First time Downtown

I have been to Vegas a few times but sadly I have never made it downtown before. Any tips on things That are must do/see/eat ect.? I am coming Memorial Day weekend if that helps at all.

 

I just posted today a list of downtown "good deals" in food. It is in the Restaurant section under "Need list of "unlisted" meal deals from casinos."
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One of the nicest things about downtown is that everything is close together and you can easily walk the whole area. Also the odds for gambling with low stakes are usually very good... unlike the strip where the odds are usually only good for the high rollers i.e. odds on video poker, blackjack. Table game minimums are much lower... especially in the day.
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The comps are easier to get... I recommend The D for comps, freebet blackjack, Pai Gow Mania... and Sigma Derby. Fremont has $3 craps. Most anyplace downtown has good paying slots... if you pick one that is on a good streak!!! Four Queens has good freebie offers when you sign up. Be sure to get a card and give your email for each casino... you will receive many free things for signing up and offers to use on your next visit.
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Each casino has a different personaly, but all are worth visiting. Haven't been there, but the container park looks interesting online. Don't forget to get a shrimp cocktail at Dupar's in Golden Gate Casino. Most of all, just relax and have a ball.

 

Everyone has different tastes, likes, dislikes. I'm sure there are plenty of suggestions in other threads, but here are a few things I'd suggest:

1) Shrimp Cocktail as mentioned above (the pancakes at Dupar's are really good too).

2) If you like good beer, Main St. Station brews their own; Four Queens has a Chicago Brewing Co., too.

3) Like cigars? Walk to the east end of the Experience and turn left on fourth. Nice small cigar shop. Also a good cigar shop in Binions.

4) Take some time and take a slow stroll from the Plaza to the D and beyond, checking out all the different people, from the performers to the salesmen to your fellow tourists. Usually around 7 or 8ish is a good combination of not too packed, but enough people to give variety. Making the stroll after midnight or 1am is definitely interesting as well.

5) Sigma Derby and the coin operated machines on the 2nd floor of The D. Get some quarters, find a seat, and enjoy the comped beer while yelling at mechanical horses.

6) Neon Museum and Mob Museum are good ways to spend time during the day. But I'm biased; I have a history degree and love museums.

7) Want a good old fashioned straight razor shave? Go to El Cortez (closed Sundays; I learned that the hard way).

8) I haven't been to Container Park yet, as mentioned above. Would be cool to check out. Also a lot of the bars/restaurants on Fremont East are nice places to hang out. You can usually find some good happy hour specials there as well.

9) Rush Lounge in the Golden Nugget is a nice place to sit down with friends and enjoy some (usually) live music. Drinks are a little pricey for downtown, but still not bad.

10) Oh, and I've heard rumors about some sort of zipline thingie that may be downtown. Nobody's really ever talked about it though, I'm not sure it actually exists.

 

Congrats on branching out. I didn't make it downtown until my fourth trip or so, and enjoyed it so much that I regretted not going sooner. Go with an open mind and the knowledge that your dollar will go farther down there. Soak in the blue collar come-as-you are atmosphere. Even if you find it's not your cup of tea, I guarantee you won't regret having spent a couple hours there.

 

Also, check the fremont street experience website before heading down there. They usually do free concerts there with national acts, especially on holiday weekends. Think REO Speedwagon, Styx, Foreigner, KC & Sunshine Band, Vince Neill, etc.

 

Go after dark. You must see Fremont street after dark. I love downtown but the action and excitement come out at night

 

Downtown

For a good meal at a decent price , try Magnolias at the 4 queens . You can get a 2 fer coupon with a sign up for a players card .
For a more relaxed gambling experience , try the slots at the Plaza .
MSS has a good buffet . Bob

 

Downtown plays host to the music portion of The annual punk rock bowling tourney in Las Vegas. The actual bowling happens at Sam's Town, but all of the action is downtown. There will be a ton of good people watching, and while all the big shows happen in the vacant lot behind The El Co and at the clubs on East Fremont at night, there are a few noteworthy free events going on downtown that weekend.

