My three male friends (forty and fifty somethings) and I are off to Vegas for our annual four-day golfing, etc., etc. weekend for the Derby. We typically stay at Mandalay Bay and love it there (conveniently located, great sports book, nice rooms, bars and casino). Unfortunatley, we are unable to stay at Mandalay Bay and other top hotels due to overbooking and now have to choose between Hard Rock and the new Aladdin. Any suggestions between the two??

The sportsbook at the Aladdin is TINY. Not sure about the HR.

Nice bars, casino & restaurants at the Aladdin though & many more at Paris next door & Bellagio across the street.

The Hard Rock is off-Strip, as you know, and frankly caters to a rowdier crowd that skews very young. Nice hardbody eye candy for everybody (surgically-enhanced), but you'll feel old there (hell, if you're thirty you'll feel old there).

The Aladdin is basically mid-Strip, and a good property all in all. It's operating in Chapter 11 right now, and will eventually be re-branded as a Planet Hollywood resort (eeewwwww), but you shouldn't notice anything bad. Personally, I'd go for the Aladdin.

Aladdin's sports book is a little corner area off the southwest part of the casino. An afterthought.
Hard Rock's is tinier still.
Aladdin's location on the strip is a big plus. Hard Rock's is an annoyance.
The rooms at Aladdin are plain, no better than HR's except that the bathroom is bigger and there's a computer with internet access in every room at Aladdin.
HR's pool area is much much better than Aladdin's dull cement holes.
Overall, for guys above 30-35 years old, Aladdin's a much better option.
Hard Rock is all about the young LA see and be seen hip crowd.

Read the SportsGuys recent article on ESPN.com, then you'll have your answer.

I usually spend quite a few hours playing the ponies in Vegas. Theonly downside is that I like to bet on the East Coast tracks, so I have to get up pretty early in the morning! IMHO, the best horse racing sports books in Vegas are:
Caesar's
Stardust
MGM Grand
Imperial Palace

I watched the 2003 Kentucky Derby at Caesar's, and it was almost as good as being at Churchill Downs myself! Stardust is HUGE, but the location is is way, way off the beaten path. MGM has a beautiful room with equestrian art and individual TVs at each seat. IP is similar, and it has stadium-type seating.

BTW, regaqrdless of where you stay, for sports book, head to Caesar's. The original and still the best.

These are all fantastic comments. Thanks...looks like we'll stay at Aladdin's and venture out to the other casinos for some handicapping and other action. I especially liked the ESPN article reference, Ryan. Our foursome could have written it ourselves (except for the successful gambling day, however). Thanks again all!