Question of the Day - 17 August 2010

Here's the second installment of some of the great feedback we received in connection with the previous Reader Poll:

• The Landmark goes back a long way, but I really miss it. I really miss the old days of Vegas before the corporations took over. Maybe there weren't comps but everyone was treated very well -- so long as you didn't try to steal from them.  Back then I would rent a car and we would drive everywhere. Now, I just go to places where I know I can get a cab and that's usually on the Strip. If you go off the Strip, you probably will have to wait for a cab to bring someone so you can get a ride back. Ah! The Good Old Days."

• "I guess I miss Little Caesars the most, as when the mega-casinos first started popping up I could always count on the place for $1 blackjack and penny slots (way ahead, or behind) its time.  I made a point every trip to Vegas to spend a few hours inside (now I live here). Plus, I remember my first BIG ($1,500) win was there on a twenty-five cent keno machine.  I waited almost two hours for the machine owner to come pay me off, but the staff was great bringing me free drinks and even offering to go get me a hamburger while I waited."

• "I miss the Boardwalk most of all because, being a smaller property, you got to know a lot of the staff really fast. Service was great, the rooms were large. and the pool was nice and quiet. I never had a bad stay there. I also miss the Dunes, Lady Luck (though it might be back soon), and Vegas World (got to meet Bob a few times)."

• "Lady Luck.  It may be for sentimental reasons, as my first visit to Las Vegas was at the Lady Luck in 1996.  I made my selection then based on price.....but came back year after year, even though in later life I could afford more upscale properties.  Why?  They always treated me like I was important.....Valets remembered my name....Dealers and Pit Bosses were friendly and always happy to have me gaming, even if it was $5 blackjack or a few mindless bucks on Let it Ride.  You just don't see that at a Harrahs' property....Despite larger bets, I am just a number in their Total Reward program. "

• "I picked the Boardwalk, not so much for the casino, but because they had an all-night buffet that was cheap but not too bad to eat. There were many times that we would go there after a night of drinking and gambling to fill up before heading home to sleep it off."

• "I miss the Stardust the most.  In fact, it may be the only one you listed that I actually do miss. (I've only been going to Vegas for the past decade or so, so places like the Sands closed long before my time.) Why do I miss the Stardust? Two reasons:   "1. Stardust set the line, and some of the best sports betters in the world bet there (and several would share their picks with you if you were nice enough). It was the original sports book and, despite outdated technology, still had a lot going for it until the very end. "2. Stardust had the best neon sign on the Strip. Hands down. Not even close  Belongs in the Museum of American History. Either that or my front yard!" [Ed: LOL. It's actually at the Neon Museum downtown, as far as we know, although we're not sure if it's on display and certainly won't be lit up right now.]

• "I miss a lot of them. They were nearer the street, you could walk the Strip and stop at all the properties and play a little--not walk miles between each megaresort."

• "Stardust – They had terrific blackjack tournaments."

• "Stardust - I don’t know why I liked it, I just did.  The sports book was awesome, and everyone (customers and employees) was friendly and helpful. I am so glad they got in an all-fired hurry to tear it down – what they have put back in its place is soooo nice.   @#$%^&!* bastards!!!!!!" [Ed: We hear ya!]

• "Silver Slipper - One of the most friendly and welcoming casinos that I have ever played in."

• "Frontier, pre-Union days. The prime rib buffet was small but was top notch. Pool with a deep end, Freshly made tortillas at the Mexican restuarant. The crap tables. The mechanical horse-race machine. The semi-suites. I do miss it."

• "Bill’s just doesn’t have the character and great feel of the Barbary Coast, not to mention the video poker."

• "Choosing one is way too hard: Vacation Village for the spin for your trip. Lady Luck for the drink carts. 'Ho for the 'Ho dog. Stardust because it was Las Vegas. Barbary Coast, Bill's is just not the same. Silver City for the non-smoking. Not to say that Las Vegas, as we know it today, is not good. It just seems that the past always provides great memories."

  "I vote for Vegas World. It's likely not many people actually miss this place, and I don't miss the 'place', per se, but the marketing. I know Bob Stupak took a lot of grief over his 'Free Vegas Vacation' packages, but it was what got me to Las Vegas for the first time, and a number of times afterward. The packages with the 'slot action' were mostly worthless and it didn't take much to figure that out (I never bit on one of those), but once he started with the no-cash-value table game chips, the EV of the package really evened out. Some packages included up to $1,200 of these chips, putting the EV at nearly $600 for a $398 purchase price. In the later days of Vegas World, while he was trying to get the funding together to start the Strat., the packages started giving out real casino chips. A $398 package returned $400 (or more - I can't remember for sure) in real money upon check-in, essentially comp'ing your room (not counting the other mostly-worthless freebies that were always thrown in) before you gambled a nickel. That was truly no-risk (unless you ended up having to actually stay at the Thunderbird Hotel instead - that might have been risky)."

