The original Arizona Charlie's in the northwest section of town opened this sister hotel out on Boulder Highway in 2000. It features basic motel-style accommodations with lovely, well-tended grounds, plus a casino, a couple of restaurants, a lounge, and various other less interesting but still functional amenties.

This hotel's location on Boulder Highway is not as bad as you'd immediately suspect. Although it certainly isn't within walking distance of the main attractions on The Strip, the drive is not bad at all. I made it from my room to the Rio parking garage in under 15 minutes, something that you probably couldn't accomplish if you were staying at one of the big hotels on The Strip. However, I have to give it a lower score in this category just because any time you want to go to the places most tourists will want to go, you'll have to get in your car to do so.

And that drive is worth it when you consider the price. You'd have a hard time finding a better deal anywhere in Las Vegas, especially for what you get. As low as $29 weekdays and $49 on weekends means that you're going to save yourself a lot of money by staying out here.

The rooms, located in three-story motor inn style buildings, come in two different styles. The first is a basic motel room, which won't provide you with the most luxurious surroundings in town, but it's clean and comfortable.

The second are suites, which are roughly the size of two basic motel rooms. You enter into a sitting area with a sofa, chair, coffee table, writing table, and a television. An adjoining bedroom/bathroom features a bed (duh), dresser, nightstands, a wardrobe area, and a second television.

Each room comes with air, telephone(s), cable TV(s) with in-room movies and services, iron and board, and your basic shampoos, conditioners, and the like.

There's a small casino, several restaurants including a decent, low-priced buffet, a lounge with live entertainment, a pool, coin-laundry, free-parking (outdoor and covered), and a separate RV park for all you Winnebago types out there.

A 2006 remodeling and expansion added a little bit more gaming space, a new front desk, a players' club center, and a revised entryway. Nice, but nothing to write home about.

Even though the casino is 75,000-square-feet it seems small by Strip standards and you shouldn't come here if you're a big slot-machine player. The bulk of the gaming area, located on two floors, is taken up by video poker machines (which were very generous to us on our original visit but not so much after that). There are also blackjack, craps, and roulette tables with very low limits, so if you're tired of the $10 per hand blackjack at Bellagio, this may be the place for you. I liked the laid back, friendly feeling here and loved how much money I won. They say that neighborhood casinos like this often have higher payouts on their slots and video poker, and if my experience was any indication they are probably right!

The casino also features a small Sports Book, a Bingo Parlor, and a casino lounge with live entertainment.

Friendly service is one of the cool things about Arizona Charlie's East. I didn't run in to one person who didn't have a smile and a "how ya doin?" for me. The casino staff was especially friendly, giving helpful, patient pointers to the less knowledgeable while keeping things moving for everyone else. They cheered along with everyone who won and seemed genuinely disappointed for the losers.

Overall, a very nice, inexpensive alternative to the grand palaces on The Strip.

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