Harrah's
     

3475 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas
NV89109
+1 (702) 369 5000
www.harrahslv.com

 
     
Location Harrah's is right on the Strip; no long walk through colourful gardens or moving walkways here. Harrah's holds a very central position facing the Mirage and its wonderful volcano, with the Imperial Palace on one side and a short stroll to The Venetian on the other.  
     
Theme Harrah's used to have a very distinctive theme of a huge Mississippi Paddle Steamer but that has gone in favour of carnival, a cross between Rio, New Orleans, Notting Hill and well, a sort of colourful African village. There are bright lights (unusual for Vegas NOT) loud colours, fountains and plants. It really is a merry and friendly little place with no ideas of grandeur just very comfortable and happy, even the dealers and change people seem to carry this theme inside them. Harrah's is very relaxed and you feel at ease straight away. This may be part the reason that it is such a big hit with Americans who I think must make up at least 99% of its clientele and whole lots of them repeat customers. I met a lovely American lady from Detroit at Las Vegas airport who was going home after her 45th visit to Vegas and had stayed all but one of them at Harrah's.  
     
Attractions Well there are loads of performers wandering around with little trumpets and the like in the Carnival Court, which is good fun with a few shops selling junk loosely associated with a carnival. Carnival Court also gives free live performances all day underneath what appears to be a very large and colourful fabric covered may pole with big bar and an always empty dance floor. If you feel the need to do "agado" or relive the 80's classic "birdie song" dance here is the place to do it.  
     
Shopping Well its not great but with so much around it doesn't really need to be; the Forum shops are but a stones throw away. You have the "gimmick" shops in Carnival Court as well as a very good camera and photographic shop; there is the usual array of overpriced gift shops with Harrah's merchandise and a great chocolate shop.  
     
Dining Well there is fair bit of choice here which includes the Fresh Market Square Buffet (B$13.99 L$16.99 D$21.99 Sunday Champagne Brunch $19.99) this is a good buffet for the price but the queues can be massive. The buffet is not up to say Aladdin or Bellagio but far better than many others that are higher priced. The garden café coffee shop is great, good value though the coffee is allegedly not the best, as with most other coffee shops its open 24hrs. There are several other gourmet restaurants including; The Range Steak house which supposedly is very good and great value, Asia – Chinese, Asian, Thai, Indian, and Japanese cuisine and Café Andreotti's - Italian.  
     
Gaming When Harrah's changed the theme in 1997 they increased their gaming space by a third to 103,325 sq ft. Harrah's has over 2200 slots, about 60 tables and 8 roulette wheels - one with single zero's! There is a great range of nickel machines but the table minimums are $5 matching most of the other large casinos on the Strip. Its big, it's bright and its loud, to add to the brightness all of the dealers are lit up likes the signs you see on the strip. Hollering for wins and shouting at the tables seems to be encouraged. The dealers and change people are a happy, very friendly bunch this is a great place for the novice gambler to ply his trade. It is very easy to relax in this casino.  
     
Drinks Service Good, very good in fact. I had just sat down and was getting my wallet out when the cocktail waitress asked what I wanted. The drink arrived in less than 5 minutes and the second 15 minutes after that.  
     
Best Thing Relaxed easygoing atmosphere this casino is not looking for the high roller market and as a result treats low rollers very well.  
     
Worst Thing Can be very loud, too loud for some  
     
Overall A friendly place that really tries to put you in the party mood. This, along with a central location makes it a great place to play. For people who prefer a nice and relaxed attitude to gamble in, rather than the more serious affair where winning big bucks is far more important than the fun.

 
     
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