to question anyone’s methods, but I like Asian food a bit simpler than all of that.  Let me know if I’m wrong!

Cabana Grill is a low-priced poolside option for breakfast and lunch that, despite its name, consists primarily of American food.  Even the Mexican dishes here look pretty uninspired, but hey, it’s cheap and you can leave your swimming outfit on!

There are also a few things in the food court that we did not specifically cover, such as Haagen-Dazs (ice cream), Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, Tacos and Rita’s, Johnny Rockets (never frozen burgers) and Original Chicken Tender.  

Good lord is there plenty of stuff to eat at MGM Grand.  Overall, it would be tough not to recommend this property, especially if you want to say that you have stayed at the biggest hotel in the United States, which I’m certain is a draw for some.  Beyond that, it’s naturally going to get traffic by virtue of the fact that it hosts so many major events.  However, when it comes to the aesthetic, food selection and things to do…this writer actually prefers Mandalay Bay.  

You have read about all of the terrific stuff MGM Grand has to offer above, but I actually consider the culinary experience more varied at Mandalay Bay, whereas MGM Grand seems a bit more focused on American food than anything.  Of course, I’m a huge seafood guy and it’s tough to get the freshest caught seafood where I live, so it would make sense that I prefer the tropical Mandalay Bay for its outstanding selection in that regard.

The Rest of the Las Vegas Strip Continued