Spent an hour or so in Binion's today to see if they really did/do have a policy of charging $20 for a photo of YOU and the million dollars.

I was told either here or someplace else that you had to have a player's card with so many points on it and then pay $20 to get your picture took!

That sounded kind of rough around the edges to me so I decided to go down and check it out personally.

Here's how it actually works. I tried it and then checked with one of the pit bosses to make sure I understood the "deal" correctly.

On the way into the casino a pretty lady hands you a card inviting you to go to the appropriate spot and have your complimentary picture taken with the million dollars.

SO I went to the appropriate spot and stood beside the money and sure enough, my picture got took and handed to me in a fancy container within 15
seconds.

And I also was asked if I wanted to receive $25 worth of table play for $20.

It was an offer I had to refuse because I was heading in another direction to show off my photo with the million bucks.

The photo lady thanked me politely and said,"Next" and the next guy stood in front of the million bucks to have his photo took.

So on my way out I told the Pit Boss that some of us were a bit confused about this $20 deal and thought that that was the price you had to pay to have your photo took!

He smiled and said that they had some problems with that recently but if you planned to do any gambling in Binion's, it really was a good deal and the "chips" that could only be used at the table games were yours to keep and re-use unless you lost that hand. In other words, you did not lose that bet when you won.

I hope that makes some sense to one and all and I hope I explained it correctly.

I'm one of them old days Binion's fans when it actually was the best place in the world to gamble and today was one of the first times since Mr Binion departed that the old joint appears to be making a comeback.

It's not just a slot joint anymore and it's evident that someone is doing something important to get it back into the shape that Mr Binion worked so hard to initiate.

I wish them all the best in the world in bringing them good old days back to Downtown Fremont Street.

Coming up next - My visit to the new Gold Spike!

I'm glad they changed the rules and have are going retro in looking to the future. It is my understanding that the owner of Binion's also owns the 4 Queens. Did you visit the 4 Queens and how does it compare to Binion's today?

JMT, I am not aware of who owns the 4 Queesns but to me the 4 Queens is still the same as its always been and presently a few steps higher than the current day Binions - Nothing more, nothing less.

The only 4 Queens major changes I've noticed through the years is the disappearance of the bar/lounge with the live entertainment in the background and the removal of the poker "room" up that small flight of stairs now leading to an ice cream counter. (I think that's still there.

I've stayed here many times and have always enjoyed it a lot.

This afternoon we took a walk from the El Cortez and headed west to the Golden Gate. Had intended to get the best sandwich in town at the cafeteria to the rear of the casino but decided to give the Bay City Diner up front a try this time

The Bay City Diner is sort of the coffee shop in the Golden Gate and the meal was good and cheap and worth going back a second time.

I've been playing and dining at the Golden Gate since the days you'd find burros tied up to a post outside on Fremont Street, so it's always a pleasure going back.

Will,
On my last visit (walk through) Binions also had more customers inside then I have seen in quite some time.
It breaks my heart when some of these old time vegas places seem to just waist-away. Harrhs took what it wanted from Binions (world series of Poker) and then cut it loose to die.
Does anyone know how many owners Binions has had since the passing of Benny?

Yes, Lee! I noticed the same thing. It appears that they removed some of the slots and used the empty space to add more Blackjack tables and there were more gamblers in there than usual.

I told one of the Pit Bosses that the place was looking like they were trying to take it back to the days of Mr Binion and he really appreciated that.

I do hope that Fremont Street keeps heading in the right direction.

Big article in one of the local LV weekly papers had a story that the Gay population is showing an interest in the downtown area and in the past that has proven to set a rejuvenation trend.

From what I have seen recently, the Mayor is still doing his best to keep Fremont Street on it's own two legs but during the week it is relatively quiet and it doesn't appear that the new high rise condo apartments across from the El Cortez have been too successful yet. I could be wrong on that though because it was never open while I was there to check it out.

It appears that it is a definite time for a major change but I'm kind of leary as to which direction that change will be heading.

I did stop in the Gold Spike and although it is far from complete, it is a definite improvement and it is great to see that someone other than the Mayor is confident enough to spend some big bucks redeveloping some of those old, closed down casinos one block north fo Fremont Street.

I know this is probably a pipe dream but the one thing that could really rejuvinate downtown would be having the monorail go down there. I know I'd be a lot more inclined to visit if I could just hop on the monorail instead of having to drive and find a place to park down there.

Mike, I don't think anyone would disagree with you about the monorail going as far as Fremont Street, but I think that is out of the question for a long, long time unless it suddenly becomes a profitable enterprise after running to and from the airport. And even that may never become a reality.

As far as parking downtown ..... all the casinos except The Golden Nugget offer free parking for a limited number of hours. Just take your parking ticket to the Cashier's Cage and stamp it yourself.

Or for a buck or two simply give it to the Valet guys.

I've been going downtown since the days you could find donkeys tied up outside the Fremont Street casinos, and I've never had a problem finding an immediate parking space.

Mike,
I think you've hit the nail on the head here.
Downtown needs an easy/cheap way to connect with the strip traffic. Most of the hotel rooms are on the strip, and a cheap easy way to get to and from there to downtown would turn the tide for downtown, I beleive. Taxi fare is something like $20 bucks each way. The buses, arn't that rider friendly, and the drop off spots are less then friendly. With all the drinking and driving penalties, it's not the smartest choice to drive for those that have cars.

I enjoy downtown, but when I'm staying on the strip, I don't visit. That's why we normally split or trip hotel time between the two. Easy transportation to the strip would mean, I'd be willing to stay on the strip longer for my hotel and visit downtown often during my stay.

I'm guessing strip owners do not want anything like this to happen, after all, how much business will be coming the other way?

While liquor laws probably prohibit it, what I think is that the casinos downtown should subsidize a party bus. Something with a lot of glass so people could watch the sights on the strip and most importantly a bar. it would give an incentive to hit the trail downtown and put people in an appropriate gambling mood when they arrive.

Any "party bus" operated by or for downtown casino's would run into several problems. Its not the liquor laws, its the transportation.

That means a lot of palms need to be greased and greased heavily:

The Double Decker Duece is funded by the county and would compete against the party bus.

The Casino's on the strip are not going to allow a bus to enter their property if it means taking their guests away to another casino. They already have that problem with tour buses.

You have cabbies and the limo's to compete against.
If you set one up, you have the Taxi cab/The Safety Authority who is owned and operated by the taxi companies, they will deny any license that is not beneficial to their employers. even when they claim to be impartial....

You have downtown... That is in the city of Las Vegas. You have the Strip that is in the county. So there is that issue.

There is one salvation:
If the Star Trek experience really does open up in the neonopolis. They can run a shuttle much like the Liberace, Harley Davidson, Hard Rock Cafe shuttle.

That is not in direct competition for the casinos