Casino Boy Says: Hey! Get your filthy paws off my shopping cart!


Hotel Size:
Overall Quality:
Room Price:
Casino Size:
Value:
200 rooms
Very Poor
1/2 $
30,000 s.f.
Yucky

The Western
1-800-634-6703, 899 Fremont St., Las Vegas, NV 89101

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Casino Food Entertainment Poker Amy's Theme Review

Room Quality A bona-fide dump. When we stayed here, the painted cinder-block walls reflected the pale yellow lights, giving off a dismal glow. The carpet and bedspreads had many cigarrette burns, and the long-term guests could be heard in the other rooms, doing things we don't want our parents to know we know about. But, the price of a room is only $16 a night, making it the absolute lowest-priced hotel with a casino in town. While we don't recommend the Western for the average traveler, it can be a real slice for folks seeking adventure and good stories to tell when they get home. Click here if you want to read about our stay at the Western.



Weekday
Always $16
Weekend
Always $16

What Does Discount Mean?


Service Quality: Since they don't really offer any services, the quality is neither here nor there. The dealers often don't understand the games they are dealing (which can be in your favor at times), and the cocktail waitresses lost their enthusiasm for their work many, many years ago. The security guards don't even bother trying to keep the riff-raff out of the casino. Check-in is quick, but you have to leave a dollar deposit for each key you get. Also, reservations aren't needed most of the time. In fact, they look at you funny if you actually have one.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Cockroaches.
Clientele: A down-and-out but essentially lovable bunch. The walk to the casino from Fremont Street is relatively dangerous, so not many tourists make the trek. Western regulars tend to be junkies and homeless people who are addicted to gambling.
How's the pool? You must be joking. No pool, but there is a litter-strewn vacant lot next door.
Free Shuttle: Are you still joking? There is no shuttle driver who would take his life in his hands by repeatedly driving here. (For complete free shuttle info and schedules buy our guide--it's only $4)


Table Games: Blackjack, roulette and live poker
Machines: Old, rickety slots and video poker. We have heard that they have full-pay machines, but we never explore too deep into the stinky, dirty casino.
Bet Minimums: They consistently have one $1 blackjack table, and sometimes several. Roulette only costs 10 cents per number (with a total minimum of 50 cents). A fair selection of penny slots can be had, but you're better off sticking with the Gold Spike for those.
Cocktails? Surprisingly, they will bring you free drinks if you're playing, but they won't be very pleasant about it. Canned beer and small, flavorless well drinks are the order of the day. Don't bother trying to get them to bring you a Schlitz, though. They only sell those in six packs.
Who Gets Comps? Anybody betting five bucks or more at the tables should be offered some free grub, but nobody in his right mind would want to eat it. If you are not in your right mind, keep bugging the pit boss because he will never come right out and offer you free food. If you want a place to sleep for free, look elsewhere because they don't comp the rooms here.


Snack Bar: Really bottom of the barrel snacks, like chili dogs, dry turkey sandwiches, and watery soup. It's very cheap, but not all that great. If you are drunk and absolutely dying for something greasy, and you're here anyway, go for it. Otherwise, the selection at the Gold Spike is better.


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Crazy People: Sit down at a blackjack table or slot machine and strike up a conversation with the person next to you. Chances are about one in three that you will come away with a few gems from the conversation. After all, these people are crazy.


Number of Tables One.
Comfort of Chairs Pretty awful, but they fit right in at this dump.
Closed room or open to casino? Open. Usually the casino is pretty quiet, unless a couple of crackheads are fighting over a dropped nickel on the ground (ha-ha, just kidding, um, sort of).
Game Spreads and Limits 7-Card Stud 1-3.
Beginner Games or Classes? No.
How crowded is the room? It's not. In fact, it's so uncrowded that there is no game at all a lot of the time.
Comps? Free drinks while playing. No food or room comps.
How good are the players? Bad. A lot of them don't know what they're doing. A good game for beginners, who are intimidated by good poker players but brave enough to walk down Fremont Street to this casino.


Where? Downtown
Who owns it? Mr. Jackie Gaughan
Ostensible Theme The outlaw society of the Wild West still hovers on the fringes of downtown Las Vegas.
Clientele By and large, the Western caters to tired-looking locals. Some are aged, others just look that way from hard living.
Employee costumes They keep the uniforms simple here. Dealers wear white shirts and blue jeans. They accessorize with little aprons featuring a jaunty cowgirl with a lariat spelling "Western". Waitresses wear white Western-style shirts, red jeans, sensible shoes. It's all about survival here, folks, no frills or sequins.
Carpet and Other Decor Continuing with the no frills atmosphere, the Western has no carpet, and the fluorescent lighting makes every bag and crease in the patrons' faces stand out in stark relief. The floor and walls lend a bit more warmth with their wood panelling. The felt on each gaming table features that jaunty cowgirl. Above the security desk, there's a graphically violent picture of a cowboy and his horse getting stomped on by a mean bull. There's also an American flag over the cashier, and a list of this month's big winners, providing a sense of community.

Restroom has infernal red and dingy green tiles. I kept expecting an evil Santa to leap out from one of the darkened stalls.

Snack bar is walled off from the rest of the casino by panelling. The windows have stained glass panels with red and green rectangles and gold stars.
Food There is a snack bar serving snack bar standards, nothing fancy.
Games The Western indulges the Vice of the Common Man...Bingo.
Entertainment The bar has a big screen TV.
Services Free ice! Patrons can get on the Western mailing list to get advance notice on excellent deals.
Did it work? Indeed, the atmosphere does have something of the roughness of the wild frontier. We had some very, very pleasant dealers, though, who let us carry out our goofy missions.
Suggestions If a guy picks a fight with a security guard, don't let him back in just because the security guard goes off duty!



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