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Recent Downtown Observations

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by mraudit, Sep 25, 2014.

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  1. mraudit

    mraudit I wear this on the plane!

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    Just returned from a 4 night stay at the Fremont Hotel & Casino. This has become my go to place the last 4 years. Everyone there was once again very nice and kept saying thanks. Its a crazy thing what a buck or two will do. Rooms are small, but clean and had a great TV. Ate the buffet one night and it was worth the price (free), though my friends who paid said it was worth it. No noise was noticed at night; could have something to do with my state of inebriation. :wink2:

    On to the observations!! El Cortez is the most underrated place downtown. If you play blackjack, you have to go here. $5 single deck game, pays 3 to 2 on 21. Very clean, nice staff, even though the dealers spoke little English. Watched Monday Night Football in the lounge, had a great waitress, and they gave away prizes. We won two hats, a bottle opener, and a pair of sunglasses I gave to the waitress. She was very appreciative. Oh yeah, very clean restrooms. My friend punched me when I told him now that he is 50, he can get 50% off at the coffee shop!

    I guess instead of dressing up like cartoon characters or superhero's, the new thing is to wear as little clothing as you can with tape on your nips. There were men with banana hammocks and tennis shoes, girls dressed like nuns with their Hail Mary's hanging out, a very large black lady with 2 inch duck tape and fishnets, and a man dressed as a woman who talked to himself. Vegas really needs to license these people and do background checks. You can tell some of them have major mental issues. Only saw about 5 people asking for money, no one ever bothered me or my group. They just sat there with their buckets out. We thought one lady was dead so we made sure she wasn't. She was just sleeping. We asked if we could do anything for her, she just pointed to her sign saying give me money.

    Las Vegas club was dead and ugly. Try LV Club roulette! Order a dollar hot dog, eat it, and if you don't get sick you win the pot. 5 of us tried, 2 got sick. Golden Gate was hopping and their dancing dealers were awesome. Plaza is really trying to get the gambler back, but their sportsbook is going downhill. Its a shame as its the biggest one downtown. They let all the bums in the book and they really did stink the place up along with taking all the seats. Pop Up pizza was once again the king. Played crapless craps there as my friend just had to try it. Damn him and my $375 profit.

    The D was loud but had a great vibe. However, their dancing dealers were awful, never said hi, and acted like we were wasting their time. Never had that before so I do not know if it was an off night. The crap dealers were a good time and gave shit right back to us when we teased them.

    Had the prime rib at Magnolias in the 4 queens for the first time. Was a pretty good deal and will return. Nothing else there, so moved along. Golden Nugget's sports book is the nicest but damn it is small. To cramped and odd angles for the TVs. Ate at the buffet for lunch and tipped the host a buck and asked for a table overlooking the pool. He said no problem and bam, boobs and brunch. Still the class of all downtown. Walked around the California for a bit, but was to late for the spam.

    Finally, Triple George Grill was as awesome as everyone says. Had reservations for Friday night and was not disappointed. Walked over to the Grand afterwards and the vibe was odd. Almost felt like a casino you would walk into in Iowa or Missouri. Nothing fancy, but clean and open. Only went that one time.

    I love downtown, and will stay there again next year. By the way, emptying your beers into cups was no bother at all.

    Tim
     
  2. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    We gave $1.00 to a black ventriloquist with a black dummy and another $1.00 to a man with a large, beautiful dog. At least they stayed in place and didn't approach people. Within two minutes of stepping off the bus at least three bums asked us for money as we were about to walk to El Cortez. We turned around and went to the Fremont. There was security on bikes trying to shoo the men away telling them to get a job.
     
  3. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Sounds worse than Russian Roulette to me...:evillaugh
     
  4. QueenAngie

    QueenAngie Tourist

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    Thanks for sharing!
     
  5. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    We just got back last week and had no issues with the walk to the el Cortez. There were plenty of people usually walking with us and we were never once asked for money on the walk. I'm thinking you just got unlucky.
     
  6. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    We played blackjack at the LV club a few times. They had decent blackjack rules (yes paid 3/2) and the dealers were always undressed even earlier in the day. On our 2nd time playing there i commented to the dealer that the bathrooms hadn't been cleaned since yesterday. They were fairly disgusting. On our 3rd trip, I mentioned it again and the dealer just gave me a knowing look and told me there were bathrooms around the back That were a little bit cleaner. She said they're out of the way so they don't get used as much.....not that they actually get cleaned.

    We did have a fun time at their blackjack tables. We had a couple of fun dealers who were very cool and remembered us each time. This place isn't long for the world. I did drink a lot here but there was no way I would have eaten anything.
     
