Fremont Street Experience noise map?

Agree, but some people can't help it.

 Good advice - now take it.

First of all, thank you to all the folks who offered very useful suggestions.

Tenth of all, I'm sorry. Asking David Miller not to be an asshole was like saying to a baby, "Don't be a baby." They won't comply; they won't even understand what you mean.

I stayed at 4Q in April. Our south tower room faced south. I had to settle for 2 queens instead of a king. We had some noise but nothing compared to our experiences facing north.

Did you request a room with that orientation? I'm unclear whether if you don't specify, they'll give you the low-noise rooms first and the boom rooms only if there's nothing left, or it's the other way around--if you don't say otherwise, they'll give you a boom room.

I haven't had any success in reserving a quiet room ahead of time. There seems to be no way to request that before you arrive. Thus, I try to get there at 3 and request a quiet room.

The boom rooms basically force you to stay awake until mid-morning, and sometimes almost until dawn. The downtown casinos should admit this to people, that some of their rooms are impossible to sleep in. They would still be fine for visitors who plan to stay out until the wee hours anyway.

Some people have reported that the renovated rooms in the north tower (overlooking Fremont ST) at the 4Q have much better soundproofing.  North-facing rooms in the south tower are probably still pretty noisy, though.

Yes, that's right.  I stayed in a North-facing room overlooking Fremont in August.  The sound was very muted.

Plaza facing towards the railroad tracks is rather silent. The rooms facing Fremont are basically useless for sleeping.

 I have stayed at the 4 Queens some 25/30+ times - and this I know for a fact. (1) When making a reservation, tell the room booking agent that you would like a quiet room - it will be noted on your reservation when you check-in. I also request a room on a high floor - they are quieter. I have NEVER had those requests not honored.(2) You can check - in prior to 3 pm - I do it all the time, the only exception is when it is a busy Fri/Sat and/or when a special event is scheduled. (3) The newly remodeled North tower rooms are much quieter than before the remodel. I stayed in one and the noise was barely noticable.(4) If you are unlucky enough to get one of the rooms next to the noise, get some earplugs. People complain about the noise - and I get it. Remember, the 4 Queens was built long before the Fremont Experience/paving over the street happened. 

Right. Which is why the FSE was and is an intrusion. There was quite the debate among the downtown casinos whether it should be built at all.

Earplugs absolutely do not help, because you will still hear and definitely feel the BOOM BOOM of the pop music they play, particularly the live "We may not be good, but we're sure loud" bands.

I've tried to reserve a quiet room and never been able to. I've been told flat out that I'd have to wait until check-in; I've also been told that I could indeed get a quiet room but on arrival, there was no mention of that on my reservation and I was forced to stay in a no-sleep boom boom room.

The booking agents apparently don't/won't/can't assign specific rooms--only types of rooms, and in which tower. So whether you get the kind of room you want depends on whether those rooms are sold out by the time you get there. Of course, the quiet rooms are more popular and sell out first.

I've arrived prior to 3 pm several times and was never able to check in before then. For that matter, a couple of times, I had to wait until after 4.

I agree that the North Tower rooms are nicer and quieter. Also considerably more expensive.

All this is just the 4Q; others' experiences at other downtown hotels may differ. The key for me has been, I don't want to have to research and request that I'll actually be able to sleep in the room I pay for. And I think the casinos should be not only transparent but forthright about the rooms that are exposed to noise: there should be a warning of some sort: "SLEEP IN THIS ROOM PRIOR TO 4 AM MAY BE DIFFICULT." That sort of thing.