Online Poll Results:

Best Restaurant Inside a Hotel:

Hugo's
The online crowd knows great dining, as you chose Hugo's at The Four Queens as the best in this category. Hugo's edged out Billy Bob's at Sam's Town, The Steakhouse at Circus Circus and Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM. I'd like to make a reservation for two at 9 p.m., please.

Best Restaurant Outside a Hotel

Outback
This was a very close contest, but the Outback Steakhouse, the place from "Down Under," narrowly beat the Tillerman and Tony Roma's. Must be that "bloomin' onion." The online readers have a wide range of taste, as this category had the greatest number of different votes. Everyone has their favorite.

Best Strip Hotel

Mirage
With attractions from white tigers to dolphins, our online readers prefer The Mirage as the best Strip hotel. I like the massive aquarium at the registration desk. A very close second went to one of the newest places, New York-New York, with Caesar's Palace coming in third.

Best Downtown Hotel

Golden Nugget
The single largest vote getter in the poll is the winner here. More than half the ballots received had Steve Wynn's place named as tops. Binion's Horseshoe and Main Street Station came in a distant second and third place respectively. They must be doing something right to be the online readers' favorite both downtown and on the Strip.

Coolest Building

New York, New York
Sure, but is it one building or an entire skyline? The new kid on the Strip pulled in more than twice as many votes as their neighbor up the street, the Luxor, with Stratosphere coming in third. Maybe next year we should ask for "second coolest building" and start a new category for "coolest cityscape."

Best Buffet

The Rio
The sometimes long, long wait must be worth it. Online readers seem to be willing to wait in the Rio lines and overwhelming voted it the best buffet in Las Vegas. People either love it or hate it, but their style has been used as a successful model by other hotels, as the Fiesta demonstrates with a strong second-place finish.

Best Showgirls

Bally's
The "Jubilee" dancers continue to please, as they edged out the Stardust "Enter the Night" ladies by a narrow margin, with the Tropicana's "Folies Bergere" coming in third. Topless dancing lives in Las Vegas (two shows nightly) despite Hollywood's efforts to give it a black eye.

Best Uniforms

Rio Cocktail Waitresses
Must be the folks waiting in line to get into the buffet who notice what the cocktail servers wear, but no matter the Rio comes out ahead. The Roman style at Caesar's rolled into second place, with the Luxor Egyptian motif finishing third. Strange vote of the poll cast here: Albertson's.

Best Place to Play Bingo

Showboat
The online crowd believes it's better at the Showboat than anywhere else. However, the Gold Coast finished a strong second place. Coming up just a few votes short and in third place was Sam's Town. Isn't that the way it goes? Always just a couple numbers away from the "bingo!"

Best Place to Play Blackjack

Binion's Horseshoe
A clear winner here, as our online crowd prefers to double-down and get "hit" at Binion's. The Las Vegas Club and Sam's Town tied for a distant second place. Here's a tip: Stay away from the "insurance" bet.

Best Place to Play Keno

Gold Coast
Keno players love their game and the potential for the big money with a small investment. The Gold Coast numbers appeal to most of our readers, but their neighbors across the street at the Rio came in a close second. Third place went to The Mirage. Several online voters let us know the don't like this game. Maybe it's the crayons on the dining tables that turn them off.

Best Poker Room

Binion's Horseshoe
Must be the sound of the cards being dealt and the chips plinking, but Binion's wins it's second live card game category. What did you expect from the home of the "World Series of Poker?" Deal 'em.

Best Place to Play Slots

Gold Coast
It was nearly a four-way tie, which goes to show that everyone has their favorite place to drop coins in the machine, but the Gold Coast edged out the Rio, Texas Station and Sam's Town. Ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching . . .

Best Hotel Entertainment

Treasure Island/Mystere
A bit of confusion with this category but the combination of fighting pirates and the wildly interesting and entertaining acrobats of Mystere topped this list. Second was a three-way tie between the Mirage (Siegfried and Roy), MGM (EFX) and the Rio (Danny Gans).

Best Las Vegas Souvenir

Money
What a novel idea: Bring money home with you after a trip to the casinos. I guess some folks actually manage to leave with cash in their pockets. You know who these winners are because they tell you about it. Or else they're sitting beside you at the tables or machines. Other favorite souvenirs include T-shirts, mugs and casino chips.

Best Place to Spend your Winnings

The Forum Shops
Caesar's is the place online voters head when there's a hole being burned in their pockets. I think they like the talking statues, because they feel like they're giving their money to a friend. Second place went to Fashion Show Mall, with "home" coming in third. Looks like you could use a new roof.

Best Las Vegas Golf Course

Desert Inn
Another category where readers show a wide-range of favorites. The links at the D.I. edged out Legacy and Angel Park courses, but readers chipped in more than a dozen others as places they prefer to tee off.

Best Dance Spot

Club Rio
This hot night spot is the place to be seen and where the floor's always crowded. Other cybervoters cast ballots for The Beach and Drink & Eat Too. Shake it up.

