Changes or additions to this section of the FAQ should be submitted to: jacobs@xmission.com.
Page last modified: 12-28-94
The following is a list of toll-free numbers for the hotels/casinos in Las Vegas. The source is "Tourguide Magazine" of May 3, 1991. This is a weekly tourist publication in LV. (Updated Sept. 20, 1993 to match "The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas")
Aladdin (800) 634-3424 The Nevada Palace (800) 634-6283 Alexis Park (800) 582-2228 O'Sheas Casino (702) 792-0777 Arizona Charlie's (800) 342-2695 Paddlewheel (800) 782-2600 Bally's Resort (800) 634-3434 Palace Station (800) 634-3101 Barbary Coast (800) 634-6755 Park Hotel ( CLOSED ) Binion's Horseshoe (800) 237-6537 Quality Inn (800) 634-6617 Bourbon Street (800) 634-6956 Ramada Las Vegas (800) 634-6599 Caesars Palace (800) 634-6661 Ramada Suites-St. Trop. (800) 666-5400 California Hotel (800) 634-6255 Rio Suite Hotel/Casino (800) 888-1808 Circus Circus (800) 634-3450 Riviera Hotel (800) 634-6753 Continental Hotel (800) 634-6641 Royal Hotel & Casino (800) 634-6118 Desert Inn (800) 634-6906 Sahara Hotel (800) 634-6666 Dunes Hotel ( CLOSED ) Sam's Town (800) 634-6371 El Cortez (800) 634-6703 Sands Hotel (800) 634-6901 El Rancho ( CLOSED ) Santa Fe (800) 872-6823 Excalibur (800) 937-7777 Showboat Hotel (800) 826-2800 Fitzgerald's (800) 274-5825 Silver City (702) 732-4152 Flamingo Hilton (800) 732-2111 Slots-A-Fun (702) 734-0410 Four Queens (800) 634-6045 Stardust Hotel (800) 634-6757 Fremont Hotel (800) 634-6182 Townhall/Vagabond (800) 634-6541 Frontier Hotel (800) 634-6966 Tropicana (800) 468-9494 Gold Coast (800) 331-5334 Vacation Village (800) 658-5000 Gold Spike (800) 634-6703 Plaza (800) 634-6575 Golden Gate (800) 426-0521 Vegas World (800) 634-6277 Golden Nugget (800) 634-3454 Western Hotel (800) 634-6703 Hacienda Hotel (800) 634-6713 Westward Ho (800) 634-6803 Harrah's Casino (800) 634-6765 Colorado Belle (800) 458-9500 Hotel Nevada (800) 637-5777 Edgewater Hotel (800) 67-RIVER Hotel San Remo (800) 522-7366 Flamingo Hilton (800) HILTONS Imperial Palace (800) 634-6441 Golden Nugget (800) 237-1739 Lady Luck (800) 523-9582 Harrah's (800) 447-8700 Las Vegas Club (800) 634-6532 Pioneer (800) 634-3469 Las Vegas Hilton (800) 732-7117 Ramada Express (800) 2-RAMADA Mardi Gras Inn (800) 634-6501 Regency Casino (800) 551-1950 Maxim Hotel (800) 634-6987 Riverside Resort (800) 227-3849 Mirage (800) 627-6667 Sam's Town Gold River (800) 835-7903 Luxor (800) 288-1000 MGM (800) 929-1111 Treasure Island (800) 944-7444
[ The following is a list of toll-free numbers for the hotels/casinos in Atlantic City. -- John Schwab]
Bally's Grand (800) 257-8677 Sands (800) 257-8580 Bally's Park Place (800) 225-5977 Showboat (800) 621-0200 Caesars Atlantic City (800) 257-8555 Tropicana (800) 257-6227 Claridge (800) 257-7676 Trump Castle (800) 441-5551 Harrah's Marina (800) 242-7724 Trump Plaza (800) 441-0909 Resorts International (800) 438-7424 Trump Taj Mahal (800) 825-8786
// / //
I-15 / LV Blvd
| // / //
| // / //
N ====(95)=============================================(515)=====
| // / / //
| | // /---/---//-Steward-Ave
| R // / See //
--+-- a // /Downtown/--Ogden-Ave
| n // / for //
| c // / Details
h // /---/---//----Fremont-St
| o || / / //
| | || / / //
| D || / / //
| r || M / //
Charleston-Blvd----------+----------||------a------//---------------
| | || i //
| | // n //
V | // | //
a | // S //
l | // t //
l | // |//
e | // VW//
Sahara-Ave----y--------------//------------//-----------------------
| PS // //Sa|
V // // |-Karen-Ave
i // Circus^2//Riv |LVH VW Vegas World
e // SlotsAFun// | Sa Sahara
w I-15 //SC | PS Palace Station
| // // | LVC Las Vegas Hilton
B // Stardust//-C-Ctr--|Las Vegas Riv Riviera
l // // |Convention SC Silver City
v || // |Center
d || Frontier//`----------+---------
| || // |
| || //DesertInn P
| || // a
Spring-Mountain-Rd--||-- FSM || r FSM Fashion Show Mall
| || \____|| a BM Boulevard Mall
| || ||\ d BM
| || || `---Sands-Ave-i---------
| || TI||Sands s
| || || e TI Treasure Island
| || Mirage|| | BC Barbary Coast
| || ||Harrah's R GC Gold Coast
| || ||Imperial d
| ||Caesars||Flamingo |
GC |Rio || ||BC Maxim |
Flamingo-Rd---------||-------||---------------+---------
|| ||Bally's |Continental
|| || |
|| || |
|| ||Aladdin | UNLV
|| ||----------Harmon-Ave-.
