Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Posted by mike_ch

I'm not a hotel customer, but Aria and BallyParis were my home base. Aria is my sports book heaven and, if I'm hungry, the Le Burger joint at Paris/Bally's (really it's straddling both) has good food and good sports coverage as well.

Don't gamble as much anymore, but when I do, I usually do at Cosmo. I like the soundtrack and while the marketing department does not care to emphasize gambling (really, when everybody has it, is it a feature?) the staff interactions I've had there are really good, and The Henry or Comme Ca are not too far away.

I also like Harrah's club card because they have pretty good policies that allow small time gamblers to store up enough points to eventually get comps if they play those small amounts regularly, which encourages both locals and people establishing a "home base". They even put the card prices on the menu in some places now. If you are a hotel customer, the resort fee stance is a plus.

Posted by Hunter

I've consistently found Cosmo's table limits to be out of sync with the rest of reality. They'll have all $15 and $25 tables that are all standing empty.

As for it being a feature, for me in picking a primary home base, it is. It means potential concentration of play (i.e. comps) and like I said, I enjoy playing. There's nothing better than knowing the crew knows their shit and will take care of you.

For many years, Stratosphere was my home. Reasons:

1. I've never been much of a gambler
2. I always rent a car and I liked the easy in/out of the garage.
3. For whatever reason, they decided I was important enough to have me in their nicer digs for free.
4. I love heights and sunset from the top of the tower was a daily thing for me.
5. I feel like Stupak and I would have been solid friends.

Sadly, The Strat really took a dive in 2009/2010 and I moved to Golden Nugget on a whim. Nugget won me over immediately with a combination of the definition of customer service, and a few ridiculous suites that I never felt I deserved. With the exception of a few nites at El Cortez Cabana Suites, a few nites at Cosmo, and 1 nite at Rio, Nugget has been my home. Lately, though...I find myself wanting a strip home. Cosmo will not be the place...for the same reasons you listed above. I really like Mandalay...the whole vibe of the place does it for me. The live music on the casino floor, Fleur, and the view from Mix are strong selling points for me, but I have moral issues with "resort fees". That being said, I've been eager to try out Paris and PH...and hoping to do so for VIMFP. I'm excited about the prospect of having a strip home and a downtown home to split my time between. Oh, if only Barbary Coast were still Barbary Coast...

I have stayed at the Cosmo 4 other times this year with No problems at All. This labor day I have experienced exactly what you mentioned. Almost two days before they would clean our room. I couldn't believe it. Makes me reconsider my next stay.

Agreeing with mike_ch. I'm curious as to why the player's card aspect is not mentioned in your homeless issue. I admit, I'm a player's card junkie and spend far too much money chasing status or going for some promotion. I've dabbled in several property's programs but keep coming back Caesars (Harrah's). Although mLife finally has some new features, they hate video poker players which is a large part of my ritual when I go. Also, I like the fact I can quickly scan several properties to find where the comped room is. In fact, I haven't paid for a room at a Caesars' property in years...granted I don't always get the property I want.

Have you considered doing the diamond in day program? If you did chose to do it and were successful, you'd no longer be homeless.

Bellagio has and will always be my place because it just feels like home. Its just that unexplainable feel that gets to you.

I know that things over there have slipped in the past few years but with Wynncore's restaurant lineup declining and all the douchebags moving in, I think the Bellagio will steal the title as crown jewel of the strip once again.

Hunter,
After years of reading your comments and trip reports on your blog, you seem to have a real 'connection' with Mirage. Maybe try considering the ol' Mirage as your home. Its got that magic to it. :)

If I had to pick a particular property overall to call home it would probably be the Nugget. The addition of the nice pool area has sealed it. The one bummer has been slapping the crappy 6-5 payout onto the blackjack tables by the pool. But I love the overall property, even the older rooms are decent (well, maybe except for the closet-sized bathrooms), and the staff is friendly.

The Strip standard is still Bellagio. Just seems to have everything and MGM doesn't appear to have really screwed with a Wynning formula.

Wynn/Encore are great places as well but they seem to be missing something that Bellagio has. I still wish Steve had foresaken the DI course like he had with the Dunes course and made Wynn larger and with a more spectacular show.

I can see the appeal of Mirage but the changes MGM made to the casino floor, totally revamping it from the Wynn days, was too much of a turn-off for me.

I'm heading out in a month and am going to try out the Tropicana.

