The Cal is one of my favorite places to gamble downtown. You do really well at the slots by the door. Tip the cocktail waitress and she will take care of you for the rest of the night. In fact, one of them now refers to my mother and I as "Miller Lite and Bud Light."



The table games are just okay, the dealers aren't usually a lot of fun and are very strict about hand signals, etc. A lot of casinos downtown will lower their $5 minimums to $2 or $3 late at night on weekdays, but I've never seen The Cal do that, even when the casino is dead!



The Player's Club is a pretty good deal here. It's the same card as Main Street, which is attached to The Cal via skywalk. Try using your points at the Main Street buffet--definitely the best buffet downtown.



The Cal has some good eats, too. Market Street Cafe has some fantastic late-night specials, including your usual breakfast items along with fun Hawaiian specialties like Oxtail Soup. (Hint: There's always a huge line for this place from like 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Skip the line and sit at the counter!!) Aloha Specialties upstairs is a great place to get Hawaiian food during the day, too.



The hotel rooms are surprisingly fantastic. They were just remodeled with a very cool modern/tropical decor. The rooms are always very clean and bright... They have flat screen televisions and mini-fridges. There are very small in-room safes and hairdryers. No in-room coffee makers, though. The Cal has probably the cheapest and best room service breakfast menu you will find in Las Vegas, though!



The pool is a rooftop deal, with not a lot of sunlight, and not very pleasant. There is no lifeguard and when we were there, no towels! If you're looking to spend a lot of time at a pool, stay at the Golden Nugget.