Question of the Day - 31 October 2018

wizard of oz display at mgm

lion show at mgm

Knights at Excalibur

Coin in, coins out machines. And the paper cups to carry them in.

How about 24 hour coffee shops? Those have been disappearing from the strip. Seemed to have started in the 2008 housing crisis era and many haven’t come back. Relatively few 24 options at most strip properties now. Really miss them!

The downgrade not only made it so I won't play there, but I also won't be staying there any more. It has changed my entire decades-long routine of how I experience and spend money in Vegas.

The old O'Sheas on the strip.

The original craps pit at Binion's.

The feeling of personal service, when you felt like you got vlue for the $ you played.

Its soul

The deli at the Golden Gate.

the mob

THE THINGS WE MISS THE MOST ARE, NO RESORT FEE AND FREE PARKING

You have Folies, but appear to have forgotten Jubilee

Free Spin at Vacation Village

Pasta Pirate at the Cal.

Sahara cigarette girl

Full Pay Pick 'em!

Nowadays, bargains are rare to nonexistent and ripoffs are everywhere. Vegas used to be a place where, if you knew what you were doing, you could enjoy yourself on the cheap. No more!

I miss the era when there were no porn snappers or Busters (entertainers) lined up along the strip and downtown.  U can’t walk 10 feet without running into one.  It’s annoying.  

The real Strawberry Tall Cake for 99 cents at Silverton's

The Barbary Coast

I miss the cheap hot dogs at slots-a-fun by Circus Circus or for that matter anywhere in Las Vegas.

Caesar’s Magical Empire!

Las Vegas Wranglers

Paris Fountains

The lion entrance at MGM Grand.

The "original" Flamingo hotel build by Bugsy.  

I really, really miss the old Castaways casino, where the Mirage now sprawls. It seemed to me to be the true end of the era of funky casinos on the Strip, with $2 BJ and nickel slot machines with a top jackpot of $50. I learned how to play BJ at the Castaways, and we often ate its $1.49 breakfast more than once during a given 24 hours.  Guess this all feeds in to missing how you used to be able to scrimp when need be and splurge occasionally.  We could play there, then easily walk to Caesar's and have a fancy dinner and headliner show. I think that's gone forever, w/ the continuing money-grab (and grubbing) of added fees at every possible turn.

Themed Casinos! I know some people prefer the generic Wynn's, MGM Grand's and all of City Center, but I believe that de-theming places like Luxor and Excalibur, to the extent that they could, makes Las Vegas less of a special place to visit. People can gamble almost anywhere now and on top of resort fees and parking fees you now give them generic hotels and casinos instead of the spectacle Vegas once was. Just my two cents.  

Barbary Coast, Castaways, San Remo, no-hassle free drinks, change girls, buckets, ample good video poker machines, Vacation Village(spin wheel to win half your airfare), Sigma Derby(only 2 left), and I'll stop.

You have many of the long-gone casinos on the list and some of the commenters have added a couple that aren't on the lest, but we miss the Hacienda (1st place you get to from Cali, where Mandalay Bay is) and doesn't anyone remember Little Caesars? It was near the original Aladdin and was (like the Boardwalk) a true low-roller place. We also miss Holy Cow, which was across from the Sahara on the north side.

*Dinner Shows -- used to be the early show was always a dinner show
*Free-bees--used to get coupons for free cards, free ash trays, free pop corn etc--all kinds of junk I'd bring home to the kids and they were THRILLED!!!
*Gold Coast Coffee Shop
*Being able to get some real "play" on a machine for $20
*Lady Luck -downtown (was this mentioned already?)
*The Silver Slipper (was this mentioned already?)

Add: The Nile River boat ride at Luxor

Mermaids on Fremont.

Spinning the wheel at the Continental and Vacation Village!

Bay City Diner at Golden Gate

Fun Books w/discounts and free/match plays

Lucky wife hit 4 at Plaza and Caesars in 80's and early 90's.  Once drawing 4 to a King of Hearts. 

Well, you can still find a Sigma Derby machine at the D, but the best one was at the Dunes--paid a bonus if you won over 250 coins!  How about the Jolly Trolley, where the "Worlds Largest Gift Shop" is now at the Strip and Sahara.  They had 1/2 lb. burgers for 99 cents!  The Barbary Coast (now the Cromwell) esp. their coffee shop which had great Chinese food!  And, the ability to get the best seat in the house with a strategically placed tip to the gentleman seating you!  Finally, the crazy a** bets that some casinos used to book, like when the El Cortez was booking where SkyLab would land--30-1 on any country in the world (still upset that I didn't bet Australia where it landed)! 

I still have a deck of cards from The Mint Hotel and Casino which isn't listed. One other "M" establishment I remember from when I was a kid, a slot house in a strip mall across the Strip from the Stardust called Mr. Sy's. I just doubt most people even know of or remember that little joint. I did run across their classic funbooks for sale on Ebay though.

There are a lot of good additions in the comments - a lot of things have disappeared sadly in the last 25 -30 years.  I do miss the old level of customer service from the change ladies on up.

Slots that used to pay out enough to cover the cost of the Vegas trip.  That's the good old days.  Also, low price buffets were appreciated and well attended.

All the above.

My wife points out the motel with the above ground glass sided pool that you could see into.

 - Flip It machines.
 - Live Keno in cafes.
 - Clint Holmes's show at Harrah's.
 - Little Caesars on the Strip.  One step above the Rock Paper Scissors casino in Vegas Vacation where Clark Griswold lost some of his last few dollars.  You had to have seen it (Little Caesars--long gone now) to understand.
 - The original Volcano at Mirage, with eruptions often enough to catch one in an evening stroll.
 - Another vote for the Pirate Show.

Boat sinking show at TI
Penguins at Flamingo
Fat Elvis