Anyhow, those people that know me know that Binion's Horseshoe was always my favorite casino in Vegas. I've been going there for years, and for a long time, there was no place I'd rather spend my hard-earned cash than at the Binion's dice tables, sipping rum drinks and smoking cigars with my buddies.
I always liked the seediness of the place, the blue haze of decades-old cigar smoke that hung around the ceiling, the old-school dice dealers, and the ancient waitresses that always called you 'hon' or 'sugar' and always remembered what you drank, even if they hadn't seen you in six months. Hell, even the funky smell of the place was alluring, once you'd been there a time or two. And who could forget the clickers they used in the pit to summon the waitresses? On the weekends, the dice pit sounded like a cricket orgy.
But those were the good old days. I discovered the place at the tail-end of those glory days, long after Benny had passed, just as his incompetent daughter was taking the reigns. After a couple of years of her anti-Midas touch, the place turned to shiat, creditors came calling, regulators moved in and seized the assets, and it sat empty for several months--a sad black hole in the middle of Fremont Street.
It re-opened a few months later, with the help of a 'benefactor'. Turns out that the Evil Empire was living up to it's name and wasn't there to return Binion's to it's former glory, but like I mentioned earlier in the week, it was only there to rape the corpse and steal the crown jewels of Benny's legacy--the Horseshoe name and the rights to the World Series of Poker. Once they scavenged that meat from the carcass, they moved on, back to fleecing the fanny-pack wearing tourists down on the Strip whose sole concern was trying not to drool on their shirts while pounding away at the slot machines.
What was left was nothing but a hollow shell, a building with no soul, a dusty warehouse of black-and-white Vegas memories. After Harrah's left, new ownership tried to bring a spark to the place, but their experience lied with slot-joints and Indian casinos, so it seemed destined to be another failure in the spot that had seen so many successes in years past.
Enter Terry Caudill and TLC Casino Enterprises. Who would've ever thought that they'd be the white knight, rescuing the Binion's legacy? After taking over the Four Queens in 2003, he turned the formerly dumpy property into a money-making machine, increasing cash flow by more than 100%. I started noticing the changes over a year ago--the renovations were nice and all, and the casino seemed much cleaner and brighter than years past, but the thing that really struck me was, believe it or not, the main bathrooms just off the casino floor. Usually, visiting the men's room in a downtown casino was a dicey affair, but I distinctly remember being in there one night and thinking Holy shiat--this bathroom is every bit as nice as the can at the Mirage or Bellagio! I know it's weird, but I was really almost blown away by the bathroom remodel job at the Four Queens. And when you coupled that with the new cigar lounge they put in that overlooks the casino, well, I became a believer. The new owner seemed to be getting it right.
It seems that he learned a bit from the experience at the Four Queens, and now that he controls Binion's, he seems to be doing all he can to return it to it's proper place in the Fremont Street hierarchy. None of the older casinos will ever be as nice as the Golden Nugget, but that's not the point. Benny's philosophy was that Binion's is first and foremost the place to gamble and drink, the other amenities always took a back seat. That was their niche, and they filled it admirably. And the new Binion's is getting it right. They've damn near doubled the number of table games that were there in the bad old days when the place went under. The old gal got a good scrubbin', a new paint job, and all new carpeting and light fixtures. Everything in the casino is new--new tables, new chairs, a new layout, and improved traffic flow. Somehow, they've made the place feel bigger than it was.
They're still not finished yet, but they've really come a long way in the past year. Besides the new sports book that seemed to have sprung up overnight, the new cigar lounge, the expanded snack bar and the overall feel of the place, they spent a half a million dollars on a new poker room that just opened this week.
Binion's is where poker in Vegas got started, and now, they have the nicest poker room--by far--downtown, and it definitely gives the rooms on the Strip a run for their money. Granted, places like the Wynn, Hard Rock, Bellagio, and Venetian are in a class by themselves, but for a smaller room, it's now the class of Vegas.
I was there yesterday and took a few pictures. Here they are:
The 'lobby' of the new poker room is fairly large, with the reception desk right up front and center. Besides the new fixtures and marble floor, the walls on either side of the desk feature pictures of famous poker players whose ghosts still haunt the place.
Waiting for a seat in a game? You can relax in one of the comfy chairs and watch the action outside in the casino. They have this same set-up on both sides of the desk, and they have ashtrays on the tables and bar service available, encouraging folks to sit and chill while they wait.
Just beyond the desk, you'll walk down a few steps and enter the inner sanctum--a cozy room with ten tables and eleven plasma screen TVs broadcasting news, sports, and horse races 24 hours a day.
The room is kind of dimly-lit, which is nice because nobody likes to play cards under harsh lighting. It also hearkens back to the old seediness that creates a cool ambiance, and I like the fact that it is about 80% walled off from the rest of the casino, so noise is not an issue, either. They also offer tableside dining service, so you can order some food from the snack bar and have it delivered while you're playing--there is no need to get up and leave except for a trip to the restroom.
All the tables and chairs are brand-spankin' new, obviously, so comfort is now a priority. And even though they could easily fit a couple more tables in there, they chose to make it a little less crowded, unlike the sardine-can room across the street at the Nugget. But the really cool thing is the large-format old-school pictures they have framed all over the walls. The photos are from the old World Series events back in the 70's featuring all of the classic players, and sitting in there is kinda like visiting a museum of poker history.
When I was there early in the morning, they had just one low-limit cash game going, but then again, back in the old tournament area, there were dozens of players milling around waiting to get their day started. But I've got to admit--I'm smitten by the new room, and whenever I'm downtown, that's where I'll most likely be found.
Mikey
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