Just took the red-eye back from Vegas after a weekend stay at Encore, and we have the same qualms as you do. I love the Encore casino...before 10pm. One late night of gambling where we were almost harassed by Surrender revelers and just annoyed in general by the douchebaggery, it makes me wonder if the rooms and service are worth all of that. We left thinking: where's the cool place for people around 40 with discerning tastes? We've never stayed at Mirage or Aria, so maybe it's time to try them, but I also like to be rewarded for my gambling and MGM has never really given me anything (while both Wynn and Caesars have). That's the same problem I had with Cosmo: I loved the property in general, but they have given me NO offers whatsoever, where with comparable play Wynn is comping rooms and giving me freeplay. I don't think I can do a whole trip downtown, but I did love Golden Nugget. It's a dilemma!

This is a great topic discussion and over the last 3-4 years, my 'base' has definitely shifted a great deal due to the Recession.

If I had my choice, I'd choose Bellagio, unfortunately my gambling budget falls a bit short of their regular requirements, so I get low occupancy style offers that I'm usually able to take advantage of but not much more.

I guess the question I'd pose to you Hunter, is ultimately what are you looking for in a home base now? Do table limits come into play, ability to get a comped room/meals, price if not comped, house edge for games, dining? There are so many factors and by your list, I think you hit on all of them, but those points (in my opinion) are ultimately what make us decide to stay somewhere.

I realize that Caesars isn't a favorite of most, but I'm surprised it's not on the list at least. As a gambler there should be times that reduced rates would make sense for one of their higher tiered rooms and out of all the CET properties, it does have what I consider their best dining choices.

Treasure Island has always been our home base for most of the same reasons that you would stay there. Price. Location. Location. Location. Not my favorite place on the strip, but even when we stay elsewhere, walking in to TI feels like home. The smells, the atmosphere. everything.

If I may add a comment that speaks both to the allure of the players club and the issues with Cosmo's casino floor:

I'm a twenty-something who loves to sit down at $25 tables, I'll even push up to $50 pai gow tables. Naturally, when Cosmo first opened, the kid in me loved playing there (love the vibe, great cocktail service, accessible pit bosses and dealers). I spent a fair amount of coin playing there, always with my Identity card.

You see, I assumed that a new independent casino in the heart of the strip would be pressing hard to steal players from Mlife and TR...so I gave them a good amount of $50 pai gow and $25 BJ on two separate occasions. The outcome? Nothing. No room discounts or offers. No comp dollars. Almost zero tier points.

To say this was disappointing to me would be a massive understatement. While I like the vibe in Cosmo so much, I almost exclusively play at Bellagio and Paris now when I'm in that part of the strip.

Personally (I suppose selfishly?) I think Cosmo is making a big mistake, as true young Vegas junkies like me are the people who keep dragging out their friends multiple times a year and spreading the word of their properties. Given their curious class targeting, you would think a 27-year-old real gambler would be right up their alley. Le sigh...

Posted by mike_ch

Well, my paragraph on Cosmo is based off my experience as a machine player. If you have quarter VP with the right game and what have long been strip average paytables, it's fine by me. It's why I eventually avoided Mirage, even though I know people who like that place.

The resort fee thing just isn't Vegas anymore, I see it in Disney trips and even hotels out in das burbs. It's an entire travel industry thing. I've long given up the fight complaining about them for that reason.

I've shifted from Palazzo/Venetian back to CET; since my offers have been better. I chose Paris over Caesars, since it's not as popular; and thus is more likely to get me better 'bang' for my comp buck. With that being said, I'm quite surprised at all of the talk of $$$ for rooms in Vegas... In any case; if you are a table player, you really have to average $100 (which I call 2011 low-roller). Even then, you need to push much closer to a $200 average. Now, if you know the game, and how to play properly; you can probably limit your exposure quite a bit.

My only 'home' in Vegas was Stardust; and once that home was gone, I realized I'd never have another home like that... I was perfectly happy with V/P; but they don't seem to be as happy with me. Paris is turning out to be really interested in my business; so for the moment.. they get it. Of course, I'm an East Coast boy; and put much more emphasis on Mohegan Sun and Atlantic City properties. As a table player; I can't emphasis enough how important 'strategic' 'consolidated' strong play is at Vegas, and any casino properties. Many people totally sell themselves short by playing a little all over the place. Big mistake. Play big (and by big, I mean at least a 2-4+ hour session(s) with a decent average) or don't bother being rated at all.

My stays are typically mid-week, so my experience will be different from those coming in to town Friday - Sunday. Encore and Wynn are my preferred destination, specifically Encore TS. It is hard to match the service and amenities, and the dbag factor is less pronounced mid-week.

I used to love the Mirage, but I was seriously underwhelmed on my last visit. I wanted to burn that gross, square orange pillow, and the entire room needed a serious cleaning.

I am looking forward to a Cosmo visit during the marathon in December. I loved the Chandelier bar and public spaces, so I'm eager to actually stay in a room, especially if it overlooks the fountain.

