Please tell me the good and the bad of the Golden Nugget.

[MommaCat]

We've been to Vegas several times and have stayed on the Strip. With our aging mom we thought maybe downtown Vegas might be a bit easier for her to get around and the Golden Nugget looks fairly nice. Please tell me all about the casino, the pool, the restaurants and the surrounding casinos. Thankyou. :)

[Reston]

The Golden Nugget is the most "Strip-like" hotel/casino downtown, plus as you mentioned it has the advantage of being close to several other casinos that line Fremont. Sounds like a good plan to me. I'm sure others who stay there all the time can give the nitty gritty on all of the amenities. (Paging HoyaHeel!)

[bigalbr]

The Nugget is nice, but I don't know if it will matter that everything is close Downtown. Nothing else Downtown is anywhere close to as nice. If you only want to take your mom to nice places, you'd be just as well off on the Strip just staying at your home casino.

[Robkno]

You won't find many negatives about the Nugget, when it comes to the rooms, the pool, the casino, restaurants, sports book, etc. As has been said, it's a cut above anything else downtown. All other Fremont Street casinos are within a very short walk. The pool is heated and open year round. If you catch on to the downtown vibe (which is quite different from the strip), you'll love it.

[tominiowa]

As others have said, the nugget is the most strip like casino downtown. The rooms are nice and all food is good. Really no warning except to say , many of the disadvantages of certain rules in BJ games and payoffs in slots and such, is also closer to the strip casinos. IE: they have the worst BJ rules downtown.

it is the most crowded casino downtown but is by far the most elegant

[Turtleman]

I can't comment on machine payouts, but I certainly concur with tominiowa about the GN having the worst blackjack rules. As a result, I don't even bother walking into the place anymore.

[HurricaneMikey]

I like the Nugget--the new remodel is fantastic. Rooms are an awful lot like the rooms at Mirage and Treasure Island. I really enjoyed dining at The Grotto and even late at night sitting there at the bar overlooking the casino, sipping a beer and eating some Napoleon-style pizza was a treat.

True, there is some better blackjack to be found, but at low limits, it don't matter much. And if you play green-chip action, they have a $25 double deck game that is one of the best in all of Vegas. But it's inside the 'high limit' area, that's all.

Their new sports book and poker room are the nicest downtown, by far, and I like that new lounge they have too. (The name escapes me at the moment). The only negative I have about the Nugget is the same one I've had for years--Their valet service is the second slowest in all of Vegas, just a touch better than the Rio. If it's anywhere near busy, plan on spending 20 minutes waiting for them to fetch your car.

Mikey

[tnkc]

Very nice place. The only negatives I know of are that yes, it can be quite crowded (why I have never even tried the table games) and it costs a bit more than other downtown properties...but comparable to strip prices.

[HoyaHeel]

They have $5 or $10 craps tables all the time, which is the main reason we love the casino. Also, since the remodel a year or so ago, it doesn't feel as claustrophobic as it used to. Cocktail service is acceptable. The pool is nice--but in the summer, full of kids. That's one reason we're not happy with the remodel and addition of the water slide:rolleyes2: The rooms are nice and they refurbish on a regular basis. The bathrooms are pretty small (standard for downtown--and they're about the same as Mirage, I hear) but still acceptable. We love GN--it's our favorite hotel in Vegas (over all) right now.

They've added a lot of new amenities (nightclub, expanded conference space, sushi restaurant) that we haven't had a chance to try out yet--we're hoping to stay in February at the tail end of a trade show we'll be in town for. They've been great about sending us free room offers--most recently for Sept-Oct that we were unable to use:cry:

[HoyaHeel]

--Their valet service is the second slowest in all of Vegas, just a touch better than the Rio. If it's anywhere near busy, plan on spending 20 minutes waiting for them to fetch your car.

Mikey


Last summer, we had the pleasure of splitting our trip between GN and Planet Hollywood. 15 minutes for a car at GN, 45-60 at Planet Hollywood. NO contest on who was the worst on that trip:rolleyes2:

[Turtleman]

True, there is some better blackjack to be found, but at low limits, it don't matter much ...
Oh come on - I expect better from you! There's no excuse for playing 6:5 games at any betting level, particularly when 3:2 low limit games are right next door. The Strip's 6:5 games wouldn't have spread if people didn't play them, and I hate to see the "disease" metastasize to higher limits and other places. Eventually, it will affect all players. Then again, the GN's low limit games help cut down on the crowds a little where I do play. Just my opinions, I don't want to start a pissing contest! :-)

[Coaster Kikky]

The name of the lounge Mikey referred to is "Rush".

I concur that Planet Ho has far inferior valet service to both GN and Rio. It's always been slower than a snail stuck in molasses in January.

The nightclub isn't yet open. It's still under construction. Looks like it'll be good though!

[Reston]

Oh come on - I expect better from you! There's no excuse for playing 6:5 games at any betting level, particularly when 3:2 low limit games are right next door. The Strip's 6:5 games wouldn't have spread if people didn't play them, and I hate to see the "disease" metastasize to higher limits and other places. Eventually, it will affect all players. Then again, the GN's low limit games help cut down on the crowds a little where I do play. Just my opinions, I don't want to start a pissing contest! :-)

Maybe Mikey has been drinking the koolaid. :peace:

Personally, I don't care if there are some 6:5 games around. Someone has to play the sucker games.

[HurricaneMikey]

Jeez guys, lighten up.

I haven't been 'drinking the koolaid', but yeah, I agree, a 6:5 game sucks. But at low limits, just out having fun, what diff does it make, unless you're *really* expecting to stick it to the casino?

