Best Vegas Racebooks

[WeirdWilly]

First off, if I don't have the right area for this, I apologize profusley (much like how I sweat when I think about Rachael Ray dumping her loser husband and shacking up with me:jump: ).

If all goes well, I am planning on going to Vegas next May for my 45th Birthday. The Derby will be about the same time, so in between rounds of having my backside handed to me playing cheap Hold'Em tournaments :bang: , and hopefully catching Penn and Teller or The Amazing Jonathan, I'm going to want to chill in a racebook.

What are the best racebooks in LV, as defined by:

- Comfortable Seating
- Large, clear screens
- Minimal Slot Machine noise
- Accurate, polite tellers
- Generally attractive appearance

Free beverages :faint: and proximity to a restroom :eek: is a nice touch as well.

[samyn on the green]

Have been to Vegas over 100 times since thh mid-1990's. I've played horses at most of the books and some are better than others. What I am looking is for is free DRF, personal TV and frequent drink service.

The Palms on flamingo road has the best book in town to play a card. Everyone gets there own personal TV which also doubles as a wagering terminal, free DRF and lots of drinks. Comfortable leather seats and of course lots of TV's. Bring your own headset and you can hear track audio for the track you want to play. Audio will be broadcasted throughout the book for whatever live race is running. The palms was built in the last 5 years so everything is state of the art. The Mens room is right in the book and the place looks sharp, a true top choice.

2nd mention goes to the Orleans on tropicana ave. They have the best blackjack outside of downtown. The book offers rree DRF and good drink service. Some people like the generous future odds and in house Quinellas. Only TV's and wagering terminals for their regular clients but still a solid informed choice to play horses in vegas.

Hilton is also a very serious book and a leader on future odds. You will not get your own TV and the place is too big for my tastes.

[cato]

I haven't been to the palms but it sounds great. There are a bunch of other great books--

The Hilton is great. You can get a tv if you are lucky but most are reserved for regulars. I did not find it too large at all. I thought it was a good layout (now Caesar's is too large but its worth seeing)

The Bellagio is great. Not very crowded. A bunch of tvs, no smoking section etc.

I have not been to the Mirage for awhile but it was good many years ago. Bally's was also good and had a bunch of tvs and a good layout.

After you spend some time in a modern book then you need to go see the Orleans or Barbary Coast to see the differences (maybe, maybe not).

If you take a laptop talk to the book when you get there and make sure they now you have one and that its okay to use. Otherwise you may get tossed (which is no fun).

Have a great time.

Cato

[LurkingBettor]

Will second the vote for the Bellagio. Haven't seen most of the others in some time, other than the Orleans.

If you need another inducement for the B,.....the waitresses have some little cubby hole back there near the book where they put in their drink orders. If ya get bored watching the horsies, it at least gives ya something else to watch.

Accurate, polite tellers? Isn't that some kind of oxymoron?

[speedking]

Accurate, polite tellers? Isn't that some kind of oxymoron?

At least in the northeast it is:ThmbDown:

Staying at the Palms right now. Stopped in the racebook late yesterday and liked the layout. Computers appear to be allowed:jump:

speedking

[pic6vic]

The RED ROCK CASINO. It is about 11 miles west of Vegas off the 215 at Charleston. I was so impressed with the racebook. You must at least go for a look. Real impressive. I stopped there in Nov and could not belive what I saw.

Must stop for all sports, poker and horse players. Part of Station casinos I believe.

[kitts]

I live up here and things change. A lot. Maybe you want to post your query about facilities like in March. Just a suggestion.

[lurker]

The Venentian is a nice place with very little noise. In fact it is a really small sports/racebook, but every seat has a tv and getting a seat is not difficult. I believe that you can use your own headphones for audio. Last time I was there in October there were maybe 8 people in the entire book between Monday and Thursday. YMMV over the weekend. If you are looking for a comped room the Venetian looks for $5000 a day in handle, the Wynn $4000 in handle and Bally's was looking for $3000 in handle. I beleive that the coast properties look for $150 in handle for a room rate and $1800 for a midweek comp/$3000 on the weekends.

[horsefan9411]

Very comfortable leather chairs. Personal flat screens, not very crowded. Good drinks and service, friendly staff, free forms. Restrooms in the facility. Right next to Poker room, so no slot noise. Several very large and clear screens. Seems to meet all your criteria.

[skate]

ive moved in and out from quite a few books in Vagas.

i like variety and if youre out by boulder Hwy area try the "Boulder Station".
not a thing wrong with that place, food, DRF (free), waitresses, bars , screens, TVs, parking close.

on the other side, try the "Orleans", great buffet along with the good race and sports book.
both are off the strip.

ive always like the RIO, but it kinda got too big.

[WeirdWilly]

So many choices!

Most likely, I'll be staying downtown, maybe at the Golden Nugget. But I plan on visiting the strip to play. Saturated Downtown when I was there last December. Heck, I even made it down to the Gold Spike and the (gulp) WESTERN :eek: ! During daylight hours, of course.

Played the books at the Plaza (and hit a $280+ exacta which, along with a 4 Ace deal on hundred play video poker helped me come home up from the trip! :jump: ), the Nugget, and the Fremont. Can't wait to try out some of y'alls suggestions. Thanks!

