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| - My husband and I were here from March 11th through March 18th for vacation and were staying at the Golden Gate, which opens out onto the far corner of FSE, so it was pretty much impossible to miss.
If you like to party, if you love crowds and loud noises, if you adore people-watching, this is your spot to be in. Forget the Strip - it's plastic and not at all representative of the old-school style Las Vegas. This is raw, real, live action right in front of your face. Some of the old classics here such as Binion's, the "Vegas Vic" sign, it's all here at FSE. They still do the light and sound show every hour on the hour once it turns dark, and while it's semi-interesting, it's not something that'll hold your attention maybe more than once or twice.
There are definitely people hanging around here that you want to steer clear of. Lots of homeless in this area, cadging from the tourists (which, when you think about it, is a pretty smart move, as they know where the money is). This is NOT an area that you want to get drunk and lose control in, though people do exactly that here. There are also many folk that would be pretty at-home in a "People of Walmart" shoot - think guys wearing a little less than Speedo suits. NOT a family-friendly atmosphere by any means.
Watch out for the constant barrage of people offering you show tickets, drinks, etc. As someone else stated, VERY pugnacious and refuse to give up. My trick was to tell them, "I'm leaving tonight", even though it was only my second day. How are they going to argue with that? Barring that, just walk away - there's too many other marks for them to chase down to bother with you.
Don't let all of this worry you, though. There is a LOT of security around, especially in front of the casinos. LV police are also pretty on point with crowd control and hauling the troublemakers downtown.
I'm only giving it three stars because I just don't like crowds or very loud places or having to scream to be heard. Otherwise, I'd probably have enjoyed myself a lot more, as this place does have its charm. I wouldn't recommend taking the kids here, however - this is a place for singles, or young married couples, I think.
We'd come again, but probably during the day when it's a little quieter.
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