Where to Stay, Play and Eat in Vegas

This is a very very very tardy report on my trip to Vegas last spring. It was different than my previous two trips because my best friend Alice and her husband were in town as well so I spent the first two of my 5 1/2 days with her so I didn't play any tournaments during that time. Did have lots of fun though and visited a few new places.

We were all staying at the Sahara, which I'd chosen due to their cozy little poker room where I'd planned to play some cash games for an hour or two before bed each night. Unfortunately that comfy little card room had been converted to a secluded little slots section. So for my morning smoke and coffee, as well as my before going to the room at night cigarette, I made do by playing the Buffalo Bonus machines and did pretty well with them.


On the first morning I met Alice and Paul in the lobby and had planned to introduce them to Vickie's Diner on East Sahara, but Paul had other ideas and he took us to Siegel's Bagelmania at 252 Convention Center Drive in Las Vegas. I'm glad he did because it was fantastic! It had two large rooms with the first one being a deli style with all the wonderful items in display cases and fresh coffee ready for the customers. The other room is tables and booths where we sat and ordered our breakfasts. I should have had a bagel with cream cheese and lox like Paul did because the poached eggs on toast, though delicious, were way way too big a portion for me. The eggs were served on thick slices of freshly toasted bakery bread, and the home fries were pretty good too but a little dry for me.


After breakfast Paul headed off to see his son who was playing in some sort of competition, while Alice and I took at Uber to the Flamingo so she could exchange a pair of slacks that she'd wanted to buy at the Sahara, but they didn't fit quite right so they checked with their store at the Flamingo which had them in the right size. What they hadn't told Alice is that their store in the Flamingo had different name, and it took us over half an hour to locate it.

Then with new slacks in hand we started walking up the strip back to the Sahara. We spotted the Fashion Show Mall (3200 Las Vegas Blvd S) across the street so we crossed over to do some browsing at Neiman Marcus. They had lovely outfits, but would have had to mark them down 99% instead of 50% to fit into my budget. The whole mall was gorgeous and we wandered through some of the other stores. Then, between the escalators, we spotted COCOLINI gelato! The coconut lime cone I had was fantastic, and that on it's own made our visit to the mall worthwhile. After that we crossed back over the strip and headed for the Sahara.

Back at the Sahara we decided that we deserved a reward for the hike we'd just completed, so we went into the Casbar lounge for a couple of Irish coffees with Bailey's. We were waiting to be served and a nice cocktail waitress told us that if we wanted, we could go back onto the casino floor, sit at a slot machine, and all we'd need to is tip her because the drinks would be on the house. So instead of paying $30+ for the Irish coffees and tip, we just tipped her $20. Saving over ten dollars. (The lighting of the lounge is much more subdued than in this picture.)

The next morning Alice and I walked a mile down the street to have breakfast at Vickie's Diner (953 E Sahara Ave). Vickie's home fries are still the best that I've ever had, and Alice gave me this friendship bracelet for my birthday. After that we took another hike down past Circus Circus to put a few quarters in the old time coin slots, and then to Beall's for her to get a top to wear to dinner. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Herbs & Rye (3713 W Sahara Ave). The meal was superb as usual, and I love the happy hour prices on the steaks.

The next morning I saw them off to the airport in an Uber for their trip back to Florida. As they were pulling out of the Sahara's garage, I ordered an Uber to take me to South Point (9777 S Las Vegas Blvd) for the 10 am tourney. I was knocked out a little after 2 so I caught a ride back to the Sahara. Walking back to my room I noticed that Uno Mas Street Tacos (inside the Sahara) had $5 margaritas on special so I turned in there to try one out. As I walked through the doors to my right I could see their kitchen staff assembling tacos behind large glass windows.

I sat down at the bar, ordered a drink, and selected two tacos from the menu the bartender handed me. They were served in a rectangular tray along with a lime and some salsa. They were delicious and the margarita's sublime taste was the perfect thing to wash them down with. After that I had a few cigarettes, played a machine for awhile, and then went up to bed.


The next morning I had a coffee and pastry before taking the monorail down to the Horseshoe for a tournament. Afterwards I picked up a small pizza from the Prendi Grab & Go inside the Sahara, grabbed some soda and snacks from the store, then headed upstairs for bed. Prendi also has some delicious pastry in the mornings. Then it was off to sleep in anticipation of my last full day in Vegas.


I slept in a little bit in the morning before getting up and dressed. Then I did a little preliminary packing in anticipation of heading to the airport the next morning. Rested up I headed over to the Aria (3730 S Las Vegas Blvd) to play an afternoon tournament that had been recommended to me by @Debi right here on CardsChat. It was the fanciest poker room that I've ever been in, and reminded me of one of those fancy San Francisco gambling halls I used to see in the westerns. While I was waiting for the tourney to begin, across the room they were setting up some men with a private table for some game they wanted to play. It was quite the experience. The staff was excellent and made this pretty low roller feel like a high roller.


Well that was my 2025 birthday trip to Vegas. For places I mentioned that I've been to before you can read more about them in my posts about my 2023 and 2024 trips which are linked below.

