Sin City that Never Sleeps
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Where Big City Bustle Meets Desert Debauchery
The high-octane rollercoaster that zig-zags its way around the exterior of the New York, New York Hotel & Casino is a fitting parallel to all the thrills (and sometimes chills) that dwell with its 84,000-foot gaming premises.
Rocketing up, down, and all around its Manhattan skyline (and sometimes spinning you upside down), it’s an adventure that mimics the abrupt shifts in fortune that too often come with the Las Vegas experience.
It’s here, in all its electric vibrance, that things can change in just a Big Apple minute.
Since 1997, New York, New York has welcomed countless visitors through its crowned awning at the southwest elbow of the Strip. Its ample 60-plus table games and 1,500 slot machines inhabit the premises like urban dwellers, keeping abuzz a gaming floor that rarely seems to slumber.
A sturdy footbridge draws pedestrians over from the adjacent MGM Grand the way the GWB connects Manhattanites to northern Jersey. At its peak, the foot traffic spilling through its busy foyer is reminiscent of 42nd Street during rush hour.
Once inside, the resort offers all the signature eateries of Midtown Manhattan, serving up everything from a Broadway burger to a slice of New York-style pepperoni & cheese.
As for the casino itself, well, it’s time to start spreading the news about this undeniable gem.
Descending upon the action via escalator, you’re quickly engulfed in a full-scale grapple in the Apple. It’s here that wars are waged with austere blackjack dealers, roulette wheels, and one-armed adversaries.
New York, New York serves up its own unique flavor of ambience, appealing to the working-class stiffs of Brooklyn as much as the snooty aristocrats of Park Avenue.
During chipster’s recent fling with the Casino that Never Sleeps, the table minimum’s remained A-affordable, as we pushed our luck across a series of slots, blackjack stations, and crapless craps layouts. Although we found the tables choppier than the Hudson River, the amicable dealers kept the morale high and the squabbling low.
While our fortunes didn’t quite stretch to Wall Street proportions, our bankrolls never exactly plummeted to Ground Zero either.
The Call: Despite its themes of grandeur, New York, New York feels more like a middle-class suburb to the metropolis vibe of nearby MGM, Aria, and Mandalay Bay. Boasting a somewhat modest setting with generic amenities, it hardly reaches the raucous clamor of its East Coast namesake, which could be considered either an upside or a drawback.
While we yearned for the ultra-cool ESPN Zone of yesteryear (the extraordinary sports pub closed its doors in 2010), New York, New York still postures itself as one of the biggest hits on Broadway ... or in this case, Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s a place where, if you can make it there, you’ll truly want to be a part of it.
