Please help me make a choice... (2 Viewers)

Best/Your Favorite in Vegas

  • Bally's

    Votes: 3 5.9%
  • Excalibur

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Flamingo

    Votes: 18 35.3%
  • Luxor

    Votes: 1 2.0%
  • Mandalay Bay

    Votes: 7 13.7%
  • Mirage

    Votes: 11 21.6%
  • Paris

    Votes: 17 33.3%
  • Planet Hollywood

    Votes: 8 15.7%

  • Total voters
    51
  • Poll closed .

RudysNYC

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Gonna cut to the chase-- where should I stay in Vegas? Would be my first time there. Would love you guys' opinion--I don't trust yelp, I do trust you all. The poll options are what're within my budget.

FWIW, I'm 24 and will likely be going with my best friend from high school. Saying no more than that to protect the innocent and the guilty

Thanks everybody!
 
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Flamingo is center strip and cheap enough. Room is acceptable, especially if you are only there to sleep. Walking distance of so many casinos that you will want to see. Plus good chips to snag a few of while you are there too.
 
Why not Aria? Great poker room. I typically stay at the cosmo (no poker but right next to Bellagio) only because I got drunk and lost a sh*t ton of money there one night so now I get free rooms (well not really free). I use to stay at the Venetian- the rooms are really nice (2 room suites).
 
Why not Aria?
MGM only giving me outrageous rates for the Aria. Would love to stay there but not dropping that kinda money when I can get comped up and down the rest of the strip


Do. Not. Stay. At. Excalibur.
Excalibur is nixed off this alone lol

was it the gaming or the actual facility that turned you off?
 
MGM only giving me outrageous rates for the Aria. Would love to stay there but not dropping that kinda money when I can get comped up and down the rest of the strip



Excalibur is nixed off this alone lol

was it the gaming or the actual facility that turned you off?
Excalibur and Luxor are just very far from the rest of the strip.
 
Mandalay Bay is fantastic but at the end of the strip, its a great spot for a couple or family but probably not two dudes lol. Same with Luxor just too far. Meh on Excalibur. I don't know if Park MGM (rebranded Monte Carlo) is open but that's nice too and a great location. Not sure on price anymore but it used to be very reasonable.
 
Mandalay Bay is fantastic but at the end of the strip, its a great spot for a couple or family but probably not two dudes lol. Same with Luxor just too far. Meh on Excalibur. I don't know if Park MGM (rebranded Monte Carlo) is open but that's nice too and a great location. Not sure on price anymore but it used to be very reasonable.

It was pretty far from everything. We had fun
 
Telling you where to stay is a fool's errand. Vegas has something for everyone. It's like discussing what hotel you should stay in when visiting Atlanta. What you want to do, and what you want to spend will scatter answers all over the board.

