Formerly known as the Aladdin, Planet Hollywood took over the property just 11 years ago in 2007. Owned by Caesars Entertainment, Planet Hollywood is centrally located across the street from the Bellagio and next to Paris. It is currently the only Caesars strip property that still allows free self-parking and valet. This is because entrance to the parking garage can only be accessed off either Harmon Avenue or Audrie Lane.
One of music’s most renowned trailblazers and the top-selling female country artist of all-time returns to the Las Vegas Strip with Shania Twain “Let’s Go!” The Vegas Residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Oct 10, 2020 Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort & Casino is located right in the middle of it all. Miracle Mile Shopping Mall (attached to Planet Hollywood) is well represented with mid-priced stores in a very comfortable setting. Lobby, valet parking, registration, gift shop, and VIP check-in are all located on the lower level. The famous casino-resort Planet Hollywood reopened its doors on Thursday, October 8. In a statement, Caesars Entertainment outlined that the venue follows strictly all health and safety protocols ensuring the well-being of both employees and guests. Planet Hollywood Reopened Its Doors for Visitors.
Planet Hollywood’s theme is in fact Hollywood, and it is one of the most youthful, energetic casinos in Las Vegas. It always seems to be up-tempo in there, even during the quietest hours of the day. As you go through everything about Planet Hollywood, you’ll see parts of it offer great value, while others do not.
After all is said and done, Planet Hollywood is one of our favorite casinos and one that we certainly recommend to millennials. Most of their customers will be tourists, but we expect that a fair number of the city’s locals will gravitate here from time to time – especially since parking is still free.
The gaming floor is a modest 61,000 square feet. The pit is basically one giant area and it’s kind of all over the place. Sex appeal is one of PH’s attractions as go-go dancers accompany the table games at night. Like most casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment, many of the table games at Planet Hollywood can be played for $5. What really stands out about this gaming floor is how unprofessionally the customers are treated. You’ll see what we mean below…
There is only 1 table offering Mini-Baccarat with $15 minimums on the main casino floor.
There are many blackjack tables and they are spread all over the main pit. Since 6-5 is usually the going rate, we weren’t surprised to see that was the payout on its $10 and $25 tables, with the dealer having to hit on soft 17. But upon entering a different part of the pit, then we saw $15 and $25 blackjack tables that paid 3-2. They had all the same rules as the 6-5 tables; the only difference is one blackjack game paid you X for drawing blackjack, and the other game paid you Y. Make sense? No, of course not.
When we asked why this was the case, the dealer just laughed and said he didn’t know. Just that they have a 6-5 section and a 3-2 section. What this tells us is the casino doesn’t think its gamblers pay attention to what they’re doing. So, while they’re willing to give you 3-2 odds, you will only get it if you either make a point to look for 3-2 or simply discover it first by happenstance.
It is a very exploitative prerogative because there is nothing illogical for a gambler to assume all tables of the same game with the same rules will have the same payout. It would be like going through a toll where one set of booths charges $1 and the other charges $1.50, and what you pay is determined by which booth you end up going through.
We realize that was a mouthful and you may not have cared to know any of that (just like the casino is willing to see if you don’t care about getting a consistent payout), but we like to educate our readers on the truly head-scratching things that go on in Las Vegas so that you pay attention and don’t let the casino let you exploit yourself.
Oh, and by the way, there’s also $25 double deck blackjack that pays 3-2 along with a couple $5 virtual blackjack games with a live dealer.
There are at least 2 craps tables at Planet Hollywood. Games run with $10 or $15 minimums offering standard odds of 3-4-5. There is also a virtual craps section available with $3 minimums.
Like blackjack, the casino also gives its players a chance to exploit themselves at roulette. They have standard double zero roulette wheels with $10 or $15 minimums, but they also have a $10 wheel with three zeros. What does that mean? It means the casino has a bigger house edge.
This completely one-sided addition is pretty amazing considering the same game with better odds can be accessed if you just walk a few feet, but Planet Hollywood is not alone in experimenting to see if its gamblers will know or care they’re giving away a bigger edge. The only actual difference is that you can bet that any of the three zeros will hit with a payout of 11-1 (true odds are 13-1). So, unless you want to play nothing but the three zeros, you are burning money by playing this game. We feel the house should just have either all double zero or all triple zero wheels, and not treat their customers like a science experiment.
There is also live-wheel virtual roulette available with a $5 minimum. You can find it by the slots.
– Three Card Poker ($5 minimum)
– Let It Ride ($5 minimum)
– Crazy 4 Poker ($5 minimum)
– High Card Flush ($5 minimum)
– Casino war ($10 minimum)
– Ultimate Texas Hold’em ($5 minimum)
– Mississippi Stud ($5 minimum)
– Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive ($15 minimum)
This is a great variety of mixed games and since there were multiple tables for several of them, we don’t think you’ll struggle to get a seat.
The high limit room for table games is large, secluded, and has both chairs and couches. All the games had minimums of either $100 or $200. The games on offer included Mini-Baccarat and blackjack.
When it comes to blakcjakc, they have double deck tables where the dealer must still hit on soft 17. If you play the shoe that has 6-decks, the dealer must stand on soft 17 and players can split aces up to four times.
There are over 1,200 slots spread around Planet Hollywood. There are a ton of video slots, but you’ll also find the traditional reel machines. You’ll find penny slots, $1 slots, and everything in between. Of the many games, some of the distinct and popular choices we noticed were Buffalo, Dragon Spin, Wheel of Fortune, Game of Thrones, and Megabucks.
