Sam's Town tidbits

* great VP including full pay deuces and 10/7 DB.
* American Casino guide coupon gets a free buffet with 200 points of play once a year.
* Sam's is one of the few places left with Silver Strike machines although the new coins are not made of real silver.
* Boyd card means points earned here can be used at Orleans, Gold Coast, etc. and vise versa.
* Young at Heart promos do point multiplication and cheap movies once a week for seniors.
*  Easy and quick bus ride from downtown.  Start across from the Gold Spike and take the HDX.  The BHX is slower and the one you need late night/early morning to return downtown. But getting there takes about 16 minutes as do early trips back on the HDX Check bus schedules to see when it runs. 
* There are also free shuttles from Sam's Town to the strip and to downtown at certain times of the day. 
[URL="http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/referenceguide-transportationdetail.cfm?transportid=2&map=shuttlemap.cfm?showmap=SamsTown.jpg"]http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/referenceguide-transportationdetail.cfm?transportid=2&map=shuttlemap.cfm?showmap=SamsTown.jpg[/URL]
As you can see there is a bit of service to the airport as well, but flights have to match the couple of shuttle times.
If I stay up there on Boulder at the end of a trip I am more likely to take the 202 from Eastside Cannery to Terribles, roll my luggage into the buffet and sit with coffee and food and my journal until I need to head to the airport, taking the 108 from there at Terribles.   But I don't like hanging about in the airport.  Terribles positions me so that there is a predictable time in riding to the airport.
* Any free nights earned at Sam's Town can be piggy backed with paid nights at Eastside Cannery where there is no resort fee, free room wifi, nice views in quiet rooms, and (for seniors) $10 off the rack rate making these nice rooms as low as $30 with no play.  Then check in check out from or to Sam's  is just a luggage roll.
*  I better like staying at Eastside Cannery and playing at Sam's.  The 202 ends up right in their parking lot and waits while the driver has a smoke.  I like that at night time because it puts me at a stop that is safe and well lighted and uncrowded.  I can watch for the bus from the casino circle at Eastside Cannery and have time to get to it long before it leaves for the strip or I can come back from the strip and be dropped off in a safe and worry free spot.
*bus rides to the strip are long, about 45 minutes, but there are plenty of things to do on Flamingo as well along the way.  During the day, dropping at Terribles and walking to Tuscany, Ellis Island and then to the strip is nice.  Also, no second bus is needed to go to the Gold Coast area for that casino, the Rio and the Palms.
Here are eateries I listed along Flamingo, accessible on the 202.  Here are eaties I listed a year ago on a trip:
Weiner Schnitzel
Panda Express
Zoba's Mexican Grill
Chill n yogurt
REd Lobster
Buffet Asian
McDonald's classic
Olive Garden
Blueberry Hill Dine
Long John Silver
Raising Cane
jack in the Box
Mint india Bistro (Swenson)
Bucadi Beppo
Ghandi
Mortan Steak House
Bahama Breeze
Hamap of Japan
Fogo de Chao
McCormic and Shmick (across from Tuscany)
lawry's Prime Rib
Tuscany Cantina
Flamingo is fast becoming my new strip as the upscale renovations on the strip push me out of my $  comfort zone.
* I can envision a cash trip that starts downtown at the Gold Spike (WAX from airport and luggage roll) heads to Sam's Town (HDX from Gold Spike) heads to Eastside Cannery (luggage roll) Takes a night or two at Terribles (202)  to see the newly renovated rooms and then uses their free shuttle ride to the airport after checkout and breakfast.  Such a trip even with no comps should put average room prices at about $30 with anything above that depending on higher weekend rates. Cover the weekend with a comp somewhere and it makes a cheap trip.
* I've stayed at the Orleans a few days, rolled luggage down Arville to Flamingo (30 minutes- that day skip the treadmill) or taken the 104, and taken that 202 bus out to stay at Sam's Town.  Stays near Flamingo or downtown can be easily followed with stays at Sam's because both the Boulder Highway buses and the 202 Flamingo buses are easy to ride with luggage, unlike stip buses which are more crowded and not as easily to negotiate with luggage.
* A large popcorn taken to the Sam's town movies can be refilled on the way out and taken to the room for a snack later.
*  The pool at Sam's Town is open from 8 am to 10 pm all year around, and some report it is heated while LAA advisor says it is not.  It plays fairly decent music and opens in the morning for early swims.
* Best free show in Vegas and different every week.  Toast of the Town at 2pm on Thursdays.  Geared to an older audience and selecting the second string talent of Vegas, but they are often very good.  Comedy, dance, song, a live band, puppets...you never know. Also free drawings for small prizes.
*  Rooms were basic but checking for bedbugs was difficult because the mattresses are wrapped and rewrapped and then wrapped again.  Forget looking at the seams.
*  I don't eat this anymore but the McDonald's had a dollar menu and the quarter candy machines dispensed those wonderful Jelly Belly jelly beans
*  Walmarts is just across the street as is a Bank of America drive up ATM.  So retrieving room snacks and money is cheap.
*  Fine, cheap morning poker tournaments that are not hard to win. However, the cash games afterwards seemed to have too tough competition and a dull and boring mix of surly locals with nothing much of interest to say.  For cash poker Eastside Cannery has a 2-4 limit I like better.
* Nice place to start a bus journey to Sunset Station (BHX) or a visit to Henderson (HDX)  I like the Sunset bus stop on Boulder as a place to switch from one bus to another for different itineraries after that.
* Itinerary might look like this on Thursday:  Sleep at Gold Spike.  Eat breakfast, perhaps the great blueberry pancakes but perhaps not on the new strict diet. Walk across the street and take the bus to Sam's for the morning poker tournament.  After the tournament play Deuces or 10/7 DB earn free Sam's town buffet. See Toast of the Town show.  Walk down to Eastside Cannery for 4 hours of poker which earns a free supper buffet, or take the bus to Tropicana and the 201 to the Orleans for Comedy at Big Al's and a bit of play there.  Take that Orleans free shuttle to Bill's and walk over to play poker at Flamingo until early morning and then ride the Deuce back to downtown.  Walk up Fremont to the El Cortez and check the poker game there.  Then walk  out the back door to the Gold Spike to sleep. Note that getting around Vegas with Sam's Town in the mix is not that hard on buses.