2023
Diners and Restaurants: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/liv...play-eat-in-vegas-264725/page-25#post-6632427
Poker Tournaments: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/liv...play-eat-in-vegas-264725/page-25#post-6647470

2024

Afew places are matching Canadian to American currency 1 to 1 presently ..that's a win in a city that has got right out of hand for everything from bottled water to fees for most things

99TERRANCE99 said:

Afew places are matching Canadian to American currency 1 to 1 presently ..that's a win in a city that has got right out of hand for everything from bottled water to fees for most things

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That is an excellent opportunity for our friends north of the border.

"Three downtown Las Vegas casinos — Circa, the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate — are launching the “At Par” program, treating $1 Canadian dollar as $1 U.S. dollar for hotel rooms, gaming and drinks, according to a news release."

the whole town is desperate for tourist visitors , which is understandable since there aren't many bargains left . it also seems Canadians are vacationing in the US at a lower rate due to political concerns.

skaterick said:

the whole town is desperate for tourist visitors , which is understandable since there aren't many bargains left . it also seems Canadians are vacationing in the US at a lower rate due to political concerns.

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It's really unfortunate but the strip has been deserted especially since last January.

Las Vegas has been trying to reposition itself as a family friendly destination.

Focus is on business visitors for large conventions.

Also, trying to draw tourists from neighboring states for a quick weekend getaway coupled with a premium concert event.

I saw something where a couple of the bigger casinos were offering a three day package with lots of goodies, including meals and shows, and waiving resort fees for less than $400. I'll have to see if I can find it again and post it here.

On my previous three “birthday” trips I've stayed on the Strip. this time I decided to stay at South Point Casino which is about six miles down South Las Vegas Blvd from what is considered the “Strip”. It was my best trip ever! I really enjoy the people, the atmosphere, and the lower prices on everything from drinks to the fancier restaurants. I was also able to relax in my room between activities, and even play an hour or so at a cash game before going upstairs to bed.

South Point has plenty to offer like: a $5 craps table, race book, sports book, bingo, 64 lane bowling alley, multi-screen movie theater, lounge shows, an arcade, an arena where they hold equestrian and rodeo type events, bars/lounges with reasonably priced drinks, and more. With those entertainment and dining opportunities I saw quite a few families with young children who’d come to enjoy the day. On Easter Sunday the parents were dressed up and little girls were in their white Easter dresses waiting to be seated at the Garden Buffet.

If this sounds like an advertisement for South Point, that is sort of what it is because that’s where I spent the majority of my time. I did however also visit some of my favorite places from past trips, as well as finding an historical venue that I’d never even knew existed.

Checking in at South Point was fast and effortless. Before going to my room I stopped into the Slot Club office to get my Club card. This is not only a way to earn points when playing table games and machines, it also gets you a discount at the Garden Buffet. It also apparently has glue on it, because unlike previous trips to other casinos where I’ll leave their card in the machine five or six times, when I got on the plane to come home I still had my original card. 😊

After getting settled in my room I headed downstairs to play my first ever Chip Chop Survivor Hold ‘em tournament at 2:10pm. As always the poker room was clean and friendly, unfortunately the cards themselves weren’t all that friendly to me. ☹ If you look at the tournament schedule below you’ll see that all but 4 of them have an entry fee of just $120. Click picture to see rules.

In the morning I had a coffee and cigarette or two while playing a video poker machine. Then I walked over to the Race Book to handicap the full race card at one of the tracks. The staff was extremely pleasant and helpful as they advised me how to work the personal monitor at my seat. So I paid $2 for a Daily Racing Form, took my seat, and for the first time in about forty years began grading each horse in every race at Sunland.

As in years past I went to Herbs & Rye (3713 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102) for dinner with a friend. I started off by ordering my traditional Old Fashioned in memory of my mother. My appetite isn’t what it used to be so I ordered the shrimp cocktail and button mushrooms. Everything was delicious as usual, but if I’d known that I’d be served these four giant crustaceans I would have just ordered the shrimp. LOL!!

They gave me a nice doggie bag, which looked like one of those fancy shopping bags with the stiff string handles. That way I wasn’t going to look like some hillbilly at my next stop, which was the 9pm tourney at Caesar’s Palace (3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Paradise, NV 89109). The new poker room they opened last November looked just as nice as the one they closed in 2024.

The next day I slept in because I didn’t get back to the hotel until the wee hours of the morning. I didn’t have anything planned until I’d be playing my first Omaha tournament at 2:10pm, which would be number two of the three new types of tournaments for this trip. So to make good use of the four hours until then I played the horses again. 😊

Around 1pm I decided I should get something to eat so I visited the $1.50 hot dog cart which was not far away and near the sports book. With that in mind, I’m going to cover the places I ate at South Point right now. Beginning with the fast food.

Apparently I can only attach 5 files so I'm going to post Part 2 of this tale in the following post.

I visited both Kate's Korner and the hot dog cart a few times, and I wasn’t disappointed. The hot dogs were very thick, hot, and tasty. Just one of them with mustard and onions definitely eliminated any hunger pangs that might have been planning to attack me later on in the afternoon.

