Children in Casinos.
 

Im not a gambler and wont spend much time on the slots. But since all the casinos are at the front of the hotels, what is the policy with children since i would like my 3 and 4 yr olds to see inside the hotels. One might be in a stroller. Are they allowed or will we have to re-route through other entrances. Im from U.K. Thanks

Hi A,

Where are you going?

((I))

not really a gambler either but i have been in casinos. it is my understanding that NO children are allowed in the gambling areas of any hotels or casinos. there will definetly be a way in through the front door for your entire family though. in fact in vegas they have circus circus which is as it sounds a circus atmosphere with shows. childen are very welcome there.
if you are headed to las vegas you will find tons to do outside of the casinos. atlantic city as well. foxwoods in conn. not so much.

My experience has been that you can walk though any hotel casino with your children as long as you keep moving. If you stop they will explain that no children are allowed in the casino. You shouldn't have any trouble seeing the hotels with children.

My one and only trip to Las Vegas was several years ago with my young teenager boys. The youngest was absolutely fascinated by the casinos. He quickly learned just how slowly he could walk through them so he wouldn't get hassled by security. Fortunatley, his interest in gambling didn't follow him to adulthood.

The gambling areas have these wide walkways to get from one side to another. You can walk with kids through the walkways, but don't stop moving. No kids in the areas where machines and tables are.

That's my experience, as well. Children can walk thru the casinos as long as they are accompanied by an adult and keep moving, not stopping to watch the gaming in any area.

One hotel that seems to be more geared towards children is The Excalibur. Circus Circus is, as well, but it's much older than The Excalibur.

Two years ago walked thru several casinos with our teenage kids - once daughter even used bathroom inside casino. No one hassled us - they just don't want kids standing, watching, etc.

Casinos have walkways though them that you can use, the Bellagio insists that small children be in strollers..but like the Bellagio and Ceasars ( only ones I can picture right now) there is a walkway that goes around the gambling areas. You don't really have to walk through it all.
Most of the hotels have a lobby/check in area with elevators right there where you can go straight up to your rooms too.
But don't worry, as long as you don't stand at a slot or table with the children at your side, you will be fine.
It is the noise and smoke that the children will not enjoy.

At Monte Carlo you do not have to go through the casino (or around it on a walkway or whatever) to get to the elevators to go to your room. I think it is the only hotel/casino like that on the strip though.

Axelbobo you have been given correct info...the law states that minors (under age 21) cannot "loiter" in gaming areas. Minors are allowed to walk through any gaming areas as long as you don't stop. emd mentioned Monte Carlo as not having to walk thru casino to get to elevators...Aladdin is like this as well if you come in thru valet parking, check-in is on this level with casino above. We have young children as well (4,4 and 2) and we never have a problem when we go to restaurants. Have fun!!!!!!

I took my 2 young children to see Lance Burton's magic show at the Monte Carlo a few years ago. We had walked through the casino on the carpet "path" to the theater, but at one point I walked off the path to the cashier's cage (which is not near any slots) to ask for change so I could get tip money for the theater ushers. I was quickly scolded and told children were not allowed in the area. My fault, but they were very strict.

I know I'll be burned at the stake for this one...

Hey, here's an idea. How about leaving the 3 and 4 year old with Grandma instead of pushing the stroller through a casino?

Why do people insist on dragging little kids through the casinos?

These are the same people who sit at bar in a casino and 'fake cough' when people light cigarettes.

This is not Disneyland folks!

I think we were in the Bellagio and one of the restaurants didn't allow strollers.

The casinos aren't bending over backwards to accomodate kids since the Vegas-For-Families marketing strategy bombed so badly several years ago.

WYNN is positively stroller-free.

Pis

Why bring kids through a casino? Because many of the casinos are set up so that you HAVE to go through the casino to get to the elevators, restaurants etc. Not all of us go to Las Vegas to gamble. I have been twice without spending a nickel at the slots or tables. Las Vegas has some beautiful natural areas and non-casino attractions.
BTW I found that walking my kids through the casino to the restaurant was a great way to turn them off from gambling. Gamblers are often a sorry looking group of people. My kids were pretty disgusted by what they saw.

I agree with vegaslocal, leave the kids at home with grandma. I go to Vegas every year and there are always so many strollers blocking the aisles...

