Folks may not know it, but you can use the coupon in the American Casino Guide for a Cabana room at the El Cortez. The smallest size is just $51 with the coupon for two weekday nights. The larger ones are a few dollars more. Solo the smallest is fine with me. I find the advantage of these rooms over the Pavillion or Vintage is worth the price. They are much quieter. Vintage is almost on the casino floor and has thin walls so any television can be heard through the walls. Pavillion has a wrap around terrace outside the room and the sound of the cleaning carts is like a small train running by. The Cabana is joyously colorful and everything is a bit upscale plush. There is better room for a computer and there is a refrigerator in the counter space. The television stations include quite a few with just music. I prefer these over the others and feel they are worth another few dollars a night.
Another overlooked pleasure is to play poker with Jackie Gaughan, a living Vegas legend. He is pretty old and a bit senile, but you can find him at the inexpensive poker games every afternoon. He plays very lose and so he adds to the pots when he plays.
Also, right near the elevator going to the parking garage are three coin droppers that are some of the oldest working slots in Vegas. They really are slot machines because the display has to do with pins that drop into slots rather than a random number generator. They do have electricity to do the spinning, but not to determine the outcome. Playing them is a treat.