Give a warm welcome to DiceRunner, who will be posting from time to time on NeonDice. He’ll kick it off by telling us about low rolling it in downtown Las Vegas.
The average person rolling into Las Vegas is not bringing an exorbitant amount of money to gamble these days. That doesn’t mean these people don’t want to gamble though. So, here are my favorite places to game on the cheap! When choosing a casino I usually consider food too. I am not talking about fancy food but late night grub. You can find $5 tables at all of these places.
1. The El Cortez
This place is not classy by any means. They have a decent size casino and $5 tables are always available.
The Good
- $5 single deck 3/2 Blackjack
- $5 Mini Baccarat dealt by a person
- Good drink service
The Bad
- Smokey
- The clientele can be different. I have been offered “yayo” at the craps table. There are strange people everywhere though, so don’t let this scare you.
2. The Golden Gate
I have spent many hours on their craps tables.
The Good
- The party pit has some sexy girls dancing.
- Dupar’s is a good place to get late night breakfast before calling it a night
- There is typically open space at the craps table
The Bad
- It has a small feeling to the space.
3. The Plaza
Newly Renovated and overall pretty good.
The Good
- Good place for Video Poker
- I have met some friendly dealers here.
- Pop Up Pizza!
The Bad
- For some reason Pop Up Pizza closes at some point. I think it closes at 2am which seems too early to me. I have tried to get late night pizza and they were closed.
- Accidentally played the crapless craps table there one time. For some reason the point was 2 and we lost. Don’t let this gimmick game get you it has a higher house edge than craps.
I like DiceRunner’s points, but also El Cortez is starting to become shittier for me. I used to love that place but I think it might be getting the Western’s clientele. I’m less and less likely to gamble there, but I’d like that to change. Time will tell.
I’m a huge fan the El Cortez, also! I hope DenverGambler’s point about the Western clientele ends up being wrong. That place has a lot of potential and with things really picking up in that general area, I think it’s perfectly situated to reap the rewards! As always, great post!
I usually stay at El Cortez Cabana Suites at least twice a year…but I haven’t gambled there in almost 2 years…mainly due to the smoke and the fact that I always seem to get bothered by some ornery older guy that just wants someone to talk to.
The only negative I have about gambling at Golden Gate is that I don’t care for the pop/dance music they play at night. I’d rather hear Sinatra (and I’m in my 30′s).
I have no love for The Plaza. Last time I was there, I had a hard time finding any decent video poker (I’d love to know what machines the author was playing), and the player’s card readers on a lot of the machines did not work. The Blackjack games were not 3/2, so I left for Main Street Station (my favorite Low Roller joint).
I remember there was a good VP machine at The Plaza kind of between the cage and the restroom. If I remember right it was a 9/6 JoB. Check this out for their VP listing http://www.vpfree2.com/casino/plaza-hotel-casino
These were the best VP machines I saw the entirety of my trip. They are indeed by the bathroom/cage area and they were 9/6.
i like the el cortez for the 25 cent roulette chips -they only other place i hace found thia is the hacienda out by hoover dam -if anyone knows any other places i will gladly check them out — articwolf51@hotmail.com
I can’t wait for the hood to creep into the El Cortez again. That’s how it was when I discovered it. Maybe they’ll burn the felt for me so I can relive the glory days.