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One Fun Thing: Casino Royale, Harrah's and The Mirage

January 25, 2012 at 4:54 PM | by | Comments (3)

Let’s paint a scenario. You’re in Las Vegas. You’ve done all of the obvious touristy things, but you want to know something not-so-obvious to do. Something fun and different. This series will walk you down The Strip, a few properties at a time, offering one fun and different thing to do at each. We hope you enjoy it and find something new to check out the next time you are in town.

We started our journey on the lonely northern tip of The Strip and have also covered some different things to do at the Wynn properties. We continued our journey across Sands Avenue to the Venetian/Palazzo complex and TI. Now, we are approaching the condensed area of The Strip. To tee that off lets talk about Casino Royale, Harrah’s, and The Mirage.

Casino Royale - Casino Royale is a pretty bare bones hotel and casino that reminds us of places on Fremont Street.  Outside of cheap gambling and the food court, there isn’t a whole lot else that Casino Royale offers. However, if you have ever walked by you may have noticed some fake promotion slot machines out in front. If you play these, you are guaranteed a coupon that usually offers 2-for-1 beers or margaritas inside. Since Casino Royale already offers $1 Michelobs and $1 Margaritas, that means you can get 2 for $1, just for stopping and playing the fake machine.

Harrah’s - Harrah’s was once a Holiday Inn and it still feels like one. One thing that Harrah’s does have going for it is that it has one of The Strip’s lesser known oyster bars.  Sure, you can get oysters at a lot of places on The Strip, but the Harrah's location never is very crowded. We aren’t very big oyster fans, but our friends are and they swear by this place. Not because the oysters are better than anywhere else, but they are good and because it’s in a convenient location and you don’t have to wait long to get in and out.

The Mirage - Unlike the previous two places, The Mirage has plenty of reasons why you should swing by and stay a while.  It might even be the king of Las Vegas in faster style sit-down restaurants as it features options like Carnegie Deli, BLT Burger and California Pizza Kitchen. But, our favorite thing about Mirage is the Aces of Comedy shows that happen there. We love stand-up comedy and the rotating cast of comics, including Lewis Black, Jay Leno, and Ron White among others, ensures that there is always someone new to check out when we are in town.

It is also worth noting that between Casino Royale and Harrah’s is a small building that is home to The Strip’s only Chipotle. We know that violates the “when in Las Vegas never eat in a chain restaurant that’s available in your home city” rule, but any good Denver native has to know where the nearest Chipotle is.

Do you have one fun thing to suggest for each of these hotels? Leave your tips in the comments below!

(Photo: CrashRick on Flickr)

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Return to » One Fun Thing: Casino Royale, Harrah's and The Mirage

The Mirage

The dolphin trainer for a day program, hands down. It's pricey (I think it was around $500 last time I checked) but you get to climb into a wetsuit and spend all day with their dolphins.

If you don't have that kind of cash, you can split a VIP tour of the dolphin habitat among a few friends. It's a flat rate and allows up to a handful of participants.

Also, lmao at the Chipotle reference. I lived in Denver once, but always went to Qdoba. (gasp)

702Becca on January 25, 2012 at 6:51 PM #Permalink

All 3 Fun

Wow..you should dig deeper!  I'll be based at the Mirage in two weeks and playing at the other 2!  You didn't even mention that the Mirage (even though most Vegas types know) was the first mega-resort that started it all in 1989! It's always been my fave until Mandalay Bay/The Hotel--but if I can't get in there for a good price the ol' stand-by is always here for me!

Casino Royale may be dumpy but it has a great parking lot in back that no one knows about and a space can always be found.  It's got low mins for the strip and it has $3 craps--hard to find on the central strip, period.  Those craps tables are always full. Their comp beer is MacTarnahans Ale. It is a fun little joint.  And the Denny's (as Denny's go) is one of the better ones.

Harrah's used to be a guaranteed slot winner 15 years ago and prior.  It still is an active place and fun to play..there's always a party at Harrahs.

I think you glossed over these joints because they're not fancy--good, don't let the secret out. I need room at the CR craps table in a couple of weeks!

jgbpdx on January 26, 2012 at 2:43 PM #Permalink

@jgbpdx

Agree with everything you said!  With this series we are trying to find something interesting that's a bit off the beaten path.  Basically something you might miss just stopping in.  I like the note about the CR parking though!
DenverGambler on January 27, 2012 at 10:04 PM #Permalink

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