The crazy showgirl/flamenco dancer hybrids handing out Mardi Gras beads outside of this casino are weird, sure, but I was not to be deterred after spotting signs for 99-cent deep fried Twinkies and frozen bananas.
The casino's slot machines are very old to the point where cashing out means plastic cups of nickels and quarters, not tidy paper tickets. My hands were dirty from all the coins. Ew. I didn't spy any newer video slot machines, just lots of the old school ones.
For me, the real draw was the snack bar with Nathan's hot dogs, 99 cent deep fried Twinkies, and 99 cent frozen chocolate-and-nut covered bananas. I'm still dreaming of the banana and the Twinkies, they were that good. I stayed at the Golden Nugget which is very close to Mermaid's. We'll most likely go back - both to the GN and to Mermaid's.
Oh! And the frozen drinks! Be forewarned - a plastic football-shaped cup full of tropical frozen drink goodness will set you back around $15, but a couple of sips might have you meeting the floor. Sample the flavors before buying if you're not interested in drinking straight alcohol with just a bit of fruit flavor. The bartender was kind enough to add ice and soda water to my banana daiquiri which made it almost drinkable - but then I'm not a huge drinker to begin with. Girl Drink Drunk was never so easy.