The Cal is one of my favorite places to gamble downtown. You do really well at the slots by the door. Tip the cocktail waitress and she will take care of you for the rest of the night. In fact, one of them now refers to my mother and I as "Miller Lite and Bud Light."

The table games are just okay, the dealers aren't usually a lot of fun and are very strict about hand signals, etc. A lot of casinos downtown will lower their $5 minimums to $2 or $3 late at night on weekdays, but I've never seen The Cal do that, even when the casino is dead!

The Player's Club is a pretty good deal here. It's the same card as Main Street, which is attached to The Cal via skywalk. Try using your points at the Main Street buffet--definitely the best buffet downtown.

The Cal has some good eats, too. Market Street Cafe has some fantastic late-night specials, including your usual breakfast items along with fun Hawaiian specialties like Oxtail Soup. (Hint: There's always a huge line for this place from like 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Skip the line and sit at the counter!!) Aloha Specialties upstairs is a great place to get Hawaiian food during the day, too.

The hotel rooms are surprisingly fantastic. They were just remodeled with a very cool modern/tropical decor. The rooms are always very clean and bright... They have flat screen televisions and mini-fridges. There are very small in-room safes and hairdryers. No in-room coffee makers, though. The Cal has probably the cheapest and best room service breakfast menu you will find in Las Vegas, though!

The pool is a rooftop deal, with not a lot of sunlight, and not very pleasant. There is no lifeguard and when we were there, no towels! If you're looking to spend a lot of time at a pool, stay at the Golden Nugget.

I prefer Downtown over the strip because my gambling money lasts quite a bit longer. There are many casinos within walking distance of the Cal. The Cal. is attached to Main Street Station (MSS), so you get two casinos for one.

We like video poker and both places have a good variety of machines. After you put in hours of vp play, be sure to ask for a food comp. Friendly staff and casino slot hosts. The Cal has two good restaurants and? MSS has a couple as well.

When leaving to visit the Fremont Experience or other casinos late at night, take the short cut through the Vegas Club casino. This way you are in a well lit area for the short walk (20 meters max) to the Vegas Club.

Visited on a Wednesday night. The staff was very nice. Not crowded at all.

The walk from Fremont Street was scary. It's a dark alley.

Once inside, the place is nice and table minimums are low. Slots are okay.

Visited the casino 7-9-08. There was hardly anybody in the casino.

Gave my money to the roulette table. The staff was nice.

The area outside was scary after dark. We walked from Fremont Street and walked fast.