Fortunately, I have stayed in every hotel in your list, except Excalibur. I have played poker there. I have had drinks there. That was enough to determine that I will not stay there. So instead of a recommendation, Here's a brief review from my recollection of each...
  • Bally's - Its central location and low rates has returned me to this hotel numerous times. It's a short walk to some of our favorite haunts, including Battista's Hole in the Wall and Ellis Island. It also has a very basic poker room, and is walking distance to (the last time I counted) 17 casinos. I define walking distance as 1 mile. I could walk further, but I'm often there in the summer and 1 mile in 115 degree heat is plenty. Still, that's 17 chip harvesting opportunities. The room accommodations are on par with an older Holiday Inn.
  • Excalibur - As mentioned I have not stayed here. It is old and smoky. They cant fix a drink to save their life. Pleasant enough staff, many that are so old they were probably there when the place opened. However, that age also means the manners of Vegas when it was really trying. It also means that they all think smoking is cool. Ah, the 1900s...
  • Flamingo - Also very central, I love the slick nature of this hotel. It's cleaner than Ballys, but also a little more pricey. It has a nice garden for walking off a bad beat. Room accommodations are on par with a Hilton Garden Inn
  • Luxor - Another old hotel, this one is rumored to be on the chopping block. The rooms are oddly shaped because of the pyramid design, and its location puts it far removed from most poker rooms, now that Mandalay Bay and the Luxor have packed up their tables. Still, it may only be a matter of time before this beast is imploded, so you may get a nostalgic kick out of that. The rooms compare to a Red Roof Inn.
  • Mandalay Bay - I love this place as well, but for me it's a summer only destination. They have a great adults only pool (no screaming kids) and a great pool if you have those screaming kids. It's at the very end of the strip though, so I only stay here if I have a car. If I have a car, I'm driving an hour south into the desert for some stargazing. Man-Bay makes that trip south really eazy, because you are already practically out of the city. The rooms and spa are nice if you enjoy those things, on the level of a Hyatt Regency hotel.
  • Mirage - My experience here is skewed, because we tried the $20 dollar trick here with a $100 bill, and landed in a suite. A massive suite bigger than my whole friggin' house. As such, everything was impeccable for us here, as the suite came with a card that allowed us to go to the front of every line - which was a big deal at the time. In a pandemic it probably means less. The hotel is very nice though, on the level of an Embassy Suites.
  • Paris - This one was a bit of a disappointment to me. In my one trip, the room felt small and dark, which did not match the price I paid. Luckily I didn't pay a lot because I went during the pandemic, and the room was literally $0 per night. They still hit you with a "resort fee", so it still cost $78.63, but it gave me access to all the amenities like the pool (closed) the exercise room (closed) and free local phone calls - though there were no phones in the room, but it's handy if you remember your old landline phone, but forget your cell.
  • Planet Hollywood - If you are young and hip, this is a better choice, because your quality of drunken bachelorettes is far higher here. Your ability to score with one (or more, if you got game) of them is a driving factor to the cost. It's a good location with Aria's and Bellagio's poker rooms across the street, and cheaper than either of those locations (or the Cosmo). The rooms are fine, but I'm 20 years too old and too married to fully enjoy the experience anymore
 
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Gonna cut to the chase-- where should I stay in Vegas? Would be my first time there. Would love you guys' opinion--I don't trust yelp, I do trust you all. The poll options are what're within my budget.

FWIW, I'm 24 and will likely be going with my best friend from high school. Saying no more than that to protect the innocent and the guilty

Thanks everybody!
Wife and friends loved Flamingo and price was right.

Off topic but didn't you say you used to play at the Mayfair Club, hence the chip you bought in your avatar? If you are 24 wasn't the Mayfair club long closed by the time you were of age?
 
Wife and friends loved Flamingo and price was right.

Off topic but didn't you say you used to play at the Mayfair Club, hence the chip you bought in your avatar? If you are 24 wasn't the Mayfair club long closed by the time you were of age?
No, I play at what used to be the Mayfair Club. I’ve never pretended to have played at the club itself, only the space. Thought I was always pretty clear that my dad played bridge at the original and bought the space when he had the opportunity.
 
Last time I stayed at Bally’s. The rooms were nice, it was cheaper, center of the strip and the best part was it’s connected to Paris so it was easy to go harvest chips and get back to the room while my girl was getting ready.
 
If you're young and single Aria and Cosmopolitan also seem like they would be good options. As mentioned, Aria has one of the better poker rooms. Also a high chance you run into some pros and semi pros while there too.
 
For cheap and best location - Flamingo, hands down.

For nice, higher end, not ridiculous price, and a relatively classier place - The Mirage.

I also find that The Mirage casino offers some of the best odds on Blackjack compared to other strip casinos, though it may have changed. I was there a year ago.

The Mirage is one of the least smoky of the casinos if that matters to you.

Personally. My favorite is Elara, A Hilton Grand Vacation property next to Planet Hollywood and Paris. No casino and non smoking.
 
For nice, higher end, not ridiculous price, and a relatively classier place - The Mirage.

I also find that The Mirage casino offers some of the best odds on Blackjack compared to other strip casinos
I *do* love blackjack, so this might be a factor. I heard rumors a few years ago that there was one (1) pit at the Cosmo that still used 4 decks, but I have a feeling after that fire they did away with it. If anyone could confirm or deny, would greatly appreciate

No casino and non smoking.
With all the respect in the world, if I wanted to stay in a hotel with no casino and no smoking I'd go to Provo not Vegas
 
If you're young and single Aria and Cosmopolitan also seem like they would be good options. As mentioned, Aria has one of the better poker rooms. Also a high chance you run into some pros and semi pros while there too.
In the poker room or in the lobby?
 
