Baccarat and Las Vegas Off-Mid Strip & EZ Bac

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Well, I thought I would post a bit about a couple of places off-strip.  There has been some talk lately on the board here about EZ Baccarat and the mid-strip places.  All of the places listed below will have plenty of EZ Bac tables. 

I posted in that thread as to my opinion and tastes somewhat.  EZ Baccarat has been resisted by many of the larger properties mid-strip for various reasons, mostly because of the lack of commission realized from the EZ Baccarat version of the game.  I am not going into the merits of that here.

Mid-Strip is fine, but once you realize you can easily get sucked in, live the lifestyle of someone you are not, spend more time then you really know you should at the tables or in Vegas, etc., etc., etc., get real.  Enjoy Vegas for being a great place with tons of options and the ability to lead a normal vacation, gaming experience and day-to-day extended get away gambling and so on.  The aura, atmosphere, dealers, pit people, other players, etc., are a different bred and much more realistic than playing at the huge mid-strip casino properties. Most off-strip casinos have a $5k limit or perhaps a $3k limit per hand.  Anywhere from $10 to $25 min. or so.  Same at 'The D' downtown, etc. Palace Station will entertain higher limits depending on front money or credit lines.  Red Rock has a $10K/Max limit off the street as The Tropicana does also.   

Probably the single best way to describe what I am trying to convey, is Disney World as compared to a pretty good all around Family Entertainment Center for the kids.  My kids have been to Disney World down in Florida, sure and $10,000.00 later after the week, they have more fun and laughter and fulfillment at the local Family Entertainment Centers with the arcades, the snacks, the laser tag, the bounce house, the bumper cars and the bowling.  Around $150 will cover all three of them all day.   

I do like both versions, especially with the right players I still would prefer regular commissioned baccarat over EZ Bac.  Anyway, I received a PM and someone wanted some hints on other non-strip places to play at.  So here goes.

Palace Station.  Just north of the mid-strip on the west side of the I-15 interstate.  This is probably the number #1 heaviest played casino with Baccarat by Asians and others.  The Oyster Bar there is great!  They have some decent food without the celebrity chef fancy restaurants.  Their steakhouse is pretty decent BTW.  It is super close to the strip, off-strip without it being in the suburbs.  Part of Station casinos as well. 

Gold Coast.  Again off-strip but not far away with numerous places surrounding it.  In a sense a bit down-graded and crude from Palace Station, lots of smoke, lots of Asians, lots of continuous action.  I have never stayed at their property, but I know others that have.  Decent place, not high line, just lots of action.  West side of the strip out on West Flamingo, The Rio and The Palms are both adjacent to it.  This is just west of the rear of Caesar's Palace if you know where that is and of course across the I-15 interstate. 

Tropicana on the lower strip and Red Rock Resort out 10 miles west at the Red Rock Canyon side of Vegas.  Both have a couple of tables of baccarat with either $50/100 to $10k limits in their high limit small rooms.  Red Rock used to have a couple or 3 mini on the main floor with $25/$5k limits.  Both are great properties but not mid-strip. Also, The D downtown, one bac table in the high limit section up top.  $25-100 Min to $5/Max.  It is downtown, loud, rowdy, and lots of Jerry Springer action.  Lots of cops, lots of arrests, lots of females flashing their breasts and panties, lots of drunk fights, etc.  Fun at times.  If you are a 'head in your hand' type of player, stay away from downtown.

Sunset Station. A sister property to Palace Station and pretty good bac action most of the time.  What I like about Sunset Station is, it is away from the strip. Straight out Sunset Road on West Sunset.  Not on the west side of Vegas toward Red Rock Canyon, but it actually sits in the city of Henderson.  Which is East/Southeast of the Vegas Airport.  The road on the southern side of the Vegas Airport is Sunset.  Take that all the way east until it turns into West Sunset, the casino property will be on your right side, Southside of Sunset Road.  Directly across the street from the casino is The Galleria Sunset mall and shopping area, probably 100-150 stores and much more if you count the immediate surrounding area.  The whole area around Sunset Station Casino is commercial and lots of 'normal' stuff to do if you step outside the casino.  Unlike the strip which is all overpriced, abnormal and touristy. They have an IMAX theatre right there as well.  And, they have those huge leather recliners that you can actually fall asleep in!!!  Seriously, they are bad!  But, I like the property cause if I won and want to take a complete day off of gaming, I can literally walk everywhere around and spend a whole day into the night for like $100.00.  Like I said, 'normal'.  You have IHop, Denny's, Perkin's, as well as all your other fast food places and best of all, there are about 20 regular family places around it, like Mexican, Italian and there is a off-the-hook place that has steak burgers and frozen deserts that are the type you keep eating after you are full.  The name of the place is Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, it is directly south of the property on Warm Springs Road.  The absolute best part of all of this is, if you are staying there for several days or a week, you can go all around the place and enjoy all kinds of food instead of eating that 'casino' type of food.  I always have liked restaurants outside of the casino properties.   

I just really don't like the mid-strip any longer.  Sure I will pop in a place or two or go to the mall attached to Planet Hollywood.  But, if at Sunset Station, I would also go straight west to the strip and go to Town Square Las Vegas.  It is another conglomeration of shops and restaurants.  It is right at the Interstate 15 and the strip, just south of the Airport.   

Those are the places off the top of my head I was thinking about.