Mandarin is phenomenal, but I'm just not a big fan of the non-gaming hotels. I want to have the elevator doors open and know that the craps pit is only steps away.

Posted by Hunter

So many great comments on this post, thanks.

Yes, there are certainly properties not mentioned here. CP itself has always seemed like a mess to me. A legendary mess but still a mess.

I too dig MO but the lack of a casino is a deal breaker for me.

BG - Yes, good tips on table play. If you want the casino to notice you, you gotta do it all in one place... and that's been one of my problems. I've been staying in different hotels to get photos, write reviews, etc... I have no loyalty to them and they none to me.

Hunter,

Like you, I haven't settled down in one place either. My general selection process for picking a place to stay has usually boiled down to the following considerations:

* It is someplace new that I haven't stayed yet? Remodeled rooms? Has it been a while since I stayed at that place?

* Who is offering the best deals?

* What kind of mood am I in?

* Am I meeting anyone out there? If yes, I'll try and pick the same hotel or somewhere nearby. The rules change for a solo trip vs a group trip.

Having said all that, I usually land at either Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Wynn or Encore. Like you, I haven't been enjoying the overall direction that Wynn and Encore are taking. MO is the most elegant place on the strip, but too far from the action and the closest place is Aria. (meh). Four Seasons rooms are tired but at least near Mandalay Bay (meh). Also, in IMO, the Four Seasons pool service cannot be beat anywhere on the strip.

Having said all that, you _can_ have the regular homebase experience without having a homebase. I'm on a first name basis with all of the Sunday -> Thursday crew at the Eastside bar and lounge at Encore, and until recently, I could go to Bouchon at Venetian and have the bartender recognize me. It's really all about hitting your favorite places every trip and making a conversation with the people you meet. If you go to the same bar every 6 months for 4 years, they'll remember you.

The lack of a homebase is killing my ability to get any kind of excellent room offer, but I'm okay with the flexibility and the freedom. For me, the joy of Vegas comes from the fact that every 6 months, something about the place is *new* and *different*. That makes it all the more fun to explore, try new restaurants and new hotels and never see or experience Vegas the same way twice.

We first experienced Vegas through the Timeshare at the Hilton and have always had a soft spot for them. I hope they survive and prosper. We have spent a New Years and two Super bowls with them and love it.

However, the casino is lacking in variety, wspecially recently, so we switched to the Palazzo. But after there illfated non-comp period we hesitated to go back and didn't in May. We are giving them another chance this trip.

We are doing the Cosmo this trip as well and avoiding the M for now.

But our home base has become the Encore for many reasons as have been outlined but a most important one that is unique.

We have a great host looking after us. As with our local casino, she is becoming a friend as well as a host. She hails from the San Fran area and recently recommended a great restaurant that we would nvever have found otherwise.

She had bent over backwards to look after us, even throwing in a tour of all of the luxury suites at the Encore on our last vist. This time we are staying for 5 days comped which I suspect is due as much to our relationship as it is to our play.

as they used to say "the host is the most".

Dan

Aria. Embrace the New.

Amenities: The corner 1BR suite is just fabulous, the pool/spa/gym complex is really nice, the architecture is thoroughly modern and keeps your attention.

Gaming: The high limit areas are simply deluxe, the regular casino feels somewhat smaller and easy to find what you're looking for, state-of-the art slot floor, nice poker and sports book.

Location is excellent: Easy access to Bellagio, Cosmo, P-Ho.

Posted by mike_ch

Well, I'm going to throw the Paris red rooms out there, I guess. They look nice (the original Park Place rooms have been abused hard and feel elderly because of it) and on some weekends they can be had at pretty good rates. I can't speak for table odds, again, but I always liked the Paris casino vibe (haven't seen it with the new frontage) with the high ceilings and, near Mon Ami Gabi, a lot of outside light pouring in. Of course, if you don't like the casino because the phony sky thing feels so 2001 to you, there's always P-Ho next door.

Posted by mike_ch

Actually, I take that back. The furniture of those rooms is rather odd, they seemed to still grip to an armoire style piece in the middle of the room even though they went to an LCD TV. How weird.

I guess it's that I'm a sucker for the Harrah's card. For some reason I feel like I don't quite trust the MGM comps program since it retitled itself and got a huge ad campaign for it.

