Poll - 2021-05-26 | Las Vegas Advisor

This poll idea was suggested by Martin V., a frequent contributor to LVA.com. He writes, "From today’s QoD [on Boyd's resurrection of the Stardust brand], there seems to be a lot of interest in casino names. Maybe this could be a future poll of some kind: What is your favorite casino name, past or present? Or what is the worst casino name of all time? (THEhotel springs to mind)."

Based on the excellent-as-always poll-preview comments, we've done three things. First, we've added all the names that didn't make it onto the original list. Second, we've ordered them alphabetically; for poll purposes, the convenience of alpha order trumps the scholarship of chronological order. And third we're sticking with your most favorite casino names; we've duly noted the comments by Ray and Jerry that the fewest vote-getters don't necessarily equate with the least favorite names, so we'll run a future survey on the least favorite names.

Thanks for participating.

5311 Total Votes

Stardust

5% (267)

Caesars Palace

3% (162)

Barbary Coast

3% (158)

Golden Nugget

3% (150)

Mirage

2% (124)

Desert Inn

2% (121)

Dunes

2% (117)

Four Queens

2% (111)

Sahara

2% (110)

Flamingo

2% (105)

Treasure Island

2% (105)

Lady Luck

2% (101)

Bellagio

2% (96)

Riviera

2% (96)

Westward Ho

2% (96)

Aladdin

2% (88)

Sands

2% (87)

Tropicana

2% (86)

Slots A Fun

2% (85)

Horseshoe

1% (75)

Mint

1% (73)

Monte Carlo

1% (73)

El Cortez

1% (67)

Orleans

1% (66)

Imperial Palace

1% (64)

Silver Slipper

1% (59)

Stratosphere

1% (59)

Vegas World

1% (59)

Ellis Island

1% (54)

Main Street Station

1% (54)

Circus Circus

1% (51)

Terribles

1% (51)

Excalibur

1% (49)

Pair-O-Dice Club

1% (46)

Rio

1% (46)

Hooters

1% (44)

Cosmopolitan

1% (43)

Gold Coast

1% (43)

Thunderbird

1% (43)

Bourbon Street

1% (42)

Castaways

1% (42)

Luxor

1% (42)

Bill's Gambling Saloon

1% (41)

Frontier

1% (41)

Golden Gate

1% (41)

Mandalay Bay

1% (41)

Venetian

1% (41)

Las Vegas Club

1% (40)

Paris

1% (39)

Red Rock

1% (38)

Sassy Sally's

1% (37)

Wynn

1% (37)

Moulin Rouge

1% (35)

Showboat

1% (35)

Fitzgeralds

1% (34)

Holy Cow!

1% (33)

Sam's Town

1% (32)

South Point

1% (31)

Silver City

1% (30)

Hacienda

1% (29)

Hard Rock

1% (29)

Palms

1% (29)

Boardwalk

1% (27)

Foxy’s Firehouse

1% (27)

Golden Goose

1% (27)

Harrah's

0% (26)

Landmark

0% (26)

Palazzo

0% (26)

Tangiers

0% (26)

New York-New York

0% (25)

Sal Sagev

0% (25)

The Ho

0% (25)

Plaza

0% (24)

Aria

0% (22)

Arizona Charlie's

0% (22)

Bally's

0% (22)

Eldorado

0% (22)

Gold Spike

0% (22)

Railroad Pass

0% (22)

Union Plaza

0% (21)

Fremont

0% (20)

Tuscany

0% (20)

Mermaids

0% (19)

Jolly Trolley

0% (18)

MGM Grand

0% (18)

California

0% (16)

Maxim

0% (16)

Apache

0% (15)

Debbie Reynolds

0% (15)

El Rancho

0% (15)

Paddlewheel

0% (15)

Palace Station

0% (15)

Boomtown

0% (14)

Coin Castle

0% (14)

Cromwell

0% (14)

Key Largo

0% (14)

Pioneer Club

0% (14)

Planet Hollywood

0% (14)

Lucky Dragon

0% (13)

Circa

0% (12)

New Frontier

0% (12)

Encore

0% (11)

Resorts World

0% (11)

Silver Sevens

0% (11)

Stage Door

0% (11)

The D

0% (11)

El Rancho Vegas

0% (10)

La Bayou

0% (10)

Lucky Strike

0% (10)

San Remo

0% (10)

Klondike

0% (9)

Little Caesars

0% (9)

Nevada Club

0% (9)

Boulder Station

0% (8)

Continental

0% (8)

Fiesta

0% (8)

Hilton

0% (8)

Mr Sy's

0% (8)

Silverbird

0% (8)

The M

0% (8)

Vacation Village

0% (8)

Western

0% (8)

Eastside Cannery

0% (7)

International

0% (7)

Jackpot Club

0% (7)

Virgin

0% (7)

Bingo Palace

0% (6)

Friendly Club

0% (6)

LINQ

0% (6)

Marina

0% (6)

Reserve

0% (6)

Royal Nevada

0% (6)

Sundance

0% (6)

Carousel

0% (5)

Greek Isles

0% (5)

Royal Las Vegas

0% (5)

South Coast

0% (5)

Holiday Inn

0% (4)

King's Crown

0% (4)

Sans Souci

0% (4)

Silver Palace

0% (4)

The Meadows

0% (4)

91 Club

0% (3)

Fortune Club

0% (3)

Park MGM

0% (3)

Boulder Club

0% (2)

Clarion

0% (2)

Club Bingo

0% (2)

Park

0% (2)

Quad

0% (2)

Royal Inn

0% (2)

Westerner

0% (2)

SLS

0% (1)

Northern Club

0% ()

The Players

0% ()

Turf Club

0% ()

Analysis

To the surprise of few and not at all to us, Stardust is the most popular Las Vegas casino name of all time. To be sure, it's an iconic name, but it didn't hurt that the signage, including the custom typography, became etched in the national consciousness. It even beat out Caesars Palace, perhaps an even more well known and paradigmatic name, which has not only outlasted the Stardust by 15 years and counting, but was even adopted as the brand of the largest casino company in the world.

