Any love for Downtown Vegas? (1 Viewer)

[trever]

So November is shaping up to be Trever's month of poker;

I've got the internationally-acclaimed Courage Meatup the first weekend,
my laughably-bad league game the next weekend
and am heading to Vegas the following weekend so that I can take advantage of a 'use it or lose it' free flight.

There's a decent chance that my bankroll's going to be on life support by the time I get to Vegas, so I'm thinking of going the cheap route and hitting downtown instead of the strip. I've been to Vegas more than a dozen times, but except for that one time I skipped downtown for an hour to get married, I've always just hung out on the strip.

Anyone here got a favorite downtown hotel & cardroom? I've seen the Zombie TR, and some old complaints about the Nugget poker room's rake, but not finding much else.

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions?

 

[WedgeRock]

The D is in downtown... never been there, but I've heard good things.

 

[Rhodeman77]

I haven't stayed downtown but I love going there!!! The people watching is the best. Great food and drinks that are much cheaper than the strip.

The next guys trip that isn't poker focused I think we will stay downtown, and most likely at the D.

 

[Psypher1000]

Anyone here got a favorite downtown hotel & cardroom?

I like to stay at Main Street Station. No resort fee or parking fees (I drive there from Vegas), it has a brewery & sports bar where you can get a 24oz and a black&bleu burger for around $9 before tax, and it's away enough from the chaos that it's quiet enough to sleep when you want to.

Golden Nugget is good for lower limit cash games. Their $2/$4 limit tables are good for mindless poker. Their $1/$2NL and $2/$5NL are like pretty much any casino in Vegas.

Binion's has Saturday tournament that's friendly to strong players. Plenty of fish show up there because it's Binion's & the stronger tournament players feed on them. Typically there will be 80-100 buyins per Saturday tournament.

 

[RagsPoker]

I enjoy downtown.... cheaper gambling, lot of casinos in close proximity, fun entertainment/party vibe on Fremont. I'm staying there a couple days on my trip in December, staying at The D. I think only poker downtown is at Golden Nugget though.
I'm not an upscale type guy that goes to clubs or shows, I enjoy the gambling aspect..... so that's why I prefer downtown to the strip.

 

[moose]

Downtown = Overrated shithole unless you are into that Motel 6 feel complete with trailer trash stumbling around on their 6th Miller lite kingcan, and sleazy hookers with 6 diseases willing to take a picture with you for 6 bucks. 6666 - the extra 6 means it's a true hellhole.

 

[Scott Andrews]

I always have fun downtown. People watching is the best. But I usually play poker on the strip when I go to Vegas.

 

[DJ Mack]

Downtown = Overrated shithole unless you are into that Motel 6 feel complete with trailer trash stumbling around on their 6th Miller lite kingcan, and sleazy hookers with 6 diseases willing to take a picture with you for 6 bucks. 6666 - the extra 6 means it's a true hellhole.

As opposed to, say, the rest of Vegas?

I like downtown just because of the old school feel and close proximity to Gamblers General Store and Spinettis. In terms of hotels our answer is usually none of the above. We stay 10-15 minutes out. Free parking, no stupid resort fees and smoke free rooms. With a car we can get anywhere pretty quickly.

 

[ohio3302016]

Downtown is great.

I recommend the Golden Nugget over anywhere else there.

 

[Rhodeman77]

I like to stay at Main Street Station. No resort fee or parking fees (I drive there from Vegas), it has a brewery & sports bar where you can get a 24oz and a black&bleu burger for around $9 before tax, and it's away enough from the chaos that it's quiet enough to sleep when you want to.

Golden Nugget is good for lower limit cash games. Their $2/$4 limit tables are good for mindless poker. Their $1/$2NL and $2/$5NL are like pretty much any casino in Vegas.

Binion's has Saturday tournament that's friendly to strong players. Plenty of fish show up there because it's Binion's & the stronger tournament players feed on them. Typically there will be 80-100 buyins per Saturday tournament.

I will second Main Street Station!!! The brewery is a great value for sure. The casino lobby is beautiful. It has that 1920's Grand Central Station feel. All of the wood work in worth checking out itself.

 

[PTS]

We have stayed at The D just about every year we have gone out. Back when it was Fitzgerald's, the hotel was a shell of what is is now, IMO. New owner has put loads of money into the place...improved the rooms, the gaming area is cool with the dancing dealers, the limits are lower than the strip, and yeah, the people watching.

