The days when casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offered 99-cent shrimp cocktails to attract customers to their properties are long gone. The same applies to the free midday production shows and the low-level buffet: another way to attract low-level players has largely disappeared.
Resort casinos generally want people to spend money at their restaurants and not fill up on a free meal. The Strip's largest operators, Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International (MGM) They still offer perks to their loyal members, but they have changed over the years.
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You can earn the right to waive the resort fee when staying at either company's properties and may also qualify for free parking. In those cases, rewards are earned specifically for reaching certain levels of the loyalty program.
Both Caesars and MGM also offer free rooms, but whether you can get one depends on how much you've gambled on your previous trips. Someone might get a full suite at Caesars Palace during a slow summer month, but only a basic room at The Flamingo (another Caesars property) during a major event.
The Las Vegas Strip has become a city fueled by world-class music and sports, as well as major events. Gaming, of course, pays a lot of the bills, but a part of that, something that used to be synonymous with the Strip, has largely, but not completely, disappeared.
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Real money slot machines are leaving Las Vegas
When you walked into a Las Vegas casino in the 1990s, you were greeted with a clatter of coins. You could insert dollar bills into the slot machines, but they paid in coins.
It was not uncommon to see someone with a large windfall frantically searching for the plastic cups used to hold the coins or resorting to using the bottom of their shirt as a shovel. However, it was a hassle for casinos to convert those quarters into dollar bills.
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Everyone had to get paid, so coins had to go through counting machines and the lines at the casino cage could be long. Of course, you could keep your money as change, but that was not feasible after a big win.
Now, of course, slot machines print vouchers that can be redeemed at machines that look like big ATMs or at the casino cage.
Coin-paying slot machines have largely disappeared. They are still available in very select forms. Only El Cortez and The California in the Fremont Street area offer select coin-operated machines, while The D, also on Fremont Street, has a coin-based horse racing game, but no slot machines.
One Las Vegas Strip resort casino offers classic slots
In many ways, Circus Circus itself is something of a throwback to Las Vegas. It still caters to an all-ages crowd and, although recently updated, is not as modern as the Caesars and MGM resorts that dominate the Strip.
Circus Circus, however, offers coin-operated slot machines.
In March, the company celebrated its remodel and the addition of vintage slot machines.
“Spanning nearly 8,000 square feet, the revitalized gaming space will feature 85 iconic coin-operated slot machines,” the company shared in a press release.
Circus Circus has also doubled down on old-school Las Vegas with an offering that harkens back to the city's past.
“Customers can also enjoy a culinary trip down memory lane with delicious treats,” added Circus Circus.
Circus Circus generally has very affordable hotel rooms, and owner Phil Ruffin has used the value as a way to make his resort stand out among Caesars, MGM and other big players.
The resort also offers circus shows and its Adventuredome area.
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“The Adventuredome, encapsulated within the iconic pink glass dome, offers fun rides and attractions for all ages, including Canyon Blaster, El Loco roller coasters, NebulaZ, Sand Pirate, Inverter, Twistin Tea Cups, Go Karts, a venue “climbing wall, arcade, carnival-style games, virtual reality games and an 18-hole mini golf course and more,” the company shared.
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