wallysantiago

@SKSports

Please do not misunderstand, Rick Barnes is a very good coach to a certain level. Amazing record of getting teams invited to the prom. Hits a glass ceiling at that point. Check out his record at Providence, Clemson, Texas, and now Tennessee. Always gets the invite, never wins prom queen. Underperformer, there's a reason why he's at Tennessee now after Texas let him go. No scandals (he's a Christian, haha like Christians don't have their share of shady sh...t). Solid coach, he just can't win the big one. Like I said, I'm not a hater, still early today against Kentucky. 

@DialedCaper7

 Not a hater, just a Rick Barnes coached team, they'll underperform.

Crash: If you are acquainted with Element Hotels (Westin and Starwood brands, non-gaming, green/eco focus, but, not over the top, very nice, spacious, great free breakfasts). One mile from Red Rock off I-215. They are currently offering a $96 rate non-refundable deposit  ($87 AAA or AARP rate if you have either refundable deposit, honestly, I would book under one of these rates and claim I forgot my card works all the time, also, you can book a reservation now and cancel at the last minute) for 2/1- 2/4/12 dates.Reservations are for accessible rooms, once you arrive the hotel will switch you out if you prefer. Element is little out of the way, but, accessible to anywhere on I-215 (the beltway around LV). Quite a peaceful and quite new hotel, but, can be in the middle of action at the Red Rock Casino very quickly).

Just been in Vegas for the holidays. A few more insights.

1) Southpoint Casino meets all of your criteria, easy in-and-out, easy access to freeways, close shopping, however, the parking lot fills up for major sporting and special events as well as busy weekends. BTW, the surface parking lot mentioned previously is SE not SW side. Once the surface parking near the sportsbook fills up, it is a pretty good walk. Also, Hilton used to be OK, I still go there, but, quite honestly it's way down since losing the Hilton brand association and becoming the LVH. Kinda dumpy.

2) Some posters may disgaree with this, but, in my opinion, since William Hill is virtually everywhere (took over the old LeRoy's sites plus added many more) from major casinos to very local places, it is very easy to get a bet in at prevailing odds and collect on tickets, any WH site will cash a ticket regardless of which WH site the bet was placed at. Gives you a lot more flexibility as to where to stay with a car.

 3) I guess it is just me, but, I try to avoid the strip at all costs. I recently stayed one night at the Wynn and in my opinion staying on the strip was awful. Too many people, too much traffic, etc. I have that feeling in spite of the fact I have a pretty good knowledge of the non-strip access by car to most of the strip hotels. BTW, the Wynn is a VERY nice hotel and had pretty good access to their sports book from the parking garage (excellent design of parking garage relative to location of casino).

Staying on the strip seems to be a question of being in the heart of the action which many people prefer. If not, there are several nice places, Red Rock (NW side near Summerlin), Green Valley Ranch and Sunset Station (SE side near Henderson), all three Station Casinos, M Resort (Cantor gaming, three miles south of Southpoint Casino I-15 south St. Rose Parkway exit). I am sure there are more, bit, all of these hotels are options meeting your criteria.

Hope all this helps.

South Point, surface parking in southwest parking area, furthest distance 200-300 feet to walk directly into the sportsbook, most of the time much less. Sometimes parking in the southwest surface area gets a little challenging (e.g. Sunday NFL), most of the time not a problem.

Thanks VegasGourmet. In reading over the previous posts, I obviously skipped over your earlier point, my apologies. After reading your response about BarMasa, I did a quick search, and I came across this:

",,,Restaurant Masa garnered the Michelin Guide's highest rating starting in the 2009 edition and was the first Japanese restaurant in the U.S. to do so.^[6][7] It is one of only seven restaurants in New York City to currently hold a four out of four star rating by The New York Times.^[8] It has also received five out of five stars in the Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as the Mobil Guide).^[9]"

^{Granted, this is speaking of his NYC restaurant and these types of ratings need to be used with a keen eye. Nonetheless, BarMasa sounds like a great place, I definately learned something through this thread and will give BarMasa a try.}

If you are planning on spending $400 for sushi, Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel. Simple. Research it,

Hope everyone enjoyed the SB, win or lose. Curious about what everyone did with these Wynn PSuites. I never heard back from the Wynn on my offer so I showed up SB weekend and they honored the reservartion with a Parlor Suite in the Tower Suites portion of the hotel. GREAT ROOM. 1300 sf. Forbes and Mobil 5 star rating, blah, blah, blah. I have been in some pretty impressive properties (Ritzs, Four Season, St. Regis, etc.), nonetheless, the PS was as good as it gets. Certainly got unbeilevable value at $140 a night. Thanks Twiggy for the info.