Down town observations- The D

I was there last week and quite frankly wasn't impressed with the place. The "vintage" area upstairs? Yawn. Is it cool that you can get paid out in coins instead of a ticket? No. The rest of the place just didn't do anything at all for me. Of course YMMV, it's all quite subjective.

I agree. I'll take a ticket over a bucket of coins anyday. Before TITO, I can remember waiting 15 minutes for a hopper fill. What fun is that?

Weggie & all,

Thanks for the info about The D. My wife and I are staying there this Friday, Saturday & Sunday and I'll add my $0.02 when we're back. I'd heard about getting a room on high floor facing away from FSE to avoid the noise but we were able to get the three nights for $163 total so I figured we'd risk it. I don't think FSE noise will seem like much after Pat Benatar & Cheap Trick deafen us from 12 rows away Saturday night at the Palms .

Have a great trip spirit87! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the "D". My wife and I are going in September and are considering staying there.

I stayed there twice in the last month and a half.

Upstairs at the D does have TITO. That Vue Bar with the 25c 8/5 BP progs is TITO and a fine place to fritter away some time if your a VP junkie. Bartenders are fast with the drinks and are also flipping bottles (a job requirement, they said), and they're Not Ready For Prime Time so the amusement factor runs high. The hosts are quite accommodating with the comps, too - they even picked me up at the airport and took me back, and I'm "only" a quarter VP player. I paid $0 for 8 room nights and $0 for food. As Jean Scott says so often - ASK.

Can't speak to any mail offers as they haven't started yet but I've heard they're quite attractive.

Great info! When did you contact a host? Was it prior or after your first visit?

Had not been there since the change from the Fitz. I first contacted a host before my first visit of 2.5 days. After a few minutes of conversation, he indicated that he thought I was the real deal and offered up three nights comped. He did politely say that if I didn't give them action, it'd be the last time I'd get comped there. During that visit, I ran $20K thru their quarter VP despite running back and forth between two different blackjack tournaments.

The second visit was five nights. Upon calling the host, I was offered the room and the airport pickup without asking. Keep in mind that I made it clear the basic room was just fine and that I wouldn't run up the bill in the restaurants - and I didn't. Ran about $30K thru the VP that time. They took me back to LAS in a 15-passenger stretch SUV.

YMMV. Hope this helps.

Here's my $0.02 after my wife and I stayed at The D three nights starting Friday, June 14th.

Check in & Parking:
Check in at 1:00 p.m. was easy after just 10 minutes in line. Patricia gave us a two queen, non-smoking facing away from the FSE side as requested. Parking is either valet or self-park for $1 per hour or free for guests who validate their ticket at the registration desk. The parking structure ramp is crazy steep at the entrance/exit. Parking and room elevators are near registration on the casino floor and make check in/out easy. The only glitch was at 1 a.m. Sunday morning after seeing Pat Benatar & Cheap Trick at The Palms (they can both still rock your eyeballs out) valet was full. I wound up dropping off my wife and parking at MSS.

The Room:
Room #2937 was clean and newly repainted in a cream and red scheme with new carpeting. Two beds, wall desk and desk chair. Flat screen 32” T.V. Wall safe fitted into the dresser. Beds were excellent, pillows firm. The bathroom was remodeled but the tub/shower enclosure was thin and gave when pushed. The shower pipe fitting had come loose from the wall and the sink drained slowly. Towels were average. A/C kept the room temp perfect though outside broke 100 each day. Sun film on the exterior window distorts the view when standing too close. We never heard any FSE noise. Fiji water in 12 ounce bottles was $4 and cups of self-brew coffee were $2.50. I’d suggest the tap water (sweet and free) and fresh coffee from the downstairs McDonalds downstairs at $0.63 a cup.

The Casino:
The casino attracts a slightly younger, edgier, more ethnic crowd than other downtown casinos. Evenings had bikini dancers and dealers (some shook it pretty well) and the sound level is high enough to make talking hard. It wasn’t real smoky. The long bar is impressive. There was adequate security with one or two staff in suits at the front entrance to screen people entering. We did not go to the second floor, gamble or eat there. A $5 coupon for The Grill was included with our room keys.

Overall:
We found The D a step above staying at other downtown casinos except for the Golden Nugget. It does depends on the atmosphere you’re after, though. Good value ($163 total for Fri, Sat & Sun nights). Staff was always pleasant and competent. I’d recommend trying it once.

In May we stayed at the GN in a rush tower room (very Nice) but we ended up playing at the D which is now our favorite Fremont casino. We are not big players but did get a mailer for 3 free nights and are going back for a long weekend in Sept.