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Alladin Resort: Good or bad

My wife and I have booked a room at Alladin this coming weekend. We have never stayed there before and were wondering about other experienced reviews of the resort. 1. Tips while staying there (upgrading our room?, special floor or area of hotel to ask for) 2. Restaurants that we must visit (PF Chang's, Commander's Palace etc) 3. Things to avoid 4. Are the slot machines "tight"

I have never stayed there, but in another thread someone mentioned the "Resort" rooms as better. As for restaurants, Bellagio is just accross the street. Haven't been to any restaurants at Alladin, but hear that Commander's Palace is quite good. The buffet also gets good reviews. Things to avoid? The Casino! It has to be the loudest (visually and acousticaly), cheesiest, ugliest casino in LV. Haven't played there, but I guess that, just as in the rest of the Strip, slots should be rather tight. I made like 300 bucks at the Paris next door (three different Addams family machines), but maybe it was just luck, because I hear that the Paris also has tight slots.

I have been thru the Aladin but haven't stayed there. I agree about the casino being cheesy but I stayed at the Paris and thought the slots were the tightest there. I also at the breakfast buffet at Aladin for one of the mornings since it is right next door and the $1 savings on the buffet as far as I am concerned was a big disappointment! The shopping mall is spacious and some interesting stores - not quite as upscale as others.

Hate to sound cranky but I have to comment on this frequent comment I see about "the slots there were too tight". This is such a stupid comment. It really reveals one's ignorance. If you pick up a coin and flip it 4 times and it comes up heads each time, does that make it a "lucky" coin?? If you answer "yes", quit reading here and move on because you're beyond help. From a statistical standpoint an individual gambler can't determine whether a slot machine or bank of them is set unusually "tight" without playing them for hours and hours on end without stopping. You won't be able to accurately etermine how they're set short of running a few thousand spins. Saying a particular casino's slots are "too tight" (after less than 3000-4000 plays) is like saying "I visited Toronto for the first time in June. It was hot and sunny when I was there. Therefore it must be hot and sunny every day of the year". Gambling superstitions are a sign of ignorance.

Some Gamblers: If I recall correctly, the "tightness" or "looseness" of a slot machine is determined by the payout, right? Some casinos (and some machines) have higher payouts than others, right? Therefore some casinos have tighter slots than others, right? i.e. I walk into Bally's. Put $10 bucks in an Addams Family machine. Two spins later I get a bonus round, get 1000 credits. I cash out. Go to a Little Green Men machine. Put 10 bucks in. Go to bonus round after 5 spins. Get 900 credits. Cash out. Go to Mirage. Put $20 in Wheel of Fortune. Lose them after 20 spins (or so). Move to a Jeopardy! machine. Put 20 bucks in, lose them in 5 minutes... Coincidence? In any case, when I play at Bally's, I usually walk out after a while with money or a little loss. When I play at Mirage, I walk out shortly after with a huge loss. Coincidence? Maybe, but I would still say that the slots at Bally's are looser.

ge - I haven't seen the resort rooms but the standard rooms are pretty nice. A bit smaller than the Paris rooms but I like the Aladdin bathrooms much better. The casino is pretty bad. It looks more like a Circus Circus than and upscale casino floor. We ate at Josef's and while the food was decent, the service was not. The house wine was good and the lump crab meat starter was great but the server was really a louse. For the money, we won't be back anytime soon with all the other restuarants on the strip. Go to the Paris and eat at the Mon Ami Gabi. Very good. We eat there almost every trip. See my review in Rants & Raves. Lynn :-)

I guess we are not all smart like "Some Gamblers" after all why would we see any difference in one casino from another? Or is it possible we don't spend as much time in the casinos as "Some Gamblers" do? Maybe we just like to feel lucky in one more than another and also maybe it is possible that it is just a game to some of us unintelligent gamblers!

GE We stayed at the Aladdin this year and absolutely LOVED IT!! Do ask for an upgrade to a resort room with a view overlooking the fountains at Bellagio. The spice market buffet is expensive, shopping area nice. The resort rooms are huge, especially the bathrooms! Unfortunatley, the slots were tight. Hotel is center of the strip. Beware when exiting the front of the casino for people trying to sell timeshares. That did get annoying after a while. Have Fun!!

To "anncat": you win the prize. You hit the nail right on the head. To "Maybe": you still just don't get it, and you're the reason the casinos operate the way they do. AnnCat: gamblers gamble for lots of different reasons, but for casual gamblers, the desire to just 'feel lucky', and the good feeling when it happens, is worth the price of playing (which usually isn't that much). The casual gambler doesn't care about the odds, etc etc, only the superficial fun of feeling 'lucky' at times. Such gamblers are good for Vegas because no one really 'loses'. The house usually wins a few bucks, the gambler may be down a little, not always, but they have some good fun and move on. And if you KNOW that that's all it is, that's OK. The dangerous people are the ones who, like "Maybe", try to figure out ways to win. They gamble, at least in part, because it's a challenge to beat the house, or they're under the very false impression that if they can figure out the right 'system' they'll come out way ahead, or heaven forbid, they need the money. These people are NOT gambling just for fun. And that's a dangerous, slippery slope. Your comments, "Maybe" show just how poorly you understand gambling odds. And that's very dangerous if you gamble for any reason other than for brief, mindless amusement. Are your scenarios the result of coincidence? Absolutely and unequivocally yes. It's like the coin flipping example. Can you flip a random penny enough times that you can get it to come up heads 7 or 8 times in a row? Sure. After 8 heads in a row, is it more likely the 9th flip will be heads or tails? Odds are the same, of course, for either. If you play 20 minutes of slots at Mirage and 20 minutes at Bally's and win more at Mirage, are the slots at the Mirage looser? NOOOO!! They're NOT. (Not necessarily). The point is, you can't tell unless you compare them for many hours each. After many hours the random variations from normal (the likelihood of 8 heads in a row) slowly disappear. The longer you play, the closer your 'outcomes' will reflect the way the machines are actually set. Are some slots set tighter? ABsolutely. What's the difference between casinos? Sometimes as much as 3-5%. But you'd have to play a looong time to be able to know that and see the results yourself....many hours at each place. Why do I even care? I'm not even a gambler. I just happen to have a relative who is who has a gambling problem and I have a degree in statistics. And 'harmless' gamblers like 'anncat' who do it for pure fun are the ones that make gambling an acceptable, legitimate business. Simple entertainment. But those who do it to win money are accidents waiting to happen. The casino industry has fashioned itself very shrewdly to provide maximum illusion that you will win or are 'this close' to winning, just keep playing a little longer, try a little harder and maybe you'll win. But the simple end point is, the longer you play, the higher the odds go that the house will take even more of your money. Play for fun only, "Maybe". Once you take it seriously, once you take it personally and develop a need to win, you're in trouble.

