I usually stay at or make a visit to the new casino hotels as they open up along the Strip.

And then I'll return a few years later to see what changes have been made.

Some of those changes are for the better while others are questionable.

Here are a few examples of what I'm thinking of. Please feel free to add a few of your own.

Good changes:

Monte Carlo interior - It appears that this place has made major changes for the better due to its association / closeness / connection with the property next door - The City Center. And the recently added food court makes it easy and affordable for all those kind folks in the Vadara and the Aria looking for an inexpensive place to have a quick meal without hocking the family kids.

I can't say what they did to the casino floor and its immediate surroundings, but it looks a heck of a lot better now than it did in years past.


Hard Rock - More of an addition than a change but definitely worth mentioning anyway. The pool area is definitely the finest in Las Vegas and should be on your "must see' list. The new casino addition is definitely attractive but in the ultra modern style which I never do feel too comfortable in.

The Luxor - I think tat the Luxor used the same "remodeling firm" that the Monte Carlo did in the upgrading of their casino floor. Both feel somewhat similar with those restaurants around the casino 'edges'.

Bad changes:

The Monte Carlo - exterior. A place called Diablo's was recently 'attached' to the south side of the MC along the Strip and there was absolutely no thought given to making it somewhat attractive or fitting with the existing MC architecture. It a diabolical mess to look at.

NY, NY - Enter the casino and it's just not the same 'no more'! They removed that Central Park like feeling and replaced it with a big, ugly circular bar in the center and it looks like one heck of a mess as a result.

TI - exterior - The lake. What used to look like a picturesque pirate themed lake-side village now appears to be a nightclub behind a curtain. The whole place has lost it's original color and appeal. Someone took the Technicolor out.

Any more?

I used to LOVE NYNY. Now it has absolutely no distinction and you could be anywhere - it's just a generic casino. It's such a shame.

I used to enjoy the Keno lounge at Bellagio - not that I played Keno very much but it was a nice open space with comfortable leather chairs. I used to get coffee and then relaxed in the Keno lounge where I would lose a few bucks every couple of minutes. The space is now half high-limit table games (which is usually empty) and half slot machines.

OMG, Mike! I totally forgot about the Keno lounge at Bellagio (back toward the buffet, right?) ... now, you can play a ticket while eating in the buffet, but you have to go to a tiny booth in the back of the coffee shop to collect<g> ... not an improvement IMHO!

I like the new look at the Golden Nugget (Rush Tower). It didn't really add a lot of room to the casino but it has a nice look to it and that fish tank is attractive.

But for some unknown reason, I'm a lighting freak and prefer to fine dine in restaurants with subdued lighting and the Chart House restaurant in the Rush Tower
check in area doesn't provide that at all.

Steve Wynn knows how to light a place very well. I wonder who does that on his behalf and what that job is called?

Lighting engineer??

MIKE, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thinks that NY,NY has hit the skids within the casino area. I now get depressed when I have to go in there.

Will - what's really depressing about NYNY is that there's NOT ONE Triple Play VP machine at a 25 cent denomination. It's all dollars and above. Triple Play is my game and although I play dollars sometimes, I like the opportunity to play quarters if my luck is bad.

Are you talking about recent redesigns or since new or what?

I go to Jerry's Nugget whenever I'm in the neighborhood. It's so much better than it was many years ago. The coffee shop is actually kinda nice.

The back of the Imperial Palace, since the monorail station is much nicer than it was since it looked like the worst bus station west of the Mississippi. It's not particularly user friendly as escalators seem to go everywhere except where you want to go. It looks very modern and the wood is easy on the eyes.

I think the Sahara did a pretty good job of remodeling the casino and still keeping the same politically incorrect theme. The NASCAR side needs an extreme make over though.

Harrah's gets bad marks for the being the same poor casino it's been since it came street side. I can't wait to see how they destroy Planet Hollywood.

I don't know what to say about the Riviera. The remodeled it about 10 years ago with the theme to keep it "classic". I do like the classic theme. Everyone says it's the next to go away. Then everyone will complain that Las Vegas does not preserve it's history. I wouldn't stay there. I dread going there for show. But I do like a walk through every once in a while.

I've never really liked the Golden Nugget since they sold out to those reality show guys. Steve Wynn had it sparkling white and gold. It had class back then. Now it has tourist appeal.

While we're on the subject, you might as well check out City Center from head to toe because I think it has major changes coming.

Rather than hijack Vickie's thread with City Center ramblings, I think traffic was just fine when the Boardwalk was there. Traffic only became a headache when construction started. Now that construction is down to a minimal crawl, traffic no the strip is only returning to normal. Also of note, I only advised Vickie on art and photo ops.

JMT, I agree with you completely (with one single exception). It's almost like I had written your input myself. - Brilliant minds must think alike - or something like that,

My one exception was your remembrance of the Strip traffic prior to the days when CC first started.

I can actually recall being stalled in traffic on the Strip between Tropicana and Flamingo for 45 minutes at a time. It was so bad that the city had to hire extra security guy on those bikes to ride up and down those traffic stalls and ask irritated drivers not to get out of their cars and urinate on the street.

And I've seen that happen many more times than once during the peak traffic hours, but it doesn't appear to be a problem any longer.

Maybe there are just fewer cars on the Strip now-a-days.

And only a slight disagreement with you about the Golden Nugget. I think it looks 'swell' now-a-days even with Mr Wynn's absence, But I can sort of remember it when they covered the floor with saw-dust and Mickey Rooney stood on stage and complained about having too many wives attempting to get a laugh.

You should have seen it then.

But, come to think of it, maybe I did see Mickey in Reno where there never has been a traffic problem unless the Boy Scout parade was passing through.

I've been wrong much of my life and not ashamed to admit it. I just don't recall that traffic nightmare on the southbound side of the strip. The northbound side has had it's share of problems due to pedestrian traffic blocking driveways and the right lane must turn right before Harmon. The only things I remember on the southbound side that are gone now were the Boardwalk, that country and western place, several novelty shops, and a helicopter pad.

No doubt that the Nugget looks "swell". If someone would have asked for my opinion, I would have said to make Fitzgeralds, or Fremont, or the Las Vegas Club swell, and leave the Golden Nugget classy. Just my opinion.