Review Detail

3.4 13
Location stands out
(Updated: September 01, 2011)
Overall rating
 
4.0
Slots
 
2.0
Table Games
 
4.0
Customer Service
 
4.0
Player's Club
 
4.0
Gaming Atmosphere
 
5.0
Amenities or Hotel
 
5.0
Food & Drink
 
4.0
Bill's may no longer have the VP it once did when it was Barbary Coast, but it still has the best strip location. The rooms are rich in the look of wood and have the feeling of classy antiques.
Step outside the Flamingo door and you can grab a free shuttle to the Gold Coast and to the Orleans or walk to the left and get to the Ellis Island for the best values in food on the strip. I think this food is much better than what is offered at Bill's Victorian restaurant, but I have eaten there when I was tired and did not want to walk farther and it was a good meal as well and a pleasant place to take folks for a late night meal and talk.
Besides location, another very popular offering at Bill's is the Fat Elvis lounge act. This guy sounds just like Elvis. Rumor had it that he believed he might be an illegitimate son of the King. He was much heavier when he started and went on a radical diet to lose pounds of fat. Then he married. So there is the sound that made him popular, and this success story to catch the sentiments of his audience as well.
I have heard other fine groups in this lounge. When the cowboys are in town in December, there is often a fine country act performing. It won't be a name you recognize from the top charts, but I have caught some great singers here, one who was famous in Canada.

The Bill's parking garage is the place to park if you are staying a bit off strip and want to access and park right in the middle of the action, and yet have easy access to the casino and to the strip once you have parked. Come out of Bill's and you can walk to the right to the Venetian and back one night and to the left and to NYNY another and see most of what is vibrant on the strip.
If you park there on a Saturday night and are staying East of the strip, after your tour of the strip, you can exit Bill's, drive up to the Gold Coast, have a go at that spot, and then drive back and never have any of that stalled bumper to bumper traffic that you get when you park and drive on the strip because your entire trip is on Flamingo Avenue.

The downside other than the low paying VP is that the Bill's player's card is not connected to the other Harrah's properties, so any gambling earns points that can only be used at Bill's.

If you do find a room there, decide if you want quiet because facing the action can include street traffic noises. However, from some rooms facing Bellagio, the fountain is visible. Watch for deals. Often rooms can be had for as little as $40, but they go fast because it is a small place and quickly gets booked up. I send Vegas newbies there as a cheap alternative to other strip properties and no one has complained afterwards.

Plans are in the works for major renovation. See it while it still has the old charm.
D
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