VegasChatter

Gamblers are happy to find some of the best gambling under one roof in Las Vegas. Craps has 10x odds, Blackjack pays 3:2 and there is plenty of good paying video poker to be found upstairs. The second floor at the D is designated for a more relaxing time. The music isn't as loud, the energy is a little lower, but the vintage games keep old Vegas alive with the clank of coins in the machines and horses galloping in one of the few Sigma Derby games in existence.

The D reopening not only comes with a flashy new casino and bars, but also with entirely new hotel rooms. Every hotel room and suite at the D now comes with a modern look and feel. While the casino and hotel renovations have been completed the restaurants are still changing over. The first new restaurant comes from D namesake, Detroit. At its grand opening, the D introduced Las Vegas to a favorite from Detroit, America Coney Island.

From top to bottom, Fitzgeralds' closing and reopening as the D is one of the most exciting additions to Downtown Vegas we've seen all year.

Runner Up: Golden Gate

This year also marked when the Golden Gate reopened as a more modern version of the oldest casino in Vegas. Sharing an owner with the D, many of the modernizations are similar but with less fanfare and on a smaller scale.

The casino, itself, is about half the size of the main floor of the D, but the gambling is about the same. Since the building was built in the early 1900s, the rooms are small. However, the rooms have been updated to be a modern take on a hotel room from that period. There's also the new suite tower, too. The lone restaurant at Golden Gate, Du-Par's, remains untouched. Everyone is happy that they still get the pancakes they crave.

Overall, Golden Gate has reinvented itself as a fantastic little brother to the D this year and is one of the most fun places to eat, drink, gamble and sleep.

(PHOTOS: VegasChatter)