 Sam's Town is popular with RVers, locals, and people who have been to Vegas enough times to grow tired of the razzle-dazzle of the Strip. For a locals casino, it actually has a lot to it (and it's huge and meandering).
Coupons Available for Sam's Town Vegas: Free buffet when you earn 200 slot club points, two free drinks for new slot club members, buy two hotel nights, get the third free. (Click Here For More Info.)
    
Room Quality: Nice size, very comfortable, but not heavily furnished. After all, they are catering to cowboys and cowgirls here, and cowpeople don't like no sissy stuff. You have your choice of a king or two doubles. Rooms on the top floor have high ceilings, so ask for one of those if you're over nine feet tall. All the rooms surround the giant atrium in the middle of the casino, so you either get a view of the atrium or the outside world. Plus, you get to ride in a very cool glass elevator on your way up. The bathrooms are basic, with a single sink and tub/shower combo. There is no closet, just an insert in the wall, but that's standard for moderate hotel rooms.
Service Quality: Pretty good. They do offer the best, most comprehensive shuttle system in town. It's great for getting to the Strip or downtown. Check-in is usually quick, the room service menu is limited.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Cheap soap, shampoo and conditioner.
Clientele: Older Locals and RVers. This is the kind of place people like to describe as simple and no-nonsense, and they get a crowd who appreciates that. Oh, except for the weekend they host a "punk rock" bowling tournament.
How's the Pool? Eh. It's okay. This pool is not a reason to stay here, but it's certainly functional and it has some nice palm trees around its irregular shape Actually, it's probably the best on the Boulder Highway.
Resort Fee: (What is this?) $4.50 per night. You get shuttles to other Boyd properties (which are free to non-guests), incoming faxes and local calls. So, yeah, a ripoff.
Table Games: Blackjack, roulette, craps, poker room, Let It Ride, 3-card poker, Pai Gow. They deal a single-deck blackjack game. This is a huge casino with tons of tables. Over the tables in some pits they have high-density televisions showing sports. We guess that's for the short-attention span gamblers.
Bet Minimums: $5 craps with 20x odds, $5 and up for blackjack and other games, including single-deck BJ. Beware the 6:5 monster. Limits may go up a little on weekends. You can play roulette for $2.
Machines: A phenomenal selection of video poker. You'll find every flavor imaginable, but not too many full-pay machines. Look around and you'll find some quarter FPs but you have to look hard. Loads and loads of slot machines, including all the crazy new video machines, just like on the Strip.
Cocktails? Fair. These local places just aren't as good at doling out the free drinks as our friends downtown are.
Who Gets Comps? The B-Connected club is about on par, but certainly not worth dedicating your play to, especially since they don't have much full pay VP. The club links you with all the Boyd properties.
Billy Bob's Steakhouse: Talk about huge portions. This dinner-only place serves you enough meat to choke a horse. It seems like every steak is at least 20 oz, served with monster potatoes, just in case that much meat's not enough. They have good ribs, chicken and steak, all at fair-to-high prices and in a room where you don't feel underdressed in jeans, unless you don't wear a shirt. That was our mistake. Open for dinner.
Cafe in the Park: You can eat "outside" in the indoor atrium on weekend nights while listening to a guy playing the piano and occasionally wearing shiny clothes. It's supposed to be romantic, and probably is for those who can suppress the laughter from eating inside/outside and lounge music as classy.
The Firelight Buffet: The most attractive thing about this buffet is the rotisserie meats. It's a little better than the warmed-over crud in steam trays. Otherwise, just average. Maybe the best buffet on the Boulder highway, although that's not saying a whole lot.
TGI Friday's: The Boyd folks seem to be enamored with TGI Friday's and are putting them in most of their properties. Each is the same: mediocre American fare, crazy crap on the walls and sortof loud. The one nice thing is it is open for breakfast.
Willy and Joses: They claim it's "very" authentic food, but we're always a little skeptical of Mexican restaurants featuring cartoon banditos in their logo and that also serve pasta. The burritos are all right, as are the enchiladas. Overall, it's better than your average chain, but not as good as the locals place Lindo Michoacan or many other small, local taquerias outside of casinos. Open for dinner only.
Fast food aficionados can find Calamity Jane's Ice Cream, Dunkin Donuts, Sbarro, Subway, McDonalds and Panda Express in a food court. Sports book fans will be pleased with the decent sandwiches at the sports book deli.
Bowling Alley: 56 lanes of bowling attract more locals than visitors, but can be a fun diversion from the gambling and carousing. And the Candy Carousel is a sight to behold!
Century Cinema: A little Hollywood magic dust has been sprinkled on this new 18-screen theater. All your favorite new releases are playing, and so are all the crappy movies.
Mystic Falls: The hotel rooms all surround the great big atrium, which is set up to feel like a little piece of the forest plopped down in the desert. The plants and burbling brooks make it a nice place to sit and take it easy for a while, and the animatronic beavers, bears and coyotes keep the kids in stitches.
Roxy's Lounge: The acts here aren't great, but at least they give you a little variety. Expect to see anything from country bands to Mariachis, and even an occasional show by Beatles impersonators.
Sam's Town Live: If you're between the ages of 40 and 70 and you love mellow country music and pop acts, well, this theater is right up your alley. Look for Crystal Gayle, Friday Night Dance Party, wrestling match viewing parties and that sort of entertainment.
Sunset Stampede: At 2, 6, 8 and 10 p.m. each day, there is an animatronic show in the atrium. Wolves howl, laser lights twinkle and the story of the pioneers move to the west is told. It's kind of hokey and maybe worth seeing once if you're in the area.
Number of TVs: There are 38 TVs that include 15 huge plasmas and two humongous projection TVs.
Number of Seats: About 210 total, with 160 for the butts of race fans, all with little LCD screens. They are all plush and average for comfort.
How Many Betting Windows? Around 17, so you won't have to wait long before handing over your cash. The signs are electronic for everything.
Free Drinks? Yes, but they don't come by too often, and dangit we were thirsty.
Snack Bar? The Sports Deli (clever name, huh?) is right nearby, with medium-priced sandwiches. It ain't gourmet, but the food looked fresher than at most deli/snack bars in town. It is also the only place in Sam's Town to get food in the middle of the night.
Minimum Wager: $5 minimum for sports and $2 for the races.
Number of Tables: They have 11 with about most going at nights and all on the weekends.
Comfort of Chairs: Decent chairs that recline and wheel about. Man, you can have enough fun with these to forget how much you're losing.
Closed Room or Open to Casino? It's a room off the main casino floor.
Game Spreads and Limits: Omaha at $3-$6, Texas Hold 'Em at $2-$4, $4-$8 and some no limit, and Seven Card Stud if they can get the players. Needless to say, all of these games aren't always going, but you can pretty much rely on Texas Hold 'Em games any time of day. The No-limit game gets going on weekend nights.
Beginner Games or Classes? Free lessons at noon. Eat lunch early.
How Crowded is the Room? This is a very popular locals room, so expect a crowd on weekends and possibly on nights of good tournaments.
Comps? Free drinks while playing. Food discounts and room discounts are also available for three or more hours of play a day.
How Good Are the Players? Better than average locals gather here. The games tend to be pretty tight and draw older players. You know, the guys who have been around the block and are wise to our shenanigans.
What Else Do I Need to Know? This is a good, medium-sized room. There are No-limit Hold 'Em tourneys every day.
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