First Impressions Of SLS Las Vegas

SLS Las Vegas Carpet
SLS Las Vegas Carpet

My first impression of SLS Las Vegas is positive but not perfect. Nothing is perfect as far as I’m concerned. I’ve already detailed some of the flaws from the first few days of business in a separate post.

1. The Setup

The pre-opening moniker SLS Las Vegas used to describe the property was “affordable luxury”. That set up for the hotel to be fancy on a budget. For example there’s no way to make Ikea furniture feel luxurious but it can look nice. With that in mind I went in with limited expectations.

2. Casino Layout

SLS Las Vegas Casino
SLS Las Vegas Casino

I care more about the casino than most of SLS Las Vegas. The floor plan is only 60,000 square feet. If you ever visited Sahara this is 20,000 square feet less. The floor plan is small, which is fine but there are choke points that make it almost impossible to go to certain parts of the casino. The high traffic walkway by table area near the players club and The Griddle is tight and will always be busy. There are similar choke points on the slot floor that will be impossible to walk through because machines are packed so closely. Just scope out areas before sitting down at a table or machine.

Layout aside there are ample 3:2 blackjack games for $5 and $10. Craps has $10 minimums. There is decent video poker and all new slot machines. I dig all of this and wouldn’t mind gambling here. US Poker has a breakdown of most of the games.

Parts of the casino floor seem dark and that can make the tight casino feel almost claustrophobic on busy nights. This feels like a casino I’d visit during the day more than at night.

3. Umami Burger – Sportsbook – Beer Garden

Umami Burger Entrance At SLS Las Vegas
Umami Burger Entrance

This is the part of the casino I was most looking forward to. A sportsbook that serves good burgers and good beer? This might be heaven. It is and it isn’t. This isn’t a sportsbook.

Umami Burger a sports bar/restaurant with a patio and a place to bet on sports. Burger prices are between $12 and $15. Not too bad for the Vegas Strip. Draft beers are around $9-10 and bottles start at $5. There are no drink tickets from William Hill for sports bets as of opening but I think that will change. If you drink/eat at the video poker bar your drinks will be comp’d while you have money in play.

Umami Burger Bar At SLS Las Vegas
Umami Burger Bar

I really like this as a restaurant. Like I said in Vegas Chatter this is a good sports bar/restaurant but it’s not a traditional sportsbook. It should be packed with sports fans for big events but expect to see kids and families in the mix on other days. Even thought it’s not a traditional sportsbook this is my favorite spot at SLS Las Vegas.

Note, you can still sit and watch games without spending any money. However, if there are paying customers for Umami Burger you’ll politely be asked to leave if you’re not spending money.

4. Dining and High Priced Drinks

BLT Burger Late Night Happy Hour

Cheap beer and less expensive food sounds good to me. Happy Hour on the Vegas Strip usually starts before the sun goes down but this late night Happy Hour At BLT…

Anchorman National Scotch Day Celebration At Foundation Room

View from Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas
View from Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay

I get event listings for various venues around Vegas every day. Most of them are things you can find at any Las Vegas website so I disregard them. However the Anchorman National Scotch Day Celebration at the Foundation Room sounds like fun.

  1. Drinking scotch is new to me and excites me.
  2. The view (above) from Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay is one of the best in Vegas.
  3. Anchorman is fun.

More than anything else this event is just a fun excuse to visit the Foundation Room. Here are the details:

LVH Is Out, Westgate Las Vegas Is In. Here’s What To Expect.

Westgate Las Vegas Marquee
Westgate Las Vegas Marquee

Last week LVH was sold to Westgate. In turn the hotel formerly known as LVH, Hilton and International will now be known as Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The purchase price was somewhere around $180 million and the owner says that they will put more than twice that much into rehabbing the old property.

A lot of changes are planned for the new Westgate Las Vegas, here’s what you need to know:

Vegas Vacation Notes

Bellagio Las Vegas
Bellagio

Every trip I take in Vegas I usually take notes whenever I have a free moment. These notes are reminders of what happened and usually lead to bigger articles and posts in the future. As you’ll see this vacation was a bit hazy but here ya go!

Sat
D grill – bat toast
Fremont hotel
DTG – lose BJ
Pizza Rock – NYer. Fantastic
Fremont casino AC awful
D craps 45 minute roll
Pizza rock HH loud
D cafe closes 10p
FSE shit show
$3 3 foot hot dog. Oy.

Sun
D grill
Flamingo “hey, the room is free”
Fab room – bad cell reception/data
Prime
Macallan
Cromwell

EDGe Vegas Summer Vacation

It's time for a little summer vacation! Every year since I've lived in Las Vegas I hit Downtown Vegas and the Vegas Strip like a tourist for a week in…

Nacho Daddy: Voted Best…

Nacho Daddy Sign Downtown Las Vegas
Nacho Daddy

I was bored last week so I decided to spend a day and night in Downtown Vegas mostly on Fremont Street. Surprisingly, I didn’t gamble much but I had a great time anyway. I’ll be sharing highlights throughout the week.

Best Margarita In Vegas At Nacho Daddy Downtown Vegas
Best Margarita In Vegas

If you know me you know that I don’t drink tequila. The last time I had tequila I vomited on myself. No bueno. Good thing I met up with someone willing to taste test the margarita at Nacho Daddy.

I needed to know if the sign was true or false advertising! With that in mind I had an ice cold beer. It was so cold that there was almost ice forming on the top of my beer.

Dos Equis Beer At Nacho Daddy
mmm…beer

Unlike previous visits I didn’t go to Nacho Daddy to eat. It was to meet up with Gray from Vegas Solo and have a drink. Unbeknownst to either of us we found Scott from Vital Vegas sitting at the corner of the bar.

Banger Brewing Is Better Than I Imagined

Banger Brewing Logo
Banger Brewing

I was bored last week so I decided to spend a day and night in Downtown Vegas mostly on Fremont Street. Surprisingly, I didn’t gamble much but I had a great time anyway. I’ll be sharing highlights throughout the week.

Banger Brewing opened its doors for business late last year to rave reviews. I visit Downtown Vegas pretty often but I’m usually in a casino to gamble. I kind of feel like a jerk for not visiting Banger Brewing sooner. I like beer and was blown away with my first 4 beers from the flight below.

Flight of Beer At Banger Brewing in Downtown Vegas
Flight of Beer At Banger Brewing

There are about 15-20 beers on tap at Banger Brewing and I told the bartender to give me a nice variety without getting too hoppy. Too many hops and I get a headache.

The flight above started with a crisp basic pilsner or wheat (I forget the name) and went to their Sandia (watermelon wheat) which led to the most amazing beer I’ve tried. El Heffe was next. It’s a pretty awesome name for their jalapeno hefeweizen. This might be the most unusual beer I’ve ever tasted. I would never order it alone but as part of a flight the subtle jalapeno flavor was fantastic. The flight ended with their tasty Imperial Stout called Knight Rye*der.

Lemon Shandy
Lemon Shandy

The subtle flavors from the watermelon and jalapeno beer made me want to try this Lemon Shandy which is one of the beers that rotates through (here’s their regular beer menu). This was a perfect beer for how I was feeling at the moment. The beer was crisp, refreshing and not too lemony.