Your First Off-Strip Hotel and Why

M Resort - My buddy gambles a ton at the Hollywood Casino in St Louis and they are owned by the same company. We got 3 days comped and the M is the nicest place I have ever stayed. I would def stay there again even tho its a trip from the strip or downtown.

 

The Orleans...I saw it from the 24th floor window of the Excalibur after it just opened & stayed on my 2nd trip & stayed a couple of times since..I love the dining there & it's not as mad as the Strip with easy access to the Strip using the CAT and to that had a $750 win on 5 spot Keno on the last night .

I now prefer staying off Strip and am having 4 nights at the Tuscany ,though my favourite off Strip hotel is the Palms

 

It was actually the Palms. I was in Vegas staying on the strip somewhere, but went to the Palms on a multiple points day and played hard and fast on a multiline machine for about 3 hours. I think I was rolling $10-15 a hand or something like that. Apparently they thought I was a High Roller because I started getting room offers from them and I took one.

now, you can't get me away from Southpoint

 

Stayed at the LV Hilton on my first trip to Vegas in 1994. The trip was part of a 3 center package trip including San Francisco and LA, so had no choice in choosing the hotel.
Really liked it there, especially as I won $1800 on the slots on the last night, which probably helped to start my addiction to Vegas.

It was a long walk to the Strip though, even though the hotels didn't look that far away, and it was pre-monorail days.

 

MGM was screwing me around with comps and I was fed up with it. The VIP room was great for just a quick walk in for some food(the wine sucked), but getting dealt with was a real pain, and getting my sports book people to do it properly just became a huge pain in the ass for me.

Palms, the year it opened. That was the hey day for me. From 2001 through 2008, god was it fun. I remember drinking in the original pool with Chuck Liddell, his girlfriend, his brother, and other entourage. His girlfriend(maybe his wife) was super hot and he was super scary. I have lots of other stories from those days.

The Palms treated me very, very nicely. My friends and I had a whole bunch of fun there. I miss those days.

When Hooters opened up, I was being courted by a very lovely VIP hostess to move my action there. I did not go over there, as the Palms treated me very, very well.

Once Caesars and their Investment banking arm got their hands on the Palms, the service went downhill and it became just a hassle to get my account dealt with. I was a Sports Book guy and we had a different system, the original Palms was all owned by the Palms, once they started contracting it out it became a pain, I think it was South Point. Once Cantor Gaming took over, it was over for me.

 

When I first returned to Las Vegas, I was traveling solo or with my BFF, so all we needed was a place to sleep. Neither of us "needed" to stay on the Strip, so I took a teaser offer from the D (downtown), I found the place very nice, comps were plentiful, Andiamo's is a great steakhouse. My host treated me well, and I often got put in suites without having asked. I even got invited to NYE in 2014, and enjoyed a great time.

The rooms were clean, quiet (if you picked the correct side of the building) and safe. The hallways were short, so even if you got the "end of the hallway" room, it wasn't a very long walk.

At the end of 2014, I started going with female guests, and a "classier" place was necessary. I hit a 10K jackpot at Harrahs Reno which started me playing at CET casinos, I eventually "graduated" to 7* and back to the strip.

 

Arizona Charlie's on Decatur. Once.

 

Our first trip we stayed at the Mirage. Looking to reduce our gambling budget but lowering our hotel costs, we chose to stay at the Barbary Coast which at the time was a gem considering the strip location and the cost. After a couple trips staying there, we ventured over to the sister property The Orleans and we were extremely impressed with everything it had to offer and we've been there ever since.

 

Orleans was my first off strip stay, loved all the amenities. Some play at the M waiting for a poker tournament (back when they had a poker room) lead to many visits there, eventually the offers dried up and a half hour of slots waiting for a movie at Sams town got me my first offer there and they are now my off strip property of choice. (I miss the old steak house but cant wait to try the new Taquiera and BBQ places next visit)

 

The first place I remember staying at as a kid was the old Thunderbird so that definitely counts as a strip casino, just from the 70's. Technically that means my first off strip stay was at Primadona back when it was very new however since that's 30 miles from Vegas maybe we can skip it. After that we started staying at Flamingo, then a bunch of us at work joined a Vegas bowling league that had it's sweeps at Gold Coast. So that was my first stay off the strip, I can't say I loved the room or the casino, even back then it felt old and smoky. After that we migrated to the Rio which was still independent, fresh and new, we kept staying there through the sale but then gravitated back to the strip.

Since then we have sporadically stayed off strip at Orleans (bowling again), Sams Town (bowling), Sunset Station and Green Valley. I have to say I have always really like Sams Town and Green Valley is great too.

 

My first was the Wild Wild West. I was very single and just in town for a wedding. The ad said they were a block off the strip, which is technically true, the block just contains I-15. It was good enough for my needs, but by the time I came back I was married. My wife prefers strip lodging, usually NYNY.

 

I stayed at Hard Rock for my first Vegas trip in 2006. I really enjoyed the casino and the rooms were great. Loved the vibe of the place and the pool was great. I switched to MGM properties next trip and haven't been back. I keep telling myself that I need to since there have been so many changes there.

 

My first off-strip (and first Vegas trip) was at Rumor across from Hard Rock. Room was actually pretty great but it's a nothing resort. Would stay again only if for some reason I wanted to be VERY close to the airport or Hard Rock.

Also stayed at Palms. It was fine, but no advantage really to being on-strip. Pricing's about the same, resort's nothing special and to get anywhere else it's a cab ride.

 

The Law Vegas Hilton was my first off strip hotel in 2008. I had a 3 night comp and $50 food credit from playing at the Atlantic City Hilton. We had a great time, rooms were nice and we actually stayed there again the next year with a similar offer. Now we stay at Palace Station (the tower) when we stay off strip, we like the change of pace for a few days and enjoy the casino and the restaurants they offer.

 

Hard Rock. And I was a regular there until they misrated my table game play, and sent me a win/loss statement that was a work of fiction.

 

Dedicated Boyd player. My home base is Blue Chip love having my usual comp suite at Orleans with all food beverage taken care of first leg of trip and then Fremont with gold card second half of trip. I do at least 4 a year.

 

I am planning my first off-strip hotel stay, to be at the Hard Rock. I like the theme and the prices for suites are very competitive, in comparison to comparable suites on the strip. This is hopeful though - when I went to book this morning, every suite is sold out on every date on the calendar, so I'm hoping it's just a glitch and I can book this week.

 

The first off strip place was also our first trip to Vegas in 2008. We stopped at the Desert Rose Resort mainly due to budget restrictions. It was comfy and it had a comp breakfast. We stayed there again on our next visit in 2010. These days my go to off strip place is Tuscany. The rooms are massive and comfortable the casino is good and the staff are great. It has a great café as well so what more can you want and it is reasonably priced for somewhere which is a 10 minute walk away from the Strip.

 

Our flight was cancelled and everything on the strip was very expensive so we booked the Gold Coast.Haven"t been back staying on the strip since then and now we stay at Gold Coast and Orleans.If we want want go to the strip we take the free shuttle!

 

Drove down the strip to make sure we could find rental car return 4 5 am next day.. Turned at Sunset Rd. Lost and found Sunset Station. It was one of my finds.