Harrah's is one of the most successful gambling franchises in history, built on a rock-solid financial foundation, heavily oriented towards good customer-service. Harrah's now controls dozens of casinos scattered all over the United States and overseas -- almost all of which are immensely profitable (Harrah's New Orleans, being the exception, which is a disaster). Harrah's was the quickest casino chain to recover from the post 9-11 economic downturn. According to reports, Harrah's posted record profits in the last quarter, while many other casinos continue to languish in the midst of a recession. Harrah's has a powerful influence over the industry -- exemplified by the Harrah's School of Hotel Management at UNLV. The school is named for Harrah's founder and is THE school of choice for casino executives.

The question is -- what makes Harrah's so successful?

I believe Harrah's success is due in large part to its focus on catering to the middle class gambler. While just about every big casino on Vegas Strip (and elsewhere) is competing for the affections of the affluent gambler, Harrah's markets itself to the "average" working man and woman. While the Mirage, Bellagio, Venetian, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, The Palms, and Rio trip all over themselves desperately try to attract the upscale crowd, Harrah's is very content to roll out the red carpet for good old regular folks -- housewives, construction workers, insurance salesmen, and so forth. Mercedes' and Lexus' pull up at valet parking at the Bellagio. Buicks and pick up trucks self-park at Harrah's. You won't find "the pretty people" drinking Cosmopolitans inside Harrah's -- but you will see lots of cocktail trays filled with Budweiser longnecks. This casino is almost always jam packed with REAL people. That's Harrah's in a nutshell.

Harrah's Las Vegas certainly owes some of its success to its outstanding location. It stands at what is essentially the "Times Square" of Las Vegas. Harrah's is located right across the street from the Mirage, Caesars, and Treasure Island, it's flanked by the Imperial Palace on one side and the Venetian on the other (Casino Royale is actually the next casino). Step for step, this is one of the busiest sidewalks in the Las Vegas. Think of it this way -- You have to talk down a looooooong escalator to enter the Mirage. You have to walk a half-mile to go into Caesars. But you can step right into Harrah's because it's one step off the main sidewalk. Which casino is the "clueless tourist" going to enter to shot off his last ten bucks? That's right, Harrah's.

Despite Harrah's proven ability to make money, there's not much about Harrah's (Las Vegas) that appeals to me personally. There is no poker room (heretics!). A few years ago, Harrah's tried to host a major tournament and it was the biggest disaster in poker history. I've seen several shows at Harrah's and never been much impressed. There is an Improv comedy club at Harrah's but this club isn't half as good as the comedy show that used to run at the Maxim (now closed). The bottom line is -- I'm not a fan of this casino.

Now, let's get to the sportsbook.

The sportsbook at Harrah's is highly unusual -- even in a city known for lots of originality. It's actually half-sportsbook / half-bar. The sportbook tucked away almost out of sight at the rear of the casino and is sunken beneath the main floor. There is a large bank of seated slot machines bordering the outside of the sportsbook area, and you must step down to a wooden floor to enter. On the right side is a large bar -- with 10-15 tables. On the other side is the "sportsbook" with electronic tote boards and a small counter with tellers. In essence, the sportsbook is integrated into a bar-lounge.

There are plenty of televisions (10-12) inside the sportsbook, including one large screen. Trouble is, the TVs circle around the viewing area. So, if you are watching multiple games, it's not easy to see everything without moving your head as of you were watching a tennis match. Back and forth. Back and forth. After a full Sunday of games at Harrah's my shirt size jumped from a 16 to a 17. Hey, a mugger threatened to cut my throat, but the blade bounced off. Hey! Ho!. Okay, enough lounge lizard humor. Back to the review.

Positives: This is one of the few Vegas sportsbooks where you can order food. There is waitress service right inside the sportsbook with the standard light fare, such as hamburgers, wings, and other cholesterol-laden fare that will block your arteries like a rush hour traffic jam. But, at least it's a decent meal. Another positive is that the sportsbook has very comfortable, padded. lounge-style seats. There are tables and chairs. I estimate there are about 50-60 seats in the sportsbook -- not enough. But if you are one of the lucky few to get a seat, life can be good. Screw the poor standing masses.

This creates a big crowding problem. The seats at Harrah's fill up at least an hour before game time and are impossible to come by if you show up late during a big game (such as Monday Night Football, baseball playoffs, etc.). That means at least half of the viewers are left standing around being miserable and annoying the rest of us who were lucky enough to get a seat. Unless you can avoid it, don't sit at the bar. You are likely to get locked in with people standing all around you, and if you try to look at multiple televisions, you will need a chiropractor after it's all done.

The tote board here is terribly inadequate. This is a common problem at most smaller Vegas sportsbooks. One of the costs of digitizing a tote board is that LESS information is available to the public. Unless the sportsbook is very large and can post the screens up high and put up all the lines, totals, futures, propositions, etc. -- there is no point in having an electronic tote board. Take a hint, people. Sure, it looks prettier when you walk by, but information and accuracy is sacrificed. What this reveals is -- much like the casino -- the Harrah's sportsbook is catering to the average, middle-class, Budweiser drinking, hamburger-eating, French-fry farting tourist, that wants to make a $50 bet on the favorite and bet five parlays. They want to make sure frat boy in his Packer's t-shirt is happy and comfortable, and aren't terribly concerned about being a serious sportsbook (and probably don’t give a rat's ass about a review like this).

In Las Vegas, Harrah's is the Wendy's of sportsbooks. Not a bad place for no-frills stopover, but not much more than that.

ATMOSPHERE: B-

COMFORT: A

TV SCREENS: D

STAFF: C

COMMITTED TO SPORTS GAMBLING: D

OVERALL: C-