I *do* love blackjack, so this might be a factor. I heard rumors a few years ago that there was one (1) pit at the Cosmo that still used 4 decks, but I have a feeling after that fire they did away with it. If anyone could confirm or deny, would greatly appreciate


With all the respect in the world, if I wanted to stay in a hotel with no casino and no smoking I'd go to Provo not Vegas
The Mirage was one of the few casinos on the strip that weren’t using automatic shufflers for blackjack and using normal shoes.

In terms of resorts without casinos. I’m very superstitious and usually only play at The Mirage, even if I’m not staying there, so for me, it doesn’t matter what resort I’m staying at, I play at the Mirage.

The Park MGM (formerly Monte Carlo) is absolutely beautiful. Great places to eat and drink, and the first strip casino to be completely nonsmoking. I saw Aerosmith there a couple years ago and I was shocked what an amazing job they did when they changed the resort over. Not sure of the rates. Don’t know how the casino is but when I stayed at the Monte Carlo years ago, the casino took all my money and then some.
 
The Mirage was one of the few casinos on the strip that weren’t using automatic shufflers for blackjack and using normal shoes.
This is very good info, thanks. My dad taught me well and I made a promise to myself I'd never play CSM blackjack. It means I've had to settle for 6:5 more often than I'd like :vomit: :vomit: , but better than continuous shuffle
 
This is very good info, thanks. My dad taught me well and I made a promise to myself I'd never play CSM blackjack. It means I've had to settle for 6:5 more often than I'd like :vomit: :vomit: , but better than continuous shuffle
I remember there was single deck but 6:5. 6 and 8 deck was 3:2.
 
I would vote for Flamigo, just because it has the Margaritaville located there.

Getting around the strip is easy enough, dont pick your hotel based on the card room, you get shit comps for poker play anyway. I stay up at the end at The Strat (as they call themselves now) but I get free suites, so I'll take the inconvenience of travelling down the road to play. I wish they still had their own poker room, but it is what it is.
 
I would vote for Flamigo, just because it has the Margaritaville located there.

Getting around the strip is easy enough, dont pick your hotel based on the card room, you get shit comps for poker play anyway. I stay up at the end at The Strat (as they call themselves now) but I get free suites, so I'll take the inconvenience of travelling down the road to play. I wish they still had their own poker room, but it is what it is.
I'm going to have a car when I'm out there, so travel really is going to be piss easy. I have a feeling I'll only be playing poker at a handful of spots that I really wanna check out, rest of my roll will be whacked up between blackjack and pai gow
 
I'm going to have a car when I'm out there, so travel really is going to be piss easy. I have a feeling I'll only be playing poker at a handful of spots that I really wanna check out, rest of my roll will be whacked up between blackjack and pai gow
IF you are staying on the strip, dont drive, get an Uber ride. Easy peasy and comfortable. NO stress, no parking garage. Plus I love talking to the drives about their history. You can Uber to a central location like Bellagio and walk from there. Seeing the sites and experiencing the Vegas strip is part of the fun anyway.

Oh, and DO VISIT FREMONT STREET! and go at night! Its a human zoo. You will see things youve probably never seen anywhere (out in public). Its loud, drunken, stoned, lewd, hilarious, amazing and most of all... memorable! Kind of like Bourbon street on steroids.
 
IF you are staying on the strip, dont drive, get an Uber ride.
I would tend to agree with you, but my experience in AC with cabs and ubers has been horrific and I'm a bit paranoid after a close call with a petty thief who had to have been working with our Uber driver. If I'm going to go anywhere with several thousands in cash, especially if I'm somewhere people expect me to have that kinda cash on my person, it's going to be in my own car lmfao.

To reinforce that this is a neurosis/paranoia, in Atlantic City I always drive myself from Harrah's to the Borgata, which is objectively Ted Bundy levels of crazy
 

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