Maybe Gbeer424 meant "largest percentage of casinos in the country".

For someone that lives near a Harrah's property it could be beneficial. By playing at their local Harrah's and also at Harrah's many properties in Vegas they will earn more comps and room offers.

Harrahs is the largest gaming operator in the world, but when it comes to Vegas rooms, MGM has them beat by a mile.

The new MGM Mirage has 11 hotels at 10 casinos and roughly 31% of Vegas' 131,500+ rooms, and with the 4 hotels and 5200 rooms to be added when Project City Center opens around 2009, a little over 42,000 total.

Harrahs has 7 hotels an about 16% of the rooms, with a total of just about 20,500, including the recently acquired Imperial Palace.

Boyd has a lot of properties, 10 by the time it opens South Coast next year, but not a lot of rooms. Only about 8000 after the second tower is completed at South Coast. A third tower could possibly be added there and of course there's all the rumors of a Stardust makeover, but less than half the rooms of Harrahs.

Harrahs
 

sorry guys i havent been at my computer. yes harrahs is the largest in the world. even wall st doesnt dispute this. i mis spoke and it was not intended to set off a firestorm. sorry about that

Now that we can put this issue to rest? Lets talk about something thats
more important. The opening of the Hooters Hotel at the old San Remo
in 06. Imagine sitting at the pool with a drink you prefer? Just gazing
around at all the sights not to mention the employees of Hooters
restaurants throughout the organization (employee discount stay)
just relaxing like you are poolside. The last thing you will be thinking
about is Harrah`s, Boyds, MGM/MIRAGE, and the likes. And I live here!
And you can bet your Hooters Wings I`ll be staying at
that property from time to time.

I'm interested in checking it out, but I’m going have a hard time convincing my wife that we should be staying at the Hooters Hotel. ;)

Harrah's has really done a number on Bally's/Paris. They fired almost all of the casino hosts for no apparent reason, which hasn't been good for business in the short run. I just hope they don't wreck Bally's/Paris and Caesars, which they have a knack for doing (e.g. The Rio). Sure, Harrah's does operate profitably, but by running grinder joints. I'd hate to see the casinos I like get wrecked like that.

Unfortunately I have to admit that you are probably right as three favorite (and very classy) dealers at Caesars were let go recently, two were picked up for the new Red Rock and the third is already at Wynn.


T

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens. The quality level between even Bally's (not to mention Paris or Caesars) and Harrah's is pretty drastic. The standard rooms at bally's are huge and Harrah's are cramped. And right now you can get to Bally's for $49/night weeknights in Dec., so why even bother with Harrah's?

Speaking of rates, though, I've noticed if you click on "Deals" and then look up Harrah's LV the rates are sometimes much, much better (like hundreds of dollars better) than if you just search in reservations.

Weekends in December (except the 17th) are all busy with something -- Rodeo, Christmas, New Year's -- so that's why you'd see some higher rates. That doesn't mean they can't go a little insane trying to get more than some of the other facilities.

San Remo is already rebranding -- if you go in they've already built a Hooters bar at the front door (as of late October) and the restaurant should be finished up shortly. Still haven't done anything with the staff, as far as I'd seen when we went over and wandered around.

Harrah's Properties: Most Suites? Cabanas?
 

When we visit LAS, hubby and I usually stay at Paris or Caesar's, but this time I am traveling with a friend. She is a non-smoker (unlike me) and a non-gambler (for now lol), and I am taking her to celebrate her 50th birthday.

I can get room comped at any property for stay, up to Caesar's Augustus Tower. Staying June 26-30 (Tues-Sat), so I think a decent tip should get us an upgrade (always has, even on weekends). I would like to maximize my chances of getting an actual "suite" (2 rooms, not Jr Suite) so that if I decide to smoke in the room, I can keep it out of the bedroom. Does anyone know which property would give us the best chance of such an upgrade (ie: who has the most suites 2 rooms or larger?) Bedding isn't really a big deal, we are close friends. Does the Flamingo even have large suites (see below)?

Also, while I will be "earning my keep", my friend would like some pool time. I plan to rent a cabana for her a couple of days, so that I can join her on occasion (absolutely NO SUN for me). It's been a long time since I have even looked at Caesar's pool areas (all new?) and have never rented a cabana anywhere else. The Flamingo is intriguing, with their pool parties and atmosphere; does it have many cabanas and is the pool area cheesier than it appears? Any other recommendations within the Harrah's circle?

Location isn't a big deal, we are dining at the V, Paris, and MGM, plus hopefully either seeing "Thunder Down Under" or "Chippendales" (lmao, I have never been to one of these), so we will be hopping all over anyway. Just need to be a Harrah's property for comps, and their websites don't really say much about suites....

