What to Wear to the Casino

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Before your next trip to the casino chances are you'll ponder just what to wear. Once I lived at Lake Tahoe, the winters were severe enough to warrant wearing the warmest clothes I had, including snow boots, gloves and a heavy coat. Without that coat I'D have froze walking the 3 blocks from my house, the 18 degree wind and snow blowing against my face.

The problem with the snow get-up was what to do with it when I got to the casino! Fortunately, Harrah's Lake Tahoe casino had a coat-check through the winter months and that i could doff my coat and revel in the environment. There's also an underground walkway between Harrah's and Harvey's, so for those who get comfortable at one casino, you will get to the opposite without bundling-up again. I've extensively utilized the coat check on the Hyatt at Incline Village.

Worth a Phone Call

Unfortunately, coat-checks come and go, so whether you're heading out within the weather to Mystic Lake, Foxwoods, or Casino Niagara, you could call ahead and adjust your outerwear a little bit. Parking can have an impact to your choice. If there's a PORTE COCHERE with valet parking, it's possible you'll escape with a skimpy jacket you'll leave within the car.

If you're overseas, especially in Europe, you need to know that many casino demand a coat and tie for men, evening wear for ladies. You do not have to decorate in a tux like James Bond, but you will have to look presentable. For you globe-trotters, there also are many casinos which are run like private clubs and also you want to pay a fee to join, or enter for the evening. Years ago you could not even gamble the primary day, you needed to wait until tomorrow. Use the phone!

If you might be walking the Vegas Strip (in a non-prostitute way) you will find gamblers in every kind of garb. In fact, I've seen guys playing craps within the casino with swim trunks on. Now that's never a beautiful sight, and the clubs are fancier now (no, I AM NOT considering the El Cortez), but there are some trends in dressing, should you will.

The Fancy Clubs

Las Vegas casinos just like the Bellagio and the Venetian should not have dress codes, but since the rooms and meals are considerably costlier than other properties, they have a tendency to have players who're more likely to be dressed-up for his or her evening of gambling and dining. You'll feel misplaced to your Bermuda shorts and sandals on the Mirage, Ceasars, and the Wynn, but nobody will think you're misplaced on the Imperial or Bally's.

Other casinos are in-between. I ATTEMPTED to eat on the Eiffel Tower restaurant in my sandals and needed to buy a couple of socks and hope nobody really checked out my feet. It worked, however the meal was $250, so I AM NOT sure who fooled who. However the point is that Vegas at night, at the Strip, goes to have a mix of dress styles, however the nicer clubs attract a nicer crowd (read: money) they usually dress better. You do not need to feel out of place.

If you're in Laughlin, Carson City, Pahrump or Elko, anything goes. Laughlin has an older crowd and you will see various men in shorts through the 110 degree summer months, but that does not mean any of them can have tan legs!

Cowboy Country

Northern Nevada has long been cowboy country. The towns of Carson City, Elko, Winnemucca, or even Reno were built around farming and ranch land, so there are many individuals who still walk around with cowboy hats. The number is dropping, though.

In the 1980's, Reno's casinos still had pit bosses walking around in boots and western suits, however the town has tried to upgrade its image somewhat. Certainly you don't want to be dressy at Boomtown or the Cal-Neva, and a cowboy hat doesn't make you mess, or a cowboy, but casinos just like the Silver Legacy and Eldorado have built nice resorts and attract a pleasant group of players.

Friday and Saturday nights will bring a mix of dress styles, and believe me, jeans are fine, but you'll dress up a little bit and feel right at home. After all summer evenings in Reno usually are 80 degrees, but on many winter nights the snow flies, and you may either wish to stay at one property, or dress for the 20 degree weather.

On the opposite hand, if you're on the Eldorado, you'll be able to stay inside and travel, because three properties are connected - the Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus. When you have kids, Circus Circus has an enormous arcade and carnival games with circus acts. What you save for your rooms you'll put towards quarters for the arcade!

On the Boardwalk

When Resorts casino first opened at the Atlantic City Boardwalk in 1978, I'M told that the majority players were in suit and tie and formal wear. Thank goodness things have changed. After virtually minting money on the club for several years, the collection of properties along the Jersey Shore grew and new avenues of selling included quite a lot of bus junkets - day trips, with players from all places at the economic scale.

Dress comfortably is my best advice. When you plan to stroll the Boardwalk, keep in mind that even the summer wind can also be cool. And, the properties are large. You cannot get to 1 after another quickly such as you can in Downtown Las Vegas.

As for Downtown Vegas, all of the three blocks of Downtown are covered, but you may want a mild jacket through the winter. Venturing around the uncovered street to the Plaza is a five minute walk, but heading the opposite direction you will get to a dozen clubs in then minutes. There was 18.

Downtown is Comfort City

If you didn't know it, Downtown Las Vegas is comfort city. Every evening there's some form of laser light show, concert, or overhead pictures to lure you into the road. Old favorite casinos like Binion's, Four Queens, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club and the Golden Gate offer reasonable room rates (Binion's rooms don't seem to be currently available) and cheap meals.

Other clubs within sight include the California Hotel, Plaza, Freemont, El Cortez, and girl Luck, Fitzgeralds, Main Street Station, and the Gold Spike. You will not need to dress as much as play downtown. You wish to expect loud music, street vendors, cheap drinks, and many kids milling around.

As the old song by the Mama's and Pappa's suggested, You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do, with whoever you wanna do it with.

Read More... [Source: About.com Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now]