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My recent downtown trip observations

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by merlin, Jun 1, 2013.

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  1. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    Just returned from a 4 day trip, stayed first 2 days at El cortez(tower room) and moved to MSS for the last two. I'll break down my comments by casino.

    El Cortez - same old place, lots of low level players(slot and tables), plenty of old people, fairly busy for midweek, they let me check in early (12:00) with no problem, friendly staff, had some decent luck at BJ and the pit seemed to be watching me like a hawk, you wouldn't think buying in for $100 and cashing out with $200 would make them sweat so much, at night the caliber of play went way, way down, alot of people couldn't seem to grasp the pitch single deck game and would get their cards and immediately turn them over, was pretty funny to watch. They are now hiring some american BJ dealers as well, a welcome thing considering that most of the asians are stone faces, a very good thing.

    Main st station - had never stayed there and was pleasantly surprised, rooms were very nice, nicer than the Cortez tower rooms IMO because of the nice flat screen tv and better bathrooms, ate at the triple 7 one night and had the buffet the other, both good. Lots of hawians, fairly busy, had a great experience where I hit 4 4OK's within about 30 min at DDB(one paid 800 credits), I was at the quarter bar top game and cashed out with 1400+ credits, was expecting $350 but the ticket was for $700+ - turns out I was playing 50 cents and didn't realize it, lol, perhaps alcohol induced?

    Gold spike - walked by several times both daytime and night, never saw a soul going in or out, didn't bother to go in, they had a sign out saying " $5 wells, you're welcome" that'll draw them in... I think not.

    Lots of activity at the old Lady Luck, looks like it'll be a done deal soon, great news!

    Golden Gate - busy , great drink service, fun atmosphere, the dancing dealer thing is getting a little out of hand, there were whole platoons of them, at least 30 of them around, most of them were decent looking but they could look a little sluttier IMO.

    Plaza, actually a little busier than last time, they did have a playable $10 2 deck game, compared to the rest of downtown it was dead, but at least it's improving, maybe their bad press is changing them, I really hope so.

    Las vegas club - sad and depressing, didn't stop me from playing however, had my best luck there, bought in once for $100 and cashed out a couple hours later with $1200 - they gave me two purple chips...WOOHOO! Strange that they have a good 2 deck game during the daytime but pull it at night, I commented to the dealer that I was the only one playing in the entire pit one afternoon, after cashing out I actually walked around and counted the slot players, 12 by my count...I dont think that's going to cut it! Even at night they had no traffic while hundreds of people were right outside.

    Binions - never spent a dime, not one playable table game, bad VP too, thin crowds.

    Nugget - packed as usual, they do have a $10 2 deck game(hallelula) The nugget has a strip type crowd that dresses up, while the rest of downtown is wearing the new american standard of t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops.

    Mermaids - new price for them hot dogs is $1.25...I can and did handle that, if you want to get buzzed, this is the place, they bring the drinks faster than you can down them.

    4 queens - busy but bad gambling, had the usual 1 playable table that for some reason almost no one plays.

    Cal and fremont - typical boyds places, fairly busy, fun, lively, had an old woman korean dealer force my to eat some spam Musabi, we were talking korean food and she ordered me to eat some Kim chee and spam musabi after I left the table. Her orders were crystal clear... "you go up there right now, you buy some, eat, and come back and tell me how you like" I had the spam , liked it, and now have a new snack I can eat other than those mermaid dogs, great to learn something new each trip.

    The D - never spent a dime there either, sorry but in a place that size you better have at least one decent BJ game, they didn't so I moved on.

    The begger situation was OK, only had one guy ask me outright for change in 4 days, lots of guys holding signs up asking for handouts though, the freak street performers is getting worse though, all kinds or weird people, including a guy dressed the fidal castro in a wheelchair, saw 2 of the saddest elvis's I've ever seen standing by themselves on night, puffing away.

    Walked by a middle aged homeless woman sitting on ogden smoking away several times during the day, saw her at night at the fremont st experience picking butts out of the ash trays that still had a few puffs left - pretty sad.

    The fermont east bars were hopping at night, other than the gold spike of course, they did advertise that they were downtowns "hottest new bar"

    Overall downtown seemed to be hopping and things seem to be looking up.
     
