When you think Vegas, you think Nevada.
When I think Vegas, I think California.
What? Huh? Is this girl geographically retarded? In most cases, yes. But in this case, no. I know exactly what I'm talking about. When someone says, "Let's go to Vegas!" drive straight to California.
Mahalo!
Okay, puns aside, the California Hotel&Casino is sooooooo near and dear to my heart. When I was but a fresh-faced 21 year old, the friendly dealers at California were the first to teach me how to play all the table games (besides craps. I still don't get that game). When I say "friendly," I'm actually UNDERexaggerating. These dealers are fun, friendly, laid-back, and just GREAT for newbie gamblers as I once was.
Now that I'm older, wiser, and a much better gambler, I stick to the high-end hotels on the Strip (the comps for gambling on the Strip are much better), but after losing a grand in blackjack, I can't help but nostalgically lament the days when I could play for HOURS with just $100 (thank you, financial aid!). Downtown casinos have the LOWEST minimums! Honestly, I learned how to play at a $2 table. Granted, the older I get, the higher my base play gets, but still... It was a wonderful learning experience. The dealers cheer you on, they don't get all annoyed when you don't know the rules, and they're just... super chill.
My surrogate mother Camille (we adopted each other when I yelled at a player who was being unnecessarily rude to her) is a blackjack dealer here, and she's always full of fun stories and anecdotes to entertain you while you donate your money to the casino gods.
Downtown LV, especially at Fremont Street, is definitely an experience you should have. So many Vegas snobs only stick to the Strip, when there's a plethora of things to do and explore downtown! Go to Mermaids, which is right next door, and get your neck adorned with cheap plastic Mardi Gras beads by the Chiquita Banana girls (that's what I've always called them), go to the ABC store and stock up on all your Hawaiian knick-knacks, and always wait for the light show before you take your leave!
And after a night of debauchery at any of the awesome LV Clubs on the Strip, grab a cab, head down to Cali Hotel, and grub on some Oxtail Soup! Their graveyard specials cannot be beat, in taste or in cost! When I first drove my friends downtown to the Cali for some after-clubbing grub, they all looked at me skeptically. Trust me when I say that they're all now converts who worship this wonderful little gem. Order anything (they have a truly strange assortment of food, so everyone will find SOMETHING they like), and chow away! Ask for the guava juice! I LOVE GUAVA JUICE!
Or, if you choose to get your Cali Hotel fix in the daytime, definitely go upstairs to the Hawaiian joint and load up on various saimin, musubis, udon, and loco mocos!
California has a defniite Hawaiian feel in Nevada. Shoot. Go there, and tell all your friends back home that in one weekend, you went to California, Hawaii, and Nevada. Good stuff.