Worst Sports Books in Vegas . . .

I would make a bet in one of these books if the price is right, but I wouldn't watch the game here:

1.  Harrah's.  This place is like those old vegas books-only shops.  Remeber Churchill Downs Book?  The TV screens are old and the color on the screens are ridiculously bad.  Harrah's is supposed to be the flagship property for Cesar's Entertainment.  In other words, Harrah's was too ashamed to attach their own name on their company, so they used Cesar's name.  The same thing applies to this decrepid sports book.  But, it's usually crowded.

2.  MGM.  The MGM property has over 5,000 hotel rooms, so yeah, their sportsbook will be crowded, but there's not a whole lot of space in this place and many times customers are walking in front of the screens blocking out the action.  One would expect better.

3.  Excalibur.  Back when I was still betting horses, I was there and there is absolutely NO LIGHTING to handicap the races!  How can you study with no lights in the book or at the tables?

4.  New York New York.  This place is way too small and it's near the exit so transient people stop by out of curiosity making it too crowded.  It's right next to the formerly ESPN sports zone, so one would expect a bigger book.

5.  Bally's.  I've never been in this book because I don't know where it is.  Seriously, I've NEVER BEEN IN THIS BOOK! So if I can't find it, there is the problem, bad accessability.

so which books are best?

ive noticed that promark has a kind of negative attitude, most of his threads are negative. Why is this promark? most of his threads start with "worst"........... cant we be positive ? dont you have any good experiences? wouldnt we all like to bring the forum "up" instead of "down"?

I actually always liked ballys, even though it is way out of the way. It's by a food court at the end of a shopping mall lol. But it has theatre seating, so kind of cool in a way. Small screens but personal tvs help.

Ny ny does suck bad, lol

NY/NY is great for making bets without lines...especially halftime bets...then going back into the Sporting House (which is far superior to the old ESPN Zone run by Disney)....or having outrageously good mexican food (some of the best in Vegas) at Gonzalez..and cheap too. The new burger bar with angus beef burgers has great flat screens at the bar which is a 90-second walk to the sportsbook.

If you are the kind of person who prefers to hang out in a sportsbook, then, yeah, it's not for you. But if you have a life in addition to being a gambler, then why hang out in a sportsbook?

NY/NY, IMHO, is the best sportsbook for making a bet and going on with your life.

Thanks for the input, cateasy, I'll find it and check it out.  Also good points by vegas gourmet.  When you think about it, NYNY's book is the smallest so it's easy to walk right up and make a bet instead of walking the length of a huge sportsbook like cesars.

freshros, here are my favorite books:

1. Tropicana.  It's well designed with state-of-the-art screens and managers who will switch them fast depending on the action,  It's a cantor book so the tables have much info especially for horse betttors like win, place and show pools.  Plus its only a 3-minute walk to MGM's book and a 5-minute walk to Hooters book for price shopping.

2.  Venetian.  Also a cantor book, the atmosphere is loud on college saturdays and NFL sundays.  The screens are top notch.  The big negative about the Trop and Venetian is their drink comps are stingy.  Keep that in mind.

3.  Cesars.  A big airy book that draws enthusiastic crowds, probably because Cesars has such a divers clientele.  What that means is that Cesars isn't an upscale property, it's more middle-class filled with people who like to think their upscale.  But that's what makes it comfortable and fun.

4. Palazzo.  Legasse's stadium is certainly unique.  It's like being in the downstairs den.  If you've never been there, give it a look.

5.  Monte Carlo.  I watched a soccer game here one time and it was fun (I didnt have a bet, but there were large crowds rooting for Mexico against Brazil).  The design of the book is nice and comfortable.

How doesn't circus circus make this list.  Can't get much suckier than that book?

Yeah the Circus book is bad and the Riviera accross the street is bad too.  You can't see in the Circus book.  But that propert hasn't changed much over 30 years and is kind of nostalgic.  Circus Circus still packs them in even though it's not really connected to the other strip hotels anymore.

I quite like Excalibur, it has plenty of seats and is right next to a bathroom and bar which is key. Ph is a nice book too although it needs more seats. Paris is decent, Bellagio are Wynn are the best 2 if you can get a seat. Those fancy books always take reservations from their VIPs. I'm actually headed to Vegas this Sunday, tons of cheap rooms, I'm debating on Paris, mirage and ph. Any suggestions?

Nothing wrong with Bally's other than the chairs begin to hurt after a few hours and the waitress's are really slow because they don't have enough of them working on Sunday.. Personal TV for every 2 seats and 5 big screens.  It's not tops on the list but by no means should it be on the bottom 5 list.

True about Excalibur, the bathroom is RIGHT there.

Lol yeah i remember Ballys sports book, i wasnt looking for it, but was walking through their mall or whatever and just stumbled upon it FAR away from the casino floor haha

And Harrahs aint that bad, its nothing special of course but it seems like a standard average sports book, nothing terrible there

MGM is stingy with its drink tickets and he Luxor doesn't even give them out. You have to bet the ponies to get a drink. Right next to the ph book there's an abc liquor store, makes up for their poor drink service.

Stayed at the Circus about a year ago (not by choice) & the book isn't that bad...........mostly because nobody goes in there. It's pretty small but I guess they renovated it a couple years ago so at least it's fairly clean & the seating is comfortable. They weren't too tight with drink tix but it didn't matter because the drinks sucked.........I either got beer or was mixing my own in the room.

  Not saying I wanna go back there but it was tolerable..........+ the LVH is only a 10 min. walk from there.

Just because youre too lazy to find it Ballys has a decent sportsbook with stadium style seating 4 big projector screens and tvs at every seat.  It's VERY EASILY accessible from the side entrance literally a few feet away from the parking lot.  If you can't find it, all you have to do is ASK, or follow the signs... LOL It's not the best but it's pretty solid.  Usually not too crowded and the service is good.

I never go to the strip....

 

Bwha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Barbury Coast (now called Bill's, bad name change) has a very underated book. Not so good for just sitting around and watching the games but its never too crowded and tables are close by. You can play the tables, watch the games at the same time, make bets quickly. If you happen to be there at 6-7 am you can watch all the wacked out drug zobies making their way up from Drais. If you so desire you can throw your fishing pole out and snag one of the 20 something stumbling through the casino after a night partying at Drais. No cover or overpriced drinks on your part and you still reap the rewards. Give it a try.

Sorry that is the Barbary Coast and 20 something females. Not that there is anything wrong with the other way.

My entire family, brothers, sisters, parents lives in Las Vegas , my daughters went/go to UNLV and I own a Condo there.....and I don't know anyone that lives in Vegas that goes to the strip, unless they work there.....Why would they? It's a sh!thole...And whats with watching the games in the book? Do to circumstances beyond my control I had to do it once for an NBA playoff game and I saw a lot of North Las Vegas black people overeacting to every shot...Jumping up and down, making a lot of noise? Major drama queens..Then there's the trash bags from LA......I'd rather sit in my car and listen to the game on the radio than be in there...Or just do something else and check the scores on my phone...

BiggDoug, thats great but we all don't live there. I'm sure like everything else it gets old. But to most of us who are lucky to get there once a year there is nothing like it. Don't be a wet blanket in a Vegas forum you sour puss. 

Yep...When I lived in Florida I never went to Disney World, or those Gator Parks either...Its for tourists- 

 

And its not even fun for a few weekends a year..Its never fun