What to expect in a Las Vegas casino

You may be thinking of a trip to Vegas. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun a trip to Vegas is, with so much to see and do, as well as eat and drink. Obviously, a big part of Vegas is the casinos, and here’s what to expect in a Las Vegas casino! I should probably add that most of these casinos are also referred to as ‘resorts’, given their size!

The Size

Around Las Vegas, there are three main areas where you’ll find casinos. On the strip, off the strip and downtown. The largest and most flamboyant casinos are to be found on the strip, and this is where household names are to be found (think Bellagio, MGM Grand, Venetian etc). We’ve not really explored many of the off strip casinos, but have spent plenty of time downtown in ‘old Vegas’. The casinos may be smaller downtown, but they are all located close to one another and are a real magnet for locals and tourists alike.

The Bellagio for example has a casino size of 156,000 square feet. That’s pretty big, and not even the largest on the strip (that honour goes to the combined Wynn/Encore resort). It also has over 200 table games, and more than 2,400 slot machines. The casinos in the downtown area are much smaller and have fewer attractions, but are still worth a visit as they ooze old Vegas charm. Plus they are good value for money, with prices a lot lower than strip resorts.

There are signs and directions everywhere in casinos, but it is still easy to get lost or lose your bearings. Casinos have no windows or clocks for a reason, guys! All the casinos on the strip have a multitude of bars, lounges, restaurants and shops. Some indeed have other attractions as well. These are spread out in and around the casino floor space, and the layouts are often designed in such a way that you have to walk through at least part of a casino to get to where you want to be.

Another indicator of the size of some of these ‘resorts’ is the number of hotel rooms and suites available. The Venetian/Palazzo for instance has over 7,000 rooms. That’s a lot of potential guests! It’s very easy to spend a good half a day exploring one of these resorts.

The Noise

Not that it’s loud, but these casinos have a lot of noise going on all the time. You will hear the sound of the slot machines everywhere, enticing you to have a go. You will hear the ringing bells when somebody hits a bonus on the wheel of fortune machines, and you will almost certainly hear cheers and groans from the table games. One of the nosiest table games is the Craps tables, being as it is a very social game.

Craps tables can take a lot of players all at once, plus spectators. When a certain number is rolled by the dice thrower, you can hear the whoops for joy from a long way off! In addition to this, each bar and lounge within the casino floor will have its own music playing, as well as the music playing inside the whole casino. Being a 24/7 operation, the casinos are never really ever quiet.

The noise contributes to the atmosphere of people having a good time. It’s a happy place, and the constant jackpot noises and shouting creates the impression that everyone is a winner – don’t be so easily fooled!

The Smell

Most casinos have their own fragrance that is filtered into the casino. It’s usually quite subtle, but it helps mask the smokiness that some casinos have. Each casino has its fragrance specially developed and it is possible to buy these too – at a price! See here

The fragrances give each resort its own brand, and whilst it’s not an intrusive smell it is one that hits you as soon as you walk in. Much better than cigarette and cigar smoke. On that point, whilst smoking is allowed in most casinos the ferocious air conditioning means you never see clouds of smoke anywhere, and neither is the smoke smell too obtrusive. It is fair to say the casinos downtown seem to be a bit smokier, at least in my experience and not to the detriment either. Smoking is allowed on most casino floors at present, and not allowed at all in bars or restaurants. This is beginning to change though, with Park MGM being the first no-smoking resort on the strip as of the end of September 2020.

The Casino Games

I’ve already mentioned just how many games and slot machines are in the casinos. Many of you may feel a bit nervous about gambling in a casino for fear of how to play the games. Table games especially can be a bit daunting to the uninitiated. As for the slot machines, with so many to choose from it’s hard to know where to start. Most of the slot machines are pretty simple to use. Push a note in, select your denomination and/or the number of lines to be played, and then press go!

I mentioned above that the Bellagio has over 2,400 slot machines. Some of these are Video Poker (more on that in a future blog post), old fashioned ‘fruit’ machine types, but most are big machines with loads of graphics and videos embedded. Bright lights and videos attract players, right?

One of the most popular slots is the Wheel of Fortune machines. Depending on the denomination of the machine you choose, you could be chasing a jackpot of millions (I’m not kidding either!). Megabucks is another machine that has crazy high jackpots. Here’s a link to the latest jackpot figure!

I’ve become a fan of table games when in Las Vegas. I don’t play all of them, but I do like a dabble on Blackjack and Craps. Most casinos have a multitude of tables available per game, and at busy times they open them all up. The table games have a sign on the table showing the minimum and maximum bet per hand. If you are very extremely lucky, you will find a Blackjack game for $10 per hand on the strip, but usually it will be higher than this (especially at night or at a weekend). Perhaps $20 per hand at a cheap table.

Other table games that you may find are Roulette, Three Card Poker, Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow, and Let it Ride. I won’t get into how these are played or house edges per game within a casino as its far too complicated to explain in a brief blog post. Instead, you can check out this site that will give you the odds and strategies for all of the games you are likely to come across.

Bars and Restaurants

All casinos have a choice of bars and restaurants to keep those hungry and thirsty players going. As you’d expect, the larger strip properties have more than the downtown ones due to their footprint. As an example, the Bellagio has 16 full-size restaurants in its resort, not to mention a Starbucks and a juice bar! A decent resort downtown like the D has 3 restaurants.

It’s a similar story for bars too, with the strip properties having many more than downtown ones due to their sheer size. The fancier hotels have trendy lounges too with cool cocktails and DJs, so dress accordingly eh!

Almost all bars and restaurants are inside the casino itself. The first time I visited I found it a bit weird walking inside a casino to a bar or restaurant that was still inside the casino. It soon passed though, and it became pretty much the norm. Some strip resorts have bars and restaurants that have an outside terrace or face the strip, with access from within the casino.

Larger properties have celebrity restaurants, in fact they are quite common. Gordon Ramsay, Guy Fieri, Michael Mina and Wolfgang Puck to name just a few. Actually, Gordon Ramsay seems to be doing pretty well as he has 4 restaurants on the strip, not including his takeaway Fish and Chips!

Shows and Attractions

It may sound like I’m knocking the downtown casinos a bit in this post, and indeed in this section. That is not the case, but given their age and size, they struggle to keep up with the larger resorts on the strip. It is these strip resorts that are able to offer shows and attractions within their property.

Citing the Bellagio again as an example, it has a large theatre for their Cirque du Soleil production ‘O’ that has 1,800 seats circled around a 1.4 million gallon pool. It also has a large conservatory and botanical gardens inside just off the lobby, and a gallery of fine art that houses some impressive works.

Using Mandalay Bay as another example here, this resort has a shark reef exhibit, plenty of conference space, and a large show theatre. The Mirage has a secret garden and dolphin habitat, and the Venetian has an artificial St. Marks Square with gondola trips within their resort. I could go on . . .

. . . And I shall! Probably the most famous attraction is the fountains in front of the Bellagio. I guess what I’m trying to say is these resort properties have plenty of things to see and do to keep you spending money in their casino instead of somebody else’s. The strip resorts all have decent pools too, some with several. Some have day clubs if you’re into that sort of thing. In fact, Mandalay Bay has an actual beach at its pool! Pretty much all resorts on the strip have their own USP attraction wise.

Shops

Most of the strip resorts have a selection of shops too. I’m not just talking about a casino souvenir shop or a shop to grab a quick bottle of water. I mean proper shops. In a lot of cases shops that most of us cannot afford to step into! The posh shops help define certain resorts as upmarket and exclusive. They are also handy if some drunkard wins big and feel the need to buy an expensive necklace for his wife, or even somebody else’s!

Some of the resorts have huge shopping malls full of designer stores. Jimmy Choo is commonplace here, as are most of the top fashion houses and jewellers.

Caesars Palace has something called the Forum Shops that feeds into the casino. It has over 160 stores and restaurants, plenty to ogle over for a few hours! Bellagio, Venetian, Cosmopolitan and Wynn all have similarities as well.

The ‘mid range’ resorts on the strip have shops more akin to their clientele (meaning stores you can actually afford to shop in). If this is you, check out the Miracle Mile Shops that links through to Bally’s Casino.

Summary

So what to expect in a Las Vegas casino? Each casino/resort downtown and on the strip has plenty to see, do and gamble. Each and every one is fighting for your business, so they want to keep you at their place for as long as possible spending money. Some of the attractions are free, but most are paid for. What I can tell you is that you will never have seen anything like the size and scale at any other property outside Las Vegas. The strip resorts are happy places, and downtown casinos are such good value you can’t ignore them either. Each resort has a theme and identity, and there are more than enough to cater for all tastes and budgets. What’s your favourite?

Don’t forget to check out my other Las Vegas posts too!