Kate’s Korner is on the way to the main entrance from the sports book. Their ice cream is deliciously firm, creamy, and equal to any quality ice cream I’ve ever had. And way better than a lot of the ice cream I’ve eaten. 😊

Steak ‘n Shake is a chain and you might have one near where you live, but this was my first encounter with them. I definitely wasn’t disappointed with the chicken fingers and vanilla shake I ordered to take back to my room with me. The fingers were delicious, and the shake was thick, cold, and creamy. It even had the whipped cream and cherry on top like the ones you’d drink there. 😊


Breakfast is my main meal of the day and I alternated between the Garden Buffet and the Coronado Café. As I mentioned before I don’t have a very large appetite these days, and can’t come close to finishing a regular breakfast like you’d get in a diner. So the buffet was perfect for me because I could get a little bit of a lot of things and be sure of finishing them. 😊

This buffet has everything from pancakes to carved ham to a bar where you can have an omelet or fresh eggs cooked in any style you choose while you wait. You can also enjoy two complimentary bloody marys that are included with the meal. Don’t forget if you have a South Point Club card you also get a discount on the price. 😊


Coronado Café is open 24 hours a day, and has low cost specials from midnight to 6am. They have a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu as well. You have the option to sit at a table, booth, or at the counter like I did. Just like everywhere else I went in South Point the service is friendly, prompt, and overall excellent. They are considerate as well.

My first morning there when I ordered oatmeal and a bagel the oatmeal came with a plastic container of raisins, and another of brown sugar. On my second visit I mentioned to the server that I didn’t want any raisins. So instead of the raisins, she gave me a second container of brown sugar. I’d only expected just one like before, so that was service above and beyond. 😊


Wednesday morning was my second and last time away from South Point on this trip. First stop was the 9am tourney at the Horseshoe (3645 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109). The room is as clean and attractive as it has been every other year, and the dealers are wonderful. To make it even more enjoyable, I finished in second place!

After stowing away the winnings in my purse, I hailed an Uber and headed 1.5 miles down E Flamingo to the National Atomic Testing Museum (755 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119). I’d never heard of this until I luckily heard about it in some what to see in Vegas video. It was well worth the visit as it traced the history of testing the weapons that came after the original bombs that were dropped on Japan.

Apparently before above ground testing was banned, the explosions and mushroom clouds fifty some miles from Vegas were somewhat of a tourist attraction. People would watch them from the patios and pools of the casinos. It must have been exciting before the arms race began with the Soviets and their nuclear arsenal was hanging over our heads. ☹

The cone shaped device pictured about is a diagnostic rack that contained instruments to measure the blast, and would be lowered down through the ground to where the explosion would take place. The other one is a B53 nuclear bomb which was a bunker buster and very powerful. This would be the one that Major Kong (Slim Pickens) rode down towards earth like a bucking bronco in Dr. Strangelove.


I’d play five more tourneys at South Point, one of them being my first ever time playing Crazy Pineapple. It is like regular Hold ‘em except you are dealt three cards, and you discard one after betting the flop. On Thursday I played a bounty tournament and came in third. In addition to the two $25 bounties I won, and receiving my own bounty back due to us chopping, I had the pleasure of sitting between two handsome men for the picture. 😊

I’ve played quite a few bounty tournaments before, but giving you the bounty from knocking out a player was never done like it was here. Normally when you enter a tournament they will give you a casino chip in the denomination of the bounty. When you knock someone out you get their chip. Here what they did was give you the empty seat card of the player you eliminated, and the floor person would trade you a chip for that. 😊

In closing I want to quickly mention that there were many places to eat at South Point that I didn’t mention. High end steak houses like The Silverado Steak House and Primarily Prime Rib, an oyster bar, an Asian one, a deli, an Italian one, Baja Miguel’s Mexican, and a snack bar in the bowling alley area. CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT ALL THE DINING OPTIONS

PS – If you’re driving, at South Point you can park for free. 😊

Poker_Mike said:

It's really unfortunate but the strip has been deserted especially since last January.

Las Vegas has been trying to reposition itself as a family friendly destination.

Focus is on business visitors for large conventions.

Also, trying to draw tourists from neighboring states for a quick weekend getaway coupled with a premium concert event.

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I just returned from Vegas two weeks ago, and stayed at South Point for the eight days. Things were jumping there.

The Women in Poker Spring Festival will be running there from tomorrow April 20 to next Sunday the 26th. If any of our ladies are in town during that time I'm sure that they'd enjoy some of the tournaments.

Hello, I will take into account the information provided, first God, one day I will go to play the wsop

SOLO22 said:

Hello, I will take into account the information provided, first God, one day I will go to play the WSOP

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You'll get there and, Good Cards! when you do. ❤️

@Emily Trott Thanks so much for the UCAP!! That was a fantastic trip.

Jillychemung said:

@Emily Trott Thanks so much for the UCAP!! That was a fantastic trip.

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You're very welcome!