In a hurry to find a place to crash, we hit up Golden Nugget. I'm not a big fan of the Fremont strip (the food is awful and some of the characters are sketchy) but this hotel was very nice. Evidently, they've done some renovations and the rooms are very very nice especially for the price. Great value.
Update: My comment about the food along Fremont is now expired as I've since discovered the restaurants in the bottom floor of the California Hotel & Casino (or "The Cal"). In particularly, The Market Street Cafe is ridiculously good and ridiculously cheap. Try the ox tail soup. I still have cravings.