It looks like our group is moving to Laughlin.

None of us like the Fremont street environment, and some hate it.  Our new home will likely be at the Laughlin Nugget, with most guys doubling up in two queen rooms and six staying in the Gold Rush Villa.  It'll be the same total room cost vs Fremont's Golden Gate for our group of 16, or so, at $455 per person for 3 nights.  Our standard rooms will be an substantial upgrade vs the Golden Gate, and the suite is a killer.  2900 square foot 3BR joint.  That will be party central.  It's expensive at about $5500 for the 3 nights, but we share that cost.  They only have one of these suites so I'll be confirming our dates in a week and will book the suite so I don't lose it.

Stayed @ the GN recently to see Jay Leno. Very good show. Anyway steak place there is good but you a reservation. Coffee shop is also good. River views excellent. 

Now for the negative in no particular order

1- slot cards weren't working. 
2- machines old & vp isn't that great. 
3 - casino is a dump. 
4 - hotter than Vegas 

5 - room was a dump, poor ac &had roaches. 
6- my understanding is that the GN is 1 of the better places. 
7- staff was rude 

Suggest you look into Southpoint. Nice staff, good gambling, great sports book. Great variety of restaurants & not expensive. Rooms are nice. Entertainment every night. 

plan on on a 90 minute drive. (Speed traps). Southpoint is closer to the airport than Laughlin. 

I think we're ready for a change and will reasses after one year.  The villa at the Laughlin is a killer and we all play only BJ.

Thanks for the advice, and Southpoint could be considered next year.

I couldn't agree with you more about downtown.  It just isn't my cup of tea.  There are for sure some good places to play but I compare Fremont street to Bourbon street in New Orleans minus good food options.  

I know a lot of people say Four Queens is good but it is so ficking hot in there.  I like Golden Nugget for poker but the room is dark and dungy.  

I think you guys would really like Southpoint as well.  

        Downtown is morphing into the Strip and will soon become just another part of Vegas to ignore. Most of the clientele appear to be of the college frat mentality, especially on the weekends. Most of the good video poker is gone, rip off resort fees (except at the 4 Queens and Apache hotel) with ever increasing room rates, bums and the homeless roaming around and pan handling, the odor of marijuana everywhere, parking fees, non existant comps --just the strip all over again. Once the 4 Queens and Apache hotel capitulate and start charging a "resort fee, there will be no reason for me to stay downtown. The Strip has proven that visitors have no problem accepting being gouged and Downtown has paid attention to this. 

Laughlin is kind of a bizarre dump--it's definitely not a town: the actual settlement (and virtually everything you would associate with a town, such as goods and services) is four miles up a steep hill or two miles away across the river, and there's no public transportation. So if you want anything the casinos can't provide and you don't have a car: too bad.

The gambling in Laughlin is better than most that you find in Vegas: lower limits, and better rules. You'll find good BJ at the Atlantis and Riverside, a bit of a walk from the Nugget, but doable. The BJ at the Nugget is kind of dead--very few tables in operation.

Food options are extremely limited. At the Nugget itself, the coffee shop is a branch of Claim Jumper, and hideously overpriced. Other options there are similar, and the quality overall is worse than you find in Vegas. Those high price/low quality effects are true in all of Laughlin. The ONLY cheap dining is a very conveniently placed (across the street from the Nugget) In N Out Burger, which is always mobbed.

I thought the rooms at the Nugget were very nice when I stayed there last December and January.

If you have a car: you can find everything you might expect a normal town to have, such as good dining options, across the river in Bullhead City. Don't bother trying to go uphill to Laughlin proper--it's just a bunch of residences for casino workers, with very little in terms of goods and services. Everyone there shops across the river, including for gas and groceries.

I think you'll enjoy your stay more than you would have in downtown Vegas.

Oh, and return offers were very generous: six free nights per month. I couldn't use them, but it's nice that it's so much better than Vegas. Got some free play offers, too.

Its been 10 years since I've been.    I stayed for 2 nights which was about right.  Its very quiet and not much to do except hit the casinos ....and VPFree and AMerica Casino Guides arent saying good things about Laughlin Casinos right now. 

Aquarius is where I stayed   which was ok ...about on par with rooms at 4-Queens.   Pioneer club had some good games back then and I ended up spending most of my casino cash there.   I dont know what its like now.

I didnt go across the river to see what was over there....didnt look like much.   

But I agree its time to venture beyond Vegas.  I'm doing Reno in Dec.

I agree with all comments from David except for the college mentality.

If the standard rooms are reasonably nice, and the Gold Rush Suite is anywhere as nice as the pictures/video, our trip will be a winner.  If we all overspend $100 on food over the weekend, we'll survive.

Possibly....lol.