Robin

Personally, I would go with the Caesar's Augustus Tower room; since if you "don't" get the upgrade --- this would be the nicest room. I also find the central location and restaurant selection at Caesar's to be superb. (Also, take a close look online, "sometimes" you can reserve the double bay suite as a COMP directly on the website) I know there are a bunch of new Absolut Suites which I "think" can be booked in advance. In addition, I have heard great things about the Augustus spa suites. Caesar's also has a great spa; though, I am a bit partial to Mandara Spa at Paris.

Now, regarding upgrades, CP is probably the most difficult.; but they also have one of the largest selections of suites. Recently, HET has become fixated on assigning room upgrades based on the player's ADT (in realation to the other players on property at the same time). Of course, a host at any of the properties can pre-assign a suite; but, you can always be bumped at the last minute by a bigger player. Since your stay is midweek, that does work to your advantage. The $20 trick is questionable, but will sometimes work --- just not so much for a true suite, but instead for upgrades to Augustus or high floors with a view; as we all know YMMV.

Flamingo has some very nice new suites, which were rolled out with the GO rooms. There are mini-suites and regular suites such as the GO Metropolitan Suite in the same style as the GO rooms. IIRC, cabanas are a bit overpriced at all of the HET properties (only know RIO first hand, and they wanted around $300 a day in early May) Last time I was at Flamingo (January), I tried to get an upgrade at Diamond Check-in; but the very nice agent immediately referred me to one of the hosts on duty, who said he needed to review my play before granting any upgrades. I know a lot of folks who really like the pool area at Flamingo; though, I never really spent time at the Flamingo pool personally.

I have one friend who has a great host at Harrah's, and she has been able to pre-book comp into a 2 bedroom suite at Harrah's; but she is a 7* and had an ADT of around 1700 at the time of that booking. But, Harrah's has the worst pool area of all the HET Las Vegas properties.

Since this is a special trip, I think trying to work any relationship you have with a HET host might be a good thing.

Good Luck !

The pool area at Harrah's is rather small and cramped. Ceasar's is nice :)

baccarat_king,

Thanks, this is exactly what I am looking for; I hadn't even heard about the Augustus spa suites! The Absolut suites look very cool, but not what I need this trip (would rather have the space or a second room). Saving those for my daughter's 21st birthday ;) . The double bay suites don't even show on the booking screen. The Flamingo suites are news to me too, can't seem to find them on the website (I hate that useless website). Interesting story about the $20 trick at Flamingo, I used it twice at CP fairly recently and got Premium Palace Tower Rooms, and at Paris last month and got some huge corner room with a fantastic view and cross-ventilating windows (a huge thing for smokers), all on weekends, mostly holidays. Thinking this time of $100 to see what it would get me on this special trip, especially at CP.

I don't have a host yet; technically I'm not even Diamond yet. Had a great host at the V, but couldn't stand the casino anymore, so starting last Oct, we switched properties. Since rank points accumulate calendar year only, I have been able to accumulate close to the 10,000 needed since January, and should be Diamond by the time we arrive next month. Have been waiting until then to try to find a decent host. Can you give me an idea of the best casino to find one? We stay at Paris and CP, but am worried trying to get a host at Caesar's would be worthless for someone of my lower ADT. Would Paris be better?

Re: the Pools. I am going to give the hotels a direct call to find out about cabanas, etc. Rented them at CP years ago, but the website leads me to believe that they are avail only at the "adult" pool now, not sure if my friend wants to hang there.

And I forgot all about the spa, a definite plus! I should be able to get in several hours of "me" time while my friend has "her" time in the spa ;) .

Robin

Have you investigated the (Harrah's) Rio All-Suite Hotel? Their regular rooms, er, suites, are very large and they probably have bedroom suites. Pluses: Chippendales, Penn & Teller, Masquerade Village, two fine buffets, minibars, good room service. Minuses: No poolside cabanas to my knowledge; real blackjack is almost impossible to find; unless one is a slot player one will nearly always get better comps at a non-Harrah's property.

Poolside Cabanas are available at RIO for $300 per day; just confirmed that at the beginning of May, because I considered getting one, but we did not. The grill at the RIO pool also makes a very nice burger.

And yes, there are a number of very nice larger suite options @ RIO; including Masquerade Suites (1600 sq/ft but old school), Cariocas (1100 sq/ft) and Super Suites (1200 sq/ft). My upgrade to a Masquerade Suite happened at a late check in (around midnight) on a Wednesday night (mid-week mini-baccarat tourney). I tipped $20 after the fact, since the guy was very nice at check-in. I wasn't even planning on staying at RIO (just checked in as a requirement for the tourney) since I had my regular suite at the Stardust; but alas, a Masquerade Suite was nicer than a standard Stardust suite.

Also agree that the standard rooms @ RIO are pretty OK and the room service is also very nice. VP and BJ are horrible; but the Big Baccarat always operates and is a very lucky table. :cool: