Before City Center...

[SoCalRob]

I don't know what got me thinking about this but I'm curious as to where all you Jokers gambled in Vegas before fancy City Center was built. Pre. Aria and Cosmo. I think because I've seen a lot of people on here saying both of those are their homebase and a lot of slot videos take place at either of those. So I pose a question to you Jokers. Where in Vegas was your frequented gambling spot before the City Center was built?

[TwoArmedBandito]

Ceasars was my home for a while. Back when it was just Ceasars, pre harrahs.

[SoCalRob]

Ceasars was my home for a while. Back when it was just Ceasars, pre harrahs.

What made you leave? TwoArmedBandito

[twinslotaddicts]

Well....I've lived in So Cali my entire life and grew up going to Vegas. When I was younger until about 17 every Summer my parents plus my sister and I (and usually a friend or two) would go in our motor home to Lake Powell in Utah for two weeks around 4th of July. We'd leave Long Beach and drive to Vegas where we'd spend the night at the Circus Circus RV park. We LOVED it!!! We would meet 3 other families there. All the kids would go to the arcade/tent area and all the parents would head to the casino. I can remember just standing there and staring down to the people playing slots and thinking "I can't wait until that's me"!!! We always had a great time at Circus Circus. Eventually our money would run out and we'd go back and go to bed. In the morning we would all caravan to Lake Powell and we would all camp out right on the beach and put the motor homes in a rectangle with all our RV entrance doors and awnings facing the lake. We all had boats and jet skis. OMG talk about a fun two weeks. When it was time to leave again we would all caravan to Vegas and spend a night at Circus Circus RV park before heading home the next day.

My 21st birthday was the grand opening of the biggest hotel in the world (at the time). The 5005 room MGM Grand Hotel. It was AMAZING!!! It was myself, my mom, grandma, moms friends and mine and my sisters friends. It was such a fun few days. The MGM when I opened was incredible. You entered through a huge lions mouth and there was an amazing Wizard of Oz theme with an actual yellow brick road, emerald forest and a bunch of incredible features. For years we stayed at MGM, went to the amusement park and loved it there.

We also spent countless weekends at what was the LV Hilton. Loved their sports book and Star Trek theme.

Luxor was incredible with the Egyptian theme. When it opened it had an awesome water ride. Stayed there a few times in it's first 5 years.

Over the years we've stayed almost everywhere. For a few years we loved the Stratosphere and stayed there many times. For the past about 9 years I guess it's mostly been all CET properties. Our favorite is Caesars but also the hardest to get comped. We stayed at Paris a bunch and also Planet Hollywood. We also have stayed at Rio a countless number of times and the show in the sky was great. It's really gone to shit though the last couple years IMO and I really hope when what ever is done happening to CET I hope they really improve many of the Vegas properties.

Sorry for going on and on.

Ang

[SoCalRob]

Wow twinslotaddicts ! That was awesome. Such a great response. I remember Circus Circus when I was a kid! Though it may have been a little different then cuz I'm assuming I'm younger (maybe the youngest in this group, I could be severely wrong). I will say I remember how amazing the MGM Grand theme was. That lions head was amazing the theme was absolutely perfect and is a true shame they changed all that. I remember learning the reason they took the damn Lion Head entrance away! When I was taken there as a kid the parents did an amazing job with the kids. They'd take turns watching us and we'd go to unlimited arcades. Whatever was available then. My mom has always been a CET member as long as I can remember....though when I was kid oddly, her homebase was Tropicana! I haven't step foot in there since I was well below the age of ten.

I agree with you on the RIO. I absolutely hate it in there. It's too smokey and in my opinion looks incredibly run down. I remember the days they had the carnivale party in the main room. It was such a blast to be around. My mom and I stayed there once when I was 14 I think? The room was gorgeous and had an amazing view of the strip! I haven't been in the hotel portion since that time, but the casino floor is just so run down looking and tragic. I read some news a couple of weeks ago that police shot a serial casino robber there. Eeeek. So far my favorite to stay has been Caesars. My horrendously worst place that is CET is Harrah's. It was so disgusting when I "stayed" there on a FP offer that I opted to stay across the street with my mom and aunt because I didn't feel clean in the room. One of these days I will stay at a bunch of MLife properties. Mandalay, MGM, Aria, and Vdara. I also want to check out the wrap around terrace rooms at the Cosmo...even if I have to pay for it. The views are spectacular. Oh and the big B.

see I can ramble on too! It's great to talk about vegas. I love this forum so much!

[zeus]

After the first few visits and staying at several places we started staying at the MGM Grand, which became our home base for probably 6 or 7 consecutive trips. We would go play at the Bellagio and think to ourselves that this is where the rich people stay, but one day we will stay there too. Well we got offers from the Bellagio and then moved over. It may not be the newest resort on the strip, but we love staying there and there is a great feel to the place. After Aria opened we fell in love with the casino. Now our normal trips are 3 nights at Aria and then 3 at the Bellagio. Next month's trip is going to be different with it being 3 at CP and then 3 at the Bellagio. Figured it does not hurt to change it up a little!

[treyster]

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Boardwalk twice before it was demolished for City Center (last time was 1999 I think). My wife hated going in there with me, she knew I was headed for the food court to get cheap hot dogs and beer. I did hit the top pay on IGT Blackjack slot machine one time there, it was 25 cent machine and I think it was $400. Quite a bit of money for me then, now it's just pocket change lol.

Also, my first time to Vegas we stayed at the Center Strip Inn, located across from the old Aladdin. They were breaking ground on the Bellagio then and the Center Strip Inn was eventually demolished to make the Bellagio parking garage.

[foamy]

twinslotaddicts The mgm lion head scared the chinese and they would not walk in so mgm got rid of it. You went to lake powell? I want to go there fishing I've read quite a bit about it and if we ever retire we are road trippin there so we can try it out.

[FL Mary]

Rob, are you sure you can't drive over to Vegas next week! You would have a blast with the Jokers!


Wow twinslotaddicts ! That was awesome. Such a great response. I remember Circus Circus when I was a kid! Though it may have been a little different then cuz I'm assuming I'm younger (maybe the youngest in this group, I could be severely wrong). I will say I remember how amazing the MGM Grand theme was. That lions head was amazing the theme was absolutely perfect and is a true shame they changed all that. I remember learning the reason they took the damn Lion Head entrance away! When I was taken there as a kid the parents did an amazing job with the kids. They'd take turns watching us and we'd go to unlimited arcades. Whatever was available then. My mom has always been a CET member as long as I can remember....though when I was kid oddly, her homebase was Tropicana! I haven't step foot in there since I was well below the age of ten.

I agree with you on the RIO. I absolutely hate it in there. It's too smokey and in my opinion looks incredibly run down. I remember the days they had the carnivale party in the main room. It was such a blast to be around. My mom and I stayed there once when I was 14 I think? The room was gorgeous and had an amazing view of the strip! I haven't been in the hotel portion since that time, but the casino floor is just so run down looking and tragic. I read some news a couple of weeks ago that police shot a serial casino robber there. Eeeek. So far my favorite to stay has been Caesars. My horrendously worst place that is CET is Harrah's. It was so disgusting when I "stayed" there on a FP offer that I opted to stay across the street with my mom and aunt because I didn't feel clean in the room. One of these days I will stay at a bunch of MLife properties. Mandalay, MGM, Aria, and Vdara. I also want to check out the wrap around terrace rooms at the Cosmo...even if I have to pay for it. The views are spectacular. Oh and the big B.

see I can ramble on too! It's great to talk about vegas. I love this forum so much!

[TwoArmedBandito]

SoCalRob. Ceasars used to give out pretty good comps. I could get free room no problem. I won big in 1999 and treated my friends to a Vegas trip. Had a blast. Stayed once more later on. Then 9-11 happened. Didn't go back for 5 years. During that time my parents (elderly) wanted to go on trips to Reno. Only way was if I'd take care of them and handle the trip details. So that's what I did. Harrahs TRewards sucked. And you could barely get anything. Then Ceasars Bought them. They used TR as their system. Been a Mlife member ever since. Plus I loved Aria .

[goldengreeke]

I am probably in the minority here, but I do not like city center. I play at the Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, and Encore when I want to be somewhere nice.
otherwise I play at Harrah's. :)

[boots]

I've stayed all over the place. My first Vegas visit was 20 years ago this month, for the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show. My employers decided to send me at the last minute, so I was at the Tropicana while everyone else was at a non-gaming hotel near the convention center. I was not-so-secretly glad, because it allowed me to wander around and form my own first impressions of Vegas without anyone else coloring my perceptions.

