 The locals seem to love this dim, smoky, low-roller joint because it offers a fair game, dirt cheap food and a good lounge. Few tourists visit because it's petty far off the Strip and it certainly isn't scenic. No waterfalls or volcanoes here.
Coupons Available for Arizona Charlie's Decatur: Two-for-one breakfast or lunch buffet. (Click Here For More Info.)
    
Room Quality: Small, sparsely decorated, but clean rooms. For some reason, they claim their rooms are "Northwest" themed, and as far as we can tell, they must mean the fabled Super 8s of the Northwest. To be true to its theme of Yukon con man AZ Charlie, we suggest dirt floors and straw-mat beds. The "Players" guest rooms are marginally better than the most basic room, but don't pay a lot more for them. The mini-suites are pretty ugly, but larger, have jacuzzi tubs, sitting areas, closed-off bedrooms and more space. If you're rich but have moderate tastes, go for the swankuluxe Penthouse suites.
Service Quality: They cater to blue-collar locals and seniors, and those folks usually don't demand a lot of attention so this is not a business hotel or a place to be pampered. The staff we have dealt with are pleasant and friendly. Even to us.
What You Get Bottles of in the Bathroom: Shampoo and soap. Not much, but take the money you saved by not staying at one of them high-brow Strip places and buy your own.
Clientele: Lots and lots of seniors and blue-collar locals. This place is to the working man what the Bellagio is to high-falutin' fat cats in tuxedoes and fancy underwear.
How's the Pool? Pretty plain. Very small, but not heavily used, so there might be a chair for you. They even have a jacuzzi and they'll give you towels, but not to keep.
Table Games: Blackjack, some double deck games and other decent rules. Craps, roulette, Pai Gow. They also have bingo. Gosh, there are just so many ways to lose. Oh, they have a huge bingo hall, too, and, technically, it's played on a table.
Bet Minimums: The craps game is $2 minimum at slow times with 5x odds. They have pretty low limits in the rest of the casino. Some $4 blackjack (yes, we double-checked, they have the only $4 games we've ever seen), $10 Pai Gow, and dollar roulette with a $4 minimum are available.
Machines: A lot of video poker, with a a few full-pay, can be had. Plenty of old slots. Overall, a good selection for the nickel and quarter players. But for you high-rollers there is a salon with machines up to $5 a pop.
Cocktails? Good. There's plenty of booze flowing in this joint, and maybe you can get your mouth around some of it.
Who Gets Comps? Just about anybody. You don't have to play much before they start in with the promotions. They do a lot of goofball stuff like giving free points and point multipliers to slot club members. The A.C.E. club is how you get your comps.
Frisco Market Buffet: The Frisco buffet is edible and inexpensive, and that's about all you can say about it. The decor is sort of nice, but you can't eat the chairs. (We found them too tough to chew.) The choices are very traditional with the emphasis on heavy American favorites.
Ron's Steakhouse: You know Ron? you know, that guy, with the thing. Well, now he has a steakhouse, you know where he makes that stuff and those other things. Including traditional steaks, crab cakes and all the stuff you expect from an old school steakhouse. Yeah! that Ron. The one whose prices are better than the Strip.
Sourdough Cafe: Don't let the fancy name fool you. This ain't no frou frou San Francisco haute cuisine place; it's just a coffee shop. They serve up greasy steak and eggs and a few other specials 24 hours a day for only $3.99.
They have a Subway and Noble Roman Express, in case you're in the mood for a pretty crappy, doughy sandwich or the among the world's worst pizza.
Naughty Ladies Saloon: This is a nice lounge, dance floor off the casino floor. It's sort of its own space, so if the lounge act is good, it can get bump and grind in here. And that's a good thing. When there aren't live acts, a large screen shows sporting events.
Number of TVs: Thirty-four, half of which are for sports. The rest are for the ponies and dogs. There is one big projection screen in the joint.
Number of Seats: About 75 decent, upholstered chairs. They have about thirty seats with individual TVs, but no free breakfast cereal. The seats do have individual desk lamps. Send the kiddies here to do homework.
How Many Betting Windows? About eleven. Odds posted on white slate boards.
Free Drinks? Yes, in fact the waitress didn't even ask to see a bet stub. Maybe she figured we would bet once we got a little juice in our gullets.
Snack Bar? Not right in the book, but you can grab a sandwich at Subway nearby. Or, if you're a true gambler, try the Noble Roman's. In the book there are vending machines for ice cream bars and cigarettes. Everything you need to do a party right.
Minimum Wager: $5 for sports, $2 for races.
Other Notes: This is a pretty small room, but it's okay. Still, don't come out here unless you want to feel small and just okay.
Number of Tables: Three tables, and we suspect they only have the second and third to keep the first from getting lonely.
Comfort of Chairs: Pretty awful. They're covered in cloth, but not in great shape.
Closed Room or Open to Casino? Open, and moderately smoky and noisy. It's right smack dab between the pizza joint and the sports book. There's enough action in the nearby sports book to be a bit of a nuisance. There is a half wall surrounding it. That at least keeps out the midgets and very small dogs.
Game Spreads and Limits: Structured 4-8 Hold 'Em is the main game you can expect in this joint. They also claim to deal $1-$2 No Limit, but only at night.
How Crowded is the Room? They don't get a ton of business, so it's rare that you have to wait for a seat, unless only one table is running.
Comps? Free drinks while playing. $5 discount at their restaurants after three hours.
How Good Are the Players? These are locals who tend to play tight and the familiarity level is high. They have cheap tournaments some days.
What Else Do I Need to Know? They got some swell cash bonuses for high hand and bad beat. Of course, you have to play both cards out of your own hand to win them. The three of a kind on the board never gets any respect.
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