Worst of Las Vegas

Or if you're not so cynical, check out my Best of Las Vegas article.

Last update: October 18, 2023

Worst Gaming:  Venetian

The Venetian's gaming is the worst in just so many ways:

1. In the Wizard of Odds' slot survey, had the very worst slot returns of any Vegas casino.
2. Infamous for introducing the worst roulette game in the world, Triple-Zero Roulette...
3. And then trying to spin it (no pun intended) (okay, maybe a little) as being good for the player.

Smallest hotel rooms (casinos)

These are the smallest possible rooms.  Each of these hotels offers larger rooms as well.  You can choose your room size when you book.

• Strip:  Casino Royale: 280 square feet
• Near Strip:  Wild Wild West:  250 square feet (source)
• Downtown:  Golden Gate (100 square feet)

The Golden Gate is the oldest hotel casino in Vegas and kept ten of the original hotel rooms from 1906, which are a minuscule 100 sf.  They don't disclose the size on their website (shame), and if you try to book one of these rooms then their website tries to pass off a picture of a larger, standard room as what you'll get, which is not you're actually booking (double shame).   Finally, there's no discount on these tiny rooms versus the standard rooms. (triple shame).  Runner-up:  El Cortez, at 198 square feet (source).  Here are some pics of Golden Gate's 100sf rooms, from one of our readers.

Highest Resort Fees

Lots of casino/hotels are tied for the highest resort fees at $51.19 per night (after 13.375% tax):

Aria • Cosmopolitan • Cromwell • Four Seasons • Resorts World • Venetian / Palazzo • Wynn / Encore

Worst Casino Customer Service:  Fremont

I've played at every casino on the strip and downtown, and the only place I ever encountered rude staff was Fremont.  So I wasn't surprised when they got fined by the Gaming Commission for manhandling and abusing a player they thought had stolen a slot ticket.  (She hadn't.)  A decent casino would have made a public apology and explained what steps they were taking to make sure that kind of thing didn't happen again.  But we're not talking about a decent casino, we're talking about Fremont.

Worst Game:  Slots

Slots suck your money away faster than any other game.

Most Underwhelming Attraction:  Miracle Mile Shops rainstorm

In the Miracle Mile mall at Planet Hollywood, every hour there's an artificial rainstorm with thunder, lightning, and fog.  It's so unimpressive that I didn't even include it in my list of 100 free things to see in Vegas.

Worst Months to Visit Vegas:  July and August

With average high temps of 102-104°F, you'll bake.  (However, because of that, August is the cheapest month for hotel rooms.) (Expedia)

Worst Days to Visit:  Weekends

Hotel rates are often three times higher on weekends, and crowds mean that you'll wait in line for everything.

Worst Transportation:  The Monorail

It would have been great had it run up and down the Strip, but it doesn't.  It's behind the casinos, so it's a pretty long walk to the stations.

Worst Restaurant Name

This is a combination Chinese / sushi bar in New York New York.  I don't know what it means in Chinese, but in Japanese, it's the child's word for penis (e.g., "peepee").  I asked the (Japanese) sushi chef who came up with the name, and he laughed and said, "Not me!"  (はい、僕は日本語を勉強しましたよ。)

Biggest Annoyance:  Tie

It's hard to pick just one.

1. Smoking.  All casinos except Park MGM allow smoking, even though the overwhelming majority of casino patrons don't smoke.
2. Sexual Commodification.  It's everywhere and you can't avoid seeing it.
3. Crime.  Compared to the rest of the U.S., in Vegas rape and vehicle theft is twice as common, robbery 56% higher, and burglary 88% higher.

Our field correspondent, JohnnyQ, offers his own annoyances:

1. Pornslappers, the people on the sidewalk who aggressively hand out the ads for prostitution.
2. Pedestrians who cross against the signal.  Besides being dangerous, rude, and irresponsible, when they do it en masse (as is common), they block vehicles from crossing legally.
3. Groups of tourists who stand in a circle, blocking an entire passageway.

Worst Graffitti

Here's some badly misspelled graffiti near the Virgin casino.  I added my own comment under it.

Worst Sale

At the CVS on the south strip.  Calculate your savings.

Biggest Scam:  Timeshares

A timeshare is a luxury condo that you own collectively with other people, with each of you owning it for a week or two per year.  The idea is that for about what you'd pay for a hotel, you can have a much larger space, with a separate bedroom and a kitchen.  The reality is:

1. It's usually a horrible deal.  Timeshares are insanely overpriced.
2. They're inconvenient.  You have to schedule your stay well ahead of time, and there might not be availability.
3. While you can trade your week for a week in another location, that often involves hassles and a fee, which obviates the whole promise of saving money, because you don't.
4. The timeshare salespeople are all over Vegas, trying to hit you up with their telltale mating call, "How long are you guys in town for?"  That's because if you're leaving the next day, you can't go to their sales presentation.
5. They promise the sales presentation will be only 90 minutes, but they lie.  It will be closer to three hours.

Worst misuse of quotation marks

From the Western Casino, back when it was still around.

The Western was my absolute favorite casino, because it was so ridiculous in so many ways.  This is one of them.