Let me preface this with the fact that I hate Vegas. I think it exemplifies and amplifies the worst things about American culture - greed, excess, overconsumption, etc.
But, at least the Golden Nugget is downtown and not as bad as the strip. They have a pretty cool shark tank that's in the middle of a swimming pool, and that was kinda nice to walk by. The casino itself is a casino, and I found out that all of the dealers are unionized and making good money with plenty of breaks. I found the staff to be the most interesting part of the Hotel experience because they came from all over the world, and had interesting stories to share.
The rooms themselves were ok, like Holiday Inn ok.