Tag: Planet Hollywood

Caesars Las Vegas Hotel Rooms Ranked (2017 Update)

linqroom

 

Caesars Entertainment has a variety of room styles in every Las Vegas hotel. In addition to room styles, many hotels have multiple towers. The wrong hotel room can make for a bad trip.

Hopefully, this brief overview of the rooms and casino experience help you choose the best casino-resort to stay in Las Vegas. Here are my rankings for the different Caesars hotel rooms in Las Vegas.

  1. Caesars Palace – Just about all of the hotel rooms have been renovated in the past 5 years. Stay in Augustus or Octavius is you want to be away from the casino. The Julius Tower puts you right in the middle of the casino. The Palace Tower is closest to the pools. Augustus is my personal favorite at this massive casino.
  2. The Cromwell – The rooms are small but look good and functional. The views aren’t great but ask for a strip view. The other view is looking at the wall of the Flamingo hotel. Overall, the boutique hotel and casino is small but probably my favorite in the Caesars chain. There’s just a fun vibe here.
  3. The Linq – The rooms are tiny but well put together. The small rooms don’t feel as claustrophobic as you might think. The clean rooms, lively and large casino, and center strip location make this one of the best bargain hotels on the Vegas Strip. Upgrade to a suite for a separate bedroom and living room.
  4. Planet Hollywood – All of the rooms were updated this year. The room updates are bland and they no longer have the movie memorabilia many people loved. The Miracle Mile Shops give lots of dining options without going outside. The casino is always a party when the sun goes down. The rooms are fine but this is an especially fun place to eat, drink, and gamble.
  5. Flamingo – I like the Go rooms almost as much as I hate this casino. I’m in the minority with my feelings on the Flamingo but walking into this casino makes me itch. If you must stay here, choose the Go room or one of the newly renovated rooms.
  6. Bally’s – The Jubilee tower rooms are the high-end of average prices in Las Vegas. They’re nice for the price and the only real option if you’re staying at Bally’s. The oldest rooms will finally receive an update in 2018. This casino is a good option for low rollers on the Vegas Strip.
  7. Paris – Paris is one of the highest ranking hotels in the hierarchy of Caesars Las Vegas properties. I don’t think it’s as great as they do. Caesars Entertainment renovated many of the hotel rooms in 2017. If you’re staying here choose a Burgundy room.
  8. Harrah’s – Almost all of the hotel rooms at the casino have been or will be renovated. The Valley Tower rooms have all received a makeover. The property is the personification of mediocre. Everything is average but nothing is amazing. That said, the location is great if you want a value property near the center-north end of the Vegas Strip.
  9. Rio – The lone Caesars property off the Vegas Strip has all suites. The casino feels old and isolated. That said, it’s cheap for a large room. This is a good option for groups just looking for a cheap place to crash.

Caesars Entertainment is currently offering their Cyber Sale with rates starting at $29 (+ fees) or 25% off. Check the rates even if you already have a reservation. If they’re lower than you paid, Caesars will typically match prices.

Best Cheap Blackjack On The Vegas Strip

Cheap Blackjack Cards
Blackjack

There are about as many good cheap blackjack games on the Vegas Strip as you might have expected. In other words, there aren’t many. Where you do find good cheap blackjack you should expect that there are only one or two of these tables at most of the casinos listed below. They should be easy to spot since you’ll probably see a large crowd at these tables so you might have to wait for a seat.

For simplicity, I’m using $15 as the cut off for cheap blackjack and just listing the house edge of the games. I’m also listing the casinos alphabetically, and not by the smallest house edge. You can see the full survey here. The list is great and has information on all blackjack at every casino in Las Vegas.

Bally’s – House Edge: 0.57
Caesars Palace – House Edge: 0.57
The Cromwell – House Edge: 0.57
Excalibur – House Edge: 0.66
Flamingo (and Margaritaville) – House Edge: 0.57
The Linq – House Edge: 0.57
Harrah’s – House Edge: 0.55
New York – New York – House Edge: 0.48
Paris – House Edge: 0.57
Planet Hollywood – House Edge: 0.57
SLS Las Vegas – House Edge: 0.48
Treasure Island – House Edge: 0.46 and 0.48
Tropicana – House Edge: 0.57

Updated: March 10, 2017

Johnny Football Now A Total Rewards Member

Johnny Manziel Playing Blackjack At Hard Rock Las Vegas
Johnny Manziel Playing Blackjack At Hard Rock

Ahhhh…Jonny Football. He loves Vegas and Vegas loves him.

