I have always been disappointed with the gambling downtown. You always hear about $1 BJ, 20X odd on craps, etc. While you may find some of that I frequently find that all they have are $5 min BJ tables and double odds on craps. If you are bringing your wife or better half they may be afraid to go out alone due to all of the drunks and panhandlers downtown. I went on a chip run once and went into the El Cortez about 8:30 PM. I sure didn't stay long because I didn't want to walk around in that neighborhood after dark. Yet I will walk up and down the strip at 1:00 AM with no worries. You can stay at the expensive places on the strip or the less expensive ones. I can recommend Circus- Circus, Excaliber or Tropciana as some of the nicer inexpensive ones. It is a matter of how much you want to spend. And remember that prices in the restaurants normally go at the same rate as the hotels. Sure Paris has nice rooms but how many $15 breakfasts and $35 dinner entres do you want to buy? Some of the hole in the wall places (Slots A Fun, Casino Royale, etc.)offer games as good as any downtown. Remember that you can stay at one place and visit lots of other places(unless you are really into comps). I always get a rental car and spend one day downtown, one day on the outskirts(Henderson, N. Las Vegas) and the rest of the time on the strip.