The Bear Growls: Downtown Destruction

The Bear Growls: Incompetent casino management
destroying downtown Las Vegas

Las Vegas blackjack player, casino critic, and frequent BJ21.com contributor LVBear offers his opinions on things that sometimes go wrong in the world of casinos.

By LVBear / BJ21 / 1-12-06
[email protected]

I rarely venture downtown anymore. I used to be a fan of downtown, but not any longer. The current crop of folks running the downtown casinos seem to want to deliberately destroy what is left of downtown. I recently paid a visit while taking care of some other business. I hoped to see some improvement. I was disappointed.

The Navegante Group that has taken over Plaza and Vegas Club has succeeded in chasing off most anyone who bets more than a few red chips. Vegas Club pit personnel in particular seem to delight in chasing patrons away, even ones who play poorly. The table maxes on some carnival games at Plaza and Vegas Club have been lowered to $25 – what a joke!

Golden Gate has no playable blackjack. Golden Nugget only has a few tables that are anything but garbage games, and management is openly hostile to anyone betting reasonable stakes except for the absolute stupidest players. Binion’s is perhaps the worst, with almost wall-to-wall garbage games and rude staff. The others have the lousy table game lineups they’ve always had -- not worth walking across the street to play.

Every year, downtown’s gaming win decreases. One would think that the managements would eventually realize that offering worse and worse table games is not the answer. The only thing downtown has to offer is better value for its patrons than the mostly ripoff places on the Strip and the locals casinos around town. It appears obvious that the casino managers should try to capitalize on that one marketing capability. But they have not. Instead, as their games get worse and worse, fewer and fewer people go downtown. It’s truly a shame.

Girls of Glitter Gulch is closed, supposedly for remodeling. I wonder if it’ll ever reopen.

The condos being built at Las Vegas Blvd. and Ogden are progressing. But I wonder who will pay ridiculous prices for the privilege of living at the edge of the dangerous slums just east of it. A new nightclub has opened between Las Vegas Blvd. and the El Cortez, so maybe it’ll breathe a little life into the area, between the expected nightclub-related stabbings, shootings, and drunken/drug-addled brawls.

It'll be a long time before I visit downtown again.

xxx

I saw that. In just a little over a year Downtown has gone to hell in a handbasket. The best game at the GN is a mediocre shoe game, one SD table left at the Western, Plaza and LVC barely playable.

But I don't agree with his assessment of the Fremont Street Experience. It's the only thing in LV I actually enjoy.

Never having been to Vegas before the FSE,I must say I enjoy it tremendously.
I think the games at El Cortez has gotten better since last year.And Vegas Club and Plaza have some very exploitable promos.
For the red-chipper,it beats the hell out of the strip.

I have to agree with the assessment of Downtown that LVBear has made. It's a relative thing. While I'll still be staying Downtown, I can say that it pains me to think of what it was a year or two ago compared to what it is today. I'll be renting a car and will hit the "locals" casinos our next trip out.:sad: There really is no Balackjack "under the canopy" that excites me. Tez is excluded since it is east of Fitzgerald's. I've lamented this before. As little as two years ago, I stayed several times at the Plaza and found very little need to step outside (except for a breath of fresh air!). The last three trips out, I haven't sat at a table there nor plugged even a nickel into their VP machines.

Possibly, this attitude will be noticed by whomever the powers-that-be are and the realization will hit them that they have not kept such a good finger on the pulse of the crowd that still frequents that area.

If only Vegas could turn back the clock and offer the excitment of yesteryear.
the excitment has given way to the stench and fear created by the surrounding neighborhood.

when there was still hope, the city/state should have offered low or no tax incentive redevelopment zones in the slum areas around downtown. or even low interest loans to create some kind of buffer for downtown. guess they still could.

Personally I would like to see a wax museum. thats right! with Benny Binion lounging in his coffee shop booth, saying "those lousy &%$$%@ *&%$ they ruined this place...(*$ ^(&^(*&* the hell is wrong with these (*&$^@3 who call themselves managers, chasing off the &^%$$@ marks that me and my boys worked so hard to develop. dammit."

Ya know, if he or Ted were still alive that is what they would be saying.

I've been to a number of the locals casinos and BJ is no great shakes at any I've come across.
Unless you can find a good side promotion,its tough for the red-chipper to get much of an edge these days.But in the last year or so,I've cleaned up with not so well thought out promotions at Vegas Club and The Edgewater in Laughlin.

The FSE accelerated the demise of downtown Vegas. zg

the FSE should be removed at once.