My 5-hr Trip Report

We live in LV and usually avoid the strip as there are many casinos [stations and coast] in the suburbs to enjoy. Since I had to pick up my wife at the airport at 1100 pm, I thought I'd head out early to walk through some of the north end strip casinos to see how things look. The casinos seems to always be in change mode, so a quick peek inside was long overdue.

South Point:

Stopped here to put 200 points on the card and spin a wheel on the kiosk [July promo]. This is still one of my favorite casinos here in LV. I arrived at 615 pm on a Sunday night and the casino was pretty busy, as always. The owner, Michael Gaughan?, seems to get it and the number of folks in his place is proof of that.

Mandalay Bay:

Another pretty good crowd in here on this Sunday night. Lots of conventioneers in town! Must b a fashion convention of some type as there were TONS of pretty women dressed up and in high heels leaving from the convention area. People watching is sooo good here! Shhh. Dont tell the wife! Not much change in the casino itself. They seem to be doing well.

Luxor:

First time here since they remade the decor and took out the 'Egyptian' theme. I'd say the action in the casino was sparse at best. The casino is in stark contrast to its MBAY neighbor. The MBAY is bright and open while the Luxor is dark and closed-in.

Excalibur:

Welcome to kids world! LOL
Seemed to be pretty busy. Dicks Last Resort was very happening on this night while Lynard's BBQ was doing just an okay business. The Excal has their niche and is doing just fine with it [at least on this night]

Tropicana:

First time here since the remodel. Looks great! And the check-in area is also very chic and very South Florida. I was really impressed with the decor. Problem is.... the place was a virtual ghost town at around 830 pm on a Sunday night. Restaurants, bars, casino and retail were NOT doing much business. In fact, while the retail shops in Excal and the Shops of Mandalay Bay were busy; the retail here at the Trop were closing down for the day. This place is in trouble!

MGM Grand:

Polar opposite of the Trop in terms of traffic in the casino. Very busy tonight. Lots of folks in the casino... and in the casino gambling! Stopped and watched a few games of Sigma Derby [busy as always].

High-end dining was hit and miss as far as traffic. Some were doing well [Wolfgang Puck place by the KA] while others seemed a little empty. And then I saw the Rainforest Cafe. WOW! PACKED PACKED PACKED! I think there is a lesson here: casinos need to scale waaaaayyyy back on the high-end celebrity chef dining thing and add some more 'mid-level' dining for the common folk! Especially in the mid level casinos! [U know who u are!]

NYNY:

Lots of foot traffic but not alot of gambling going on. Bar at Time Square was doing a nice business with the dueling piano thing. Nine Fine pub was also busy! I hope the casino never changes or remodels. Great NY feel to this place! Again, the food court and mid-level dining were rocking along while the higher end places were doing just okay.

Question/comment: Was the sportsbook just an after-thought?!?! Small space and a really weird location.

Airport:

Picked wife up at 1100 pm on Sunday. Place was PACKED!!! Major line in the passenger pick-up area. Wife commented that she heard several airport personnel comment they never seen it so busy on a late Sunday night. I guess travel to LV is back! [just don't tell the Trop!]

Thanks for the reviews Todd. We are also locals and don't get to these strip places often.

Nice Report...You covered a lot in five hours. And, those are casinos I do not normally visit but got a nice snapshot of them.

Ted in Chico

Thanks for the interesting report! And yes, I think that all of this high end stuff is not doing much for LV because not a lot of people can afford that kind of stuff (at least anymore). I know that LV has something for everyone, but there are less of these (people with a lot of disposable income) people now and so I wonder if this kind of stuff is cost effective for the companies that put them up.

RecVPPlayer

Actually, I think NYNY did remodel a few years ago to de-emphasize the New York theme. Manhattan Express used to be the roller coaster's name - now it's "The Roller Coaster"?? Come on, MGM, can't you be more original??? The real change is on the casino floor. The whole casino used to look like you were on the streets of New York - plenty of faux trees, bricks for the walkways through the casino, and even a bridge with a faux stream running under it. All of this was in the casino. TWO thumbs down to MGM for the de-emphasis of the New York theme and making NYNY look like all too many other casinos inside. BUT - at least the food area still has the New York theme, but that really seems to be about it.

I thought that is the South end of the strip...

We were at MB, Luxor, Ex, MGM, and Trop three days ago ourselves, and I completely agree with your observations. We strongly disliked the Luxor due to its creepy, quiet, and yes "closed in" atmosphere. We got out of there quick as we could (win card run). We loved the Trop last August after their remodel was complete; however, on this trip they upped their table minimums ($10 craps, $10 roulette, $10 BJ) further, VP pays are horrible. You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day if you're not offering lower table minimums or better VP schedules, people go elsewhere. The Trop's remodel was well done, but let's face it, you have to go out of your way to visit them, and at those prices, might as well hang at Bellagio (which by-the-way had some $5 tables!).