Best Photo Opportunity

Red Rock Canyon
What? The Strip didn't win? Not even close. The natural beauty of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just west of Las Vegas easily beat out the view from atop the Stratosphere in this category. A distant third was the million dollar display at Binion's Horseshoe. But there you can get a photo without bringing your camera.

Best Month to Visit

May
Not surprising to see votes cast for every month, but May was the favorite among the online readers. A close second was April, and October was a near-miss at third. August pulled in a lowly vote total of two. Warm springs and autumns beat hot, hot summers. Don't forget to drink plenty of water.

Best Airline

Southwest
It was almost a tie, but the green and orange of Southwest narrowly flew in ahead of America West. Delta pulled into the terminal in third place but many online readers named the charters they use to get to Las Vegas as their favorite. Getting here is only half (or less) the fun.

Best Place to Get a Suntan

Lake Mead
The biggest pool around happens to lie behind Hoover Dam, and that's where the online surfers head when they want to catch to some rays. The nice, but smaller, body of water at the Tropicana finished second and The Mirage pool splashed in at third. Did the dolphins get to vote here?

Best Place to Go When You Run Out of Money

Home
No dummies here. As long as you buy a round-trip ticket, you can usually make it home to earn more money for another Las Vegas vacation. Other spots our readers like to go include Red Rock Canyon and Mount Charleston. The ATM machine pulled up in fourth place. Hmmm. Be careful with that PIN.

Best Las Vegas Attraction

New York-New York
We don't know if it's because of the roller coaster or the skyline, but the newest hotel on the Strip is the talk of the town. The volcano at The Mirage is a distant second with the Strip itself coming in third. So much to see, so little money.

Best Thrill Ride

Big Shot
The online readers like to get to the top of things, and on the Big Shot you get there fast. Really fast. Between the Big Shot and the roller coaster, the Stratosphere rides are a big hit. Second place went the the Manhattan Express at New York-New York, with the MGM's Sky Screamer flying by in third place.

Best Performer

Danny Gans
Impressionist Danny Gans has really left an impression with online readers. This performer started out at the Stratosphere and now thrills audiences at the Rio. Just a smokescreen behind is magician Lance Burton who disappears nightly at the Monte Carlo. And let's not forget about the longtime favorites Siegfried and Roy, who placed third.

Best Non-Gaming Attraction in Southern Nevada

Hoover Dam
It may not be on the Strip but it attracts visitors from around the world. Plenty of people come to gaze at Hoover Dam's vastness and to take a tour inside. Still looking for the door Clark Griswald managed to find. Way across town is readers second option, Red Rock Canyon, a natural wonder.

Ugliest Building

Stratosphere
At 1,149 feet the Stratosphere Tower is hard to overlook, and online voters are not too happy about that as they vote the tower the ugliest building. At least it's a good landmark for those of us who have a tendency to get turned around when we're on the other side of town. Coming in second is Las Vegas city hall. Who is that a reflection on?

Worst Hotel Show

Splash
The shows at the Riviera are not gaining any new fans it seems. Splash just edged out Crazy Girls for the worst show in Las Vegas. However readers also turned their noses up at Siegfried and Roy, Starlight Express, Folies Bergere and Gone Country.

Smokiest Casino

Binion's Horseshoe
I guess with poker also comes cigarettes and cigars. Online readers say Binion's Horseshoe is the best place to find second-hand smoke. In a distant second and third, respectively, are the El Cortez and the Gold Coast (cough, cough).

Worst Street to drive on

Las Vegas Boulevard
Cruising the Strip just ain't what it use to be, and online readers are tired of waiting for lights and pedestrians. Placing a distant second is Tropicana Avenue, which just happens to intersect with the Strip. It's sometimes quicker to walk the length of Las Vegas Boulevard South than it is to drive. Where do all those cars come from?

Worst Buffet Lines

Rio
Love it or hate it. The Rio buffet topped out in both a best and worst category. At least Rio Rita stops by to cheer you up sometimes. No matter, people seem to be eating at the Rio. Second place went to Circus Circus.

Hardest Hotel-Casino to Get In and Out of

MGM
This category may explain why Tropicana Avenue is not a favorite to drive on. The MGM narrowly edged out New York-New York, its across-the-Strip neighbor for worst to navigate to and from. Both hotels have exits on Tropicana. Bring on the monorail!

Most Overrated Las Vegas Attraction

Stratosphere
Readers may enjoy the thrill rides at the Stratosphere, but overall they are not holding the hotel in high regard. Circus Circus Inc. properties also are not favorites as Excalibur placed second and Luxor placed third.

Best Place to Lose Your Money

The Mirage
Siegfried and Roy aren't the only ones at The Mirage making things disappear. Online readers voted the hotel as the best place to lose their money. Second place went to Mirage neighbor Caesar's Palace, and the MGM Grand came in third. Time to book your next Vegas vacation.

Trashiest Place in Las Vegas

Stratosphere
El Cortez
Downtown
This category garnered a three-way tie for the choice of trashiest place. Voters appear to be pounding the Stratosphere into the ground and are not too impressed with the Fremont Street Experience. Could be the voters cast their ballots from memory rather than a recent visit, as downtown has a much different face than it did even 24 months ago.

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