The Strip and Fremont Street are well known in the Las Vegas valley, both to locals and tourists. Most Las Vegas locals don’t want to go anywhere near either location as most people living in Las Vegas work near or around them. But where do locals go when they want to let lose for the weekend, for a nightly outing, or the ever popular “staycation”? They go to local casinos. Interestingly, local casinos can be just as busy or even busier than some of the more well known party spots in Las Vegas.

Boulder Station Casino

Boulder Station is considered to be a locals casino. Boulder Station is part of the Station Casinos chain of casinos around the Las Vegas valley. It’s definitely one of the older casino properties having opened in 1994, and it does show its age. While some hotels remodel every few years, Boulder Station for the most part has remained unchanged, however they do keep it clean and the technology has obviously stayed with the times. While it is mostly filled with older locals, there are a few benefits for tourists. For a starter, Boulder Station has child friendly attractions.

Yes, Las Vegas has been hailed as the City of Sin, but the casino operators have realised that a lot of people do come here to visit family or for vacations. On site Boulder Station casino has an arcade, movie theater, and also Kids Quest, which is a casino daycare complete with crawling tubes and activities. A place like this is incredibly invaluable for parents that want to go for a dinner alone and gamble afterward.

Now, for the adults and those celebrating their 21st birthdays, they do have slot machines and table games. It seems like every time I walk in there they have a new machine that draws attention to it, mainly because it’s from a current trending movie or television franchise. Whatever it is, it is always iconic and always fun. One of the newer slot machine ranges that has been brought here is the new Lord of the Rings series.

Boulder Station Casino Cinemas

Boulder Station also has your standard table games of blackjack, poker, pai gow and craps. When walking through, the most popular casino table game seemed to be double-deck blackjack. At just a $5 wager, all seven seats were filled and the tables appeared to be hot if all the hooting and hollering were any indication.

If you’re a Boarding Pass member (their loyalty card), and you’re present during specific times during the week, they are currently having daily drawings for cash and prizes. When you swipe your Boarding Pass you are entered into the monthly drawing for a chance to win cruises, meals, hotel rooms and even cars. And with every swipe, you could win up to 1 MILLION points, which translates into a lot of awesome prizes and cash you can trade in for.

If gambling isn’t your thing, but eating is, Boulder Station has a couple of those smaller restaurants that no one thinks about when they come to Las Vegas. When people come here, they want to dine at the latest and greatest venues. The Broiler is a great eating venue. While the ambiance is a little dated, and may not be as nice as The Strip’s Steakhouse 47, I guarantee the food quality is going to be just as good, if not better, and for a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere. Number one rule of Las Vegas: Price does not always reflect quality.

Overall, whether you’re a local or a tourist, you will feel at home here at Boulder Station. There’s no one around pestering you to hit up the newest club in town (whether it be night or strip), no one trying to sell you tickets to shows you’ve never heard of. It’s laid back, classy, and makes you feel good walking in and walking out.

Written by Charmaine Bird, in March 2014.