LAS VEGAS -- As we near the end of the year that was 2002, it's time to look back and reflect on the things that we hold dear ... ah, to heck with that! It's time for those annoying "Year's Best" lists that everyone does, seemingly in an effort to drive people crazy, since no one ever agrees with what is selected.
But who am I to buck tradition? So without further ado, I present to you the 4th Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Top 10 Awards!
In the coming weeks I'll be offering you my picks for my favorite shows, attractions, restaurants, buffets, casinos and hotels.
As with most "favorites" lists these choices are strictly the personal opinions of well, me... and we all know that one man's treasure is another man trash.
I'm sure that some of you may be shocked that I left your particular favorite off, or that it didn't place higher on the list, but when you get your own weekly column you can make your own Top 10 list.
We start this week on Top 10 casinos. To make it on to this list a casino has to offer lots of gaming options, lots of room to navigate and spread out, and an overall history of allowing me to win. I know that last point sounds a bit strange, but if you go to a casino and always lose how could it possibly be a favorite?
I also give extra points to things like an entertaining or attractive decor, a noticeably friendly staff and a generous players' club.
And the winners are:
10. Venetian
This is the first appearance on the this list for the Venetian and it mostly got on because I won more than $5,000 on slots and video poker in a three-hour period one night. But set that aside and you still have a great casino packed with gaming options, pleasant if uninspired decor, none of the attitude you find at other top-line casinos, and lots of space to keep you from feeling overwhelmed.
9. Paris
The concept is a blatant French rip-off of what they did at New York-New York -- pick a city and replicate it with slot machines -- but that doesn't make the result any less spectacular. Take a moment to appreciate the details of the sky, the trees, the building facades, and the twinkling lights, and then take in all the high-energy gaming action. It doesn't sound like it should work, but it does, and it still leaves me charmed every time I go in there.
8. Stratosphere
This is the Strip casino that does what many local neighborhood casinos do so well: Forget about the bells, whistles, and fancy decor and concentrate on the reason people came. With tons of slot machines, more video poker than any other casino on the Strip, and (relatively) low-limit tables all wrapped up in a pleasant environment, how can you lose? Well, of course you can always lose, but that's the other thing about the Stratosphere -- I have won a lot of dough there. Plus, it has one of the most generous players' clubs in town, offering tons of perks and offers for even moderate play.
7. Main St. Station
I've never won a lot of money here, but that doesn't change the fact that the Main Street Station casino is one of the nicest, most relaxed gaming spaces in town. With high ceilings and subtle but effective turn-of-the-century San Francisco decor it's a welcome relief from the in-your-face antics that happen in many downtown casinos.
6. Mirage
Don't let this hotel's sixth place finish fool you -- this is still my favorite casino on the Strip when it comes to casual gaming in an upscale environment. The energy is palpable, but it still feels relaxed when you enter. Although it definitely seems like a high-roller haven, it doesn't go overboard with the opulent touches. High ceilings and good spacing between the machines and tables make this a terrific place to gamble.
4. (Tie) Sunset Station
If you don't make it off the Strip to gamble, you're making a mistake, and Sunset Station is a terrific example why. With a huge, rambling casino, tons of slots and video poker, every table game you could imagine with lower limits than the Strip, and a stunning stone and stained glass decor, Sunset Station is definitely worth the 15-minute drive on your next trip to Vegas.
4. (Tie) Boulder Station
Take everything I just said about Sunset Station and change the decor to hardwood floors and a subtle train motif and you have Sunset's older sister, Boulder Station. Since these hotels are part of the Station chain, you also get the benefit of the Boarding Pass, a very generous players' club that rewards frequent visitors with more stuff than you can handle and infrequent visitors with discounts on room rates and casino perks.
3. New York-New York
It's hard to remember what casino life in Vegas was like before New York-New York. Sure, other casinos had done the theme thing, but no one did it as audaciously and dramatically as New York-New York. With replicas of famous Gotham landmarks surrounding a Central Park-esque casino, this place is a visual feast -- the kind of place where you can actually have as much fun looking around as you can gambling.
2. Luxor
Luxor does for Egypt what the casino above does for New York and trumps it with a better layout, fewer distractions, and more gaming options. The wacky King Tut theme is so much fun that it's hard to tell if you're smiling because of the talking camels or because the slot machines keep rewarding your effort. I've won big here, so that colors my opinion, but even before it enriched my bottom line I enjoyed playing here.
1. Green Valley Ranch
Station Casinos' newest property takes everything the chain are good at -- offering tons of relatively low-limit, high-energy gaming -- and puts it in the classiest, loveliest, most understated rooms in all of Las Vegas. The thick carpeting, rich hard woods, stonework, and tasteful wall coverings make this room feel intimate, inviting, and exclusive -- like you've gotten the nod to enter a private gaming salon designed just for you. Add in the generous players' club mentioned above, historically generous slot machines, a super-friendly staff, multi-denomination machines, convenient cashless payouts ... well, I'm running out of room here, but it all adds up to my choice for the No. 1 casino in Las Vegas.
This Week's Trivia
Q: Which four hotels on the Strip currently have roller coasters in operation?
s?
ANSWER
The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the
Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com
The Full Story
In Next Week's Column
Next week: Next week: Top 10 Shows and Attractions
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