Originally built by Michael Gaughan in December of 1986, the Gold Coast still stands one mile west of Las Vegas Blvd. on Flamingo road. It’s located right in between the Rio and the Palms. Now owned by Boyd Gaming, it serves well to locals who don’t quite want to be on the strip, and tourists who want to sleep for less while still having easy access to all the main attractions in Las Vegas.
Since it’s located off the main strip, all parking and valet is free, and its location offers easy access to the I-15. Shuttle service is provided every day to the Gold Coast’s sister hotel The Orleans and the strip, but only between 9:00 AM and 12:30 AM. No shuttle service to the airport is available, but you can get a discount if you rent a car from Advantage.
Unlike many casinos, Gold Coast does not maintain a theme throughout its property. Despite having renovated a few times (and as recently as 2008), this property is perhaps still best described as a “simple” casino that by all means adequately covers all the bases that any Las Vegas casino should have.
Casino at Gold Coast
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The 87,000 square foot gaming space is simply designed with all its table games assigned to one region. There is no high limit section, but the rules are meant to satisfy the players, and $5 is the minimum bet for most games. Since this casino does not concern itself with glamor and glitz, the gaming floor is somewhat smoky and the selection of games was relatively scarce.
Baccarat
During our last visit to Gold Coast, we noticed that there were quite a number of baccarat tables. There were definitely more tables than we expected, but also many more than appeared necessary. Needless to say, you’ll easily get a seat at its $10 game.
Blackjack
Blackjack players will be happy to learn that ALL tables at Gold Coast pay 3-2. Limits start at $5 and get up to $25 with the dealer having to hit on soft 17. There were no other variations of blackjack, nor were there any virtual blackjack games with a live dealer in the slots area.
Craps
Gold coast offers a few $5 craps tables with standard odds of 3-4-5.
Roulette
You’ll only find standard double zero roulette with a low, $3 minimum bet on the inside with $5 on the outside. A virtual roulette game with a live wheel is by the slots for $2.
Other Gold Coast Table Games
– Three Card Poker ($5 or $10 minimum)
– Asia Poker ($10 minimum)
– Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive ($10 minimum)
– Ultimate Texas Hold’em Progressive ($5 minimum)
– Keno (minimum varies)
– Bingo (minimum varies)
This is the area we think Gold Coast should try a little harder. Considering they have a surplus of baccarat tables, it seems reasonable to swap some of those out in favor of a couple extra mix games. We don’t expect to see a dozen like you do some places, but something besides just these four would make their table games a bit more dynamic.
A view of the Keno lounge from our last visit:
Slots at Gold Coast
A total slot count is not available, but there are many new and old all throughout the casino. Limits begin at a penny and rise in the standard increments up to $1 and $2. Some of its noteworthy games are Wheel of Fortune, The Goonies, Buffalo, Dragon Link, Ultimate Fire Link, Waling Dead, and Jurassic World. Gold Coast also runs slots tournaments regularly.
High Limit Slots at Gold Coast
High limit slot players are accommodated with their own secluded room. However, most of this section featured video poker starting at $0.25 and went up to $1, $2, $5, and $10. The slot machines had popular games like Monopoly and Wheel of Fortune, but only went up to $5 base bet.
A view of the high limit slots room from our last visit:
Video Poker at Gold Coast
Beginning with its high percentage of occupancy in the high limit slots, video poker is clearly one of Gold Coast’s strengths. In addition to being available at bars to be played for comped drinks, 14 variations of video poker were offered with payouts as high as 99.81% when playing Double Bonus Deuces.
Its lowest payout is for Deuces Wild 44, but still a modest 98.91%. You can play for a penny, nickel, or dime, and the increments continue to gradually rise to $1, $2, and $5. Video poker tournaments are also available.
Sportsbook at Gold Coast
Nothing blew us away about the Gold Coast sportsbook, but it didn’t have any gaping holes either. Smoking is allowed, and since it’s right near the casino floor it was a bit noisy. There were plenty of TVs for sports and horse racing, although only four of them could be considered big. To make up for that, there is an additional row of TVs placed above those who aren’t sitting close, and the betting board is large and conveniently off to the side.
This sportsbook is definitely big enough. Most of its seating is the racebook style desk row seats, but it easily holds 100 people. Given how active it was just during a regular weekday, we figure it will be at capacity during its biggest events.
If you want to drink during the game, you’ll have to bet $25 for sports and $20 on horses for each drink ticket you want to obtain. These amounts are a little odd when you consider just about every sportsbook demands you bet at least 5x the amount on sports than you do for horses, and in many cases it’s a whole lot more. Food wise, there is no deli nearby or anything like that, but there is a hot dog and popcorn stand.
If you are interested in live betting, the Gold Coast allows you to do it over the counter, but not every day and only for its biggest games. If you want more live betting options, open an account for free inside the sportsbook and download the Boyd Gaming sports betting app. This app doesn’t have as much live betting as most apps, but it does provide more options than the sportsbook does. As all sports betting apps allow a substantially smaller max bet, Boyd Gaming’s takes this to the extreme allowing just $500.
Hotel at Gold Coast
Going by Vegas’ standards, the hotel is relatively small with a total of 711 rooms. You can get a 10% discount with a AAA card, and the same is available for seniors and military personnel. Even though Gold Coast no longer has a poker room, they still offer a discounted poker rate during the World Series of Poker since it takes place at its neighbor, the Rio.
Regarding the rooms themselves, the standard room is 360 square feet and can often be booked for $40-$55 per night, plus the $24 resort fee. The resort fee includes free Wi-Fi along with access to the pool, fitness center, and a few other small “needs” that most people will not.
If you want to live more royally, surprisingly, the Executive Suite which is only twice the size at 720 square feet is still liable to be close to five times the price of the standard rooms and you still have to pay the resort fee. The Luxury Suite is the Gold Coast’s finest room. It is 1,400 square feet but to book it you must call since such rooms are typically reserved for VIPs.
Fitness Center
There is no spa at the Gold Coast, but it does have a barber shop on the casino floor. The fitness center is offered only to hotel guests and is open daily from 6 AM – 10 PM.
Restaurants at Gold Coast
Food options are relatively limited, and some of them are just chains like Subway and T.G.I. Friday’s. In addition to its Ports O’Call buffet which is only $22 for the steak and shrimp dinner, Gold Coast’s two most appealing casual eating options are both Asian in the Chinese Kitchen called Ping Pang Pong and Noodle Exchange. If you want something more traditionally American, there is the Bowling Snack Bar and the Red Zone lounge and sports bar.
Fine Dining
The one choice for upscale food is its American steakhouse Cornerstone. As a broad estimate it should be about $50-$100 a person as you choose from a wide variety of steaks, appetizers that include seafood, sides, draught and imported beers, and wine.
Bars at Gold Coast
If you just care to hang out for a while at the bar, the lone 24 hour option is at T.G.I. Friday’s. Apart from there, the two best options are the Red Zone and the Bowling Snack Bar. Since neither of these bars are going to be overrun with rowdy party animals, they make for a nice spot for video poker players.