On previous visits to Vegas, Jonny Manziel has been spotted playing low limits blackjack and in a men’s room with a rolled up dollar bill at the Hard Rock. It seems as though Johnny Football has moved on from the Hard Rock.

Last weekend Manziel was spotted at a new casino. Multiple reports say that Johnny Football was drinking and playing blackjack at Planet Hollywood.

There’s no photographic evidence showing that Manziel was at Planet Hollywood but a tweet says he was playing blackjack and using his Total Rewards players club card.

It doesn’t seem as though most athletes need or use a players club card but Johnny Football isn’t most athletes. If he continued his low rolling ways than Johnny Manziel is probably a lower level Total Rewards member and has to pay resort fees on his comp’d room. 

Furthermore, his $10-$15 hands of blackjack may not even be rated by Total Rewards. Blackjack players might be most interested to know that Johnny Football is most likely still playing 6:5 blackjack.

Alas, there’s no photographic proof that Johnny Football was actually in Vegas this weekend. Did he attend Britney Spears‘ first show of the new year? I guess we’ll never really know if he was in Vegas flashing his Total Rewards Gold Card around.

Please, Johnny Football, never change.

Photo – TMZ Sports

Update: Check this out if you’re amused by the entire Johnny Football in Vegas story.

Caesars 25% Off Cyber Week Sale In Las Vegas

Caesar from Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Is This The Real Caesars Palace?

Caesars Cyber Week traditionally offers their best sale prices of the year. Links and details for each hotel are below. This year Caesars is adding additional 5% off for Cyber Monday.

Details from Caesars: The Year’s Biggest Hotel Savings Are Here! Take advantage of Caesars Entertainment’s limited time-only Cyber Sale. From the iconic Caesars Palace to value rates at lively Harrah’s, warm up your winter with these hotel room discounts. Rates as low as $30! Book Today.

Links to each hotel are below:

Cyber Monday 11/30 Only
Additional 5% off these rates

Amazon Black Friday deals

*Reminder, discounts don’t apply to resort fees.

James Corden Take a Break: Planet Hollywood

James Corden at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
Dealing poker at Planet Hollywood

James Corden just recorded a “Take a Break” segment on the Late Late Show at Planet Hollywood.

He joins the housekeeping staff for a pillow fight, deals a little poker, works the taxi line and finishes the night filling in as a bellman.

Enjoy!

Photo: Hollywood Reporter

Marriott To Buy Starwood and Invades the Vegas Strip

Marriott
Marriott

Marriott announced that they will be buying Starwood Hotels this morning. This comes on the heels of Starwood announcing that SLS Las Vegas will be a part of their Tribute Collection last week (see article on Travel Zork). Part of the SLS connection is that Starwood would be changing the Lux tower at SLS into W Las Vegas.

A Starwood sale wasn’t a secret but Hyatt was becoming the favorite to buy them (see article on Travel Zork). This deal was made because most of Marriott’s rooms before the purchase were in the United States. About 2/3rds of Starwood hotel rooms are outside of the United States. Marriott now has 1.1 million hotel rooms around the world.

Back to Vegas.

Starwood’s biggest connection with Vegas is through its current affiliation with Caesars Entertainment. The SLS program will begin in December and W Las Vegas will open mid-late 2016. Marriott’s current Vegas Strip affiliation is with the Cosmopolitan. Since the Cosmo was sold last year it’s been rumored that they will eventually join Hilton in some way.

Might the Cosmopolitan become a Starwood hotel?  I know at least one person that will lose his mind if that happens.

Details on the merger of the programs haven’t been released yet. The press release is more financially driven. It’s possible, but unlikely, that Starwood and Marriott will remain separate brands that would keep their individual loyalty programs.

The deal isn’t expected to be completed until sometime in 2016. Unless relationships change these are the hotels on the Vegas Strip that will become Marriott hotels:

  • Bally’s
  • Caesars Palace
  • Cosmopolitan
  • The Cromwell
  • Flamingo
  • Harrah’s
  • The Linq
  • Paris
  • Planet Hollywood
  • Rio
  • SLS Las Vegas 
  • W Las Vegas

Marriott would be the hotel partner for almost half of the hotels on the Vegas Strip (12 of 26 or so). That’s kind of a big deal. Look forward to more information to follow next year.

PS: Starwood Hotels and Starwood Capital are not the same company. This old rumor is probably just be a coincidence.