• "Westward Ho - I got my first royal flush there, over a giant 99-cent margarita! Good times!"

• "Sure it smelled funny and was pretty run down, but I loved the Ho.  Always someone to tell you how to play blackjack incorrectly (including the dealers.)  99-cent margaritas.  Inexpensive gaming and down to earth people.  It had a lot of character!"

• "Although I have been going to Vegas on a regular basis for over 20 years and went to many of the properties listed, I don't miss any of them. I go to gamble and frankly, found many properties on the list did not offer games that were any better that what I can find today. I admit I must look harder, but they are there. The lighting was poor and, in the case of Barbary Coast, it smelled like an old drunk's beer breath. "

• "My wife and I miss Nevada Landing very much. We used to stay/play there as a change of pace from the frenzy of Las Vegas. There we were treated like high-rollers (we are low-rollers) and received more comps than anywhere else we've played. We loved the Sunday morning brunch in the room that was normally an Asian restaurant. But most of all we miss the employees, who went out of their way to make us feel special."

• "Hate to give away my age but I miss the Thunderbird. It was really cool with all the mirrors and the place was packed. Do you remember where it was? That was the first casino I was ever in and to this day I still am in awe of it. Good place to win some bucks also." [Ed: The Thunderbird was subsequently the Silverbird, and then El Rancho, which was imploded in to make way for the Turnberry Place condominium towers, down the street from the Las Vegas Hilton.]

• "I think the DI was the one that started the change from mob playground to big business. The fact that Howard Hughes owned it and was so secretive about his life is just icing on the cake."

• "I chose the Dunes for sentimental reasons. I played 21 with Telly Savalas in the eighties. Those were good times and I won a pinch."

• "We so miss the Aladdin--especially the video poker bar/lounge that was above the main casino (you would take an escalator up). In the evenings they had live music that cost nothing.  We would sit there for a couple hours playing, getting our drinks comped, and enjoying the free entertainment."

• "I miss the Hacienda because of the unique wine fountain they had free with their buffets. It was tacky but fun and they seemed to be the only ones doing this on the Strip at the time."

• "There will never be ANYTHING to compare with the Stardust sports book on Sunday night when the football lines for the week first came out."

• "Too bad we were only allowed one vote.  The Stardust, Westward Ho , Frontier, and the old Aladdin were some of our favorites."

• "I loved stopping at Vacation Village upon first arriving in Vegas, since it was near the airport and you could spin the big wheel to try to win your airfare or another lesser prize (or maybe it was half your airfare, I forget it has been so long).  Never did win, but my wife and I tried lots of times.  Plus, I remember going to a great New Year's Eve party one year, without all the thousands of people on the Strip, still close enough to view the fireworks, plus they came around all night with balloons to pop for various prizes to various slot machines and to various table game locations.  And the card-of-the-day video poker promotion was great.  But, I reminisce too long..."

• "We loved the Dunes…that tacky old place, even though we never stayed there.  It was one of the first casinos we ever visited. There was something that was almost magical for us when we were there…you would not believe the number of times we hit jackpots while playing their slots, including over $700 on a mechanical horse race. For us, the Dunes will always stand as part of our Las Vegas history."

• "The very first time I travelled to Vegas, I asked the taxi driver to take me to a casino and he picked the Stardust.  I was immediately entranced by it and started working at the blackjack tables.  For some reason, I could not lose and started betting the old black chips.  People were standing around watching me double down and winning just about every time.  It was pure luck, I did not know how to count cards or anything like that.  This experience got me hooked on Vegas and I am still at it thirty years later…"

• "I miss the original lounge and restaurant at the Jockey Club, before they turned it into a pit. This was circa '70s, '80s. It was a really cool place with some very interesting clients."

• "Frontier - It was a good casino to gamble in, and (a crazy answer, I admit) I really liked the color combination on its $5 chips." [Ed: Whatever floats your boat LOL.]

• "The casino I miss most is the Friendly Club downtown, where the Golden Nugget is now. It was a nice little casino with a BJ table out in front on the sidewalk."

• "We miss the Stardust and their legendary blackjack tournaments. Their chili was also the best. [Ed: See QoD archives for the recipe, which we snagged from the chef back in the day.]

• "As a 33-year-old male, I wish the Dunes were still around to see what the glory days of the Rat Pack-era would have been like. I’m sure if I were born 50 years sooner, Frank & Dean would have wanted to have partied with me." [Ed: For once, we are rendered speechless!]