Some Gamblers: I will concede that you are right about odds and probabilities. I will also concede that determining the actual payout of a slot machine takes ages. In theory, the payout is determined according to an infinite amount of time, right? Where I start differing with you is when you make all of these assumptions about why I gamble or how. You read 5 lines of text and all of a sudden you have a complete understanding of my behavior? I don't gamble to win. I gamble for fun. I only play nickel machines and 1 dollar blackjack when I find a one dollar table. What I DO want, is for my money to last as long as possible, so I can have as much fun as possible. If you go strictly by odds, you will lose in each and every game, because EACH AND EVERY game in a casino has, at least, a litte edge on the house. The ONLY exception, and that is still theory, is Blackjack when counting cards. If you think about gambling like this, there is no logical reason to gamble. The only logical reason to gamble (not considering addiction) is because it is fun and exciting.

Sorry to sound so judgmental, Maybe. And, for what it's worth, I was happy to read your comments, which demonstrate that you do understand the important principles here. My sense is that the majority of people who go to Las Vegas in particular are basically 'entertainment only' gamblers. But I know several people at least casually, in addition to the one I mentioned, who really do have problems. And that scares me because gambling addiction is a genuinely debilitating disease. Sorry for making assumptions about your reasons. And happy (mindless) gambling in the future!

After all of this talk of tight casinos I hope you and your wife have booked the Aladin - sounds like the rooms are nice there and location great! I am going to Niagara Falls (Canada) tomorrow and while there I think I will see how loose or tight the casinos in Canada are. Let you know when I get back.

The Aladdin is one of the WORST of the newer casinos. Stay there and find out first hand. Then come back and complain to us about it.

To "Some Gamblers" and also to others interested in gambling at loose casinos: Just returned from Niagara Falls and found the casino there to be looser than Vegas casinos. Then again it could be my $50 went further since it became $75 there?? Hope that "ge" has booked his hotel by now and has a great time since there is so much else to see and do in Vegas. By the way the Falls was absolutely magnificent!!

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS....... IT LOOKS TO ME THAT EVERYONE ELSE POSTING MESSAGES ON THIS SITE HAVE NO LIFE. CAN ANYONE ACT MATURE & GIVE HONEST ANSWERS TO PEOPLE WHO'D LIKE TO PLAN A VACATION. GO CHAT ON LINE IF YOU WANT TO WASTE PEOPLE'S TIME!!!!

Hey "SICKOF...." I think you need a vacation. Why not look around this site and plan one? (Just don't expect to pay off your trip by finding the "loose" slots. You won't be able to figure it out).

Gambling too much is not a disease. Nope. Not buying it. People who gamble too much have weak character and minimal self control. But a disease? Come on. I spend way too much on this board. I must make an appointment with a doctor right away.

All right "Is There", then where do you draw the line? Is heroin addiction a disease? Tobacco addiction? Alcohol addiction? How about fear of flying and fear of heights? Just character weaknesses? If people engage in behaviors they don't want to engage in, which are self destructive, but can't be overcome by the majority of sufferers, that's just plain old character weakness? Maybe schizophrenics are just 'weak'. Put 'em all out on the street, yank their medicines away and let 'em sink or swim, right?

I think we're starting to assume the ground upon which we stand, See Things. You said, "If people engage in behaviors they don't want to engage in, which are self destructive, but can't be overcome by the majority of sufferers", then that makes an addiction. First, I think the majority of gamblers can control themselves. Second, I submit that people who voluntarily enter a casino and voluntarily engage in too much of a behavior they find enjoyable need an injection of will power. They are not ingesting any substance that alters the body's chemistry, like nicotine or drugs. They can say no to gambling just as I can say no to excessive shopping, running up my credit cards, buying things I can't afford, or any other financially destructive habit. The inability to resist slick marketing isn't a disease, IMHO. Further, I think it insults people with real diseases and addictions to claim that anything someone decides not to control is worthy of the label "disease." Gotta go. Baby needs a new pair of shoes.

Ahh, but based upon our current understanding of neurochemistry, the actual chemical reactions and processes which occur in the brain are strikingly similar among heroin addicts and risk takers (people who become obsessed with gambling, for instance). For gambling addicts, it's not the lure of money which makes them gamble. It's the adrenaline rush of being in the game and taking the risk of betting. The brain activity which occurs is much like a that which occurs when people use addictive drugs. This is one reason such disorders are considered 'diseases' by most who study such things, not just bad habits. People susceptible to these disorders have very different chemical responses to stimuli such as gambling compared to those who aren't susceptible. As such, it is in many respects a disease. And finding the loose slots won't solve the problem.