Before I went, I always thought I'd hate Vegas. But I instantly fell for this crazy, ridiculous, vulgar, harsh, entertaining, magical place. And even now I prefer to visit solo, whether I connect with others along the way or not. I find Vegas very restful. It's like an ocean with really loud waves. :D

Over the years, as I've gotten older and more demanding and am able to spend more $ on entertainment, my Vegas hotel/casino choices have evolved quite a bit. I've always been a sucker for high-grade kitsch. But I've gotten spoiled by staying at really nice hotels, and don't enjoy compromising on quality at this point. In general I'd rather pay to stay at a great place than take a crappy room for free. I also insist on rooms with blackout drapes that work the way they're supposed to. And rooms without random flashing lights that wake me up. (I travel with a roll of electrical tape, just to cover up all the annoying glowy things.)

I used to love Luxor when it was new and shiny, and animatronic camels still greeted incoming guests, but it got pretty ugh by the end of the '90s. After that I stayed at Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island (in its pre-TI days, when there were still pirates), or Aladdin (in its pre-PHo days).

During the '00s I also stayed quite often at Venetian, and later Palazzo. But for some years now I have been unable to give owner Sheldon Adelson my business for political reasons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Adelson#2012). It's like voting against myself. This still makes me a little grumpy, because I liked the hotels and think they treat players relatively well, though I never won much at either casino.

From around 2006 on I stayed at Wynn a lot -- and Encore as well, once it opened. (I actually prefer the Encore rooms, though it's more of a hike to get there.) I still occasionally stay there. The energy sometimes feels a little dozy to me, and it's hard to get good, modular food without laying down some real money, but their beds are wonderful. A big reason I drifted away from W/E is that they yanked out all their Aruze games in the wake of an ugly boardroom brawl (http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/okada-wants-court-stop-stock-seizure-wynn-says-game-over). And I do love me some Aruze!

I haven't been a full-time "Wynn lady" since early 2011, because that's when I fell madly in love with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. I love the wit and humor and design details, the food, the people, the balconies with *that* view, the feeling that (for better or worse) crazy, random shit could happen at any second -- and the fact that, up until 2014, I never lost much at their casino. We'll see how 2015 goes.

Other places I've stayed: MGM, which is OK if it's free, but doesn't do much for me aesthetically. Aria, which always disappoints me, both room-wise (inadequate drapes, pilled sheets) and gambling-wise. Vdara, which is a worthy non-gaming stay, but generally requires an upfront spend, and the Roman shades let in too much light for my taste. Mandarin Oriental, which is lovely and gorgeous, but is again a deliberate non-gaming spend. The Delano, which after some consideration I think is OK if not fabulous, though I had some maintenance, noise, and light control issues. Nobu, which is a mixed bag -- rooms are very comfortable with great amenities, but they're very dark and have no view to speak of, and I have yet to win anything at Caesars or any other CET property.

Off-Strip, I've stayed at Red Rock -- attractive, B+ level rooms, but I hate the overly loud classic rock in the casino. And M Resort: I love the casino, but the rooms are practically paved in depressing woodgrain laminate, and there's an unblockable light from the back of the mini-fridge cabinet that always wakes me up. One time I got comped into a suite at M Resort, and it still wasn't nice enough for hotel princess me. Though at least the mini-fridge light wasn't an issue!

[dvandentop]

Stayed at mgm tropicana palazzo mandalay bay. Monte carlo before. Wasnt as serious of a player back then though.

[SoCalRob]

Wow boots! You definitely sound like my kinda friend. I'm kind of the same way, if I have the money I prefer to pay for quality of service than settle for a free room for the sake of it being for free. Since I haven't had the money yet nor have I played often enough at Cosmo I haven't gotten chance to stay in their rooms. One of these days I definitely will want to because of the views they offer from the pictures I've seen.

[Drgonslyer]

We stay mostly at CET places, never really have had a bad room and they are free. I have gotten the comp adds from the Wynn and P/V but when I call they never have any thing open. Last stay was in the Cromwell, the room was nice but a little dark and it was non-smoking. What was great is that you stepped out of the elevator and you were in the middle of the casino. Security at the elevators 24/7 plus your room key activated the elevator. Never had a noise problem that some people talk about while staying there. As far as food goes Johnny Rockets will work just find but I also like a good steak.