The Aria feels like home to me now - the gorgeous smell, the fully automated rooms - I love it. I think the reason why it stuck as my favorite as it was the very first Vegas hotel I stayed in - and you never forget your first true love :)

Hunter,
Great thread. A salient question. And an evolving answer as Vegas evolves.
Home base used to be the Mirage. Big enough to have action but not too big. And enough familiar aspects to feel like home. Sadly as all the casinos evolve into one- a dethemed mod concept tp attract the 25-35 demographic-it is hard to call it "home".
It is hard to love a hotel that hits you with Resort Fees- hell they don't love you.So the MGM properties don't feel like a friend.The CET properties are friendlier because they don't do that and the total rewards program at least gives you a feeling of familiarity. But a lot of the game "distortion" in the casino makes it hard to "love" them the way I used to ove casinos in the old days when they made gambling fun.
I believe the resorts would do well to encourage customers to really want a home base.If one would pick a demographic and focus their appeal to it I believe customers would call it home. But every casino seems to abandon it's theme, put in a club, add a tattoo parlor and then appeal to the same 25-35 party hard demographic. It was better when the Hard Rock and Palms did this leaving stately strip properties for a more urbane traveler. It is that sophisticatd traveler who cared about a home base. The young party animal will flip at a moment's notice in pursuit of the "new" hot spot.
Finally the continued fawning over Wynn/Encore seems dated. The properties are far less special with the beautiful resaurants like Alex closing and the casino at Encore is no longer in any way a special place-just a "staging area" for the clubbers to overrun before they get into Surrender or XS.Not the kind of place the MO or Four Seasons guest wants to spend big bucks to stay in.

Posted by Sean

For me, the home base Wynn and Encore. While I agree with others that I don't much care for the changes (I was engaged at Alex, I really liked DB Brasserie), it still feels like home for me. Particularly the Encore Tower Suites. The smell of the resort, the music (pre-change), the look, that one Tower Suites front desk clerk in particular who I have a secret crush on (can't remember her name but she's perhaps the only one that isn't Asian), the amenities that I stock up on and use while at home, all have a certain familiarity to me. I'm a bit of a creature of habit, and I could go down to Wynn and Encore and never leave the resort and be completely satisfied.

My first love was Mandalay Bay, and I'm completely comfortable there. Other places are great too, and I sometimes cheat and stay at Mandalay, or PHo, or even Tropicana, but when I can afford it, Encore Tower Suites call me home.

Lots of frustration here at my age demographic!

Really liked what @maddog had to say about losing the feel of home, and needing to target a demographic. Wynn/Encore had that exclusive vibe, but has since been overrun, much to everybody's dismay.

So, I ask you - if Bellagio reinstated the dress code and music from their first opening (sadly never going to happen, but I can dream), would you play/stay there exclusively? Even if it cost you a premium versus the blah modern conversions out there?

I know I would.

Aria has become my home base. It was Mirage when I first started visiting LV in the late 90s. I shifted to Wynn, but it started to lose me right around the opening of Encore and lost me for good when it shifted focus from great restaurants to XS and Surrender.

And while I stay at Aria, I always find myself hanging out in Bellagio for long stretches of time. I got married there, and despite the crowds, I still feel there's something magical about it that makes me feel a little like Danny Ocean. Except not as good looking. If Bellagio took the steps that Sam laid out above, I'd absolutely play/stay there exclusively.

SAM - If Bellagio instituted a dress code, absolutely yes...it would be my permanent home base. I'm mid 30's, but I feel out of sorts in a casino without slacks and a jacket on. I'm a 20th Century guy.

My home is the MGM. Like a home, it's just comfy to me with these plusses. At end of monorail so can always get a seat to go to LVCC. Nice breakfast in coffee shop. Reasonable restaurant pricing. Nice room size and lower rates. Good casino host.

Bellagio is my usual vegas home. Bellagio is the first place I stayed in Vegas and it got me hooked on Vegas. To me the drive up to the main port cochere at Bellagio gives me a feeling of having arrived somewhere special which is a feeling I don't get anywhere else. Since I'm really not a gambler I do not get comps. I keep going to Bellagio because I have consistantly had great service there and with the hasstle of flying all the way out to Vegas from the east coast I need to know I'm going to have a great experience when I'm in Vegas. My alternate choices would be Wynncore and the Mirrage.

I'm a long time reader of your blog for years, but this is my first post because I couldn't resist...

My home base is Mandalay/The Hotel and has been for years. It's not by choice. I come to town on business and the rooms and food are comped by my client. I'm so bored because I've seen everything and done everything at this hotel over the years.

I gamble at a "comp" level, until they changed to M Life, and I can't get anything comped because everything has been comped for me (not my comps). There is no point in gambling for comps if you'll never use them. And not to mention, there is no point in gambling just for comps.

So, Hunter, it is actually a good thing NOT to have a home base. Variety is the spice of life. As long as you are enjoying yourself, don't worry about it.