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Hotel Size:
Overall Quality:
Room Price:
Casino Size:
Value:
224 rooms
Good
$$
37,000 s.f.
Very Good

The Reserve
1-888-899-7770, 777 W. Lake Mead Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89015
Check out their web site.

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Casino Food Entertainment Sports Amy's Theme Review

Room Quality Relatively large, comfy rooms. They are not that special, and don't have stuffed rhinoceros heads hanging on the wall, so the rooms are not the main attraction at this far-flung joint. The rooms have light-colored carpeting and woods, large beds, comfortable chairs and a table. The entire hotel is small so yo're not going to get a high room and it's tougher to sweet-talk them into a suite. On the plus side, the rooms are nowhere near as obnoxious or tacky as the exterior of the hotel. Good-sized TVs are housed in armoires. The bathrooms are average with tub/shower combos, single sinks and standard-quality towels.



Weekday
Around $60-$80
DISCOUNT Weekday
Around $40-$60
Weekend
Around $100-$110
DISCOUNT Weekend
Around $60-$80

What Does Discount Mean?


Service Quality: Good. Everyone out here is plenty nice to you. Not nicer than your grandmother, but still decent folks. Check-in and check-out is easy, provided you can find the front desk in the wacky casino.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Shampoo, conditioner. You are not going to smell or look particularly great after getting done in here.
Clientele: Serious gamblers and locals. This place is a mecca for educated gamblers who spend time researching the various casinos' gaming conditions.
How's the pool? Considering all the space they had to build a fantastic pool, the small hole in the ground is a disappointment. Sure you can swim in it, but you would think they would have gone a little more all-out just because they could. It's biggest selling points are the palm trees around it and that it is open until late at night.
Free Shuttle: None, which is silly for a place this far out of the way. (For complete free shuttle info and schedules buy our guide--it's only $4)


Table Games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, Let It Ride, Pai Gow, Carribean Stud. All the table games are surrounded by a jungly atmosphere. Tha casino is fairly small, so there are not a lot of tables open.
Machines: What used to be the best video poker in Las Vegas has lost its luster and you're better off at Sam's Town, Fiesta or the Santa Fe, among others. Every VP machine is full-pay. Slots are pretty standard. They offer some nickel full-pay VP in many varieties.
Bet Minimums: $1 blackjack, quarter roulette, and best of all, quarter craps with glorious10x odds! The limits go up on weekends, holidays and weeknights at their whim. If you want to play craps in the middle of a Savanna, get your rhinocerous-hide butt out here. There are more than one $1 BJ tables, and there are seats available for us cheapskates. Heck, last time we played there, they even added a table just so we could play for a dollar a hand.
Cocktails? Very good, as long as you're tipping. We had a waitress who came by three times in about 40 minutes. Rumor is that they are trying to get you drunk so you don't play video poker to your full potential.
Who Gets Comps? They're pretty dang tight with comps, but who needs them when you're getting cold hard cash playing video poker? They used to be much more generous, but apparently found it not in their best interest.


Taco Zulu, Pasta Mombasa: Unbelievably mis-named mall food-court like places. There is nothing resembling an African influence at either of these generic mall food court style joints.
Tusks Wood-Fired Grill: A pretty good steakhouse with a real wood-fired grill. Prices are very good considering the high quality of the meat and the generous portions. This is the perfect way to top off a full day of burning up the VP machines.
Congo Jack's: Their 24-hour coffee shop is easily found. Just look for the giant airplane wreck just past the tables. The food is good and the portions are generous. They must be or else why would Congo Jack have been flying so low?
Serengeti Spaghetti: Another unfortunately named generic restaurant. You can load up on noodles for cheap here, but it's an average experience with mild sauces.
Grand Safari Buffet: Quite a tasty buffet at very reasonable prices. Probably not worth a drive all the way to Henderson, but if you're out here for the video poker already, it's a good deal. Unlike most buffets, they cook a lot of the food right before your eyes. They do not serve breakfast, so don't show up hungry until at least 11 a.m.


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Wasimba's Lounge: If the live band isn't playing, they pull down the biggest TV screen we've ever seen. It's perfect for keeping an eye on whatever big TV event is going down while you play. If the president gets shot, you'll be able to see it all the way across the casino.
Celebrity Showroom: Just a bar, but the room will make you feel like you're riding the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, except for the fact that you don't move and you're drinking liquor.
Laughing Room Only: Nobody asked for another comedy club, but this is an okay way to spend an hour if you get in free and youlike below the belt humor. For us, this is not nearly as good a club as the Comedy Stop at the Trop or the Improv at Harrah's.




out of Five

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Number of TVs Eight, all for sports, and all pretty small. There is no race wagering in this joint.
Number of seats About 35. They aren't reserved, and don't have individual TVs, but the chairs are pretty comfy.
How many betting windows? 2-3, with white slate signboards.
Free Drinks? Sorry, ace, this little space is too small to warrant a cocktail waitress's attention.
Snack Bar? Nope.
Minium wager $5 sports, $2 for racing
Other Notes This very small, noisy room is garishly decorated. Not exactly a haven for sports fans.


Where? Henderson, NV
Who owns it? Ameristar
Ostensible Theme There's wild life, and then there's wildlife. This place goes for both.
Clientele This place has a fervent following among people who dig good video poker and pith helmets.
Employee costumes The maintenance staff wears brown shirts with leopard print collars. Cocktail waitresses wear zebra stripe bustiers with little black fringe bottoms. If this were a nature documentary, the maintenance staff would chase the waitresses around, but I haven't seen this happen yet.
Carpet and Other Decor The sign for the casino has an elephant motif- 2 big tusks flanking an enormous elephant head with ears splayed. Silhouettes of Serengeti fauna parade across the exterior of the building, while on the roof, monkeys obligingly hold torches. Generally, I approve of monkey-laden décor. I also approve of the Reserve's use of ornamental grasses in the landscaping; it gives a much-needed veldt feel to the exterior.

The carpet immediately continues the safari scheme with scattered animal tracks on a reddish background. The Great White Hunter in all of us can track his way to the full-pay video poker! In some spots, the carpet changes to a pattern of green jungle foliage. Walls also may have a jungle backdrop with palms, lush banana trees and flowers. The chairs at the machines have pensive cheetah faces or palm fronds on the backs.

Table games are under shade canopies of leopard print fabric to protect players from that hot Serengeti sun. Don't mess with the brass cobras on the corners, though. The ceiling fans look both functional and thematically appropriate. Large artificial trees punctuate the gaming area, but don't let the carved geometric designs in the trunks distract you from dangerous artificial leopards which lurk above. Finally, the change booth evokes nothing less than an elephant graveyard/ twine factory.
Food Pasta Mombasa? Taco Zulu? This is one of the worst examples of cultural appropriation I've ever seen. And don't expect wildebeest casserole at the Grand Safari Buffet, either.
Games Signs advertising various games feature torches, antelope and toucans. There are also games called Top Banana and Slots of Prey.
Entertainment If you're feeling particularly simian, why not hang out at Funky Monkey Bar?
Did it work? I only wish I could've spent more time here before Big White Pit Boss kicked me out! The theme is very amusing, and I haven't seen this much leopard print since Jacqueline Susann's estate sale.
Suggestions Perhaps they could add roaring lions or chattering monkeys to the sound system to keep the adrenaline of the gamers high.



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