These are all the Las Vegas hotels we can think of after three cocktails. All photos by the incomparably modest Scott Roeben.
The Strip
Aria’s digital marquee is 250 feet tall and 65 feet wide. Although, when it’s wearing horizontal stripes, it looks much thinner.The lobby of Bellagio has more than 2,000 hand-blown flowers by artist Dale Chihuly.In 1967, daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace on a motorcycle. It was an epic fail.The actual name is Best Western Plus Casino Royale, but nobody calls it that.Circus Circus has the only RV park on The Strip.The Cosmo opened in 2010 and has nearly 3,000 rooms.The Cromwell was formerly Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, and before that, Barbary Coast.Delano used to be The Hotel.When gambling began at Encore, the song playing in the casino was “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.”When it opened in 1990, Excalibur was the largest hotel in the world.Two words: Bugsy Siegel. That didn’t end well.Fontainebleau Las Vegas opened Dec. 13, 2023, proof miracles happen. It’s pronounced “fountain-blue,” because the French pronunciation sounds snooty.The Four Seasons has its own entrance, but its rooms occupy the top five floors of Mandalay Bay.Harrah’s Las Vegas was originally called the Holiday Casino.If you’re trying to find Bally’s Las Vegas, you’ve found it. Bally’s is now Horseshoe. Long story.Linq Hotel was formerly The Quad, before that it was Imperial Palace. Originally, it was the Flamingo Capri. Identity crisis!The Luxor’s pyramid is 30 stories tall.Mandalay Bay sits on the site once occupied by the Hacienda.MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world. The largest hotel in the world is the Izmailovo Hotel, in Moscow.The windows of The Mirage are gold, from actual gold dust used in the tinting process.The roller coaster at New York-New York reaches speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour.The Palazzo is the sister hotel of The Venetian. You can tell it’s a sister because it’s always borrowing The Venetian’s sweaters.The Paris boasts a half scale Eiffel Tower replica and a two-thirds scale Arc de Triomphe.Park MGM used to be Monte Carlo. Back when Las Vegas made sense.Planet Hollywood was previously The Aladdin.Resorts World is the most expensive casino resort ever built in Las Vegas.
The Stratosphere (The Strat)
The Stratosphere is always happy to see you.In 2003, Treasure Island decided to move toward more adult amenities. The hotel’s free pirate battle, “Buckaneer Bay,” was replaced with “Sirens’ Cove,” featuring the scantily-clad Sirens of TI.Closed, but still on our list of Las Vegas hotels because in “Diamonds Are Forever,” James Bond stayed at the Trop.The Venetian stands on the site of the former Sands hotel.The Wynn holds the distinction of being the first high-rise to have its windows cleaned by an automatic washing system.
Just Off The Strip
The Gold Coast was the first hotel in Las Vegas to have a movie theater. It’s a mile west of The Strip.M Resort is about 15 minutes south of The Strip, and it smells incredible.The Orleans hosted the final concert performance of comedian George Carlin, in 2008.It used to be Hooters. Please keep up.Palace Station was first called, simply, The Casino.The Palms was the location of “The Real World: Las Vegas.” Hence the city’s disinfectant shortage in 2002.The Rio’s wine cellar has more than 50,000 bottles.Until recently, Silver Sevens was Terrible’s. It’s a better name. The plan is to rebrand it again to The Continental.Virgin was Hard Rock. Hard Rock is coming to The Strip (a rebrand of Mirage). Yes, it’s “Virgin Hotels Las Vegas” despite there only being one.Westgate used to be LVH, Las Vegas Hilton and The International.
Downtown
Binion’s was the first casino in Las Vegas to install carpeting.A large percentage of the California’s customers are from Hawaii.Circa opened Oct. 28, 2020. This is Circa’s sportsbook. ‘Nuff said.Before it was The D, it was Fitzgerald’s.Downtown Grand was formerly the Lady Luck.El Cortez has been in operation since 1941. You can have food delivered to your slot machine.Four Queens was named after one of its builder’s daughters: Faith, Hope, Benita, and Michele.When it was built in 1956, the Fremont was the tallest building in the state of Nevada.The Golden Gate opened in 1906.The Golden Nugget was once featured in a Fox reality series, “The Casino.”Ask about the piece of the Berlin Wall in the men’s restroom. No, seriously.The Plaza was originally named Union Plaza.
And, no, hotels without casinos don’t count. Why? You have much to learn about Las Vegas, grasshopper.