Caesars Semi-Annual Sale In Las Vegas

Caesars Semi-Annual Sale
Caesars Semi-Annual Sale

Caesars semi-annual sales usually offer good prices on Vegas hotel rooms – especially if you don’t have a higher tier status with Total Rewards.

Here are links and approximate discounted prices (deepest discounts are for weekdays) for the Caesars Las Vegas hotels. The sale extends to Atlantic City and other markets if you’re looking to go elsewhere.

The Linq Las Vegas – Rates starting at $55/night
Bally’s Las Vegas – Rates starting at $45/night
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas – Rates starting at $50/night
Flamingo Las Vegas – Rates starting at $40/night
Harrah’s Las Vegas – Rates starting at $35/night
Rio Las Vegas – Rates starting at $35/night
Paris Las Vegas – Rates starting at $75/night
Caesars Palace Las Vegas – Rates starting at $90
Cromwell Las Vegas – Rates starting at $105/night

Thanks To Britney Spears, Caesars May Finally Go Broke

New Britney Spears
That’s Not The Britney Spears I Saw At Planet Hollywood

Sure, she’s never been ugly but my fandom for Britney Spears has never really been about her looks. Her name is attached to awesome jams and that’s what does it for me.

For better or worse (see my thoughts on Vegas Chatter) Britney Spears is now a fixture in Vegas with her “Piece of Me” show (original set list) at Planet Hollywood. Her new look may be what it finally takes to send Caesars Entertainment into bankruptcy. Let me explain.

It’s no secret that Caesars Entertainment is strapped for cash and on the brink of bankruptcy. There’s news about this just about every day. With Britney’s new look/face/abs(?) Caesars will have to change all of their marketing materials for the show. That’s everything from photo shoots that will change all print ads, billboards and press photos.

These things don’t come cheaply when you’re dealing with star like Britney Spears. I’m only half serious here. I know this won’t break the chapter 11 camel’s back but it certainly won’t help.

On a related note, my dude @Dribbleglass put a name to #NewBritney’s new face for me.

Dribbleglass on Twitter

@MeltzVegas Scandal: Britney Spears Steals Heidi Klum’s Face.

Photo – BuzzFeed http://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/pretty-sure-thats-not-britney-bitch?bftw=main

Coffee Tip: Order A Grande In A Venti Cup

Coffee Tip: Get a grande in a venti cup
Order a grande in a venti cup

I’m going to pass on one of the best tips I ever received in Vegas. I’ll never forget the moment I learned about getting a medium coffee (Grande) in a large coffee (Venti) cup. As an avid coffee drinker this changed my life forever. I even used this tip today!

I was wandering around the casino at Planet Hollywood way too late one night trying to drink a cup of coffee. As I was spilling the hot coffee I walked into a Starbucks employee who stopped to pass on a great coffee tip that I’ll never forget.

He said that I should order a Grande coffee in a Venti cup. 

The next cup of hot coffee I had that weekend was ordered that way and I’ve never looked back. In fact, I ordered my coffee that was this morning as I type this from a casino.

The extra room almost makes the cups stumble or wobble proof. Likewise you could also ask for extra room in your large coffee but why not save a few pennies?

May your future visits to the casino be without any burns from your coffee!

Photo: Flickr

PS: This is also a great tip for drinking hot coffee in your car.

Planet Hollywood Feeling The Britney Spears Effect To The Tune Of $20 Million

Britney Spears "Piece of Me"
Britney Spears “Piece of Me”

If you’ve been reading any of my work over the past few years you know that I like Britney Spears a bit too much. We go back to the swamps of New Jersey just like my ill-fated love for the New York Jets.

Anyway, I loved the “Piece of Me” show at Planet Hollywood (see my review on Vegas Chatter) and I’m happy to see it succeed. Despite the avalanche of negative reviews the shows are packed and Britney Spears is making bank for Planet Hollywood.

she’s boosted the hotel-casino’s annual operating earnings by about $20 million. Now we understand why the first run of her contract ending next year was renewed for an additional two years.

Having seen Britney a couple of times before “Piece of Me” I knew not to expect much (if any) singing and lazy dancing. I did expect to here some awesome JAMS (here’s a link to the original setlist on spotify that I’m listening to right now).

I didn’t expect such a great audio-visual experience at the Axis Theater. It really is a great theater that would be great for a band with progressive instrumentation like Tool.

I passed up an opportunity to see Britney a couple of weeks ago because I know the show isn’t going anywhere. I will definitely see “Piece of Me”, or a new version of the show, but probably won’t drop $100+ for the show that’s a live version of that spotify playlist.