Big, small, silly, profound ... five things you'd like to see in Vegas

OK...I'll play... first, though, the five things that (based on replies here and elsewhere), ought to happen by default.
DEFAULT:

1. Monorail running from the airport, down the center of LVB, through the strip & all the way to Fremont.
2. By regulation, any blackjack must pay a minimum of 3:2. Any other game must be called something else.
3. Eliminate bums, street-peddlers & costumed characters from all public walkways & bridges. Give them a designated area to hawk their wares or tell their sob-story. People can go there if they want to.
4. Coffee & small refrigerator in every room
5. End Resort Fees

Now, to add my five...

1. Flat-rate cab fares based on destination. Airport-to-downtown (either way): $25. Airport-to-Strip (either way): $15. Downtown to Strip (either way): $20.
2. Establish a "Frequent Visitor" TSA Security pass for those of us who visit regularly - issued after 4 trips in 2 years. Expires if no trips in any year.
3. Bring back Keno girls...young & hot.
4. Bring back easy-to-find 7-stud games, $1-$3 or $2-$6, in poker rooms segregated by smoking/non-smoking.
5. Remove the zipline & stages from Fremont-proper/FSE. Move them to Ogden, or to intersecting streets.

 

I love this one.

 

A return of the glory days of the north end of the strip.
Several small no-frills small casinos with good gambling rules.
Rail service to the strip and downtown.
Someone with the money and ability to buy and turn around the Las Vegas Club.
The Fontainebleau to open and be a big success.

 

I've thought about that one before. I'm an academic like you, and I have to say that it's nice to have one city where I know there is NOT a bookstore. It helps me NOT be an academic, which is one of the best things about Las Vegas for me. Every other big city I go, I wound up spending hours in bookstores (which I love). So I'm torn.

 

I miss the bookstore at Mandalay Bay And I don't count Bauman's at V/P. My family has been in the rare book business for decades and Bauman's pricing is wayyyyy off. Annoys me

 

That's what iPads are for.

 

I'm no Vegas expert, so maybe my list dates itself, but...

~Offer traditional cocktails at the walk up places on the strip, not just those slushy things. G&T please, I can accept it being in a plastic cup.
~Make it easier for tourists to support the fledgling art community of downtown and beyond. I know I'm being lazy but it shouldn't be a hassle to figure out how to find galleries and then to have to wonder if you will survive the visit. City of Las Vegas should be stepping up their game on this.
~More tiki bars
~A return of the Sinatra music outside of Ballys. Bellagio plays him sometimes but it's not non-stop, thus inadequate.
~Fewer of what I call the "tits and tats" girls serving drinks at MGM properties. You know, there are all kinds of people in the world. Some of them are even male. I wouldn't have noticed but almost every bartender I had at MGM places was a girl under 25 with tats and cleavage. Exceptions were Jean Georges and Sensi.

 

You left out piercings. I honestly have not seen this in the main casino bars out on the floor. Mostly guys my age, i.e., ancient. At the pools, yes, there are quite a few of those. From a fiscal standpoint, "tits and tats" attract young guys with "boners and bucks."

 

Yup I suppose so LOL. Obviously this strategy isn't to draw in the middle aged woman crowd. Maybe a new trend of Ryan Gosling lookalike bartenders will start

 

Don't have one!

Doesn't surprise me, given its location.

 

I could only think of two new ones, and I'm probably in the minority on these.

1) I'd like the average restaurant to be 10-20% quieter--frequently I'm at a nice place, with a nice vibe and good food, but it's too loud to converse comfortably. (The same goes for many of the table games areas.)
2) I'd like Fremont Street to just be 10-20% less... Fremont Street. Maybe because I have only gone at night, but as much as I like the low limits and the "old school" feel of the casinos, I'm usually ready to leave after a few hours.
3, 4, 5) I also concur with 3:2 blackjack, flat-rate cab fare from the airport, and more non-smoking public spaces in the casinos.

