First time staying downtown last weekend (The D)

After years of staying on the strip, we decided to stay downtown and try The D. We booked the high floors, hoping it would be far enough up to avoid the noise everyone has talked about when staying at properties on Fremont St.

Unfortunately, we had room facing west, which are directly above the stage outside at The D and it was LOUD up until midnight or 1am. It didn't really affect me personally since we were usually out until then, but just a warning to those staying there. I'm sure if we had a room facing east, it would have been much quieter - again, it wasn't a problem for us, but I could see it being a problem for others. The room was clean, bed was comfortable, and although the bathroom was not completely updated, it was fine. Elevators seemed fine to me - not sure what the complaints are about slow elevators (yes, they don't have 3 banks of 8 elevators like the Strip properties).

My buddies and I play mostly craps (maybe dabble in some 3-Card Poker and Blackjack) and Golden Gate has become our spot. The dealers on the craps table there are great, table minimums are low (almost always a $5 table available) and has always been a fun atmosphere for us. Fortunately the tables were HOT - we put in a 4½ hour session Saturday night and the dice barely made it around the table twice with maybe 9 of us throwing - everyone in my group pretty much tripled their buy-in.

One guy in our group still prefers The Strip (so we'll see how that works out next year), but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes gambling there more than the Strip. I'd even stay at The D again with an East facing room or if we wanted to step it up, the Golden Nugget. Chances are we'll just stay wherever we get a free room, though!

 

The D has some of the newer rooms on Fremont, but not the best hotel experience IMO. Kudos for venturing away from the strip. If you like craps like i do, you might consider one of the Boyd gaming properties for craps. Main Street Station has 20x odds and the Fremont has $3 craps. If you haven't stayed at the nugget and are considering it over the D, do it. The Nugget is far nicer and with careful planning the price difference is negligible. Just keep an eye on their rate calendar and sign up for their mailing list. They send out discount room offers periodically.

Welcome to downtown!

 

Also, I find the complaining about "loud" music at The D a bit unjustified. Yes, it's not as quiet as a Strip casino or someplace just playing muzak, but I did not find it ear splitting in any way - it was perfectly fine for a casino going for an upbeat and lively floor.

 

I love the atmosphere the D's going for... appreciate the report on the upstairs, I last stayed there 4 or 5 years ago when it was still the Fitz.

 

I think it is probably more an age and personal preference thing. The younger types are used to the loud music and so not bothered as much as us old timers. Many of us go there to gamble and the music is a distraction (as is the girls), especially when people want to concentrate on their betting at the craps tables, or card counting......er playing on the bj tables. Many of us also think they use this as an excuse for higher minimums and bad paytables.

While not ear splitting the music is a distraction (I don't even notice the music at places like the boyd hotels) to some of us. At the D I usually check out the craps table and if it doesn't look good (cold tables) then I will move elsewhere, the D isn't a place that I would gamble regularly at and the loud music is one reason why.

But to each his/her own. there are many other places to stay and play if the D doesn't suit someone.

 

I'm in my 40's and I'm a "headbanger". I'll crank AC/DC and other metal all day long. The louder the better. But there was just something about the loud music at the D that I didn't like. I don't know exactly what it was, I just didn't like it.

 

What kind of music are they playing at the D? Loud music is one thing if it's good, but if they're blasting Katy Perry, Eminem or some s(poop)t like that, that's a whole different story.

TFK

 

The Golden Gate is hands down my favorite for dowtown gambling as well. Dealers and service are solid there, the tables are cheap and the atmosphere is just right. Im surprised it doesnt get more attention.

 

They had a couple of rookie craps dealers in there last week and I had to correct them a few times on the payouts on my winning bets which were few and far between.
Glad to hear some people had a great time there and made some chips. It was kinda dead during the week.