  7. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    LV Club has a good $10 two-deck shoe (DAS permitted)...and yeah - I like the dealers there as well...and no, I would never eat there...I'm a gambler, but I'm not crazy!
    :beer:
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  8. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I was shocked they're the only property downtown that has the half naked dealers around the clock.....WITH GOOD BJ RULES. Our favorite spot from years past was the Binion girls but they pay 6/5 around the clock these days and the game became unplayable. The D and Golden Gate offer the experience later in the evening but you'll have normal dealers during the day.

    We had a couple of good fun dealers at LV club (Heather and Corin..hope i'm spelling her name right). Be careful because most of the other dealers are brand new and are prone to mistakes. The pit bosses were constantly around and caught a couple of payoffs that would have been in our favor.
     
  9. VPDana

    VPDana High-Roller

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    Where do they sell food at LV Club? I thought all their food places were closed. Not that I'm interested in having a meal there - just curious.
     
  10. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

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    I was downtown from the 7th to the 12th of this month. I thought FSE looked a lot better than March of this year when I was there last. Fewer costumed folks, fewer beggars, fewer rough looking individuals in general. The mood was better. There were a lot more 20 and 30 somethings, well dressed types you would normally see on the strip. I chitchatted with a few of them, including a bachelor party group in bad 70's tuxedo's (some kind of prom theme) and they said they wanted to be downtown. I even saw a few younger bride and grooms but I didn't chat with them. So, the appeal of downtown is spreading. People are finding out that the old ideas about downtown aren't true. We also went to El Cortez and walked back after the last FSE show and it was fine.
     
  11. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    There was a small stand in the back near the cage if I remember right. There were no restaurants open that i'm aware of. Trust me, I wasn't going anywhere near the food but I walked past it to cash out a couple of times.
     
  12. mraudit

    mraudit I wear this on the plane!

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    At the bar.
     
  13. mraudit

    mraudit I wear this on the plane!

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    Hot dogs were sold at the bar. They also had some cheap beers. The restrooms were horrible at the LV Club. I walked in and thought the urinals were going to fall off the wall. Paper towels all over the floor. I noticed a lot less people asking for money and people that were dressed up. I really only noticed the naked ones and Bumble Bee from transformers. Otherwise Friday and Saturday was packed and Sunday and Monday night had a good crowd.
     
  14. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I mentioned it earlier in this thread but yeah, the bathrooms were horrendous. I know for a fact that they weren't cleaned for at least 3 days in a row and by the looks of them it had been much longer than that. It took me 3 sinks just to find soap. BUT........the dealers were still half dressed and blackjacks paid 3/2.....so what are you going to do???? :banana:
     
  15. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    Well, I think I would carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket. Chances are the other patrons did not even bother looking for soap and the're out there, handling chips and such.

    You know, come to think of it, I visited the LV Club numerous times but never went into the restrooms, due to the fact that I never stayed long enough. This is good to know, in a kinda bad way, though, lol! :thumbsup:
     
  16. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    Trust me, some hand sanitizer crossed my mind. Truthfully though, the same people playing here are the same people playing at every other casino downtown. It's not like the old western and gold spike days where the $1 blackjack brings in the unwashed masses. So what are you going to do? Wash your hands frequently and pray that you don't contract some weird chip disease.
     
  17. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    What are the pit critters like if you start spreading your bets? Does heat come fast or will they tolerate your spreads?
     
  18. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I am not a card counter and I just use a simple progression betting system. The tables were never crowded while we were there and the pit crew stays right on top of the dealers because most of them seem to be brand-new. Not ideal conditions for a card counter. The bright side is if you do happen to get barred it's not like not being able to play at the Las Vegas club is going to ruin your future as a blackjack player. I assume that would also include exclusion from the plaza also but that may not be much of a loss either.
     
  19. joshrocker

    joshrocker VIP Whale

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    I am not a card counter and I just use a simple progression betting system. The tables were never crowded while we were there and the pit crew stays right on top of the dealers because most of them seem to be brand-new. Not ideal conditions for a card counter. The bright side is if you do happen to get barred it's not like not being able to play at the Las Vegas club is going to ruin your future as a blackjack player. I assume that would also include exclusion from the plaza also but that may not be much of a loss either.
     
  20. Robertintx

    Robertintx Low-Roller

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    I too stay at the Fremont Downtown and enjoy it, I'm alone so the small bathrooms are no bother to me.
    I'm scheduled to go back in Jan. but the urge is hitting me pretty hard to make a trip between now and then.
    How did you get to eat free ? I usually fly in on Tue. for the seafood buffet that night.
    3 card poker is my usual game but may try craps on my next trip.
    I do enjoy hearing about downtown expecially the Fremont.
     
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