Boston.com vegas "strategy" page

this technically isn't a trip report, but its a section on boston.com where people reccomend, give tips, etc..
worth a look at least..

http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us_southwest/las_vegas/strategy_guide/

[ May 17, 2004, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: tvon ]

 

Tvon- thanks for sharing. The diatribe that follows in not personal to you, but rather, my opinion on the article itself....

This is the second Vegas article in the past month from the Globe that deals with Vegas- and it isn't any more impressive than the first (which stunk). I'm disappointed that one of my favorite papers (I subscribe to the Sunday edition) is spreading such misinformation about one of our favorite destinations. I take this brazen display of inaccuracy as a personal affront to my long hours of Vegas Research. Let's look at some suggested "Vegas Strategy":

Hotel Strategy:
1."For starters, you must stay at the Hard Rock Hotel. There is no substitute, I will not argue this point."
2."A bunch of my friends and I were staying at the Hard Rock which is the only hotel with swim up blackjack. (I highly recommend staying there for the pool and swim up blackjack alone)."
3."Book rooms last minute for the best rates, call or even show up at the front desk, you can usually get bargain rates."

1. I'm pretty thankful that there's no substitute for the Hard Rock. If all the hotel casinos were like this one, I'd never go back.
2. Uhhmmm, I think the Tropicana has swim-up blackjack. I'm guessing it's been offered at the Trop since before ground broke on the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
3. If you've been on the T2V board for any length of time, you know the best way to get a cheap rate is to book while the price is reasonable through the hotel website. Then continue to look for deals on Travelaxe, other discount websites and the hotel website itself for lower rates. If you find a lower rate, book it, because that rez you made through the hotel can be cancelled without penalty. Keep this in mind when booking through Priceline, Travelaxe sites, etc, as there is often a cancellation charge or non-refundable policies associated with reservations on these sites.

Gambling Strategy:
1."Harrah's/Rio are good places to gamble as they have a generous rewards program. Two times after both winning and losing I have been offered numerous free room opportunities for a return trip"
2."For gambling, nothing beats the casino at the Hard Rock Cafe. All the other casinos look the same, but the Hard Rock has a unique energy and attitude. Great music, cool dealers, and beautiful women. And you might get lucky and spot a celebrity."
3."If you gamble a $5 dollar table and start with $50 bucks: Take all 10 spins / hands / rolls, because IF and WHEN you get greedy, and put more then one bet down at a moment, then you are bound to lose that bet. And when you are broke after nine spins / hands / rolls, and can’t bet that tenth, you'll be there with no money out of the game watching other people take the winnings you should have had."

1. Harrah's may have some decent comps, but at what price? 6:5 blackjack? Even money blackjack dealt by bikini-clad women? What's the EV on those games?? How much are you really paying for those comps??? I can think of several other clubs who are more generous with comps: Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, and Coast, to name a few.
2. What IS it with the Hard Rock???
3. Say what?????

Food/Drink Strategy:
1.A little tip if you’re in or around the Hard Rock Casino. Go directly to the convenience store inside the casino Lobby near the Pink Taco. No point fighting the crowds at the center bar when you can go right to the beer cooler and grab a frosty one. No fuss, no muss. They have nips, butts and beer. What else can a man ask for?
2.The Flamingo buffet is amazing. Actually amazing doesn't do it justice. The plates piled high with king crab legs are a sight to see and, yes, they taste as good as they look. They offer pretty much anything you could possibly want, prime rib, fish, desserts, etc.
3.The tastiest food in Sin City can be found at the Slots-Of-Fun. This off-the-beaten path quaint joint has fantastic hotdogs, and nickel slots to boot!

1. Has the Globe hired a PR person from the Hard Rock to write this article? This is a highly amusing suggestion, considereing there is a full-scale liquor store directly across the street on the corner of Harmon and Paradise!
2. I'm not saying the Flamiongo offers the worst buffet, but AMAZING? C'mon people, we know better!
3. I denounce this statement vehemently. Slots-A-Fun DOES NOT offer "the tastiest food in Sin City". I think there's a little competition out there for Subway, don't you?