[Red Knave]

Heck, I even made it down to the Gold Spike and the (gulp) WESTERN :eek: ! During daylight hours, of course.Wow, you really are a gambler. :D ;)

[BlueShoe]

As I made the change from visiting Las Vegas to patronizing the more sedate surroundings of Laughlin some years ago,am a bit out of touch with the LV books,so this thread is of interest to me as a Las Vegas trip is forthcoming soon.Friends tell me that for low and mid level horse action the Coast casinos are fine for comps.Their Turfclub has a clearly defined redemption schedule,a check of their website confirms.On a nostalgia note,was sadened at the closing of the Stardust.It was the first strip hotel/casino to have a race and sports book back in the '70s.This poster spent many a day and sometimes night in the place betting horses and sports for many years.It was the hangout for some very sharp bettors during its heyday,and will surely be missed.

[mudnturf]

Very comfortable leather chairs. Personal flat screens, not very crowded. Good drinks and service, friendly staff, free forms. Restrooms in the facility. Right next to Poker room, so no slot noise. Several very large and clear screens. Seems to meet all your criteria.

Re: BELLAGIO - They must have raised the height of those chairs. I loved the comfort but found myself sitting too low for the desk in front of me. Otherwise, I liked the race book there a lot.
-- Also, I'm surprised no one mentioned MANDALAY BAY. Comfortable and uncrowded when I was there (2005).
-- With John Avellino now running things at the WYNN, (haven't been there yet), I'll bet it's horse player friendly!

[mhrussell]

Re: BELLAGIO - They must have raised the height of those chairs. I loved the comfort but found myself sitting too low for the desk in front of me. Otherwise, I liked the race book there a lot.
-- Also, I'm surprised no one mentioned MANDALAY BAY. Comfortable and uncrowded when I was there (2005).
-- With John Avellino now running things at the WYNN, (haven't been there yet), I'll bet it's horse player friendly!


Don't know about WYNN, but MANDALAY BAY does not allow laptop computers in their book (last I knew, and I realize these things change, so check before you go). In fact, I know of quite a 'horror' story of someone using a laptop at Mandalay Bay a couple of years ago. Reminded me of the 'back room' blackjack playing days..and it really pissed me off. I will not go there or to their other 'sister' properties because of it.

Bottom line is phone ahead prior to making your Vegas reservation IF you are a computer handicapper.

[airford1]

So many choices!

Most likely, I'll be staying downtown, maybe at the Golden Nugget. But I plan on visiting the strip to play. Saturated Downtown when I was there last December. Heck, I even made it down to the Gold Spike and the (gulp) WESTERN :eek: ! During daylight hours, of course.

Played the books at the Plaza (and hit a $280+ exacta which, along with a 4 Ace deal on hundred play video poker helped me come home up from the trip! :jump: ), the Nugget, and the Fremont. Can't wait to try out some of y'alls suggestions. Thanks!If you are staying down town then you must stay at the Golden Nugget. The rest of the hotels are a cut below and the Nugget is still rated 4 star and is nice. Thier sports book is small in comparison to the one on the strip, but if you are willing to drive a few miles then use the Hilton. I wouldn't stay at the Hilton because it is a older dated hotel and nowhere near as nice as the Nugget.

[Hank]

I love racebook at the Mirage!!No comps but a real nice setup,For comps the coast casino are good.

[kingfin66]

I agree with Hank regarding the Mirage. It was a nice one. The good think is that it wasn't overly crowded like Caeser's.

Lots of the books have monitors, and many of the monitors are very modern. There are a few racebooks that still do not have private monitors, but they are few and far between. I didn't want to lug my laptop up and down the strip on this most recent trip, so I don't know which ones allow them. I think the casinos are more concerned with laptops having communication devices than with the computers themselves.

[bigmack]

The RED ROCK CASINO. It is about 11 miles west of Vegas off the 215 at Charleston. I was so impressed with the racebook. You must at least go for a look. Real impressive. I stopped there in Nov and could not belive what I saw..
It's an impressive room. What's nice is in mid week they have VIP booths that they'll set you up in with all the bells & whistles.

http://espanol.vegas.com/gaming/sportsbooks/images/redrock_sportsbook.jpg

http://www.emediawire.com/prfiles/2006/05/14/385605/redrock2.jpg

[WeirdWilly]

If you are staying down town then you must stay at the Golden Nugget. The rest of the hotels are a cut below and the Nugget is still rated 4 star and is nice. Thier sports book is small in comparison to the one on the strip, but if you are willing to drive a few miles then use the Hilton. I wouldn't stay at the Hilton because it is a older dated hotel and nowhere near as nice as the Nugget.

Yeah...stayed at the 4 Queens last time. It was during the National Finals Rodeo, yet I still got a bargain rate (total package, air and 4 nights hotel from Detroit for under $420 while everyone else was in the $600+ range)(I wonder why! :lol: )

It wasn't a dump, but it would not be my first choice in the future.

I understand the G.N. has went through some major renovations, including the Race Book. If it is sweet, I might play where I stay, but I would rather hit the Bellagio from the reviews I've seen so far.

[ratpack]

I know it has been mentioned in a few threads that Laptops are allowed but it would really be helpful when checking out a Casino if you could note if it has power available for your Laptop.

I know the last time I was at the Palms about 1 1/2 years ago they were allowing Laptops and they did have a power supply at each station.

[stlseeeek]

for old schoolers, Imperial Palace has a nice spacious sports book.


they throw a very nice derby party, probably the hotels specialty. VIP only, didnt go last year, might this year.


if your looking for glitz and glamour try: venetian,red rock,cesars.