These are all the Las Vegas hotels we can think of after three cocktails. Our site is still fairly new, but give us some time and all the hotel information you’ll ever need will be right here. Thus making it “vital.” In quotation marks. All photos by the incomparably modest Scott Roeben.
The Strip
- Aria
Aria’s digital marquee is 250 feet tall and 65 feet wide. Although, when it’s wearing horizontal stripes, it looks much thinner.
- Bally’s
Bally’s was originally MGM Grand.
- Bellagio
The lobby of Bellagio has more than 2,000 hand-blown flowers by artist Dale Chihuly.
- Caesars Palace
In 1967, daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace on a motorcycle. It was an epic fail.
- Casino Royale
The actual name is Best Western Plus Casino Royale, but nobody calls it that.
- Circus Circus
Circus Circus has the only RV park on The Strip.
- Cosmopolitan
The Cosmo opened in 2010 and has nearly 3,000 rooms.
- The Cromwell
The Cromwell was formerly Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, and before that, Barbary Coast.
- Delano Las Vegas
Delano used to be The Hotel.
- Encore
When gambling began at Encore, the song playing in the casino was “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.”
- Excalibur
When it opened in 1990, Excalibur was the largest hotel in the world.
- Flamingo
Two words: Bugsy Siegel. That didn’t end well.
- Four Seasons
The Four Seasons has its own entrance, but its rooms occupy the top five floors of Mandalay Bay.
- Harrah’s Las Vegas
Harrah’s Las Vegas was originally called the Holiday Casino.
- Linq Hotel & Casino
Linq Hotel was formerly The Quad, before that it was Imperial Palace. Originally, it was the Flamingo Capri. Identity crisis!
- Luxor
The Luxor’s pyramid is 30 stories tall.
- Mandalay Bay
Mandalay Bay sits on the site once occupied by the Hacienda.
- MGM Grand
MGM Grand is the second largest hotel in the world. The largest hotel in the world is the Izmailovo Hotel, in Moscow.
- Mirage
The windows of The Mirage are gold, from actual gold dust used in the tinting process.
- New York-New York
The roller coaster at New York-New York reaches speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour.
- Palazzo
The Palazzo is the sister hotel of The Venetian. You can tell it’s a sister because it’s always borrowing The Venetian’s sweaters.
- Paris
The Paris boasts a half scale Eiffel Tower replica and a two-thirds scale Arc de Triomphe.
- Park MGM
Park MGM used to be Monte Carlo. Back when Las Vegas made sense.
- Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood was previously The Aladdin.
- Riviera (Closed on May 4, 2015)
Harpo Marx and Gummo Marx were once part owners of The Riviera.
- SLS Las Vegas
SLS Las Vegas, formerly Sahara, opened August 23, 2014. One tower of SLS Las Vegas is now W Las Vegas, a boutique hotel-within-a-hotel.
- The Stratosphere
The Stratosphere is always happy to see you.
- Treasure Island
In 2003, Treasure Island decided to move toward more adult amenities. The hotel’s free pirate battle, “Buckaneer Bay,” was replaced with “Sirens’ Cove,” featuring the scantily-clad Sirens of TI.
- Tropicana
In “Diamonds Are Forever,” James Bond stayed at the Trop.
- Venetian
The Venetian stands on the site of the former Sands hotel.
- Wynn
The Wynn holds the distinction of being the first high-rise to have its windows cleaned by an automatic washing system.
Just Off The Strip
- Gold Coast
The Gold Coast was the first hotel in Las Vegas to have a movie theater. It’s a mile west of The Strip.
- Hard Rock
Nicholas Cage crashed through the Hard Rock’s famed guitar in “Con Air.”
- Hooters
Hooters opened as a Howard Johnson Hotel, and has also been named the Paradise, the Polynesian Paradise, the Treasury Hotel and Hotel San Remo.
- M Resort
M Resort is about 15 minutes south of The Strip, and it smells incredible.
- The Orleans
The Orleans hosted the final concert performance of comedian George Carlin, in 2008.
- Palace Station
Palace Station was first called, simply, The Casino.
- Palms
The Palms was the location of “The Real World: Las Vegas.” Hence the city’s disinfectant shortage in 2002.
- Rio
The Rio’s wine cellar has more than 50,000 bottles.
- Silver Sevens
Until recently, Silver Sevens was Terrible’s. It’s a better name.
- Westgate Las Vegas
Westgate used to be LVH, Las Vegas Hilton and The International.
- Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West was originally called the King 8 Hotel.
Downtown
- Binion’s
Binion’s was the first casino in Las Vegas to install carpeting.
- California
A large percentage of the California’s customers are from Hawaii.
- The D
Before it was The D, it was Fitzgerald’s.
- Downtown Grand
Downtown Grand was formerly the Lady Luck.
- El Cortez
El Cortez has been in operation since 1941. You can have food delivered to your slot machine.
- Four Queens
Four Queens was named after one of its builder’s daughters: Faith, Hope, Benita, and Michele.
- Fremont
When it was built in 1956, the Fremont was the tallest building in the state of Nevada.
- Golden Gate
The Golden Gate opened in 1906.
- Golden Nugget
The Golden Nugget was once featured in a Fox reality series, “The Casino.”
- Main Street Station
Ask about the piece of the Berlin Wall in the men’s restroom. No, seriously.
- The Plaza
The Plaza was originally named Union Plaza.
And, no, hotels without casinos don’t count. Why? You have much to learn about Las Vegas, grasshopper.
Great photos. You hit almost all of the hotels at their best points.
Appreciate it.
One of us must have early stage dementia as I would swear it is Bellagio, not Monte Carlo, that sits on the site of the former Dunes.
According to Wikipedia, you are technically correct, but the Monte Carlo sits on 44 acres of the former Dunes golf course. As mentioned above, the Monte Carlo started life as the Grand Victoria…and is now the Park MGM.
No Dementia, you are correct!
Any tips on securing a great(who am I kidding) cheap rate at any hotels on the strip?
Have stayed the Royale and it was GREAT!!!! deal was SWEET and rooms super clean. Access to and from the strip to your door was amazing. I would stay there again over the mirage and trop cause they do not have a resort fee
Have stayed at Boulder Station(on a business trip, not my choice), Tropicana once and Stratosphere twice(well, will be twice come November!)
The Tropicana is just too sterile. They even painted the chapel where we were married in 1995 white.
Regarding the current MGM, you forgot to mention that it was originally the Marina (smaller, but the Marina structure is part of the MGM. They didn’t demolish it).
I liked the original lion better.
No mention of The Las Vegas Club?
My wife I just got back from Las Vegas March 22/2018. This was our first trip to Vegas and we had a lot fun!!!! We stayed at the Stratosphere and found the staff very polite and our room was clean. The only down fall was the smell of cigarette smoke through out the casino and hall ways. We woke up every morning pretty stuffed up but not the end of the world. We would give 3 stars out of 5. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3ac13de66b7d561d1f8d110d2d8bc76fe5156f556f6e96cc80332d86eb407e04.jpg
To everyone who goes to Las Vegas only to complain about smokers and cigarettes, here is a suggestion; Next time go on a vacation to Salt Lake City, it might be more to your liking.
Here’s a thought: Treat casinos like other public indoor spaces. Ban smoking for the sake of employees and other customers. Cigar smokers get Tasers.
And before the D was Fitzgerald’s, it was the Sundance, built from the ground up in 1980. I remember buying a pair of boots at Smith & Chandler’s western wear in that block in the mid-1970s. IIRC, an adult theater was also located nearby, showing “Deep Throat” and “Devil in Miss Jones” continuously, 24-7-365.
Due to mob/management/skimming issues, Sundance became Fitzgerald’s in 1987. When we stayed there in the 90s, the hallways and rooms were still earth-tones in a desert theme, in contrast to the green/Irish/Leprechaun treatment outside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_D_Las_Vegas
Circa is the first new ground-up downtown hotel to be built since then. I probably won’t see it up close because I refuse to pay for parking.
I’m more of a South Point man myself but still diggin the list 😛
3/21/19. Just found your site!!! Totally legit stuff that I love to hear about Vegas.
First, what the hell is up with Cantors selling out but allowing the new owners to keep their name and totally trashing their menu and wonderful food??
Any idea how to keep abreast of slot tournaments throughout the year with out being on all the casinos mailing list?
Coming back out to Vegas for memorial week holiday, just wish Fremont Street was offering up some musical talent at that time.
Keep up the great work
Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, Canter’s was a disaster. These were licensed outlets (another at Tivoli), and the rumor is racked up tons of debt and just went south. Sorry, can’t help with the slot tournament thing.
Can you name the four (4) original Las Vegas Strip Hotel Casino’s, that stand today, without a name change?