The casino floor is completely renovated. It's not revolutionary, since they've borrowed the sandstone/flagstone motif from half the other new joints in town. What was once beloved for its grime is now clean, bright and with windows! There are two eating choices and a friendly bar, with much more coming.
Room Quality: If you're hoping the rooms look like the nice-looking casino, you can take the gamble. Rooms are now being renovated and some are updated, but most are not. They should be done with all by the end of '09. They started with the 2nd floor, then 5th and 6th, adding new furniture (well, Hard Rock leftovers is what we heard), new paint, carpets and better bathrooms. So, if you want to gamble you get a new room, ask for 2nd floor first. If you don't get a renovated one, rooms are average-sized, somewhat dark and pretty dingy. Usually things work okay. For now, soft beds, intermittent hot water, shabby chairs and lamps, and not everything exactly spotless either. Gold Spike owns the old motel next door and is renovating it as well, but those rooms won't be available until the renovation is complete.
Service Quality: The prices are low and you get slightly more than you pay for, but you do not get room service.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: For now, they help you keep your hair clean with fancy shampoo. Sure, we appreciate smelling so nice, but if this shampoo is why the rooms cost more than they used to, we're not sure it's a fair trade off. Again, this is all going to change soon.
Clientele: It's a blue-collar crowd. The new owners are rolling their dice to get a richer clientele, but likely it'll just be an aspirational blue-collar crowd.
How's the Pool? It has none, but if you're staying here you might be the type to try getting into another hotel's pool. Actually, the plan is to build a pool next door at the old motel, which will someday be part of the Gold Spike.
Table Games: Three blackjack tables, and a roulette wheel sit in the middle of the casino floor. The tables are open only one shift a day, from 5 p.m. to one a.m. and are dealt by "sexy" blackjack dealers who are mostly nice, sort of sexy and fun to play with. The rules are decent, too.
Bet Minimums: The blackjack tables are a fine $3 and with 3:2 on blackjacks. Roulette is 25-cent chips with a dollar minimum. Both match the El Cortez limits most of the time.
Machines: From a nickel up, with a thin selection of new machines. The payout tables are improved but still worse than elsewhere downtown and there is no slot club.
Cocktails? You tip a buck per drink, but figure it's just as easy to get them from the bar in this small casino.
Who Gets Comps? They don't comp rooms yet, and it's not known what the comps will be like when they do.
Golden Grille: Right where the old diner was, but certainly cleaned up with a lot of white patio chairs. Prices are quite reasonable, so it may once again be a place for a very late night meal. Although, the food is only mediocre, so you get what you pay for.
Rosati's is a walk-up pizza counter in the casino that serves decent pies, but the prices for full pies are up there. If you just want a slice, it's a good deal. They have cannoli and some other desserts, too.
Bar: The massive bar in the casino indicates the plans for a bigger casino. For now, you won't have trouble finding a seat at this horseshoe-shaped table with the bartenders in the middle. Low drink prices and the place's reputation for lunatics should keep the bar interesting in a good way.
Number of TVs: None dedicated to the sportsbook, but there are flat screens around the adjacent bar and three posting odds at the book counter.
Number of Seats: There are about twenty seats at the bar, and ten more dedicated for the sportsbook. The ten chairs are in two rows and we're not sure how you get to the back row since there is no space around the front row.
How Many Betting Windows? One window in this Leroy's outpost, with a bored looking man reading an instruction manual behind it. There is also a kiosk for those who hate speaking to people.
Free Drinks? The bar is right behind you, but the cocktails are not free, unless you're playing. They drinks are otherwise cheap, though.
Snack Bar? Fifty feet around a corner is the Golden Grille. If you're feeling adventurous, walk an extra thirty feet to the pizza ovens for a slice.
Minimum Wager: $2 horseys and $5 sports. Parlays on sports can be lower.
Other Notes: This is very small sports book. The ten chairs are small but comfortable, but you really get the sense you've been pushed into the corner.
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