I railed and railed about it, as did everyone else on here, but you know what? As soon as we got to Carnival Court at Harrahs last year, the entire T2V contingent took over a $10 6-5 bj table and played damn near all night. I was the last one standing there pissing and moaning and trying to get everyone to not sit down, but in the end, they did, and I would've been left out. So I said, what the hell, money plays, and laid down a 20 spot. I won, so I sat down and had an enjoyable evening with my friends. It wasn't about the money...

If it was about the money, nobody would play any table games in the casino. EVERY game has a house edge. The 6-5 game is just an order of magnitude worse. But it's no worse than playing double-zero roulette, and it's much better than all those sucker games like Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, or Deuces Wild which are extremely popular. Hell, even the fortune bonus on Pai Gow is a sucker bet, but most people won't play unless it's available. It's just more fun, that's all. Yeah, deep down we all know that the house is gonna take us, but there's still that off-chance that you *could* win.

Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet and you bet big, then you take the house

The point is, unless you're a grinder or a card counter, over the course of a weekend, it's not going to make much difference. Myself? I'd rather sit at a table with all of my friends drinking and laughing and having a good time than be sitting all alone at the last possible seat at table with "good" rules armed only with the smug satisfaction that the house has a 2% edge on me instead of a 4% edge, while everyone else is hanging out across the room making Vegas memories. Yeah, you might save a little bit of money, but your trip report will read like an inventory list at the hardware store and be forgotten, while mine will conjure up memories and stories for years to come.

If it were just about the money, people would buy mutual funds instead of coming to Vegas. It's just the degree of edge you're willing to trade for a good time. Do I prefer a regular 3:2 game? Sure, but if we can't find one that we can take over, it's not a deal-breaker.

Besides, the last two times I've sat at a 6/5 table with my T2V peeps, I've come out significantly ahead. Two times in one year isn't going to kill me, either, even if I'd lost.

But, coming full circle, the Nugget only has a few 6/5 tables. Most of them are shoe games with traditional payouts.

Mikey

[tominiowa]

Guess it depends on if a person is playing BJ for entertainment or if a person sits down and does all things possible to win money. Most times I am the latter but on occasion at a low limit game it is the first. Last time I was there the GN's shoe game only had about a 50% deal out so that virtually is a continous shuffler.

I think the point is their is much better games nearby.

I agree with the craps game having 5-10 often but last i saw it had odds of 3,4,5, I just prefer 10 times

[Reston]

Jeez guys, lighten up.

I haven't been 'drinking the koolaid', but yeah, I agree, a 6:5 game sucks. But at low limits, just out having fun, what diff does it make, unless you're *really* expecting to stick it to the casino?

I railed and railed about it, as did everyone else on here, but you know what? As soon as we got to Carnival Court at Harrahs last year, the entire T2V contingent took over a $10 6-5 bj table and played damn near all night. I was the last one standing there pissing and moaning and trying to get everyone to not sit down, but in the end, they did, and I would've been left out. So I said, what the hell, money plays, and laid down a 20 spot. I won, so I sat down and had an enjoyable evening with my friends. It wasn't about the money...

If it was about the money, nobody would play any table games in the casino. EVERY game has a house edge. The 6-5 game is just an order of magnitude worse. But it's no worse than playing double-zero roulette, and it's much better than all those sucker games like Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, or Deuces Wild which are extremely popular. Hell, even the fortune bonus on Pai Gow is a sucker bet, but most people won't play unless it's available. It's just more fun, that's all. Yeah, deep down we all know that the house is gonna take us, but there's still that off-chance that you *could* win.

Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet and you bet big, then you take the house

The point is, unless you're a grinder or a card counter, over the course of a weekend, it's not going to make much difference. Myself? I'd rather sit at a table with all of my friends drinking and laughing and having a good time than be sitting all alone at the last possible seat at table with "good" rules armed only with the smug satisfaction that the house has a 2% edge on me instead of a 4% edge, while everyone else is hanging out across the room making Vegas memories. Yeah, you might save a little bit of money, but your trip report will read like an inventory list at the hardware store and be forgotten, while mine will conjure up memories and stories for years to come.

If it were just about the money, people would buy mutual funds instead of coming to Vegas. It's just the degree of edge you're willing to trade for a good time. Do I prefer a regular 3:2 game? Sure, but if we can't find one that we can take over, it's not a deal-breaker.

Besides, the last two times I've sat at a 6/5 table with my T2V peeps, I've come out significantly ahead. Two times in one year isn't going to kill me, either, even if I'd lost.

But, coming full circle, the Nugget only has a few 6/5 tables. Most of them are shoe games with traditional payouts.

Mikey

That's a lot better answer than "it doesn't matter much at low stakes"! Sometimes it doesn't matter to you when your sense of fun/adventure trumps your rationale side. Makes sense to me.

I would just argue that for many casino visitors, however, that "low-limit" $5 or $10 table may represent in proportional terms what apparently a $25 or $100 table represents to you. In other words, the amount of disposable income they have for their visit, the sense of risk they feel when they lose, and the sense of joy they feel when they win, is equivalent to someone else playing much higher stakes. So I would argue that giving up double the house advantage is a big deal in that case.

[doctor_al]

The Strip's 6:5 games wouldn't have spread if people didn't play them, and I hate to see the "disease" metastasize to higher limits and other places.
Another new word makes it into the T2V search engine. :nworthy:

BTW, unless I'm mistaken, house edge is 0.2-0.8% for most blackjack games up to and including 8 deck shoes with "bad rules", and 6:5 single deck with good rules is around 1.5%. (assuming perfect play, etc). Double zero roulette about 5.2%. The point that 6:5 is still a better gamble than most is valid, but I still don't like it.

Back to the original post - best point so far is the question about whether or not the original poster wants to be downtown or not. If so, GN is an excellent choice. If not, it's a terrible one.