Strip Search (or Las Vegas Insider)
Tips, tidbits and hidden gems to help make your next trip to Las Vegas your best yet
By C.C. Royal
While I enjoy gambling at my local casinos, I also make frequent trips to Las Vegas for the ultimate in gaming and entertainment. I know that many of our readers do the same. Whether you visit Vegas annually—or a lot more often than that—it’s always fun to feel like an “insider,” someone who knows the little tips and tricks that make a Vegas visit that much more fun and exciting.
This new column will highlight some of our favorite finds in dining, entertainment, hotel stays and more—all aimed at making you a Vegas travel expert.
Dining
We love the Strip-side Serendipity 3, located in front of Caesars Palace, for a late lunch. Crowds at noon or during the dinner stampede make us cringe, so we like to visit from 3 pm – 5 pm when we can snag a table or pull up a couple of seats at the bar. Don’t let the prices scare you: the “shareability” factor of all the dishes make this spot a good value. Our faves? The foot-long hotdog (yes, it IS a whole 12-inches end-to-end, and it’s served with tons of fixings), the flatbread pizza with Magic Mushrooms, the Thai Beef salad, and the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate—which you can get with a big shot of Grand Marnier. (You are in Vegas, after all.)
We never leave Las Vegas on Sunday morning. (Well, not if we can help it.) That’s especially true now that we found an “All-you-can-drink champagne for $10 a person” deal at FIRST Food and Bar at The Palazzo. On Sundays from 11 am ‘til 4 pm, you can indulge in the bubbly while feasting on Breakfast Mini-Burgers (delicious little burger sliders served with bacon, eggs, cheese and Hollandaise sauce) or other breakfast and brunch treats like chicken and waffles.
Back to the champagne: this isn’t Moet Chandon ’39, but it is fun to wash down that order of tater tots with a glass while re-counting your Saturday night adventures. Oh, and did we mention this place has a fabulous view of the Strip?
Gaming
Sports books up and down the Strip have done away with the old “make a bet, get a free beer” deal, so we asked our friends at www.EastCoastGambler.net to suggest some places where you can still get comped brewskis. The winners are the Palazzo and Venetian sports books, where each $50 in bets gets you a drink ticket. Yes, you can ask for a drink at other sports books, but it seems to be pretty discretionary as to whether or not you’ll get a libation. We like the odds at these places much better. Also, check out the Palazzo’s Lagasse Stadium, where you can watch games and treat yourself to some of the best casual noshing on the Strip. There’s even a patio with private cabanas.
Shopping
The new Cosmopolitan Las Vegas is a rush for the senses, and the shopping there is no different. While we can’t bring ourselves to part with $400 for a black-sequined tank top at All Saints shop (which was imported from the UK), we can satisfy our need for glitz and glam with one of their chunky “statement” necklaces. For $40-$80 (look for killer sales, too) you can get a grand piece of jewelry with an interesting mix of metals, attention-grabbing stones and all the chic bling you need to make a $20 tank look like a million bucks.
Players Clubs
We almost hate to give with this nugget of advice because we don’t want to see this place get too crowded, but here goes. For Diamond and Seven Stars members of Caesars Total Rewards Club, the Diamond Lounge at Planet Hollywood is the best on the Strip. From the amazing staff, to the layout of the joint, to the huge 70-inch TV in the back room, this is our favorite spot for Happy Hour courtesy of Harrah’s…whoops, we meant Caesars. (In case you are unaware, Harrah’s Entertainment has been renamed Caesars Entertainment.)
Judging from the small number of players we’ve seen visiting the lounge, word hasn’t made it out yet about what a great spot this is for a cocktail, pretzel roll and mouth-watering chicken wings. Order a lemon drop martini from Brian, and kick back and relax. Just, please, don’t all go there at once and make us regret telling you about it. And by the way, there are plenty of available wall sockets for plugging in your phone charger—a rare treat in Vegas.
Got any Vegas “insider” tips you’d be willing to share with your fellow Casino Player readers? We’d love to hear them. Just email us at letters@casinocenter.com and we’ll publish the best of the best right here every month.
Strip Search (or Las Vegas Insider).