Poker: Nugget and Binion's. The D had a room when it was the Fitz, but it bit the dust in the remodel. And like @DJ Mack said...GGS, and Spinetti's being nearby helps when it comes to card restocks and such.

We go out in June for WSOP, and at that time, Nugget spreads their Grand Series....loads of tourneys, different games. Always a good time.

 

[gmunny]

Out of my 3-4 trips to Vegas per year, I stay once a year downtown. Usually get a comped room at the California Hotel or Main Street, nothing special but the casino and rooms are clean and well run. The Golden Nugget is the nicest and largest casino down town by a mile, however. I have heard the El Cortez is nice to stay at, but haven't stayed there and pretty much have only walked through.

Gambling-wise, I love to play table games at the Golden Gate, D, Cal, Main Street or Nugget. The Golden Gate casino is probably more of the fun places to play table games. It has a small pit and there are lot of good looking dealers/dancers. The atmosphere is generally a fun time. Also the D casino is also fun to play at and they do have one of the few Sigma Derby slot machines up stairs. Main Street should still have 20x odds craps, which is awesome if you like to play also the slots and video poker machines are pretty liberal.

For Poker, there are not many choices and i think Golden Nugget and Binion's may be it. I think the Plaza had a room with computerized (no dealer) tables, though not sure if it is still open. Also walking distance to the Mob Museum and you of course have Fremont Street, which is spectacle by itself.

Have fun!

 

[PAZ]

Downtown is great for craps players: 100x odds!

 

[derekdd23]

I used to love the Saturday and Sunday afternoon tournaments at binions. Always a good crowd and decent prize pool. This summer when I visited there were no games going at all during the week unfortunately. I think that the nugget has the only cash games left in the off season.

 

[B.C.]

Downtown = Overrated shithole unless you are into that Motel 6 feel complete with trailer trash stumbling around on their 6th Miller lite kingcan, and sleazy hookers with 6 diseases willing to take a picture with you for 6 bucks. 6666 - the extra 6 means it's a true hellhole.

Pretty much agree with this. The Nugget may be the only place I'd ever consider. Downtown is for staring at stuff, not for staying in stuff IMO.

 

[pltrgyst]

Downtown = Overrated shithole unless you are into that Motel 6 feel complete with trailer trash stumbling around on their 6th Miller lite kingcan, and sleazy hookers with 6 diseases willing to take a picture with you for 6 bucks. 6666 - the extra 6 means it's a true hellhole.

Well, so much for the prevailing Canadian reputation for being "nice." I've reported you to the watchdog "Ontario Image Niceguy Killers (OINK)."

The BARGE (Big August Rec.Gambling Excursion) organization has two of its main annual tournament weeks downtown, in August and in January. 200-300 of the most experienced poker players in existence, from all over the US, and others like most of the technical management of PokerStars, who fly in from Ireland for the events. Most stay in the GN or the Four Queens, and you rarely hear any complaints. Most of the play takes place at Binions, with an occasional event at the GN.

We actually have more fun up there than at the various big strip casinos we've occasionally tried.

It's fun, an easy walk to Spinetti's and the Gamblers General Store, and it's really easy to hop a shuttle bus to anywhere on the Strip.

 

[chipjoker]

I like the Golden Nugget, they always seem to have a $1\$2 NL cash going on and tournaments. Rooms are decent, and not bad priced.

 

[RussB42]

Golden Nugget for sure....

 

[courage]

There's a decent chance that my bankroll's going to be on life support by the time I get to Vegas,

Who are we kidding... book the Wynn after your wins.

 

[TheBigTater]

The Strip = Disneyland
Strip is the squeaky clean sterile, family friendly version of Vegas complete with roller coasters, fancy fountains, etc...

Downtown = State Fair
Downtown in the old school dingy, down & dirty version of Vegas complete with a carney atmosphere, crazy street people. etc...

Both have their good points but Downtown has more charm.

 

[eXtremum]

Golden Nugget, for sure. However, the 1-2 tables are $100/no max, so you'll get some occasional donk playing with a full clip of $100s, looking to crack your Aces with cards like 2d8d.

 

[Mtvernonbryan]

I love downtown. stayed there many times, mostly at the Nugget. Although this last time I stayed at the D and will probably stay there going forward. The strip is the strip but I just like the feeling of downtown. Its dirty, sketchy and a little trashy but the drinks, gambling and people watching make up for that. The nugget is the nicest place to stay but I prefer the D now. Its a block away but I like that. Plus they totally revamped that area. for Poker, Binions has tourneys that basically run all night. Nugget has decent tournaments. Not sure if the Plaza has poker still...