The magic is gone

I've been going to Vegas for about 20 years - a couple of days once a year with a budget including everything except airfare of around $500.  This visit was from Dec 5-9.  I should also probably note that I've also traveled to Atlantic City, Mississippi, Florida and Colorado to gamble.

Most of the attraction has disappeared:

     $5 blackjack    
      9-6 JOB VP for $.25

      Inexpensive hotel rooms, maybe even a comp at Boyd properties 

      Buffets - except South Point

      Inexpensive car rentals

      A sense of security riding the RTC busses

      Free attractions like the Mirage volcano and the TI Pirate show.

      American Casino guide and it's coupons 

      Many LVA MBR coupons, especially Boyd and Stations

      Poker tournaments for less than $75 - except Westgate

      Limit poker and $1-2 NLH

It's been replaced with:

       $15 BJ, or even worse, 6-5 BJ

       7-5 JOB VP unless you'll play a $1 machine    
        $150 buyin poker tournaments 
       Resort fees and paid parking     
        No points at all for lowest tier Boyd players

        Lots of fancy food, shopping  and entertainment options

It's sad when your favorite casino has become Jerry's Nugget and you wish the porn-slappers would return while the ladies with high heels and headdresses would disappear.  I understand that the focus has shifted from frugal gambling to upscale entertainment but I don't have to endorse the changes.  I thought that I could escape reality by avoiding the Strip but even Fremont St seems noisy and unattractive nowadays.

In just over a month Virginia's first permanent casino will open in Portsmouth, where I live.  I doubt that the gambling will be very good, but it won't require an airplane ride and I can eat and sleep at home.  Hey, with only one casino nearby, I might even get some mailers again.

More visitors than ever are visiting Sin City and spending more money than ever to live the fantasy.  More power to them, but count me out.

Yeah, I noticed Fremont ST has officially got as bad as the strip with gambling.     

My official position on Vegas now is it is no longer a gambling destination.   Shows?  Food?  Sports?  Conventions?  OK.  Gambling ? No.  

Pretty sad when local casinos in INdiana have better games than Vegas

I realized that I should have posted this topic in a different forum, so here's the trip report version.

Wasn't planning on this trip until Breeze Airways offered a new nonstop one-way introductory rate of $99 or so (which came to $160 with fees) from Norfolk on a Monday.  Note that return flight on Friday was significantly more expensive so I flew back on American through Charlotte.

9AM flight was delayed 90 minutes because of crew timeout carrying over from a late arrival the night before.  Flight was otherwise uneventful.  Breeze baggage claim is in Terminal 3.

Bought my RTC 3-day all access bus pass online for $20 and used the app to board the 109 northbound towards Downtown.  Reservation for 3 nights at El Cortez where the resort fee is about the same as the room rate.  Chose this hotel because it's away from the Fremont Experience noise and offered cheap, good blackjack.  This was a mistake.  BJ is now $15 a hand and I think the famous single deck game is $100 minimum.  The Pavilion room, 5570, was OK but the location was horrible!  Faced 7th St which has the gas-blasting mantis on one corner and a nightclub that causes serious hearing damage to its patrons until 3AM on the other.  The casino now offers guests a fun book with some gambling, food, and services vouchers.  Enjoyed prime rib at Siegel's 1941 before beginning the gambling run.

Most of the MBR gambling coupons are focused on Fremont Street and your trip results will probably depend on the matchplays.  Got the free T-shirt for converting my Binion's/Four Queens players cards to their consolidated card.  Won the matchplays at D and Golden Gate, but lost at Plaza and Downtown Grand (only $10).  Had a couple of good sessions after the matchplays and modest luck on the free slot play for an evening win of $125.

Rode RTC route 113 northbound (generally a depressing experience) to Jerry's Nugget.  Noticed a big new Amazon warehouse enroute.  Breakfast at McDonalds.  Tuesday is senior day at Jerry's so I got my $5 matchplay coupon.  I was the only player at the table and was joined by the pit boss who was quite personable.  Final loss of $10 on bj and VP.  Then it was off on a series of bus rides that eventually took me to a poker tournament at the Westgate.

Arizona Charlie's Decatur matchplay and some extra play yielded a $40 profit.  Stopped by Bellagio to use MyVegas coupon for BOGO gelato but the redemption line was incredibly long so I left the property.  Ellis Island has expanded over years and has the best coupons in the MBR book.  Got the $10 steak dinner and won $60.  Off to the Westgate for their $35 Tuesday night poker tournament.  Only made it through the first break but probably the most enjoyable gambling experience of the trip.  Then back downtown and a futile attempt to sleep.

Wednesday morning started with long bus rides to South Point for the sole surviving buffet worth buying.  A little bit of gambling and a lot of cowboy watching (this was NFR week) before catching multiple busses to OYO for free  slot play.  By now I am running on fumes so it's back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.  I took the Boulder Highway Express bus out to the Longhorn for dinner (had a craving for spaghetti and garlic bread). They've removed the bj tables so there was no point in gambling.  Walked to Sam's Town to see the Mystic Forest show and lost a few bucks  on VP.  Rode the bus to Boulder Station just to check out the poker room.  Broke even on VP.  Then it was time to turn in for the night.

Early flight home meant getting up at 3:15 and catching the 109 southbound to the airport.  At that time of morning the bus was a mobile homeless shelter.  Short TSA lines allowed time for breakfast.  Home by 4PM.

My net win of $90 paid for the bus pass and my meals which I consider a good outcome.  Hope you enjoyed this post.

I hear you and agree.  A lot of the things that drew us to Vegas in the first place are gone.
It is depressing.  

I managed to cobble together a "value" trip a couple of months ago. Stayed at Four Queens and Apache. No resort fee, $45 a night, and since I requested a room AWAY from the FSE, no noise. Played 9/6 JOB and 10/7 DB, both with a return of 100.5% including slot club bennies. Excursions to Emerald Island and Rainbow in downtown Henderson to eat and gamble--101% VP plays with promos and free food. I also went to South Point for a buffet and played VP to earn a couple of Wally Mart cards.

So it IS possible to find value, but it's rare.

Uh the gambling is definitely not anywhere near as putrid as The Strip.   Far, far from "official". 

9/6 Jacks at Plaza, 4Q, MSS and Cal.   8/5 BP at DTG, The D, GGate, Circa, Fremont and Binions.   Solid mailers at a few of these as well if you know which machines to play and how much coin to run.  

Southpoint has lots of $60 poker tourneys and plenty of $0.25 9/6 JoB vp.  They usually have one $5 BJ game going with 6 decks but I seldom play BJ anymore.  If you play enough there, you can still generate some comped rooms but even that they are getting tighter with.  

Yes you can find better VP downtown.   ANd thats officially it.   Used to be everything was better downtown compared to the strip.   I enjoy VP but I'm not one of these people who can sit at a machine and flip cards for 6 hours.   It gets boring for me after 30 minutes.    

ACG: Paybacks by Las Vegas neighborhood

Note the quarter level is better downtown which largely refelcts better video poker.   Other demoninations are neglifble.   And table minimums match what you see on the strip.  And several downtown casinos now clear out your points (something they never did before)....I lost over $100 in comps at El COrtez due to that.    And the cheap diner specials are demiinished or disappeared altogether.   

So,yeah, my official position is downtown sucks now too.     

Why did you not go to Bellagio Buffet ? You were already there and it would have saved you the interminable bus ride ?