Question of the Day - 11 June 2015

Right now! We confess that it totally slipped our mind, what with one thing and another, that we hadn't run the feedback to our recent Reader Poll regarding which now-defunct, or completely remodeled Las Vegas hotel-casino you miss the most. So now, without further ado, here are some of the comments and reminiscences that particularly caught our eye (including lots of feedback on venues we didn't even include, either because we plain overlooked them, or because it didn't occur to us that anyone would be mourning their passing. We stand corrected!)

• "San Remo - great craps!"
• "The Sahara was my first Las Vegas stay: $12! It was also my first steak and lobster dinner. And who can forget the Casbar, with great FREE entertainment. I stayed there many more times until it got so worn out and occupied by folks behaving in ways that I found to be detrimental to my more old-fashioned sense of enjoyment. It was a great oasis in the desert with a classic pool and no resort fees. I visited the SLS and found it cold with creepy 'art.' I would have rather seen a revitalized Sahara. The Strip resorts are built on an inhuman scale now, with all the personality of the corporations who own them. I have migrated downtown, or occasionally to a locals spot."
• "Yes, you missed one: Key Largo. I hit more jackpots there than in any other property in Las Vegas."
• "Bourbon Street, but not for an immediately obvious reason. Yes, it was a dive. However, it was also home to one of my fondest Vegas memories. In 2003, my wife and I brought our 9-year-old son and her 16-year-old niece. One of our stops was the 'steak and lobster' special at Bourbon Street. I use quotes because the 'steak' was a small and leathery slab and the 'lobster' was little bigger than a medium sized Louisiana crawfish. To this day, we still laugh heartily about that meal."
• "Silver City. Very busy casino until they made the mistake to go no-smoking."
• "Lady Luck: It was the first place that I managed to get comps and there was always something comfortable about the place. It wasn't very big but the people were always friendly. The Grand just doesn't capture that feel."
• "Fitzgerald was a cheap night downtown and the staff remembered my name. The D is overpriced and a rip off.The employees are not nice there."
• "While I couldn't choose both the Barbary Coast and Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, they are both linked together in my opinion. We've stayed at both over 20 somewhat years, and enjoyed the ambiance of the Victorian rooms and small casino (I could find my husband within 5 minutes instead of 30-45 minutes at the larger casinos). And who can forget Big Elvis playing in the afternoon in the lounge...for free? He always drew a standing-room-only crowd. The price was within our budget for a center-Strip hotel. The location was great, although it could get a little noisy at night with fire trucks and police cars blaring sirens. I'm sure The Cromwell has its proponents, but we won't be staying there anytime soon."
• "The Riviera kept their slots looser longer than any Strip casino. Liked the Riv a lot. I would have also cast a vote (probably the lone one) for the Silver Slipper, not that I spent much time in there, but that glittery silvery shoe fit so well with the iconic architecture of Strip casinos of that era."
• "First time I saw the Dunes was 1960, a gift for our 16th b-days. For years the Dunes was superb. Its deterioration broke our hearts. First topless show. 1960, first trip, we stayed at El Rancho Vegas, shortly before the fire."
• "Stardust. Nice casino and sports book. Good graveyard specials -- 99 cent bacon and eggs, $1.99 steak and eggs."
• "Las Vegas Hilton. Star Trek bar and casino, and they gave me free entry into slot tourneys with free nights in the hotel."
• "New Frontier: Free shuttle to and from the Union Plaza downtown and they gave me two free nights per month."
• "Vegas World: Gant Big 6 Wheel. Nice vacation packages. I still have the watch they gave me in the 1980s!"
• "Landmark. Very unique, kind of like a mini Stratosphere. Very nice restaurant at the top."
• "Westward Ho. Free shuttle to and from the airport; part of the day free Bloody Mary fountain, part of the day free champagne fountain. 99 cent foot-long half-pound hot dog."
• "Peppermill, across the street from the Stardust. 39 cent bacon-and-eggs breakfast!"
• "Bourbon Street. Nice little casino, close to the Strip; room elevator right next to the casino."
• "Hotel Continental. Saw the grand opening of the Stratosphere's fireworks from our room."
• "I miss the Silver City Casino, whose location has been reduced to the indignity of a strip mall of tacky souvenir shops. It was one of the last places on the Strip you could play $2 blackjack. Their comp program consisted of free cocktails for players and a free deck of cards after 3 blackjacks. That was perfect for those of us who just wanted to play cards with friends and enjoy the fun, dive-y vibe."
• "The Stardust was such a beautiful site when photographing a long shot of the Strip. It always showed up and was so colorful and pretty. I do miss it a lot, and when driving by the area it makes me sad to think it is gone forever."
• "The old, original Binion's Horseshoe. Guess you didn't list because it is still there but NOTHING like it was when Benny and Jack ran it (pretty Becky). There will never be a casino and group of restaurants that can even come close. And it is too bad!"
• "No, you didn't miss one*, but you DID ask why? I miss the Stardust most because it was 'old' Vegas before the corporations got involved and spoiled it all for me. It was glitzy, funky and great fun. Yes, I miss the 'old Vegas.' I'm sick of the mega shopping malls and high-end shows and venues. I sincerely dislike the bean-counters in control now. Bring back the 'funky' Vegas--no, I know it'll NEVER happen :-(" [*Ed: You're right: Apparently, we missed several! lol]
• "I miss the Hilton being a Hilton, since I am a Hilton Club diamond member and could stay there for free on points. I miss the Star Trek Experience. Ask me about the joke that starts, 'A Klingon, a Ferengi, and a Borg walk into a bar...' It was a true story that happened to me in Quark's bar at the Star Trek Experience." [Ed: Okay, we're asking! So...??!]
• "Terribles: It had great video poker; good and varied comps; a great funbook; and solid food at good prices with very good customer service."
• "Would like to add Knob Hill. Hit my first royal there in 1990. A very quaint, small casino."
• "While I miss the Mint because of its awesome neon sign, and the El Rancho because of its historic significance, I have to go with the Sands. The Sands was well documented in such films as Meet Me In Las Vegas and the original Ocean's 11 . I think it would be so cool to walk in that space and imagine those characters, and the great entertainers who portrayed them, being there."
• "Nice list but I would have to include O'Sheas. I know there is a casino-within-a-nondescript-casino with that name, but it ain't the same." [Ed: That it ain't!]
• "We had been staying at the IP since the eighties. When Ralph ran it, it was kind of a 'family' atmosphere. You could talk to him at the Mai Tai bar."
• "The Castaways a great little casino across from the Sands! Old Vegas $1 games and free cigarettes on the table!"
• "Argh! Me mateys! I miss the old silly Treasure Island. The whole kit and kaboodle: The fake golden treasure and skeletons; the one-eyed talking sign. Any kind of pirate show. Next they'll rename it 'Gilley's!' I'm sure if it didn't cost so many pieces-of-eight, they would remodel the rooms, lobby, and strip-me-bare naked "'aidees' from me walls. Bring back me favorite port-of-call: Canters Deli. Pirates don't play poker and CVS is no Jolly Roger! Next they'll take out the ships so Senor Frog can do outside tacos!"