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Where were you staying before the high-end era?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Snowbelle3, Feb 20, 2014.

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  1. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    It is now the high-end era. Higher-end properties have exploded in the town over the last few years. Where were you staying before this era?
     
  2. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    When I first started going the only high end places were Caesars and the DI. I stayed at Caesars once, never at DI. I stayed at many others though, Stardust, Riv, Ho, Harrahs (when it was Holiday Inn), Flamingo, Bally's (MGM then), Hacienda, Sahara, Dunes, Sands, Barbary Coast, Maxim, Bourbon Street and downtown.
     
  3. tex55

    tex55 High-Roller

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    I first visited Vegas in 1992, stayed downtown. Loved the old Lady Luck, and loved playing at Binion's. Moved to the Strip in 1997, but do miss the downtown atmosphere of that era.
     
  4. TomTWI

    TomTWI Custom Title

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    Always a low end

    As long as I've been going to Las Vegas there has been a high end. The names have just changed. Ceasars and MGM (Bally's) were the high end then.

    I've always opted not to stay high end unless someone else was paying. We were busy building a nest egg and didn't value amenities as much as others. I've stayed in the very best hotels on business trips and know what I would be paying for. I don't gamble enough to get it comped so I just stay and pay for lower end of spectrum. That being said 20years ago we stayed primarily north strip CC, Sahara, Westward HO Also did the Imperial Palace once and Tropicana a couple times. We just would visit the better places and donate a few coins.

    TomTWI
     
  5. Wolfman619

    Wolfman619 Low-Roller

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    Bills (RIP) used to be the go-to spot. Stayed alot at flamingo and Harrahs too.
     
  6. bjpcyclone

    bjpcyclone High-Roller

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    I'm 31 and have been going to Vegas since I was 21 (somewhere around 16 trips). My stays probably mirror many people, gradually working up the ladder.

    First few trips:
    Circus Circus
    Stardust

    Moved "up" to:
    Excalibur
    Luxor

    Now currently stay at:
    NYNY
    Monte Carlo (preferred spot)

    I've stayed at MGM/Mirage before which is a step up from NYNY/MC but we really like the "middle of the pack" hotel and have settled there for the past few years. Haven't stayed at Bellagio/Aria/Wynn yet...maybe in another 10 years.

    Those first few trips, I had a bankroll of $300 for an entire trip! Now my daily bankroll is more than that.
     
  7. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    My first few stays, I knew nothing of comps and really never did much research on Vegas, in general. So, I’d stay where I could find (what I thought) was the best deal. The hotels ran the gambit from Boardwalk to Caesars Palace.

    Once I started to understand comps – and my play grew to the point where I could actually get them – I realized I could get my rooms for free, at least at Imperial Palace anyway. So, IP was my first real “Vegas home”. As the CET Empire, as it exists today, took shape and my bankroll grew, I was able to move up the CET ladder. I moved to Flamingo for a while, with the occasional stay at Bally’s. And then Paris became my home base with CP mixed in when I could get one of the good towers for free.

    Then the economy crashed and, at the same time, the supply of luxury rooms grew tremendously. So, everyone – even the top tier joints – began giving rooms away to anyone with a pulse. I took advantage of this new “liberal comp environment” and was able to stay at Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, Encore and Aria for free, despite not having played much in any of their casinos before I received the offers.

    V/P and Wynncore seemed to be the first to wean themselves off the easy comps. So, I started staying at the MGM joints. Aria and Monte Carlo (Hotel 32) were two of my favorites and the most generous with comps. So, they became my go-to places, with a stay at Bellagio and Mirage, thrown in, on occasion.

    Then about two years ago or so, I started getting free room offers from Wynn again. I booked a stay at Encore and fell in love (again). I started giving Wynncore the lion’s share of my play and managed to get hooked up with a host that treats me quite well. I haven’t stayed anywhere other than Wynn or Encore since (7-8 trips).
     
  8. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    My first trip was in college and was a decent hotel, MGM, but it was 4 of us sharing one room. Next trip was also in college using free room offers from Stratosphere and Luxor. The Bellagio was still new then and every time I'd go past it I'd think about how nice it must be inside and how everyone there was probably rich and beautiful. We never went in though, we just figured it wasn't for guys like us but I would be envious and think about how I wanted to be part of that crowd one day.

    Shortly after I started working I took a trip and stayed at MGM again. I was supposed to fly out on a Sunday night to get back to work but decided to finally visit Bellagio. I loved everything about it and started gambling, it wasn't much but a host came and introduced himself to me at some point. I told him I was flying out that night but would stay if he could give me a room. He did and I changed my ticket and said screw work. I was blown away that I was one of "those people" getting comped at Bellagio, after spending my previous trips just looking at it from the outside and imagining what it must be like to part of that - which as it turns out is just a normal crowd like any hotel but at that age I didn't know any better.
     
  9. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    Stayed at Frontier and Vegas World on first trips. What dumps! Then pretty much stayed at the Mirage from 1998-2003. It was a great value for comps or if paying after Bellagio opened and was still a great hotel in that era.
     
  10. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Over the period of say 1995 to 2005, mostly places like Stardust, Riviera, Sahara, IP. LVH once, Plaza once (surprisingly nice!), Westward Ho twice, first time it was nasty, second time it was semi-nice.
     
  11. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Considering the Vegas so many seem to long for was all about martinis and black tie …

    If we are in a high-end "era," it's not just Vegas. With in-room amenities and linens and the like, a lot of the national chains arrayed along the interstate system are far past anything from the motor hotel era. I think the skew is across the board, so in a relative sense, nothing has changed.

    I've not done a room count but for every additional Mandarin or Vdara, aren't there just a few more locals places that really weren't part of the old equation?

    As for me, my first several stays across the '90s were at the Golden Nugget. And while we've stayed in our fair share of holes -- Riv, IP, Flamingo, CC once and only once, Trashy Castle once and only once -- we've always been drawn far more frequently to the higher-end places.
     
  12. Guardian

    Guardian High-Roller

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  13. Ezzy711

    Ezzy711 VIP Whale

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    1980s - IP (known then by it's fancier full name The Imperial Palace) because it was close to Ceasar's and we couldn't afford that. We thought the Asian decor was really "neat".

    1990s - Thought I was the toast of the town staying at the Tropicana. I was super cool because I had one of their higher level cards and could stay in a tower room right near the entrance.
     
  14. Tammy58

    Tammy58 Frugal Slot Jockey

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    Not sure when you think the high end era started....Our 90s hotels were Harrahs and Monte Carlo. Post 911 was Gold Coast, Bally's. We have always been what "we" consider to be middle of the road people. We don't want/need high end but try to avoid the bottom of the bottom. :)
     
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