  2. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    I left out one of the highlights - my first approach by a hooker, was walking along early in the morning on fremont heading to breakfast and was approached by a very nice charming woman named Melody who wanted to know what I was doing, I said going to breakfast and she asked my name , etc, and where I was from and where I was staying. At that point I caught on, she then wanted to know if I wanted to "go play", this was my last day and my flight was in a little over 3 hours so i just said nice to meet you and moved on, if it wasn't my last day, you never know what might have happened, I've mentioned before that I've been to vegas dozens of times and have never been approached by a hooker, so my feelings of neglect are now gone!
     
  3. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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    Any updates on the downtown construction & tarps, the new "Slotzilla" , and the extended zipline ?
    Are things still clogged up, or has the pedestrian traffic opened up some ... ???

    Thanks !!
     
  4. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Great report... thanks for sharin'!

    I especially note the "new american standard of t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops." and I know that some don't necessarily appreciate that, but I wear a suit and tie to work everyday... I LOVE being able to put on that standard Vegas uniform and go just about anywhere in town.
     
  5. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    There is construction(zip line related) down by neonopolis mostly, you walk through a little pathway to get through on both sides, it really didn't slow you down much but it did detract from the feel obviously, there is also some down by the gold gate but that is no problem, they did shut down that road by walgreens for a few min to shoot a scene for some Jason Stratham movie, I saw him drive a car a block and get out and walk into a bldg...WOW.
     
  6. gongoman

    gongoman MIA

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    Thanks merlin:beer:
     
  7. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    great report, thanks.
     
  8. OnTheHorizon

    OnTheHorizon Low-Roller

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    Awesome report -- thanks. I know the 4Q has many poor games, as does the Vegas Club.
     
  9. Big Tip

    Big Tip VIP Whale

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    Can you explain this further? You think there are too many dealer/dancers? That's sort of an oxymoron to me. lol
     
  10. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    Good stuff, merlin. Sounds like you had some good luck - congrats on the wins!

    The GS sign about the $5 wells gave me a chuckle. I bet that kind of deal is just killing the rest of the DT casino bars. :rolleyes2:
     
  11. Rumdranker

    Rumdranker Grateful Lurker

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    Many thanks for the detailed observations great reporting.
     
  12. robert m.

    robert m. High-Roller

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    Great info!

    Going DT for a week during July, so I am hanging on your every word!

    Thanks!
     
  13. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    Yea, I guess I do think there were too many, they were everywhere, all the bj dealers(even in high limit), the craps dealers, out front. Now , quite a few of them were pretty good, but there were a bunch that were not, there was a chinese gal that looked like a skeleton. I preferred it when there was a mix, by the way the price for looking at that was 8 deck shoes(as if 6 decks isnt enough).

    I still like the GG, but sometimes you can have to much of a good thing.
     
  14. VPDana

    VPDana High-Roller

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    Very enjoyable read. I love all things Downtown. I was "there" for awhile, thanks to you.
     
  15. Nickman

    Nickman Tourist

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    Thanks for the info. Cant wait to visit El Cortez in a couple weeks for some of that BJ pitch!
     
  16. Marky147

    Marky147 VIP Whale

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    Thanks for this report, very informative and something to bear in mind when I hit Fremont in a few weeks :beer:
     
  17. topcard

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

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    Nick... just so you won't be disappointed, but the El-Co's blackjack is dealt out of a shoe... still, a great two-deck game! Take notice of their cut; they use a notch on the discard tray, which equates to about 2/3 penetration. You won't find better downtown.
    :beer:
     
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  18. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Great post, thanks.:peace:
     
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  19. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    You are correct, it isn't pitch but the single deck is dealt face down, while the DD is dealt face up. It was very strange though to see those novices flip them over every time, while others were doing the usual scratching and tucking. You can get 2 deck pitch at the boyd places.
     
  20. topcard

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

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    Yes, but sadly, Boyd does not allow DAS.
    I still play quite a bit at all three places, but I really wish they'd drop their 'No DAS' obsession.
    If Boyd did it, everyone else downtown would follow suit.
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
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