Casino Reviews

Steve Wynn started with the Mirage, then designed the Bellagio, and then moved on to the Wynn casino and hotel! On the way, he also added the Treasure island hotel which is now called TI. He sold them all to MGM and used the money he gained from the sale to build the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas. Also to fund the construction of hotels in Asia. Whatever Steve Wynn is involved in, you know that it is going to be elegant and top-notch in just about everything. He is an admitted perfectionist. It shows in everything he does. He is said to be a taskmaster but then he does deliver results. He has the imagination to deliver something that attracts tourists from all over the world to his hotels and casinos.

Wynn Casino Gardens – Great for Pictures

The Wynn hotel is the ultimate in sophistication and beauty. Just take a look at this picture of the gardens just off the casino floor! What a beautiful scene! Many people pose for pictures every day in this area. At the end of this walkway, there is a nice quiet bar you can enjoy. While meeting friends or business associates. All of the bars are a bit pricey. But if you have to ask about the price you probably cannot afford the price of the drinks.

We have even seen several movie sets to set up in this area of the casino floor. Visitors get a chance to see just how long it takes to get a shot. How many takes and practice shots are needed and best of all you sometimes get to see your favorite actors. This is also a great area to people-watch. From other tourists to sometimes very famous people. They are interesting to watch as they stroll by or play at a slot machine.

At the very least when you are in Vegas, whether you are staying at the Wynn hotel or not, take the time to tour the property. You will not be disappointed.

The Montecarlo Casino and hotel in Las Vegas is a great place to bring the family and also adults as well. One of the nice things about this hotel is the Montecarlo Pool – Las Vegas area which is available to all guests staying at the hotel. The pool area includes a wave pool, a sandy beach, a beach volleyball court, and a river to float along on a raft. Also, a regular pool to spend time at while staying at the Montecarlo casino. This particular picture was taken from the deck of the Tram that runs from the Montecarlo all the way to the Bellagio Hotel stopping along the way at the Aria Casino and hotel. They are all owned by MGM Casinos.

Montecarlo Pool – Las Vegas – Food Court

Another great feature about the Montecarlo hotel in addition to the pool area is that they have a small fast food court which is excellent for families or anyone really who is vacationing on a budget. We all want to eat at a nice restaurant at least once while in Vegas, however, the rest of the time fast food is fine. They have a Starbucks, McDonald’s, Subway, and a pizza place to choose from. A note about Starbucks, coffee is going to cost you $3.00 for the same thing you would get at a regular Starbucks for $1.75. That is the hotel adding its the price on. as far as we could tell MacDonald’s coffee is the same price and is actually pretty good these days.

We ate at a restaurant called D.Vino’s in Montecarlo. We would not recommend this place to anyone. The Caesar salad was not good, the romaine looked old and the main courses were really tasteless.  The fish smelled fishy, the pasta was actually tough and the pizza had no taste whatsoever. We mentioned this to the maitre’d. Although they were going to tell the chef, they did not offer us anything other than they could redo it. Don’t waste your money, there are lots of other places to try that are much better.

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There is a tram that runs from the Montecarlo casino to the city center Aria casino and then on to the Bellagio casino. This Tram from Montecarlo shown in the pictures is fully automated , very clean and safe and is air conditioned. It can be a bit of a walk to get to the stations, but it is much faster and comfortable than walking along the strip! In most cases you need to walk through the casino to the back of the hotel to catch the tram. We snapped these pictures while waiting at the Bellagio hotel station. In nice weather, walking the strip is fine. However when it gets really hot in Vegas during the summer, take the tram!

Regardless of were you are staying in Vegas, you are going to be doing a lot of walking. The Tram from Montecarlo and the Bellagio is a good way to get from one place to another. However you still have a long walk from the Vegas strip to the tram loading station. We have always wondered why they make you walk a lot like this. We think there are really two reasons. One is that the casinos are really large, much larger than what many people expect and you just have to walk a long way to get through them.

The other reason is that they want you to walk through the casino on your way to your room. The restaurants, the shows and of course the Tram are on the way. There is a good chance that you might drop a $20 in a slot machine or even more. The casinos will use everything they can to get people to do a little gambling. Once you start, it is difficult to stop and that is what they are counting on.

The Bellagio casino and hotel always have some of the best flower arrangements and designs in the world. Visitors can spend hours admiring the Bellagio garden and still not take it all in. This is also a great place to have your picture taken with your friends and loved ones.  The Bellagio garden is located just off the main lobby of the hotel. It is a very popular place for many people to enjoy. There is always the latest scenery that has been created by the artists. Many hours are spent building these beautiful arrangements and maintaining these beautiful flowers. As the flowers fade, more are brought in to replace them.

Bellagio Garden – Las Vegas

The garden is constantly updated to reflect the season or the celebration of the year. At thanksgiving for example there will be a horn of plenty, while at Easter there will be a theme that is interesting to this religious time of the year. All of the flowers are real and in pots. They are kept fresh daily and watered to maintain their optimum beauty and freshness. There is a team of people who are constantly trimming flowers, updating and replacing the flowers to keep everything at maximum beauty.

