"Western" To Close After 41 Years

We recently reported that the "Western" downtown was cutting its casino hours now Vegas Inc is reporting that the property is to close down on January 16th. The property is owned by the Tamares Real Estate Group that also owns the newly remodeled "Plaza" hotel and the sister property "Las Vegas Club" on Fremont Street. The desicion to close this property isn't really a surprise with the economy as it is at the moment plus the "Western" is run down in iffy area too far away from the Fremont Street Experiance. The property in recent years has been known for cheap drinks, food and table games. It will be interesting to see what becomes of the block wide property my guess in the near term nothing and it wil just remain closed; In the long term i wonder if the property will be remodelled or knocked down and replaced with another hotel casino or even used as a non gaming use.

"Las Vegas Club" Bingo

We don't often talk about bingo on LV Inside Out but if you are in downtown Las Vegas and are looking to play bingo the "Las Vegas Club" has a bingo room. The property makes a big deal that it is the only bingo room in downtown and drawings are at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm and 9pm daily. The bingo room is in the back of the property in the space that used to be things such as a showroom and sports bar. The bingo area is really just a section that has been sectioned off with playwood walls that doesn't go up to the ceiling; This seems a inexpensive way to put in a bingo parlor but with the current economy its most likely the best thing to do i also wonder if it will be moved to the "The Plaza" once it reopens. If the bingo urge gets you then walk all the way through the casino and past the restaurants to the bingo area.

Credit/Debit Card Holds

More and more hotels are putting hold amounts on your credit/card for stuff you may charge to your room and at some properties its not an option its required. This hold amount can be released as soon as you check out or take up to two weeks to clear which is annoying to say the least. These hold amounts arn't always disclosed on companies web sites or if are its in tiny print and the desk clerk doesn't always tell you before they run the amount on your card. One interesting point is the amounts and rules can differ from property within the same chain; One such difference is i have not been charged at the "Fremont" downtown but am charged $100 at "The Orleans" both owned by Boyd's. I have my own internet and can watch movies on my laptop and don't use room service unless i have a comp credit so mostly don't want to charge stuff to my room. Here are some recent experiances at some properties.

El Cortez: $50 charged to my account that took two weeks to be credited back

Rio & Flamingo: They run your card but dont charge deposit if you don't want

Fremont: No charge

Orleans: $100 charged to my account released moment you check out

Las Vegas Club: No charge

Golden Nugget: No charge

Rules at different properties change all the time check with your hotel if its an issue for you.

Editors Notebook: NAB And "Las Vegas Club"

Today is the final day of the NAB conference which stands for National Association of Broadcasters the show has been running since Monday and after today the delegates pack up and head home to television and radio stations across the country. The NAB show is pretty big but no where near as big as the Consumer Electronics Show or CES which is held in Las Vegas at the start of the year. The "Las Vegas Club" section is now open and includes photos of the guest rooms as well as a review of my stay the last couple of days. 

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.