Downtown Sports Books

I will be staying downtown (MSS) over Final Four weekend and am hoping to find a fun place to watch the games. Are there any decent sports books downtown (comfortable, good drink service) or do I need to head to the Strip?

Quick answer: There are many nicer books on the Strip (and off-Strip).

Longer answer: Here's a quick review of the sports books I've been to downtown:

Plaza (Lucky's) - Haven't been here in awhile, but it was pretty nice when I was last there. Is it still open? Most of the casino isn't.
Golden Gate (Leroy's) - Just a kiosk for self-made bets. You can do better.
Golden Nugget - Haven't seen it.
Four Queens (Cal Neva) - No TVs, just a couple of bet takers. Can sit in the keno lounge nearby.
Binion's (Cal Neva) - Haven't seen it, but I've heard it exists.
Fremont (Boyd) - Electronic odds boards, some TVs, not much seating, can get crowded & smoky at times.
Fitzgeralds (Lucky's) - Upstairs, small, just bet takers and maybe a couple of TVs. Prefer others.
El Cortez (South Point) - Not half bad, if you can stand the clientele, the smoke, and the perfume.

I wouldn't call any of these places "fun" or "comfortable", though some of the locals can be very interesting to interact with. At the Fremont and El Cortez, you need to bet to get drink tickets (something like $20-40 per ticket for both places), though it's possible to get served without one.

Of all the great improvements that the Golden Nugget has made since new ownership their Sportsbook offers very little. Betting thoughbred racing is ok at best. Sports viewing (football-basketball) is BAD. In fact our trip in January there were quite a few people sleeping in the sportsbook (mostly late evening). Some of them had sack lunches or McDonald's bags. While we were there two security guards came in walked straight to the front and stood there watching football for over 15 minutes (over 1 quarter). Never said a word to anyone. Would be a lot better place if security would at least show a little concern and move them out. We decided to go over to Binions back in Benny's Bullpen for Sunday the games and it proved a fun place and finger food was pretty decent.

Head to the strip or the Las Vegas Hilton

An alternative to going to the Strip is to catch the Sam's Town bus at Fremont or Cal and ride it out to Sam's which has a "new" and very large sports book. I don't bet sports but often take a break from the VP and sit in there to have a beer and catch up on the sports of the day.

I don't think you'll find anything downtown to get excited about. If you aren't or don't want to drive, the Sam's Town idea is good. If you're driving, the book at Red Rock is very nice and not too far. Farther away but nice are GVR and South Point. All of these are roomy and equiped with the latest. The LV Hilton is an institution, but you'll find these to be just as nice.

Good Luck!
Ric at Joes

The sportsbooks downtown tend to be tiny with only a few TV's. The biggest one I believe is "Lucky's" at the Plaza and it is still open despite the casino renovations. It has lots of chairs and lots of TV's - most of which are pretty small. Don't expect much in the way of snacks or drink service.

I typically place bets at one of the downtown sportsbooks and then watch the game at one of the downtown sportsbars. Benn's Bullpen (Binions) and Triple 777 (MSS) are good in this regard. But if you are betting on some obscure game or the ponies the sportsbars might not have it available to watch.

Thanks all. That's pretty much what I figured. I guess a trip to the Strip is in order. My personal preference would have been the Stardust (sigh).