Twice in the past couple of years, I got a chance to spend a night in Laughlin at the Harrah’s there. It’s an interesting property in that it’s linked to the national Caesars Rewards program, but has some very specific things to the casino locally that make it quite a nice visit.
Here’s some thoughts I had from my visit, in case you’re contemplating your own visit to Laughlin in the near future.
Casino Floor
There’s about 900 machines, predominately slots, which makes this far from the largest casino floor I’ve encountered, but there’s a decent variety of slot machines, from pennies to high limit.
There’s a good level of diversity despite the limited machine count, but that diversity changed drastically between my 2019 and 2021 visits; many of the older machines had been swapped out, although a smaller array of popular titles remained. That’s not unlike what happened to their properties in Vegas.
There’s also a pretty generous assortment of Video Poker machines. The pay tables aren’t stellar, but they generally aren’t in major chain casinos, and they’re certainly better than Las Vegas. That said, VPFree2 does share some not bad options.
The casino has a non-smoking area, which is a bit unusual in my experience in the pre-COVID casinos in Nevada, although it’s a bit more common at the moment. I did enjoy having that option, even if the space didn’t have all that much to take advantage of from a players perspective.
The table games section wasn’t huge either, but had a good variety of choices. One pit is open much of the time, with a second pit open during busier periods. I played Face Up Pai Gow in that latter pit at a $25 minimum, and although the rest of the pit had closed, they kept the game open as long as we were willing to play.
Other table games on a Thursday night, such as Blackjack, was at a $15 level when I visited in fall 2021, not unusual given the higher minimums after the pandemic shutdowns.
Hotel Rooms
During both of my stays I was located in the newly renovated South Tower rooms. Those of you who have read my reviews of Harrah’s Atlantic City or Harrah’s Las Vegas will recognize the room type – they have somewhat standardized what a Harrah’s room will look like across these properties.
It did feel a bit like they stripped back the style a bit to make it a more cost effective renovation in Laughlin vs. AC or Vegas, given the room rates tend to trend lower, but that didn’t make the room any less comfortable.
The older towers have rooms that definitely look older, and there’s nothing that indicates the other rooms are going to get renovated at this point, so if you have a choice, select South Tower, and if it doesn’t give you the option, especially if you’re Diamond, ask for it and you’ll probably get it. They do seem to take the higher tiers pretty seriously there still.
Comp Program
As another member of the Caesars Rewards program, it has all the features of that program, so nothing new as far as ground to cover. Click here to read the basics of Caesars Rewards.
Other Observations
I ate at the buffet here and over a year later the unusually high quality of service remains very vividly in my memory, from the person who took our payment at the front to the server keeping an eye on our table. There was a very clear energy on the entire buffet team to make great service a core value of the buffet, and the fact that the food was great was almost secondary to how great the entire staff was.
However, it doesn’t seem like the buffet will ever return, per new Caesars’ proclamations as such, which would be a shame if so.
I first visited Laughlin in December, so it was not the right time of year to take advantage of their private beach, but this is something somewhat unique for casinos in general, and they’re one of only two I know of with this option, providing something a bit extra for those who choose to stay there. Cabanas and day beds are available for rental.
The property has a number of grab and go food options for those who prefer that sort of thing, along with a couple of casual restaurants and one upscale one. It’s definitely catered towards a more value audience.
That’s the general vibe of Laughlin, that a lot of the options are good value plays, even if the casino paybacks themselves don’t necessarily offer that. But for a break from the bustle of Vegas, Laughlin is more laid back and relaxing, from my experience there, and worth checking out for a change of pace.