I-15 || | |
|| || | `---
|| || |
|| || |
|| ||MGMGrand |
Tropicana-Ave-------||-------||---------------+---------
Howard || Exc||Tropicana |
|| || |
|| || Exc Excalibur
|| Luxor|| Ha Hacienda
|| ||
|| ||
|| Ha||
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| || McCarran
|| Strip International
|| (LV Bl) Airport
|| ||
Vacation
Village
II. Downtown Las Vegas map (not to scale)
I-15 Main St Casino Ctr 4th St LV Blvd
// / / / //
N // / / / //
// /-----------/-----------/-----//-Steward-Ave
| // / / / / / //
| // / / / / / //
--+-- // /Cal / / / Lady/ GS //
| // /-----/-----/-----/-----/-----//-------Ogden-Ave
| // / / / / / //
// / / / / / //
// / / / / / //
// / / / / / // ElCortez
// / LVC / HS / Fre / / //
// Jackie/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----//------------Fremont-St
// /GG PC/ GN / 4Q / Fitz/ //
|| / / / / / //
|| /HN / / / / //
|| /-----/ RV/-----/-----/-----//
|| / / / / / //
-----||------|----------------------------//-------------Charleston-Blvd
|| | 1st St 3rd St //
|| | //
I-15 Main St LV Blvd
4Q Four Queens
Cal California Hotel
Fitz Fitzgeralds
Fre Fremont
GG Golden Gate
GN Golden Nugget
GS Gold Spike
HN Hotel Nevada
HS Binion's Horseshoe
Jackie Jackie Gaughan's Plaza
Lady Lady Luck
LVC Las Vegas Club
PC Pioneer Club
RV Rainbow Vegas
LOCAL PHONE NUMBERS (*NOT* toll-free numbers):
Boulevard Mall 1-702-735-8268 Convention Center 1-702-733-2323 Fashion Show Mall 1-702-369-8382 Forum Shops at Caesars 1-702-893-4800 McCarran Airport 1-702-261-5743 Meadows Mall 1-702-878-4849 Mirage Golf Club 1-702-369-7111 Pioneer Club 1-702-386-5000 Silver City 1-702-732-4152 Slots-A-Fun 1-702-734-0410 Thomas & Mack Center 1-702-739-3900 Transportation Center 1-702-799-6025
Caveat Emptor: Another rec.gambler says to avoid this place, it is a dump.
But these 800 numbers DO handle the smaller places as well. I called the LV Chamber of Commerce for these numbers, and they had even more than these:
They know all the deals in town! Good luck, hotel bargain hunters!!
Well, this is just IMHO, of course. For cheap rooms: Circus Circus, Fitzgerald's downtown. If you're going to be gambling something more than nickels ($5 bets), you might call a place like the Flamingo Hilton and get a credit application. Then you'll qualify for the "gambler's rate", which will usually be about half price. You've gotta gamble for at least four hours per day to get this, in most casinos. The best rooms are at Harrah's, but they have standard northern Nevada rules. (If you're a gambler, check with their VIP services to see if they have any special deals going. They often have special packages if you buy-in for $1200, or some such.)
