Casino entertainment in North America
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A
Harrah’s
Though it’s not nearly as rambunctious as Vegas’ carnaval casino hotel, the Rio, Harrah’s may be the brightest, friendliest and most playful casino on the Strip – and it’s swimming with gamblers. An enormous backlit mural over the hotel’s front desk depicts the greatest Las Vegas entertainers of all time, and entertainment is still the name of the game here, with the Improv comedy club and other headliner comics and magicians. After dark, try out for TJ’s All-Star Karaoke at the piano bar or get soused in the outdoor Carnaval Court, where flair bartenders juggle fire.
reviewed
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B
Harrah’s Casino
You’d think all manner of vice would be welcome in the Big Easy, but Harrah’s, near the foot of Canal St, doesn’t get much local love. In spite of its best efforts to fit in – there’s a perfunctory Mardi Gras parade every night – Harrah’s still manages to make guests feel like they’re in Sparks, Nevada. It’s a big ol’ casino that’s part of a national chain, and it pretty much feels exactly like that. Nevertheless, people do trickle in for the casino gambling, buffet dining, free parking and hotel discounts.
reviewed
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C
Rio
The name of this wildly popular casino hotel says a lot about the Rio. The corny Masquerade Village, the center of the action, offers an ongoing carnaval atmosphere. In the free ‘Show in the Sky, ’ Mardi Gras floats suspended from tracks in the ceiling parade above the gaming tables while racily costumed performers dance and lip-synch to pop rock and jazzy numbers, and toss shiny beaded necklaces to the crowds. The rambunctious fun is infectious. You can even ride along in one of the floats while having your souvenir photo taken for a fee (reservations required).
reviewed
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D
Plaza
Built on the site of the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot, Jackie Gaughan’s Plaza is a 1970s time capsule. Like most downtown joints, the down-at-heel Plaza is made for low-rollin’ gamblers. Its tacky decor doesn’t correspond to any known theme, unless the theme is cheap. And that’s just fine with the Plaza’s patrons, who are hypnotized by the penny slots, nickel video-poker machines and $1 blackjack tables with sarcastic dealers. Feisty blue-haired ladies play for keeps upstairs in the 400-seat bingo room. Also upstairs is Firefly, a tapas bar with cockpit views of the Fremont Street Experience.
reviewed
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E
Binion’s
Opened in 1951 by the notorious Texan gambler, Benny Binion, who sported gold coins for buttons on his cowboy shirts, this casino became famous for its ‘zero limit’ betting policy, and as the place where the World Series of Poker was born. Now that Benny has gone ‘all in’ in the sky, the ex-Horseshoe casino is struggling to live up to its legacy. But it’s worth swinging by the poker room to witness nail-biting, around-the-clock Texas Hold’em action. On the main casino floor is Binion’s Cafe with fresh, never-frozen beef burgers piled high with crackling onions, iceberg lettuce and huge tomato slices.
reviewed
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F
Imperial Palace
The blue-roofed pagoda facade and faux–Far East theme are hokey, but the zany atmosphere at what was once the Flamingo Capri is quite alright. The always-packed casino is decked out in bamboo and rattan under a dragon-motif ceiling. If you liked the indie movie The Cooler, you’ll love it here. There are lots of low-minimum table games to be found here, but avoid the bad-odds blackjack in the pit. Time your visit to coincide with the evening shift change of the ‘dealertainers’, celebrity impersonators who do double duty as dealers, or catch the sham stars performing in Legends in Concert at Harrah’s.
reviewed
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G
California
At many Vegas casinos, a lucky spin of a slot machine will earn you a brand-spanking-new BMW, a racy Jaguar or a red-hot convertible. At the downtown ‘just-call-me-Cal’ California, one very lucky nickel-slots player will someday ride home in – drum roll, please – a brand-new PT Cruiser! That simple fact tells you a lot about the 1970s-era Cal, ‘the hotel with aloha spirit, ’ where even the dealers wear Hawaiian shirts, because over 80% of the Cal’s guests hail from the 50th state. On the skybridge connecting to Main Street Station are photos of the Cal’s Golden Arm Club, which immortalizes lucky shooters from the craps tables.
reviewed
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H
Riviera
The Riviera was the first high-rise on the Strip when it opened in 1955. Liberace did the ribbon-cutting honors. Film auteur Orson Welles appeared on stage the next year performing – of all things – magic acts. A host of big-name entertainers have starred at the Riviera ever since, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Tony Bennett. But that Hollywood glamour has been almost entirely lost by now. Inside the dimly lit, confusingly laid-out casino, Penny and Nickel Town are faves with the old-as-the-hills clientele, who love the hot, hot slot tournies. Outside the front entrance, a bawdy bronzed statue of the Riv’s showgirls is fondly fondled by drunk…
reviewed
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I
Fremont
The Fremont casino hotel has been packing ’em in since 1956, when it opened as downtown’s first high-rise and the tallest building in Nevada. Separating it from the motley pack was wall-to-wall carpeting –almost all of the other nearby casinos still had sawdust floors then. It was here that legendary lounge singer Wayne Newton (aka Mr Las Vegas) launched his career. Despite these firsts, the Fremont has since slipped into mediocrity these days. With its weak tropical motif, the 32,000-sq-ft casino is nothing special, except for its purple felt tables and location in the middle of the Fremont Street Experience which has made it a favorite with many gamblers, not to…
reviewed
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J
Mandalay Bay
The tropical-themed ‘M-Bay’ fails to match the grandeur of Vegas’ more famous mega-resorts, although high-stakes gamblers will appreciate a classy casino that seems as limitless as the credit line needed to play here. Everything can be a spectacle here, if you only know where to look.
Big-name bands electrify the House of Blues and M-Bay’s events center, catsuit-clad ‘angels’ scale the wine tower at Aureole, and sable fur coats are loaned to enter the frozen vodka locker inside Red Square. Stylish boutique extras include Mandalay Place, a skybridge shopping promenade, and the minimalist modern THEhotel with its lofty Mix bar and bathhouse spa.
M-Bay’s aquatic…
reviewed
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Casinos
North Virginia St is casino central with one neon-festooned behemoth after another.
Approaching from the north, the first big casino is Circus Circus (775 329 0711; 500 N Sierra St), easily the most family friendly of the bunch. Next up is the Silver Legacy (775 325 7401; 407 N Virginia St), which is close to the new Reno Events Center (775 335 8800; 400 N Center St) and the National Bowling Stadium (775 334 2695; 300 N Center St), which has a mind-boggling 78 lanes but is only open during competitions. A bit further on is the Eldorado (775 786 5700; 345 N Virginia St), and south of here, across the new train trench, you can rub a Blarney Stone for good luck before…
reviewed