Sometimes this area is so busy it can actually be difficult to get the picture that you want. We find the best time is early afternoon, and early morning as well before the crowds start. Most people stroll through admiring the flowers and the overall design and then head on to their rooms or to the casino. This is one of the free things you can do in Las Vegas and it is one of the must-see things to do while you are staying in Las Vegas!

While you are in the Bellagio, take a minute to stroll across the valet parking to the fountain on the other side. Here you will have a birds-eye view of Bellagio lake and the fountains that operate. They are choreographed with music and play every 20 minutes or so.

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We have been to many casinos across North American and decided to put together our list of top 10 casinos that we have visited. There is no scientific analysis of our list that we used. This is based on our favorite places to go and spend time, as well as overall ambiance, comp’s and décor. Each one has something special for us to make it into the top 10 casino list. There are other casinos near us that we go to more often. Unfortunately they did not make onto the list, simply because if we were able to go to any of these casinos on our list, we would choose them first. They are just too far away and therefore we must make a special trip to be able to enjoy their casinos and their hotels.

• Wynn Casino – Las Vegas, NV
• Bellagio Casino – Las Vegas, NV
• Mirage Casino – Las Vegas, NV
• Beau Rivage – Biloxi, MS
• Gold Strike – Tunica, MS
• Agua Caliente – Palm Springs, CA
• Horseshoe Casino – Tunica, MS
• Aquarius Casino – Laughlin, NV
• Akwesasane Casino – Near Masena, NY
• Balterra Casino – Florence, IN

We will outline why we like each of these casino hotels. You can refer to each one in more detail on this web site.

Top 10 Casinos – Las Vegas

Wynn Casino – Las Vegas, NV – Wynn is our favorite place to go in las Vegas. Everything about it is quality. From the casino floor, to the seats at the slots, the comp’s, the drinks, the entertainment and the rooms, this is the casino that gets the most in high marks for us. There are really great restaurants with fantastic meals and chef’s. We have stayed at this Hotel many times and it is our favorite place to stay. It is in the centre of the strip, within easy walking distance to most of the other casinos as well as shopping.

Bellagio Casino – Las Vegas, NV – with the manmade lake out front and a high class casino, the Bellagio is our 2^nd favorite place to stay. Part of the Harrah’s group now, it is undergoing some changes but it still ranks high on our list. We try to have breakfast at the coffee shop at least once each time we are in Vegas overlooking the pool.  There are several restaurants to over look the lake which can be spectacular on a warm evening with the fountains on display and the background music playing.

Mirage Casino – Las Vegas, NV – from the volcano that erupts every 30 minute in the evening, the huge fish tank behind the front desk to the spectacular pool with slides and waterfalls, the Mirage is another hotel to stay at. The casino used to have a tropical garden which we enjoyed very much. Since they removed some of it, this location has dropped on our list slightly. We love going to the deli and having smoked meat sandwiches. One is large enough to share for two people.

Top 10 Casinos – Mississippi

Beau Rivage – Biloxi, MS – located on the coast in MS, this casino has everything that the Vegas casinos have along with being next to the water. Great restaurants and casino on a smaller scale. The 3^rd floor sports a pool with pool side bar overlooking the ocean. A very enjoyable place to stay.

Gold Strike – Tunica, MS – for central USA, this casino provides great value in terms of room cost, restaurants, comp’s and lodging. We enjoy this location as a stop over on our way south or west of the central part of the USA. Rooms are clean, we always are comp’d for our rooms and for our food.

Horseshoe Casino – Tunica, MS – like the Goldstrike, this casino also provides great value in terms of rooms, meals and comp’s. It is located beside the Goldstrike in Tunica. This is our 2^nd choice in Tunica after our 1^st choice of the Goldstrike.

Top 10 Casinos –Other

Agua Caliente – Palm Springs, CA – we have never stayed at this casino, but we like to go there and sit outside having our lunch overlooking the pool. They have great entertainment and the slots are not bad either. The pool is very tropical and relaxing.

Aquarius Casino – Laughlin, NV – located on the Colorado river, they have an excellent casino, very reasonable rates and some of the best crab legs we have had in their buffet meals on Friday and Saturday nights. For $20, all you can eat buffet with crab legs and a number of other seafood dishes along with wine and beer. Pretty good deal. You are also within walking distance of 6 to 10 other casinos so need to drive your car.

Akwesasane Casino – Near Masena, NY – this casino is rapidly moving up the list in our opinion. They are busy updating the casino and adding a new hotel which will make it a 1^st class facility. The buffet is excellent, prices for drinks are very reasonable and comp’s are very good as well. More to come.

Balterra Casino – Florence, IN – only have stayed once at this casino located along the Mississippi river, we found it to be very nice, although a bit isolated. We rank it high because of value, atmosphere and overall quality. Unfortunately it is too isolated from other places we like to go to rank higher.

None of the Canadian casinos made the list. Their comp’s are low, they generally do not have hotels attached to them and they pretty much seem focused on taking your money without returning much in the form of comp’, meals or entertainment. Just a money grab in our opinion.