There were some good suggestions as well, but I've never seen such laughable Las Vegas advice. Reminds me of how great and useful this site is. Thanks, everyone!

 

I must have read that thing 20 times before giving up.

These people seem to really love certain casinos. Here's a "tip" from the "All-Star Suggestion" section:
To save 100% of your airfare, just send a check to the casino in the amount you plan to gamble.
- Bunyan, Guilford, CT

Oh man, some of these things are great! LOL! I feel like one of the Mystery Science Theater guys.

[ May 17, 2004, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: YoungGun ]

 

As a former resident of Walpole, MA, and a daily reader of the online Boston Globe, I think Heathcat is being a bit too harsh regarding the information at their Vegas-related site.

What Heathcat describes as a Globe article is not really that at all, but mostly just the opinions of people who have posted messages to the site at the Globe's invitation. They are people like you and me, people who have a diversity of opinions, often limited by what is minimal exposure (i.e., few visits) to Las Vegas.

That being said, the collection of opinions on that site, as with many other sites, must be taken with a grain of salt. We should usually be leery when someone says that a restaurant, a buffet, a show, etc., is "the best," because "best" is often just the opinion of someone with narrow exposure to the various options.

I am often tempted to challenge a writer who says that something in Vegas is "the best" of its kind. I would want to ask things like how many of such things has the writer has actually experienced.

So be cautious when evaluating an opinion that something is "the best." Everyone has his/her own needs for food, hotel rooms, entertainment, etc., and "best" can often be defined only in terms of what YOUR needs and preferences are.

 

3.The tastiest food in Sin City can be found at the Slots-Of-Fun. This off-the-beaten path quaint joint has fantastic hotdogs, and nickel slots to boot!


Well the "HO DOG" is a Gastronomical event

 

David's right- technically this isn't an article written by the Globe- it's more of a section of their travel guide with information made up of reader suggestions. I love the Globe and am a faithful (Sunday) reader, but I think this is a poor format for a travel guide. The Globe's intro says:

"Vegas, baby. Thanks to your help, we present our blueprint for the ultimate trip to Las Vegas. We asked for the inside scoop about how to maximize your time in Vegas, and not just where to go and what to see, but the *how* and *when*. And here's what you told us:"

So they have taken all the reader suggestions and made what they call "blueprint for the ultimate trip to Las Vegas". I think this is a bit misleading to readers who are looking for more information about Las Vegas. The way I read it, if you follow these suggestions you will have planned the ultimate trip to Vegas...

I appreciate opinions of all kinds, and I know that the bulk of travel writing is opinion and observation (GolfnTravel- your two cents here??). I just got the impression that the Globe picked through submissions and has printed...I can only guess, what they think are good suggestions that readers should follow, and I don't think they are helping potential visitors.

I agree with David's advice on gleaning information from opinions- You should take what you read with a grain of salt, and that includes my posts er- opinions, as well!

 

heath and dave - i couldn't agree more. i just threw this out there for a good chuckle, since some of it is just crazytalk. I should submit this to them:
"the western hotel and casino is badass! tons of hot ladies and the absolute best food in vegas!! its old school vegas baby!!"

 

Heathcat isn't far off the mark with her comments about this special section. Sure the paper writes that it's culled from the experiences/opinions of readers, but the entire thing is presented as the paper's ultimate guide to LV.

If you aren't writing about Vegas you aren't with it -- from the perspective of a newspaper. The paper appeared to be too lazy or cheap to do it right -- send out it's own reporters or rely on freelancers with a stake in the game -- and that's obvious. It's laughable how the paper is trying to be hip and edgy with this section simply because someone decided that that's how Vegas of '04 needs to be presented. It just reads as lame. And the content is as "true" to those of us in the "know" as the crap on the Travel Channel that touts things like crapless craps as being a great gamble. Sure, the editor in charge of the section can hide behind the proviso that it's reader submissions. Then why did the paper cast it as being presented as its take on the ultimate LV getaway?