The high limit slots don’t have a glamorous looking entrance, but it is located in a quiet, secluded corner of the casino. Sometimes you can find $1 machines in the high limit room to perhaps get you enticed to play bigger, but the limits are most commonly $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100. Most of the slots are new video reel machines.
A look at the high limit slots room from our last visit:
There is also a lot of video poker in the high limit slots room. Here the limits do begin low at a quarter and rise to $1. After that you can play for $2, $5, $10, or $25 per credit.
There are also many video poker machines in the casino, which is one of the best ways to get comped drinks at bars. There are a few multi-game machines in the poker room with limits of a quarter, 50 cents, $1, $2, and $5, but the vast majority of the games are confined in one large area near Café Hollywood. Here the betting limits vary a lot more, down to 10 or 5 cents per credit.
A look at the dedicated video poker section from our last visit:
You can very easily wander into the poker room since it has no entrance. It’s small $1-$2 No Limit Hold’em ($100-$300 buy-in) is its lone staple game, but every so often the $2-$5 ($200 min with no max) will run at nighttime during busy weekends, and it is available a lot during the World Series of Poker.
Planet Hollywood’s poker room will also deal $1-$2 PLO ($100-$500), but the only time it could possibly run is during the World Series. The comps pay $1 an hour and you earn 17 tier credits, and the cash games also have high hand bonuses.
During the WSOP, Planet Hollywood also runs its largest tournament series known as The Goliath. Regarding daily tournaments, there are five. The 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, and 10 PM all have an $80 buy-in with a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500. At 7 PM there is a bounty tournament ($25 bounty) with a $130 buy-in, and Sundays it’s $135 with a $10,000 guaranteed pool.
However, if you play 20 hours of cash games during the week you get a free entry to the Sunday event.
There are multiple noticeable pros and cons to this average sized, darkly lit and smoky sportsbook. There’s a lot of TVs, but most of them are small as is the racebook section. There’s plenty of seating and since PH always has a lot of energy, this will always be an active sportsbook that fills up during busy games.
There’s a lot of food and drink options nearby, including a large video poker bar and sit-down area right behind the sportsbook seating. The hallway entrance to the Pin-Up Pizza shop is right next to the cashier, and this pizzeria also very conveniently leads directly onto the strip.
To obtain a drink ticket, you must bet $20 for horses, but only $50 for sports. We say only because most sportsbooks charge at least $100 and many of them require much more than that.
Planet Hollywood lines can also be accessed by opening an account and downloading the Caesars Entertainment Sports Betting app. You can place bets on the app anywhere in Nevada, but like the casino, the app also does not yet have the new popular form of betting known as live betting, which is betting on games after they have started.
Alright, we’ll get into the bad news first… Planet Hollywood is often one of Caesars’ more expensive hotels and the mandatory nightly resort fee is $41.95 after tax which is one of the highest for any Las Vegas strip property. With the fee you will get free internet and access to the pool, fitness center, and spa (which is rare). The good news is discounts are given to first responders, students, teachers, government employees, and military members.
PH’s rooms are contemporary and flashily advertised as the Hip and Ultra-Hip Rooms. They start at 430 square feet, and their rates can vary by each month. You can find them for under $100 during the week and in the high $100s on weekends, but at other times they can be well over $100 during the week and at times up to $300.
The 850 square foot Ultra Hip Suite will be over $300 on weekdays when it’s cheap. Otherwise expect to spend over $400 or $500 and close to $600 on weekends.
As you get into the suites that could comfortably fit a family, now you’re in the thousands and for some of them you have to call to make reservations as they could be reserved for VIPs. There is always a chance you can get your room either comped or at least upgraded, so if you are planning to do a fair amount of gambling, be sure to be in touch with a casino host before you get started.
Hotel guests enter the 32,000 square foot Spa by Mandara for free, and drop-ins enter for $35. Some specifics about the spa are they use ancient Balinese rituals along with plant and flower-infused body treatments. Beyond its expansive menu of facial, massage, and body therapy treatments are also the Salon By Mandara and fitness center which offers personal training sessions. All three open by 7 AM and close at 7 PM.
Altogether there are a dozen places to eat and a diverse selection of food that do not require you spend it all. Café Hollywood is open 24 hours, and some of the casual options are Gordon Ramsay Burger, P.F. Chang’s, and YOLOS Mexican Grill. If you just want something quick there is Earl of Sandwich and Pink’s Hot Dogs.
If you are craving something exquisite, each of Planet Hollywood’s high-end restaurants are open for dinner only and located up the escalator on their mezzanine floor. Koi is a great value Japanese restaurant whose entrees stay under $50, and Strip House Steakhouse also has a very reasonably priced menu that also has a wide selection of seafood.
There is surprisingly no nightclub at PH, but since this is very much a party casino there are several great bars to drink at 24/7. To start with is The Heart Bar. Here the music is going and it can get pretty loud, but it’s not so crazy that it should turn away the video poker player. Hear Bar also has a lot of intimate lounge seating.
PH’s other 24 hour bars are the Extra Lounge which also plays a lot of music and The Playing Field Lounge which has a VIP area. If you like frozen drinks, PH Shiver Frozen Cocktails also stays open late and is cited for its 46 oz. Bling Bottle, and its any size refills for only $10.