Best gambling for BJ: Flamingo Hilton (mostly double deck), Clarion, CalNeva (Top Deck only), Reno Hilton (mostly double deck) (roughly in that order). Everyplace else runs northern Nevada rules, I think.
Craps: most every place has double odds. You can play for 25 cents at the Palomino (?) in Sparks and at one of the dives in downtown (Nevada Club?--can't remember).
[The Union Plaza and it's 25c, 10x-odds Craps tables are one of the best and most consistent pure gambling deals in Vegas. -- Blair Houghton]
Shows: well, my favorite is the planetarium at the University of Nevada :-). Reno is not a big show town, but Harrah's usually has some country western star and sometimes a decent cabaret act. The Flamingo Hilton has a comedy club and usually a pretty good lounge act (which you can watch while you play BJ, which is fun). Reno Hilton has a big stage show. The big headliners usually are found at Tahoe, not Reno.
Restaurants: I've always liked the Presidential Car (I think in Harold's--I never can remember). A romantic (and expensive) meal can be had at sunset at the Top of the Hilton. Several people have mentioned a good Italian restaurant at the El Dorado, but I haven't tried it myself. Harrah's has a pretty good $5 or so buffet, but their other restaurants are only so-so. Reno Hilton has a nice steak house. If you like screaming kids with your meals, check out Circus Circus (though I haven't been there for years, so maybe things have changed?).
Since you've never been to Reno before, I should mention that you can easily walk to all the downtown casinos. There's a shuttle bus from downtown to Reno Hilton (the closest to the airport--we traditionally stop in there on our way out of town for a few hours). There's also a group of casinos in Sparks (centered around John Ascuaga's Nugget). If you have a car, the Peppermill (popular with the yuppie crowd) and the Clarion (Reno's newest casino, and quite nice) are out on south Virginia St.
Casino Express (800) 258-8800 or (800) 654-0888 in Canada, owned by the people who run the Elko Red Lion Inn, runs numerous junkets to Elko, NV. They own two Boeing 737 aircraft, and charter several others on weekends. They fly from several western cities (Seattle, Bellingham, Spokane, Portland, Eugene, Salem, San Jose, Fresno, Modesto, Santa Maria, Ontario, Denver, Salt Lake City, etc.) and have multiple-day junkets from Canadian and midwest cities (Minneapolis, Mason City, etc.)
The casino has BJ, single and double deck, Las Vegas rules (H17, DAT) $5 minimum for single deck. Penetration varies with the dealer, so there apparently isn't a house rule. There is no heat whatsoever, so 10:1 spreads are no problem. During the 'gambling frenzy' of the last few moments before the airport bus departs, *massive* spreads are possible--I've gone from $5 to $200 (40:1) no problem. All the tables are *always* full, so two rounds of seven is all you'll see on the single deck. There's also craps, roulette, and a small sports book. Keno for the truly adventuresome :-).
From Portland, the junket cost is $49 for a 12-hour turnaround flight [these are $19 from Salt Lake, so you're price may vary], you have to show $350 in cash to board the flight. Since it's a charter flight, there is a nice party atmosphere on board the plane. Your play is rated, and presumably, if you don't gamble enough, you might be barred from a future flight, though this hasn't been a problem for any of my friends.
Elko also has a poker room, which now opens at 10:00 AM (they used to open at 5 pm). They play 7-stud ($2-$6) and Texas Hold'em ($4-$10). These can be great games if there are several junket people (junkies?) at the table. You can also fleece the locals if you catch them off guard, since they have great difficulty believing that anyone who flies to Elko could know anything about poker. [Last time I was in Elko, I was surprised to learn that the locals now mostly avoid the game. Apparently they've taken a beating from the junketeers -- SRJ]
Foxwoods is *not* your run of the mill Indian casino, in fact you would have a hard time finding any Indians at all! It's huge, very clean and well run and very professional. Many of the managers and floormen come from LV or AC. I would compare it to any other nice casino in AC or LV. You may be apprehensive as you drive though the miles of corn fields when getting there, but this soon disappears as soon as you walk though the doors. They have on site ATM machines (which gives out nice new $100 bills!), credit card cash advance machines, and will even setup a credit line for you (call ahead for this).
Two Trees Inn has approximately 280 guest rooms. Rates range from $100 to $150 for a standard room, $125 to $175 for a one-bedroom suite, depending on the time of year. Summer is the tourist season in southeastern Connecticut and rates are higher then. Two Trees provides a free 24 hour shuttle.
