Old Vegas vs. new Vegas

[boxcars]

If only I had the money, I'd open a "retro-casino" that brings back the recently old Vegas.

Don't get me wrong... I love Vegas, but something's different now. I will have visited Vegas 3 times this year, with a 7 year break before this year. A lot has changed in those 7 years.

The decade that stands out the most was the '80s (because I'm in my 30s now). I liked that Vegas decade. You could hear the coins clink-clank from the street. All the doors were open downtown as you drove by on Fremont. The "Silver Slipper" had lose slots where you could win. The Holiday Inn showboat was a spectacle. It was just a different "non-corporate" environment, even though it was corporate then too. Steve Wynn's Mirage was the place. A mega resort at the time that wasn't today's type "mega". Even this past January, I could play at the Plaza for a $2 bet on the craps table with 10X odds. Not any more.

IMHO, I think Vegas is going to level off someday. There's so much gambling now in California, that some will stop going. I know Vegas is still growing, but I don't like what it's becoming.

How many $5 tables can you find on the strip that aren't trashy? Not too many.

Just my opinion. I don't think I'll stop going though. What I will do is choose carefully where I play. Maybe heading off strip is the future for me.

Do you like the new face Vegas is becoming?

[HurricaneMikey]

Nope, I do not like the new face of Vegas.

The change I like, though, is the Fremont Street Canopy. They still retain a little seediness, but the safety factor has improved.

I love to 'see' the new places, but I prefer to gamble at the old ones. Once the old ones start to rip me off, my Vegas days are over.

Mikey

[doctor_al]

Originally posted by boxcars:
If only I had the money, I'd open a "retro-casino" that brings back the recently old Vegas.
And I'd be there. Take the Dean Martin "Ain't Love a Kick" scene out of the original Ocean's Eleven and build around it. I wouldn't miss the $100 shows or the celebrity chef restaurants. Although I would miss the scenery - IMO, the eye candy that is the Luxor, Venetian, Caesars Forum etc. is a good addition, as are the giant sportsbooks.

Personally, I think there's a little old vegas lurking around, downtown (the Gate, El Cortez) and off-strip (locals places). Gotta get off the strip, though. They're turning that into Aspen.

[RamBill]

"They're turning that into Aspen"

Not quite, they haven't finished destroying Telluride yet....

[yahoo]

Do I like the new Vegas? Yes. Have some of the changes been for the worse? Absolutely. But I think most changes have been for the better. While I agree that old Vegas had a certain charm that is sorely lacking in today's Vegas, I think most folks tend the remember the "good old days" to be a little bit better than they actually were. I can appreciate old school and I'm all for nostalgia, but I think a few rotten apples (e.g. 6/5 blackjack, lousy comps, Binion's demise, to name a few) tend to skew some people's perception of the entire "new" Vegas. Overall, give me the new Vegas anyday.

Let the flaming begin...

[Coaster Kikky]

I never got to gamble in "Old" Vegas. I visited it when I was 15 and 16... I won't say when that was, but suffice it to say that Steve Wynn was probably still in school. My next trip wasn't until 1997 - post Mirage, post Luxor, Monte Carlo was the new kid on the block. Since then the city has gotten brighter and shinier and more theme-park style. I do wish I'd had more chance to see Old Vegas. That being said, I happen to like theme parks. I know that not everyone does.

[ken2v]

I go to Vegas to play golf, eat across perhaps the most diverse spectrum of food around, stay at a killer hotel for a can't-be-equalled elsewhere price, hoof along public thoroughfares with a vat of intoxicant in my hands, check out the sights natural and not, gamble a bit ... new Vegas suits me just fine.

[bigbooner]

I agree with Ken2v, new Vegas suits me just fine. But it also seems that we have the best of both worlds going right now. Those who like the new can have it as well as those who like the old.

[HoyaHeel]

There are things about the old parts and things about the new parts that I like. If someone created a new "old vegas" casino--wouldn't it be more like the new part than the old part??

[stuffic]

I remember Chris Rock said in one of his stand-ups "Whatever music you were listening to when you started f**king is gonna be your favorite music for the rest of your life!" graemlins/nworthy.gif

In other words, the song isn't what was so great, it was that time of your life or who you were with, etc. that was special. "The Good Ole Days" were what you made them. Here's to "Good Present Days" and "Good Future Days". graemlins/beerchug.gif