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This years Vegas trip was on the cheap. There are lots of Vegas experts and high rollers here so this is more directed for those who aren't booking a suite at the Wynn.

I always stay on the strip and have only visited downtown briefly. However I'd heard good things about the Golden Nugget. So, we decided to give it a go and liked it a lot. We signed up for one of the summer specials where we paid $69 each for two nights and got a third night free.

It's about 1/5 the size of a mega casino like the MGM or Caesar's. The rooms were about as good as the Hilton and a quarter step lower than the MGM (the new MGM beds are awesome).

The pool is geographically the center of everything and it's a great pool. The water part of the pool is a large ring of which about 25% is always in shadow (important for us albino types). The center of the pool area is a huge aquarium filled with sharks. When you are in the pool, you can stand touching the glass and watch the sharks swim past you. It's an odd juxtaposition to be in the water and safely so close to sharks. Above the shark tank are a couple of levels that have lounge chairs and cabanas. There is a water slide that goes through the shark tank and the slide is transparent when you go through the tank itself. There were quite a few kids in the water but it was still mellow and they don't hang out at the lounge chairs in the far reaches. If you have older kids, you could leave them at the pool while you had a meal or hit the tables a bit and you could go and check on them in a minute or so. Or, you could go upstairs and bang the wife and be there in three minutes. The pool was open from 9 to 9 when we were there but the little bar and gambling area was open until 2:00 AM. The aquarium looks better at night. There was some definite talent at the pool too.

The dinner buffet was just OK. The restaurants we tried were not 4 star but they were fine. The Carson Street Cafe which is nothing fancy is one of my new favorite places. Someone took time to create an interesting menu and everything we had was well prepared and backed up by friendly service.

Out front is Fremont street and the famous Fremont Street Experience. There is what looks like a huge cover over it that provides shade in the daytime. At night it is a 500 yard big screen that does light shows. Frankly, the shows are nothing to get excited about but the mega size of the technology is fascinating. The people on Fremont street run from regular working class types down a step or two or twenty-seven to mummified derelicts. Yet, there is no panhandling that we saw. One night there was a live band and everyone had a great time - especially the derelicts. There's other musical and non-musical entertainment. The Starbucks has an outside area where you are protected by a fence and you can watch the stew that is humanity pass by.

Downtown gaming has among the best odds in the city if you are there to wager. Except for the GN and Binion's across the street, the other casino's are definitely worn and old school.

Vegas now has a special bus system for tourists called The Deuce. For $2 one way or $5 for unlimited 24 hour rides you can get anywhere from downtown to the strip. Even if you're staying on the strip, it can be more convenient than cabs and is definitely cheaper.

Due to an airline screw up, we were "forced" to stay an extra day and decided to hit our beloved MGM. The amenities were definitely better but it was faster paced and less mellow.

My wife became a fan of the Golden Nugget but found the downtown surroundings too rough. I now like both the strip and downtown. I'll always chase the deal but my new ideal trip will have a couple nights at the Golden Nugget and a couple on the strip.

Fremont Street is a lot of fun, much more of a street carnival feel than the Strip, at least at night. OTOH, I and my companion stepped into the "Tony Romas" there and had a "surf and turf" special that was one of the lamest meals I have ever been served. (Yes, I should have known better, but given the quality of the buffetts at competing establishments, I thought it might surprise me.) If you'd served that thing to a Nebraskan in Nebraska, he'd have used it as a Frisbee - and he would not have bothered to clean the plate off before he did so.