Return To Las Vegas With A Six Hour Layover

Las Vegas is one of my favorite American cities. I’ve been visiting Las Vegas each year, sometimes multiple times a year, since 1988. But I haven’t been able to return since the chaotic COVID days of March 2020. My 20-month absence was the longest time I’ve spent away from Sin City from when I was first introduced to it.

I admit it. I’m a gambler. And I was jonesing for Las Vegas.

So when my schedule called for travel to a Midwestern city with limited non-stop connections, I instead arranged a layover of just over six hours between my flights into and out of Las Vegas McCarren, LAS. I checked my duffel bag directly to Burbank (still free luggage on Southwest) and sprinted out of the airport carrying only a backpack.

The Las Vegas Strip can be as little as 20 to 30 minutes from the airport by taxi or rideshare, depending on how long the wait is to get a car. What can you do in a six-hour layover in Las Vegas?

·       You can get out of the airport and stretch your legs walking on the Strip.

·       You can get a good meal at any number of fine restaurants.

·       You can imbibe a drink or two at many fine establishments.

·       If you time it right (and you are not already sick of ‘flying’) you could ride the Big Apple Coaster at New York New York or view Vegas from the High Roller Observation Wheel at the Linq.

·       If you are traveling with children, there are a number of child-friendly activities like Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay, Fun Dungeon at knights-and-armor themed Excalibur, Hershey’s Chocolate World at New York New York, MARVEL’S AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N. at Treasure Island, Hershey’s at MGM Grand or the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus.

·       Depending on time of arrival, you might even be able to catch a Las Vegas show, which are starting to return in force.

But there’s one thing you can always do it Las Vegas when you arrive at any time of day or night. That’s gambling, or gaming, as the casinos prefer to call it. And that’s why I arranged the layover in Sin City.

Unfortunately, it has become harder to find a good blackjack game in Las Vegas, as most hotels on the Strip have changed rules that benefit players. One major change has been the near extinction of the 3:2 payout on blackjack. So if you are playing the game of blackjack, (21), at a $10 table and get an ‘ace and a face’ (or 10) your payoff will be $12 at a 6:5 table, as opposed to $15 at the rare tables offering 3:2 blackjack payouts.

Several casinos do offer better odds on blackjack and other games. Unfortunately, most are in downtown Las Vegas, a much longer cab ride from the airport. As I was there on a Saturday afternoon, I feared gathering traffic could make catching my return flight dicey.

Instead, I decided on Treasure Island in the Central Strip area. The pirate-themed casino (appropriate for Las Vegas) is owned by billionaire and friend of Donald Trump Phil Ruffin, rather than corporations like MGM, Wynn, Caesar’s and Las Vegas Sands.

According to one gambling publication, “Treasure Island wins our best Las Vegas Strip blackjack value. All its two and six-deck blackjack games pay 3:2.” This was music to my ears. So after a quick Uber ride to the splashy new Resorts World Casino (where I needed to play at a $100 table to get a 3:2 blackjack payout) I walked south to Treasure Island.

The casino was packed on that Saturday afternoon, particularly with young people. Almost everyone was wearing a mask. The line into Senor Frog’s (“2-for-1 yards every day”) stretched nearly the length of a football field. I skipped it, instead finally finding the one open seat at a $25 dollar six-deck, 3:2 table.

I played basic strategy, hit 16s against face cards, doubled down where appropriate. I tipped the cocktail waitress and tried to bet for the dealer. I did most everything right, although I was rusty enough to stay at a table where one player was committing the cardinal sin of splitting 10s.

But with just 20 minutes before I needed to return to the airport, I was down almost $500. I took a deep breath and played what I swore would be my last shoe of cards. It went well and shave my deficit to $322.50. I grabbed my chips and cashed out at the cage.

I was barely in time. At 6PM on a Saturday night, the Las Vegas streets were packed. People were rushing to dinner or a show. The Rolling Stones were playing at Allegiant Stadium, and Canelo Alvarez would knock out his opponent at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

I lost at the tables, but had a good time on my six hour layover. Las Vegas had won again.