 A mid-level Station Casino, which means stuff that appeals to locals and regular Vegas visitors, such as clean, cheap rooms, decent video poker, and no-frills food. Sadly, though, the stars at night, shine... well, just the same as anywhere else in Vegas.
    
Room Quality: Just like its Station brethren ( Sunset, Santa Fe, Palace and Boulder), Texas Station offers big old comfy rooms for a reasonable rate. They have all the basic amenities and a little Southwest flavor, but you'd be hard pressed to tell you were supposed to be in Texas by looking at it. The bathrooms are nice: single sinks and tub/shower combos. The linens and furniture are a cut above average.
Service Quality: Great. Unlike people from the state which shares this joint's name, the staff is friendly, not thin-skinned, and not suffering from delusions of grandeur due to the size of the land mass which they call home. Remember, though, that at only 200 rooms the place is not big on hotel amenities. There is no spa, but there is a movie theater. Check-in is a breeze, once you find the well-hidden hotel lobby.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Shampoo, conditioner and lotion.
Clientele: Locals and tourists looking for that country western feel. Mostly it's older locals drawn by the bingo or who don't mind gambling in this mediocre casino.
How's the Pool? With only 200 rooms they were not hard pressed to put in a fancy pool area. It's good enough for swimming, but nothing out of the ordinary. If a fabulous pool is your main concern, this blob by the parking lot is not your best choice.
Table Games: Blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, Let It Ride, Pai Gow and lots of oddball games. They have it all just sitting there waiting for you. They have sexy blackjack dealers on weekends, but we wish they had a table where you could gamble while riding a mechanical bull.
Bet Minimums: $3 6:5 blackjack, $5 3:2 blackjack, and $3 craps with 10x odds. Roulette chips can be had for as little as $1, with a $4 minimum bet. It's a clean casino with okay ambience, but there are cheaper games around, especially if you avoid the 6:5 blackjack.
Machines: Lots of newer slot machines. Not the best video poker, but we did see some full-pay Double Bonus video poker in quarters, and that's a good sign. The high-limit slots go all the way to $5.
Cocktails? Good. We tried to get Lone Star beer, though, and they didn't have any. Minus points for inauthenticity.
Who Gets Comps? $25 bettors, get ready to strap on the feedbag. $50 and up, go ahead and play until you get sleepy, because you'll probably get a room. The rest of you bums, be happy with your free drinks. It shares its slot club with its Station Casino brethren and points earned at any can be redeemed anywhere within the chain. Even though it's not a very generous slot club, this policy makes it handy.
Austin's Steakhouse: Those Texans are always yapping about how good their beef is, and unfortunately, this joint doesn't prove them wrong. Dang. We love it when we get to point out Texans' mistakes. The cuts of meat are good, and there's actually a little variety on the menu.
Coco's: The Station properties have really limited our opportunities by deploying the exact same dang coffee shop in five of their hotels. And it's a national chain that we can make fun of at home. We come to Vegas to make fun of new stuff!
Feast Buffet: Disappointing. All kinds of food served up at a reasonable price, but not much of it good. The breakfast buffet is a particular bargain and dinner is usually equally affordable. If you're a member of the Station Casinos slot club, you get two bucks off any time of day at all Station buffets.
San Lorenzo Italian: Ever been to the Olive Garden? Did you like it? If so, then this is the place for you. This is only open for dinner.
Texas Star Oyster Bar: Chowder, soups, oysters and other quickie seafoods without the fuss of a fancy restaurant. Prices are reasonable, but the state of Texas isn't known for its fresh seafood.
Other fast food options include: Baja Fresh, Dairy Queen, Fatburger, Panda Express, Quizno's, Sbarro and Starbucks.
Club Armadillo: Various live acts play at night. It is mostly that lousy modern country crap and eighties cover bands to keep the divorcees in their thirties shaking their booties. Too bad they don't have live Armadillos performing. That would get us out there every night.
Dallas Events Center: The Events Center doesn't really have anything that qualifies as an "event". But they have locals concerts of second-tier soul, classic rock and R&B performers in there.
Kids Quest: It's like a really fun prison for kids. Drop your kids off in this pay-per-hour supervised playground while you gamble on their future.
South Padre: This nightclub has a cover occasionally, but mostly it's free and has live music such as the blues or disco cover acts. Friday and Saturday nights only.
Texas Cinema: They have a great multiplex here with fantastic seating. There usually isn't much of a crowd or a line, so if you want to catch a movie while on vacation, come on out to the Texas Station. One note, even though the theaters are nice, that doesn't make the movies any better.
Texas Star Lanes: If you have a hankering to chuck a 16-pound ball at three a.m., this place is perfect for you. Sixty state-of-the-art lanes are open 24 hours a day, including holidays. What better way to celebrate Easter?
Number of TVs: About 30. There are two big screens, with three big screens, but they use them for racing and sports, so don't bother bringing your Star Wars video here and asking them to play it for you. Twelve TVs are for sports and 18 are for racing.
Number of Seats: Around 207, with 120 for racing and 87 for sports. These are average seats, but at least the race bettors get desks to write on or carve the name of a lover. They also get individual TVs. The sports bettors are out in the open like antelope on the Serengeti, but they are nicer, plusher and have large writing surfaces.
How Many Betting Windows? About nine for sports and another nine for racing with slate boards.
Free Drinks? You bet! Suck 'em down. ladies and gentlemen.
Snack Bar? No, so eat before you get here.
Minimum Wager: $5 sports, $2 for racing
Other Notes: This is a massive room off the side of the casino. The locals are thick and they all seem to know each other.
Number of Tables: Eight tables with one or a few going at most times. Weekend will see many going.
Comfort of Chairs: Average. Your tush will not sing with glee and it won't complain. We suppose that can be a good thing if you need quiet while you play. It's also good for the people around you, because singing tushies are sort of creepy.
Closed Room or Open to Casino? Off the casino floor but not closed.
Game Spreads and Limits: Texas Hold-em at 2-4 and maybe 3-6 or 4-8. Omaha 3-6 at night. Also on weekends they may get a no-limit game going.
Beginner Games or Classes? No real lessons, but you can hit up the floor supervisor in the mornings when it's slow.
How Crowded is the Room? It will get busy on weekend nights as the locals come in, but most of the time you can get into a game with little or no wait. If you want, call an hour ahead and get your nameon the list at 702-631-8214.
Comps? Free drinks while playing. They rack up a dollar an hour on your Boarding Pass slot club card.
How Good Are the Players? Locals by the pound. That doesn't mean they're good, but they are usually tighter than the out-of-town yahoos on the Strip. The low-limit games seem to get wild on weekends, but not weekdays.
What Else Do I Need to Know? They've got one of them there Station-wide progressive jackpots, pardner. The tables are non-smoking, which is just about the least Texan thing we've ever heard of. This rooms is not particularly popular, which is strange because they call it Texas Hold 'Em, don't they?
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