We were, however, a little surprised by the third-highest vote getter, Barbary Coast. Yes, it's a cool name, but better than Lady Luck (#12), Westward Ho (#15), Slots A Fun (#19), or our personal favorite, the Ho (#71)? To each his/her own, we guess.

The high placement of the Desert Inn, Dunes, Sahara, Aladdin, and Sands was to be expected, along with Riviera, Tropicana, and Flamingo, all of which have been in the Vegas lexicon for decades. But we thought Sassy Sally's, Golden Goose, Horseshoe, Terrible's, and Vegas World would have garnered more support.

Most interesting, perhaps, are the names at the bottom of the list. SLS received one vote, compared to the Sahara's 110; no wonder SLS lasted all of a half-dozen years. The Quad was, admittedly, dumb, though the Linq isn't much better, as the former's two votes and the latter's six attest. Park MGM is pretty prosaic, as its three votes testify, though as compelling and alluring a name as Virgin didn't score much higher (predictably, perhaps, since it's a pretty ridiculous image for a casino).

We could go on and on, but we'll leave it at that. We're sure that after a minute or two perusing these results, you'll come to your own prepossessing conclusions.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Comments

Donzack May-26-2021

Hooters

Who doesn’t like Hooters?

Ray May-26-2021

Always a difficult choice

There are so many reasons to like (or dislike) a name. I tried to eliminate those with corporate names, and also those that referred to another place. Still, there are too many. And being able to choose more than one is just as tough as limiting it to only one. I chose 4, not wanting to dilute the picks. It was also hard to not have favorite casinos influence favorite casino names. But Arizona Charlie"s, Foxy's Firehouse, Holy Cow!, and Klondike made my list.

[email protected] May-26-2021

Vote

I tried to vote but it just went into an infinite loop and wouldn't register my choice.  Tried two different browsers in case that was the problem, but no.  If I could vote I'd go with Caesars Palace.  Just such an iconic Las Vegas name.  I think it's the place that anyone who hasn't been thinks of first.

O2bnVegas May-26-2021

Not easy

Not so easy to separate a favorite name from favorite hotel/casino.  Or other names you relate to something else.  Example:  I considered Key Largo and Stage Door--always like the two old movies of the same names.  Never entered either.  But no, they didn't get a vote.

I always liked Vegas hotel/casino names suggesting pizzazz, intrigue, gambling mecca feel, even if I never darkened the door of the place. My two actual favorites get a vote!  

Candy

O2bnVegas May-26-2021

need an edit button

I meant to say, my two actual favorite places did NOT get a vote.  Not enough pizzazz!

Candy

dpanagrosso May-26-2021

Treasure Island / TI

Treasure Island - YES!
TI - NO!!

AL May-26-2021

The clear choices

I concur with the poster who said that it's somewhat difficult to separate the casino name from the casino experience. But I say that it CAN be done, and should be done. The question is not "What is your favorite casino, past or present?" The question is "What is your favorite casino NAME?" I think that this reduces it to 2 veins: What name most evokes the idea or setting of casino gambling, or what name is the most clever? Several names could fulfill the first vein, but only one stands out on the second vein: Pair-O-Dice. So that got my vote. As for the worst casino name, we don't even need to run the poll. The answer is just so obvious: Debbie Reynolds. How far away from the notion of casino gambling can a name be?

dblund May-26-2021

Fun to see -

I looked back through my choices, and found that I was drawn to those that painted a picture before I ever got in the door; they created an expectation of the mood and added to the anticipation of a new bit of adventure.  That good feeling stuck to some degree over time.  Of course that was before the days of generic casino decor, where it always looks like you're in the same place.

Albert Pearson May-29-2021

Please Wait

When I try to do this Poll I keep getting a please wait message that stays forever, as soon as I hit the "Vote" button.

Albert Pearson May-29-2021

Please Wait

Ignore my last post, when I tried again after logging in this time, it worked.

Thomas Hook Jun-01-2021

The Cal

Old School Ambiance

Charles Taylor Jun-03-2021

Fiesta Casinos

Fiesta's were our favorite place to play and stay. Hopefully they will reopen

Roy Furukawa Jun-12-2021

Boyd’s Facepalm

Stardust is a clear winner and is remembered for its iconic sign and lettering, yet when Boyd bought it they changed the signage to a standard font lettering. Ugh.

Jerome Sinkovec Jun-12-2021

Lady Luck

This place got my vote because I always wondered how casino executives could leave such a iconic name unused in Sin City! It was my favorite among all the names no longer being used.

JerryD Jun-12-2021

SLS?

One person actually liked SLS? I can't think of a reason unless that happens to be the voter's initials.

Poll : 26 May - 08 June 2021

Analysis

Comments