Did Harrah's Kill Binion's?

I see the comments in Las Vegas blogs that Harrah's recently renamed as Caesars pushed Binion's in to a tail spin that they haven't been able to recover from in the short time Harrah's owned them. Binion's is a downtown casino with a long and storied history but it fell on tough times long before Harrah's took them over and the current downturn in the economy. The property had become rundown and had issues with the landowners as several people own the land under Binion's. The property has a casino which is two half's the original part has low ceilings the other half which years ago was the Mint casino has high ceilings. The property has a good steakhouse and tiny snack bar with good food deals it also had a good coffee shop which was closed in cost cutting. Harrah's bought a Binion's which had been shut down and put people back to work which is a good thing without Harrah's moving in there is a good chance Binion's could be closed for an extended time. In the short time Harrah's owned Binion's they stripped Binion's of the Binion's Horseshoe name and took the horseshoe off the side of the building and now use the name in other hotel casinos. The loss of the Horseshoe name although sad didn't harm Binion's, also Harrah's kept the rights to the World Series Of Poker which they moved to the Rio. Losing the World Series Of Poker did harm Binion's a little because it was free publicity but my guess most of the contestants didn't stay in the small but okay rooms at Binion's. The World Series of Poker had outlived its home at Binion's and had become too big for the property although it was sad to see it leave downtown. The issues with Binion's are many and not caused by Harrah's however much the blog comments like to say and hopeful under current owner Terry Caudill also owner of the Four Queens things can improve.

Was Binion's Closing The Hotel A Bad Idea?

A few months ago Binion's downtown on Fremont Street closed its hotel rooms while still keeping the casino open. The home of the World Series Of Poker for many years was struggling even before the latest economy downturn. The owner of the Four Queens who now owns Binion's drew a lot of flack at the time when it closed the hotel; The comments at the time included that once the economy picks up people wouldn't think about Binion's anymore because the hotel is closed. These comments are stupid because once the economy picks back up and if the rooms are reopened people will stay there even if the rooms are just overflow rooms for the Four Queens customers. Right now there is too much room capacity in Las Vegas and, by taking the rooms offline they cut their costs in a bad economy. The rooms in Binion's were always okay but on the small side and weren't in my top choices for rooms downtown. By selling these rooms at $20 a night as there were at the time of there closure wasn't sustainable as the costs of staffing, cleaning and maintenance on the room are mostly fixed costs weather they sell the room at $100 or $20 a night. I feel bad about the people that lost there jobs but it most likely was the best move to make in the current climate.

Blackjack Players Lower Limits Downtown & Off Strip

Fitzgerald's Front Last WeekFinding a low limit blackjack table on the strip can be near impossible at most strip casino's although they can be found during off hours or at some of the less expensive properties such as O Shea's, Casino Royale, Sahara, Circus Circus and Sahara often runs one or two low limit tables. A better bet for all the time is to head downtown or to one of the locals casinos. Fitzgerald's has signs up all the time saying they always have $2 blackjack tables and Fremont does the same with $3 minimum bets. Other casinos downtown that regularly have low limits include, Las Vegas Club, El Cortez and Four Queens to name just a few.