Question of the Day - 18 January 2018

This is a big question that we have space enough only to skim over, so we encourage readers to weigh in with their own impressions of  staying downtown as opposed to on the Strip or out in the neighborhoods.   

To start with, downtown and the Strip are very different animals, so we even hesitate to frame this as a question of advantages and disadvantages. Downtown definitely has greater walkability going for it; you've got a dozen casinos within a few short blocks of one another. Hiking from just one Strip casino to another can be fatiguing indeed.

Unfortunately, if you're staying downtown and want to patronize the Strip (or vice versa), you'll either want to rent a car, catch a cab or Lyft, or take the slow-motion Deuce bus.

Meanwhile, some of the off-Strip casinos are within (long) walking distance of Las Vegas Boulevard, but most aren't, necessitating a rental car or at least a number of taxi or ride-share fares to come and go from a locals hotel. Nothing against South Point or Red Rock Resort, nice as they are, but there’s not a lot to do out there once you get past sleeping, eating, gambling, and going to movies.

Strip casinos tend to offer more amenities and downtown's are more bargain-friendly. If you’ve come to Las Vegas to be formally entertained, the Strip has many many MANY more options than downtown; the Strip definitely has showbiz locked up. (MGM Resorts International scored a major PR coup recently when it announced that Park MGM will host a 74-performance Lady Gaga residency.)

If you’re willing to venture outside the casino in search of entertainment, however, downtown manages to hold its own against the Strip. The Mob Museum has more than lived up to its advance hype and one can easily spend three hours there (as this writer did) and still be only half-finished with it. Across the tracks in Symphony Place, the Smith Center plays host to the Las Vegas Philharmonic and a dazzling rotation of Broadway musicals. Then there’s the justifiably celebrated Neon Museum, home to some of Vegas’ most famous and iconic signage. You can’t find anything to rival those on the Strip, save for the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, which continues to honor founder Steve Wynn’s commitment to showcasing the greatest in the beaux arts.

If you want headliner acts, you won’t find any downtown. That’s the province of the Strip, where Celine Dion practically owns Caesars Palace, Donny and Marie Osmond have become fixtures at the Flamingo, and various other headliners are there for the choosing. For the more theatrically inclined, you can take in seven Cirque du Soleil shows, the Cirque knockoff Le Reve, or even anti-Cirque revue Absinthe. If you can’t pay top dollar, the Strip has plenty of wallet-friendly offerings, mainly tribute shows, but also magicians and hypnotists like Anthony Cools and Marc Savard. Still, a "bargain" show on the Strip can set you back as much as $50.

If you’re looking to stay here next month, for example, downtown has it all over the Strip and even off-Strip hotels. Thirty-five bucks gets you a room at the Four Queens, whereas the cheapest off-Strip rate is the Tuscany’s $54. Heck, Circus Circus is a a dollar less than that. The best pairing of quality and value is the Hard Rock Hotel’s $73. Mind you, those are week night rates. Come the weekend, the El Cortez’s $61 rooms are the bargain play, although you can stay at Luxor for $80 and be on the Strip. (Off-Strip, Arizona Charlie’s is $62/night, though for a few bucks more, we’d recommend newly refurbished Westgate Las Vegas, where room rates start at $79.)

When it comes to dining and drinking, there tends to be something for every price point at the casino, although even locals joints like the Orleans can get top dollar for things like a simple glass of beer (which can set you back $7). Apparent low-roller joints like Binion’s and Circus Circus have pricey steakhouses and even the dollar-friendly Four Queens offers fancy dining at Hugo’s Cellar. But in general, dining on the Strip will be much harder on your wallet. In addition to budgeting for your trip, we highly recommend reading Eating Las Vegas 2018, or just researching restaurants in advance online, studying their menus, and deciding how much luxury you and your stomach can afford.

What about gambling? Downtown tends to be better than the Strip Casinos for blackjack and video poker. More casinos downtown still deal 3-2 blackjack for lower denominations than on the Strip and video poker pay schedules tend to be less bad (especially at the lower denominations) than on the Strip. Likewise, slot machine returns are at least a couple of percent higher downtown.

Finally, at the risk of shameless self-pluggery, this is where a subscription to Las Vegas Advisor comes in very handy. Our monthly newsletter (recently redesigned in order to pack in even more current information) can tip you off to bargain plays known best to Vegas insiders. For instance, Publisher Anthony Curtis’ favorite deals on alcohol are the freebies you get playing positive quarter video poker at the bars at Four Queens, the D, and Downtown Grand. In fact, downtown has been on a revenue upswing lately, even in months when the Strip is down, and its bargain-friendliness probably has a great deal to do with that.