What is this about Wynn being stroller free?

I third leaving the kids at home. My husband and I couldn't believe all the kids in the casinos in Vegas on the gambling floor. We saw one bozo taking a picture of baby and mom in front of a slot machine! You aren't suppossed to take pics in a casino, let alone have a baby at a slot.

Oh yes, definitely leave the kids at home. I'm sure grandma has nothing better to do than watch them. And of course there's absolutely nothing for kids to do in Las Vegas, except get in the way of people that have to get to their machines as quick as possible so they can lose every last cent they brought.

Really, take your kids and enjoy your vacation. I'm sure you'll have more fun than those that like to complain about everything (Oh my god, the aisles were blocked, blocked I tell you! It took me 3 hours to lose my money instead of my usual 2! ).

Birdie, I have to chuckle at the thought of Vegas having beautiful natural areas. If you are speaking of beautiful natural areas in the cit, then yes, there are beautiful areas, but none of it is natural. Think about it, it is all fabricated.

It does seem to be a confusing double message that Vegas seems to want the families w/kids and markets to them w/the hotel attractions that appeal to kids, the marketing campaign for families, etc., but then making it difficult to get around w/the kids and is not so welcoming when the kids are there. Personally I would never take my kids there. I thought about taking my daughter for a weekend when she was 12 and wanted to see a particular show, but then I went alone as I was flying in and out of Vegas to hike at Zion and added on two days in Vegas. After that visit I decided I would not take her there. That is just me; for me, it is not a good environment for my daughter.

emd - Yes, you are right, LV is the polar opposite to "natural". We did bring our 12 and 14 yo knowing what LV is like. I think that they will see that stuff in life and it is better if they experience it first with us to talk with them about it. They hated the strip and the casinos but loved hiking in Red Rocks and Zion and attending Mystere. So I think you have to evaluate LV in the context of your family's value system and weigh the pros with the cons.

Loved the comment about grandma, Weasel. Of course we all stay home to babysit and put rollers in our hair and get to bed before 9pm with the grandkids as well.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

You never catch this one at home just baby-sitting, ever. I'm either doing things WITH them, or out there myself.

That's what a lot of grandma's are like now. We don't all have blue hair either.

While I never took my daughter on my adult Vegas trips, as a SoCal native there were plenty of times that we found ourselves in Vegas as she was growing up. Hey, most of them were school trips. Marching band and high school sports regional and national finals are in Vegas all the time. Amazingly the school organizers were always able to find sufficient activities for the kids that did not involve casinos. I mean, sheesh, people, you do realize that actual families live in Las Vegas? I had been to Las Vegas maybe twenty times as a young 'un before I ever set foot inside a casino.

I am really tiring of the judgemental tone on this board at times.

It is amazing to me how a bunch of strangers are able to intuit enough about an anonymous poster, about whom they know nothing, to tell how to raise their children. I personally subscribe to the non-coddling theory of child-rearing, and I believe that it is best to actually show them the world and teach them the skills necessary for decision making. You can raise your child however you like, but you have no business telling me or anyone else how to do it. My poor, abused child was taught to behave in public, allowed to suffer from making her own, sometimes wrong, decisions, and, yes, was even in a casino in a stroller. Thank God she was able to overcome all the corruption from my poor parenting skills, and has just completed her masters at age 22, while holding down a job and managing her life on her own 2100 miles away from mom.

Axelbobo's question was a legitimate one, and in answer to it, yes, in most of the casino's you can find other entrances. You can stroll through New York or the streets of Paris or visit other commercial areas of the hotels with your children, usually without having to pass through the gaming area. In those hotels where you have to go through the faming area, just stay on the path on the carpeting and go around.

I did not know that Wynn was stroller free, but when Bellagio first opened IT was stroller free, so I was surprised to see (from someones post here) that they now allow them....perhaps it is Wynn himself that likes the stroller free atmosphere, and now that he no longer owns the Bellagio they have changed that rule.
I think the no strollers allowed is for a couple of reasons, it looks bad (now don't start with the nasty emails...I have young kids and I own AND use strollers) but it does look a little tacky, AND many people are annoyed by strollers (those that don't have little kids), they think they take up to much of the walking space. I had heard that "strollers" is one of Disneylands biggest complaints (don't know how true this is), but many would like the parks to ban the strollers because there are just too many of them.

first, thank you "here_today_gone_2Maui"...REAL families fo live here so please try to be curtious to those that have been born and raised here and are now raising our own families. I think the majority of people that say negative things about Vegas or say it is artifical (emd) probably never left the Strip...just to let everyone know the Strip IS NOT LAS VEGAS, it is IN Las Vegas, it is only an area, and guess what it is an area for TOURISTS...come on people, let it go...ok have to get the kiddies to their blackjack lessons now!!!!