 

My Five+:

1. As has been said already, 3:2 blackjack every table all the time. Abolish 6:5
2. The end of short-pay VP tables
3. Bring back affordability to the strip, $5 tables with good rules (see #1 above)
4. A better selection of non-alcoholic beers for gamblers. Kills me I can get some good ones when I'm in the restaurant having a meal, but all I can get is O'Douls on the floor...
5. A few more decent cigar stores/lounges in and around the strip (downtown already has my all time favorite, Vatos)
6. An end to the buskers and panhandlers. Put em all in a fenced in area that we can go to if we want. While at it, throw the timeshare hawkers and porn slappers in there as well
7. Removal of the zip lines from downtown.
8. Removal of all the souvenir stores downtown. Really, they all sell all the same crap anyways.

That's more than 5, but a guy can dream, right?

 

Some others have mentioned

* Make the new stadium they are building the permante site of The Super Bowl and College Football Championship games
* Blow up the Excalibur, replace with mega sports themed resort with 4K TV's and arena seatings with VP screen on every seat, sportbooks,pub food
*Dress code after 7PM no tanktop ,cut-offs etc.
* Assigned areas for hookers, timeshare salespeople
* Weekly hygeine checks for all street preformers

 

#1 "Cost Per Hour of Play" stickers on every machine and table game, similar to nutrition information on food labels. I mean if the gaming industry claims to be an entertainment provider, they should have no problem transparently showing the cost of that entertainment.

#2 A subway/El track right down the middle of the strip, from the airport to downtown, similar to what we have here in Chicago. I know from reading Perry Thomas' book that this was almost a reality years ago, but the Taxi lobby spent a fortune to defeat the project.

#3 More visible on-strip security and the complete removal of porn slappers, strip club promoters, cartoon characters etc.

#4 Transparent slot clubs with complete flexbility---I would recommend a choice of 10% of your Theo back in cash, or 25% in rooms/resort credit or 40% in freeplay---your choice.

#5 Legalize everything so any of the money wasted busting hookers or pot smokers can be used on strip security (see #3)

 

With #3 making things safe vis-a-vis #5, what percentage of Theo in #4 could you use for 69?

 

#1 Bring back the Themes. Ultra Luxury Bland and More glass high rises (City Center) building are boring and like everywhere else.
#2 Improve public transportation. Commit to a light rail plan to the airport to downtown or At least add more Ace / Deuce express buses running North AND South on LVB.
#3 Clean up the nuisance. Goodbye porn slappers, waaater waaater, pan handlers, and ultra grubby costume tip solicitors (or at least permit these guys)
#4 Value the gambler. Quit giving us reasons to gamble less in Vegas like lower comp return and mediocre customer service for your highest spending customers. (Service levels for your higher tier players has become a joke CET, why not thin the herd a bit and raise the service levels)
#5 Bring back the Airport checking / luggage handling. (The faster I can get my ass into your property and not deal with schlepping my bags or waiting in lobby the better)

 

Fantastic thread!

1. Flat rates for taxi's - as many have mentioned this would be an ideal solution to the long hauling issue...both real and perceived.

2. UK's suggestion of larger and comfier sportsbooks is excellent. I know the casino's want to take out the poker rooms and shrink sports books in favor of slot machines and retail space...but a book that is set up like The Mirage but double in size? Perfect.

3. Re-theme the hotels and casino's - I don't like the blandness of some places. Some places can still stick to their luxury ambiance and the others should go all in on themes.

4. Bring back the good odds and rules for gambling.

5. Fridges in the rooms

 

Put Hard Rock Cafe in the Hard Rock Hotel and Planet Hollywood Restaurant in Planet Hollywood Resort
Monorail connecting airport, strip and downtown
More comps for sports betting

 

1) Eliminate solicitors on the strip and Downtown

2) outlaw 6:5 BJ

3) Tear down the FSE canopy and slotzilla



That would do it for me. No 4 and 5 required.

 

1. North Strip resurrected - Desert Inn, Stardust and Westward Ho with Wynn / Encore built where the Sands existed or over a demolished Harrah's/IP/Quad/Linq/Chapter 11.

2. Casino diners (24 diners) and casino lounge acts - both have been phased out over the years. Thankfully Peppermill exists for late night outings.

3. My old 2 deck 3. $25 S17 BJ tables at the Stardust and other joints and a return of $4-$8 Limit Poker at the Wynn.

4. A ban on Street performers/hustlers/scam artists and strip card people.

5. A ban on resort fees, energy surcharges, FSE charges, etc.. Room rates quoted the same across the entire valley.

Love most of the changes downtown and several on the Strip and off strip.