Travel and in fact every form of experiential writing is ALL about opinion. Hopefully informed opinion, but beyond the hard facts of how many rooms a resort has, what's available on a menu, or how high is the tallest peak in North America, everything else is the writer's take on the experience; otherwise we all could "make do" with the marketing crap put out by the flacks.

OK, then, what can you "believe"? To the benefit of readers the field is rather self-regulating. Everyone has an opinion and everyone thinks he/she can write, but getting into print is damned hard -- very, very hard -- and that serves as a pretty good filter. Editors and publishers have an interest in getting good stuff in front of readers. And good writers get invited back. Don't get me wrong, plenty of crap gets into print. But when it comes to journals, particularly, I think its nearer a rare than a frequent event. Beyond that, just use your intellect, instinct and experience ... you'll have a feel for what's legit and what's not. (Doesn't mean you have to like the voice and style of every writer, but you can rely on the veracity of what's in print.)

David's admonition is dead on target. We've all done it -- tossing out "best this" and "best that." But what's the context? What's the basis of comparison? What's the expertise and the experience of the one dispensing superlatives like placebos in a controlled test group? There indeed is a time and place for "best," but it's best used judiciously. When it's tossed around like confetti in a parade -- we've all seen it here -- I know my eyes tend to glaze over and I discount what that person writes.

There's a reason why newspapers verify (or the good ones do) letters to the editor; taking a shot anonymously doesn't cut it. I keep that in mind when digesting internet content. It's way too easy to enter cyberopinionland with a pseudonym and start pontificating. I prefer stuff with a byline.

 

I agree with most of you here, especially about the HO Dog, Soreyes . I do, however, think that we take ourselves too seriously sometimes. I appreciate it when someone tries to inject a little humor in their writing every once in a while. After all, for most people Vegas is about having fun. If I wanted to read dry commentary, I'd read Fodor's.

 

I couldn't agree more. But you do have to differentiate between travel journalism and an assemblage of opinions from a host of people. Bill Bryson and Fodor's are the former, the latter is not. Yet Bryson and some of the wags quoted by the Globe are humorous.

 

I agree that the section (not really an article), while made with good intentions, is very deceptive. It claims to have the "inside scoop" when in reality it just kinda asks for the opinion of anyone that wants to give it. If it was a message board it would be OK, but the people in charge here make it sound like these are more than just opinion. Especially troubling is the "All-Star" section where I found the tip from the guy that said to mail a check to the casino to get free airfare. That goes beyond biased advise and could result in someone losing their money. I have no qualm against the people that post about their love of Hard Rock or Slot-a-Fun food. Heck, I actually like the Ho Dog. But the deceptive wording to make the suggestions seem like more than they are is troubling.

 

"If you aren't writing about Vegas you aren't with it -- from the perspective of a newspaper. The paper appeared to be too lazy or cheap to do it right -- send out it's own reporters or rely on freelancers with a stake in the game -- and that's obvious."

The Globe HAS published some original reporting by one or more of its staff writers in recent months. But, unfortunately, the result was just as superficial as we are talking about here.

At this point, I'd like to put in a plug for a good friend of mine named Bill Ordine, who knows how to get it right. Bill was a long-time reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and is currently city-desk editor of the Baltimore Sun. Bill has long had an interest in Las Vegas, having visited here many times, as well as in topics related to gambling throughout the USA.

Almost as an enjoyable hobby, Bill writes a syndicated column about gambling and gambling destinations, with an emphasis on Las Vegas. If you do a Google search on "Bill Ordine," you will find links to a number of his articles that clearly reflect a high level of knowledge, expertise and writing ability. - Try it, you'll like it.

 

All I want to say is .....I ate that loaded up Ho-Dog in July of 2002 and I can honestly say it's the only souvenier i brought back from Vegas. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced it's still with me.