Although I've never seen this actually enforced, this is directly from Bellagio's website:

"You must be 18 years of age or a registered hotel guest to enter Bellagio.

The following exceptions apply to minors who are at least 5 years of age and accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age:

Restaurant reservations for Michael Mina, FIX, Sensi, Circo, Jasmine, Le Cirque, Picasso, Shintaro or Prime
Attending a wedding in our Wedding Chapels
Attending a convention function
Attending a performance of "O"
Gallery of Fine Art
Children of hotel guests and non-hotel guests are allowed if accompanied by an adult. Non-hotel guests with children must have their tickets in hand prior to arriving to Bellagio.
Visiting a Via Bellagio shop by appointment only
<b> Strollers are allowed for hotel guests only.<b>&quot;






</b></b>

Well, although you haven't really asked for anyones' opinion, I thought I'd throw mine in anyway. I'm somewhere between vegasLocal and TheWeasel.

You have every right to enjoy your vacation with your children, and there is truly a lot to do with kids now out in Vegas, however, nothing bothers people more than seeing 4 &amp; 5 year olds running around a casino acting like...well...children.

capxxx got it right. Walk through all you want, but don't pause at a slot or even cut through the slot machine area with your kids in tow. I saw this happen once and when the adult paused to find his way, it took about two seconds for the kid to break loose and hit his head on a slot machine. The paramedics attended to him among mutters of &quot;what was a kid doing in here anyway&quot; and &quot;what kind of parent lets their kid run around in a casino&quot;.

The gambling area of a casino is an &quot;adult zone&quot; and as adorable as I'm sure your children are, they will not be welcome.

Good post, jendirt. My DH is from Vegas and we have taken his daughter, when she was young, to see the family there. We naturally spent an evening or two on the strip enjoying all there is to see, but stayed away from the gaming areas, other than just passing thru on our way to somewhere else. There is honsetly so much to see just walking up and down the strip, or in old downtown, that you don't really have to venture inside of all that many hotels or gaming areas. Just watch for those that hand out the &quot;not so nice&quot; material to everyone walking around at night.

IMO, Vegas can be very entertaining for children, as well, if you want a family trip. Just be sure not to invade on the &quot;adult time&quot; that people are also trying to enjoy.

It is fascinating to me that children are allowed to empty their parents' pockets into video and other games that reward with tickets redeemable for worthless baubles, but they cannot play the slots for real money! Why not have slot machines that pay out into junior's 529 account? The children's games have a 100% house advantage and therefore are more profitable than letting junior spin the roulette wheel. The only other reasons to keep the children moving through the casinos are the alcoholic drinks being served and the thick smoke permeating young lungs.

It's been a long time since my kids were 3 and 4 years old, but I can't imagine that they would have been very interested in seeing the insides of hotels, no matter how fantasic they were. Surely there is something to do in that area that they would enjoy more.

However, I can certainly see the point in seeing all those places for myself. Therefore, I would make it easy for ME and get a double stroller for the both of them and push them through the casinos as fast as possible.

