VegasChatter

Granted most passersby stepping in due to the red lit sign have been looking for the advertised liquor, but hey booze pays bills, too. And, newspapers do, too, apparently. Turns out many of Binion's... ahem... older... customers still get the punchline to 'what's black and white and re(a)d all over?'

What else can well-informed alcoholics buy in the gift shop? Snacks that include packaged muffins, pastries, roasted and salted peanuts, chocolate covered peanuts, butter toffee peanuts, gummy bears, candy bars and beef jerky.

And, after they've had their fill of peanuts, deep-fried twinkies, and Jim Beam, there's plenty of Pepto and Advil for the cure.

But, this is after all, a gift shop so what gifts exactly are available for purchase? Inventory is admittedly limited so far, but management has already slowly started to add more product with plans to keep growing as much as the store's small footprint will allow. On our visit, the gift shop was selling a selection of t-shirts, hats ($13.99), magnets, money clips, mugs ($4.95), shotglasses, used decks of casino cards, dice and card protectors ($9.99).

As predicted, Whiskey Licker caps emblazoned with "liquor in the front, poker in the rear" have been a big seller. It also has a pretty sweet raised Binion's color logo on the back that we didn't get a picture of, so take our word for it. And, at $13.99, the hats are a quite a bargain when compared to caps across the street going for twice that amount in the D's gift shop.

Surprisingly, the popular Whiskey Licker motto isn't yet on a t-shirt. Binion's has been taking guest suggestions seriously, though, so we wouldn't be surprised to see some on our next visit. Binion's jackets are expected to arrive this week and while we didn't get a detailed description, we can only hope they feature plenty of satin and look a lot like this.

Binion's Gift Shop is open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight with a look at expanding those hours down the road. Have something you'd like to see for sale with Binion's logo on it? Stop in and drop your suggestion to Chuck, the gift shop's head employee and spokesman.