OK so my friends and I hit the Western to check out the interesting characters that hang out at the Western as well as the low limits. They actually have a players club at the Western, however it is only available to the locals. We went up to the counter that held the 'prizes' for the players club and noticed that one of the comps was a 6-pack of Coors silos (40 oz.). LOL how great is it that a players club has a 6 pack of Coors heavy as one of the prizes...only at the Western.

Not sure how they tagged me as 'not a local'. Maybe I look classier thatn I think.

If this hotel had been located anywhere closer to The Strip I fear it would have been wrecking ball fodder many years ago. Thankfully however, it is located in what we affectionately referred to as Crack City. The Western is indeed located in a very 'average' part of town and I don't imagine most tourists would even know of it's existence as few would have reason to venture down this part of Freemont Street. In fact the only 'experience' we got around this part of town was a never ending barrage of aggressive beggars and police arrests which at first were a novelty in themselves but after the fifth time, you see one crack addict getting arrested, you've seen them all.

Grunge is the first word that springs to mind when entering this casino, I have never stayed at the hotel so it would be unfair to assume that the rooms replicate the squalor of the gaming area. Despite the lack of any fan fair this is actually a great place to idle a few hours away. The penny slot machines are fairly loose so your dollars go alot further that they would in any of the other casinos. If Las Vegas has the equivialent to an elephants graveyard this is it. Almost everything appears old and dirty, like even the furniture has come here to die.In particular is it's clientel who appear to be border line homeless alcoholics, the locals will be the ones who are hitting you up for money.

The cocktail waitresses (that is if you regard a 40 oz can of beer as a cocktail) all looked like they had lived very hard lives, perhaps they had once been showgirls back in the good old days because all of them looked as though they had once been very attractive at one time. As I am hardly a Greek Adonis myself, mere shallow observations such as these are trivial as the staff were generally freindly and that's what counts. We even placed a tentative bet on which of the two bums would come off best in a knife fight that was about to erupt over a slot machine. What can I say, we just got caught up in the gambling ambience of it all, it is Vegas after all.

If you have an hour or so up your sleeve you should turn right instead of left at Freemont and walk a few blocks down to the Western. It is as far removed from the glitz and glamour of the new monstrosities as one could imagine which is exactly what gives it it's charm.

On a serious note, the area can be quite dangerous, especially after dark so travel in a group or catch a cab.

After a day of visiting the palaces of excess, what could be better than a stop at the Western? It's the antithesis of everything that Vegas is today but exactly what Vegas used to be. A little dirty...a little dangerous...and a lot of fun.

I played the slots and won continually. Everytime I put money into the machine...within five or so plays...I hit it big (in comparison to the amount I put it). I always cashed out and then went to another machine and did the same thing. It worked every time and I was up about 200 bucks by the time I left. But the machines do not give you tickets or coins. You have to wait for an attendant every time. And I waited from 10-25 minutes for every payout. One was only $9.75 and I waited 15 minutes to get it!

The place was not busy at all but the cocktail waitress were nowhere to be found. I made the mistake of going to the bar and buying long islands and tipping the bartender generously. I never saw the cocktail waitress the rest of the night--probably by the bartenders request. The bartenders were cool though and the huge $8 long islands were VERY potent!

The patrons are mostly locals. I talked to several and though they looked a little rough, they were all nice and harmless. Once I won $95 and a guy immediately came over and began telling his hardluck story. Watch out for these people begging for money--but they will go away if you politely say no.

Overall, it was a hell of a time. But I think alcohol helps.

I now live in Las Vegas but for the last 10 years I've been on many 1 -2 month long gambling binges here. Because I wanted to stretch my bankroll, I probably stayed at the Western a total of 200 nights in my life. The Western used to have a fixed rate (about $25) which didnt jump up on weekends. So I often stayed here on the weekends and then 'upgraded' to The Gold Spike during the week for the same price.


My first week here I couldnt believe it was the same town with the pirate shows, volcanoes and white tigers... I was so intrigued at the people and lifestyles, and was so curious as to how these people existed. And how they got into the situation they were in. These are the people who are 1 step above homeless. Some were mentally ill, and most of the others looked like they were on the verge of being mentally ill.

I remember
my first time playing black jack there. The chips were so worn, you could barely make out the name on them. Although most people were using the dollar slot coins, because the table minimum is only a dollar. I noticed a couple of the old guys there had their chips and coins in their hands. I asked them why dont they just stack them on the table in front of them. They looked at me like I was nuts and said, 'Well, what if someone grabs them and runs off with them?' I said, how often does that happen? The dealer told me about twice a week. The BJ tables we were on were about 15 feet from a big metal roll up door that emptied out to Freemont St. The roulette wheel has 10 cent chips. I've never seen that at any casino anywhere. The dealers dont generally deal it , and make a mistake about every other hand if anyone at the table is betting more than a few chips. Also, winning corner and street bets frequently get swept up with the losers after the dealer marks the number.

Beers are a dollar, but free if you are playing. Ive never seen a casino that served cans of beer until I came here.

The most dangerous area in the whole casino is the restaurant. The menu is all hand written in magic markers. I mean, its been like that for years. How much would it cost to have a regular sign? And it would look so much better. The food is so bad, I wouldnt eat there if I was starving. I disreguarded the warning bells going off in my head as I bellied up to the counter. I thought, how bad could it be? Well, I found out later that night. And the next day.

The slot machines are some of the oldest you will find in Las Vegas. They actually have penny machines which spit out pennies. Can you imagine being the slot mechanic who has to constantly keep going over to get the people's jammed penny back? And they will complain and wait over a penny.

The rooms are kind of clean but they have a funny smell which is a result of the disinfectant they use. Its not pleasant but I got used to it. The odds of your toilet and shower both working properly are about 50%. Better odds than the penny machines for sure.

If you ever make the trip down here, be careful walking the nearby streets after dark, and keep your wallet close to you.