 The Plaza Hotel & Casino is back! Known in Vegas as “The Plaza”, this iconic Downtown Vegas hotel just completed over $35 million in renovations and successfully maintained its classic Downtown Vegas charm while blending a new Las Vegas look and feel. The Plaza now boasts over 1,000 brand new GUESTROOMS and SUITES at great (and still cheap by most accounts given the value) room rates, a brand new huge casino floor, three new restaurants and dueling pianos at the Swingers Club. Yup - the mother of Old Downtown is back in a BIG way!
    
Room Quality: The Plaza recently completed a much-need renovation on over 1,000 hotel rooms. The reviews have been mixed, but they're certainly an improvement on the old, dingy rooms of yesteryear. Because of the funny shape of the main tower, some rooms are huge, others not so much. The bathrooms are still smaller than average, so if stretching out in the john is high on your list of requirements, steer clear. Expect to pay an extra $9 if you want a room with view.
Service Quality: Fair. You're likely to not have much interaction outside of checking in and checking out. There is no staff wandering about to help you out, and very few convenience services available.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Soap and a bottle of shampoo/conditioner are all you get. And you'd better like it, Mister (or Miss).
Clientele: An older, lower-middle class crowd who feels more comfortable in the Plaza's unpretentious surroundings than they do on the Strip.
How's the Pool? The pool is old and ratty, but decent for downtown. It's nowhere near as nice as a place like the Mandalay Bay, but the big rectangular pool serves its purpose. There are also some dilapidated tennis courts up there that hint at how grand the hotel once was
Table Games: The usual - craps, roulette, 3-card poker, blackjack and mini-baccarat.
Bet Minimums: $5 blackjack tables. Go big or go home, right?
Machines: 800 brand new slot machines. No word yet on how lucky these bad boys are.
Cocktails? Cocktail service for the ballers - minions can buy at the bar.
Who Gets Comps? New members of the Players Club receive $5 free slot play when they sign up. Not a bad idea considering this club is free to join. Hooray for free money.
Hash House A Go Go: Hash House A Go Go makes the move from San Diego to Sin City, and their breakfast reviews are a big hit. GREAT hangover food and huge portions. Not that we drink ...
Three new eateries to choose from, and Oscar's Steakhouse opens in November.
The Insurgo Theater: The Insurgo Theater has an artsy local feel to it and is a cheaper alternative to the more glamorous theaters in Vegas.
The Swingers Club: The Swingers Club will have you singing your little heart out with their dueling pianos. Cheesy? Yes. Awesome? You bet.
Number of TVs: About thirty TVs overall are split up for sports and racing, with the sports on one wall facing away from the windows.
Number of Seats: 100 unreserved seats for the racing fan. Bring your own cushion. Actually, the 54 that have individual TVs, which only show racing, are pretty comfy. The sports seats are comfy if you can get one. If not, you may sit at the uncomfy barstools at the back of the sports area.
How Many Betting Windows? There are about ten total. Sports boards are electronic.
Free Drinks? Yup - but they're not free.
Snack Bar? Not as far as we could tell.
Minimum Wager: $5 sports, $2 race.
Other Notes: This is a good sports and race book for downtown. It is operated by Lucky's, which also operates a few casinos in Northern Nevada, and claims to offer the most bets of any book in town. So, if you're itching to put some money on a curling match in Ottawa, this is the most likely spot. (Note: Cantor Gaming will take over in early-2012.)
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