Foxwoods Resort Hotel offers 312 guest rooms and suites, with access to a gorgeous health spa and pool. Rates run from $135 to $200 for a standard room to $200-$275 for a one-bedroom suite, again with the higher rates during the summer season.
Rooms at both hotels are often booked weeks in advance. For reservations and more information call 1-800-FOXWOOD.
Foxwoods uses a comp system where you are given a credit card (called a "Wampum card") which you give to the floorperson when you begin a session. You gain "Wampum points" based on your avg. bet, the game you are playing, and the amount of time you play. These points can be used at any of the casino's restaurants, shops, and the hotels, where 1 point = $1. So if you have 49 points, you can stay at the Two Trees one weekday for free! You can get your "Wampum Card" for free at the promotions booth (must show picture ID).
Wampum points are given for any game, including poker. Examples are:
There are really two casinos, the "original one" located at the main entrance near the bingo hall, and the "new one" located below the main hotel. You can tell the difference by the colors, the new one uses a purple color scheme, and the original one uses aqua. The poker room is located downstairs near the main entrance of the original casino, under the waterfall.
Foxwoods has many restaurants on site, including an all you can eat buffet, a grill, Chinese, Italian, and steak rooms, plus a couple of self service snack-bars for sandwiches and pizza slices. The poker room offers table service for players, and you can get it comped too (via your Wampum card)!
Most people get to Foxwoods via car or charter buses. There is no major airport in the immediate area, and no trains which go directly to Ledyard. The closest train service goes to nearby Mystic, which is a 20 minute drive away (taxi cost $20). Nearest major airport is in T.F Green in Warwick, RI which is 1 hour drive away. There is also an airport in Providence Rhode Island which is about an hour from Foxwoods.
There are several other hotels in nearby Mystic which offer free shuttle service to Foxwoods. There are two valet parking services, one at the main casino entrance and one at the main hotel entrance. Also lots of free self parking. If the lots are full, try parking at the Two Trees Inn or one of the auxiliary lots located on Rt. 2 and take the free shuttle to the casino. My favorite place to park is in the garage under the main hotel, just take the elevator up to the casino!
Foxwoods offers almost all casino games, plus a 50+ table poker room. They also have slots, a horse book, keno, and a massive bingo room which holds major events approx every month.
BJ conditions are multi deck shoe (6 or 8), ~ 70% penetration, S17, DOA, DAS, no resplit Aces, and some tables offer O/U and "super 7s" side bets. Also all "back line" betting where up to 2 others can bet on one hand, and the person sitting makes the decisions. The combined bet of all players cannot exceed the maximum.
No heat has been reported of, and there are no special rules for late entry into the shoe in progress. Minimums are $5 if not busy, $10-$15 otherwise. There are always two $2 tables open, but these have a long wait.
As of July '95, Southeast Area Transit is offering shuttle bus service between Foxwoods and the Amtrak station in New London, Conn. The shuttle service operates daily, with eight buses Monday through Saturday and six buses on Sunday. The shuttle costs $2 each way and coincides with the arrival times of both north- and south-bound trains. Call (203) 886-2631 for schedule information.
Cross Sound Ferry has also just begun a great new service between New London and Orient Point, Long Island. A high-speed boat called the Sea Jet (that does NOT carry vehicles, sorry) is cutting the crossing time to 35 minutes. The round-trip fare is $20, and Foxwoods is offering food and gaming coupons worth $25. Foxwoods also offers a free shuttle service to and from the casino. For boat reservations contact Cross Sound Ferry at (203) 443-5281.
I don't know much about the craps game, except the min is $10 if not busy, $15-$25 otherwise. Same goes for Roulette.
For even more info, call them at 800-PLAYBIG.
There is six-deck blackjack, and single-deck blackjack. As of this writing (9/94) the rules are:
They have a coffee shop with very reasonable prices open 0000 to 1600, and in the same room, a dinner buffet for $14 open 1600 to ????. They also have a "cafe'" with counter service only, open most of the time (perhaps all).
Comps are reasonably easy. Four hours of $10 BJ got this writer brunch at the coffee shop, and another four hours earned a dinner buffet. Your mileage may vary.
Lodging is available nearby. If you want fancy lodging, stay in Syracuse or Utica, depending upon whether you're travelling from the east or the west.
Turning Stone's telephone number is 315-361-7711.