Friday night there is going to be a great free comedy show at the Plaza Showroom Featuring Kyle Kinane(google his comedy central special to see what he's like) From 7-9PM. Also, Joey Balls, the lead singer of Bluegrass Band, Old Man Markley will be taking over the Rush Lounge at the Golden Nugget on Friday during happy hour and during brunch hours on Saturday and Sunday playing punk rock classics on the piano. Aside from that, there will be a free pool party Saturday and Sunday morning at the Plaza pool, but the bands have yet to be announced. All of the above listed events are free and open to the public. You can check out more info here: www.punkrockbowling.com

Aside from the weekend activities, there are lots of other cool places to check out. If you're into bar culture, check out some of the awesome bars that specialize in craft cocktails just east of las vegas blvd on fremont. Walk further east to Atomic Liquor and see a part of vegas history, where they used to sit on the roof and drink while watching the atomic blasts. Eat pizza and hotdogs, and low roll your way through all the casinos. I've always preferred downtown, and out of all my trips, I've only stayed on the strip a few nights, and I never tire of the scene on fremont. Have a great time, I'll be down there the 21st through the 27th, staying at The D!

 

Yeah thats my main tip too!

Sometimes Downtown can actually seem a little depressing during the day so for a first trip I'd aim to get there around 5PM-6PM when things are starting to pick up and the first Fremont Street Experience shows are starting.

 

Suggestion

What we did to fully enjoy downtown.

Go late not early to make sure the street activities are in full swing.
Start at one end and go into every establishment. Do your favorite thing you do in each one. We walked around checking each one out and did free drinks while playing VP at the bar. We would take in the street performances as we walked from place to place. Some places we stayed a whole some not depending on how well we liked it. They key was to visit every single place and that turned out to be a blast. Have fun

 

This year my trade show was held at the Rio. I still stayed downtown and took a bus in the morning. Downtown is casual, convenient, less expensive, friendly and full of things to do, places to dine and drink, and fun.

Jimbo338

 

Another downtown convert here!

Didn't make it downtown until my 5th trip, but have definitely made up for it the last few years, having spent the whole of my last 2 trips staying at the Nugget.

I think the only thing that I miss about the strip, is the great restaurants, and even that is easily remedied with some top quality options downtown.

Hope you have a great trip, and looking forward to hearing your thoughts afterwards

 

After you have that beer at Main Street Station, be sure to visit the men's room by the casino cage.

You'll get to relieve yourself on a piece of the Berlin Wall! Another "only in Las Vegas" experience.

As you exit, you can look at a strange painting of a nude woman cradling a head on a beach. (Many people on this board wonder about it's artist and subject matter.)

Then, as you leave, you can head straight across the casino to a small elevator. It goes up only one floor to a sort of secret museum of antique pool tables. Not really a major destination, but definitely a "Hidden Las Vegas" spot to impress your friends with.

Enjoy downtown!!

 

Still current?

 

I 2nd (or 3rd) Main Street Station and the Sigma Derby at The D.

If you like country music and girls dancing on the bar, try Hogs & Heifers.

There are also some good options for steak at most of the casinos.

 

If you're interested in meeting other board members, there's a meet up on Saturday, May 24th, 4pm at Boar's Head Bar inside Main Street Station. See my signature for a link to the thread about the meet up.

 

Hands down the best (best looking, that is) dealers are in Golden Gate. They are super friendly and get on the tables and dance. Like others have mentioned after partaking in the eye candy, hit DuPars for shrimp, that has become a must do for me every trip now.

Golden Nugget has a legendary poker room.

Strangely, I love wandering through the Fremont Casino, because that is where the casino scenes in Swingers were filmed.

Love MSS buffet.

Downtown Grand is picking up some steam.

Nickel slots at Mermaids, if you wanna stretch a $20 for an hour or two. They also have deep fried Twinkies

A word of caution- that hottie outside Glitter Gulch is NOT an accurate representation of the strippers inside.

 

It was as of 2 weeks ago when I was there.

 

I still stop to ponder this one.



Here's the thread, now Closed.

 

The painting...

Ah, yes, the painting... I was the original poster (OP) of that thread and I'm still wondering about its significance... Let me know if anyone finds out anything.