Such an interesting debate...I agree that, with all due respect to the talents of tourism promoters, casinos are not an environment for minors- nor, certainly, is most of the Vegas underbelly. The Strip becomes a destination for so, so many reasons. My guess would be that the least of these reasons is the entertainment value for children. Certainly there exist a number of very entertaining shows that hold some value for families- Mystere, O, etc. However, to tip-toe around the town with the babies is, at the very least, a waste of time and frankly, ludicrous. It's not worth it, Mom and Dad. Sure, I once, some years ago, almost bought into the &quot;Family Destination&quot; initiative. Never jumped in though. And we all eventually figured it out anyway, didn't we? I love Vegas. There, I admit it. I often find myself there for business and take the opportunity to minimally indulge in gaming and dining. I also find it an exciting distraction from the habits of suburbia with DW on rare occassions.
Now for the editorial commentary...I'm not above it all enough to think that my extremely conservative parenting techniques will protect my children from the dark, dangerous, destructive and often perverse side of Vegas. Most of us parents do the best we can to prepare our children and pray for the best. I know that at some point it becomes less about us and more about their peers and social pressures. We equip them the best we that we can. The fact that Vegas exists at all is precisely because of the fact that we, our parents and our children are born predisposed to individual interests, intellects and aptitudes. We, as humans, often can't help ourselves. Those of us who have been to Vegas have seen those of us who fit this description. I am grateful for the genes that allow me to avoid the worst of it and hope that my children are also able to.
Which brings me to this...here_today, I will commend you on an outstanding job of stepping up on this forum to present your superior parenting skills. You've done a very fine job of creating a comfortable and successful environment and future for your daughter. Yes, indeed, real families do live in Vegas. Real families live everywhere. Real parenting successes and failures exist everywhere as well. A shame that we find ourselves crediting Vegas, of all places, with providing the stage upon which to debate parenting versus biological dispositions and social pressures. There are parents around the world that try their very best and yet Vegas attracts our children, again, for so many reasons. It matters not that we do or do not stroll with kids in tow through the casinos when they are young. It matters how we glorify or despise the culture when talking with our children. What they do with it from there...I pray for their protection.
The aisles dissecting most casinos allow for a family of four, maybe more. Enjoy the lights, action, dining and excitement of the city and keep moving. The kids will figure it out eventually.

There's no bigger buzz kill than seeing a kid in a casino.

...and wondering where and what that kid's
parents are doing.

If you reread the OP she is from the UK, probably not a weekend jaunt to LV while kids stay at grammie's house (although I think that is an excellent choice for most of us who travel to Vegas). I doubt if LV is her sole destination, more like one of many. And she isn't a gambler. Just someone who wants to get from point A to point B in the hotels.

Thankyou amwosu. She is a he by the way :o). You're actually the first to either understand, or actuallly read my post brfore jumping to your answer. Im travelling from the U&gt;K for nine days in the USA. 1 night L.A, 3 nights Vegas, 1 Grand Canyon and 4 back in L.A. As you can see lots of driving and lots of things to see. Myself my wife and two children 3&amp;4. My niece 11, and my parents. Quite a mixture im sure you'd agree. We'are here to see the highlights that all these destinations have to offer. Note that we are also visiting Red Rock and Valley of Fire amongst others. I've already mentioned we will not be gambling but do wish to see inside the marvels of these hotels just as well as seeing them outside. If you posters are regulars or residents of Vegas, then i'm sure you must be bored of what these hotels have to offer by now, but to our family its probably first and last time that we will visit. Im sure anyone who sets sights on these hotels for the first time would like to see what they offer inside as well as out. Hope you get the idea of my post now. I just needed to check that we could enter through the casino (front of most) to get to other areas if i had my children. Thanks.

Have a ball Axelbobo. I think that many of the posters are just frustrated by the number of kids who are taken to Vegas for their parents' vacations.

I enjoyed walking through the shopping areas of Aladdin, Bellagio, the Venetian and Caesar's Palace on my first trip to the strip.

Hi Axelbobo. I did understand your post, and that's why I gave you the info from Bellagio's website. You said your kids would be in strollers, and they directly address this issue.

Of course, as I mentioned, I've never actually seen this rule enforced. I think it's more that they're trying to promote an &quot;image&quot; and thereby discourage young children, especially in strollers. I guess they could approach you and ask to see a room key, and then ask you to leave if you don't have one, but again, I think it's a highly unlikely scenario. Also, to the best of my knowledge, Bellagio is the only stip hotel with this stated policy, so you should be fine.

Have a wonderful trip and be sure to come back and tell us all about it upon your return home.

Make sure you take your family to see the Fountains at The Bellagio. It is one of the 'must do' things in Vegas. I think it is more spectacular at night.

I have seen the Bellagio policy being enforced on several occasions. It is not that they are always there, but I have seen them turn people away.

Axel - Have a wonderful time!

JRP - agree with most of what you say, but beleive it or not, parents are the biggest influence on their kids, not peers!