Dino’s Lounge is pretty much a throwback bar to the good old days when people drank boilermakers and there was only one drink that ended with “-tini.” It’s really nothing more than a bar, and it doesn’t aspire to be anything more. Drinks are reasonably priced, the pool tables are cheap and you can actually talk to people.

It’s not just the bartenders, either, although they certainly help. On the slower nights, the treatment you get from the lovely ladies behind the bar will make you think you’ve been coming to Dino’s for years. They’ll ask your name, they’ll make small talk when they get the chance and they’ll include you in conversations with some of the people who actually are regulars. It is definitely a unique experience for Las Vegas.

Where most bars in the city seem to be populated by video poker zombies—the person who seems to be so fixated on the machine they are oblivious to the world around them—and too many bartenders who cop an attitude like they’re doing you a favor by twisting the bottle cap off a $5 Bud, that just isn’t the case at Dino’s. If it wasn’t for the video poker machines lining the bar, you might even forget that you’re in Las Vegas once you walk through the doors.

Dino’s Lounge calls itself the “last neighborhood bar in Las Vegas.” Unlike other claims from other gin joints—coldest beer, loosest slots, mouth-watering burgers, etc.—this one actually holds up. Dino’s actually feels like a neighborhood bar—perhaps not surprising given it’s been open for 40-plus years in a city that prefers new and trendy to tried and true. It is the kind of place you can stop in for a beer or two by yourself and before you leave you’ll have made at least one new drinking friend. You can’t say that for too many places in Las Vegas.

The atmosphere is a little different on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, only because there tend to be more people packing in for karaoke with Danny G. Word is out, however, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal giving Dino’s the staff pick for best karaoke in its 2009 Best of Las Vegas.

And it’s really hard not to like a place that celebrates its thirstiest customers with a photo and the designation: “Drunk of the Month.”

Dino’s really is a unique bar in Las Vegas. It’s in an interesting neighborhood which brings in an interesting cast of characters. But with everyone there to relax and have a good time, it really feels like it could be the closest thing Las Vegas has to a Cheers.

Dino’s Lounge                                                                                                                                                           Location:1516 Las Vegas Blvd. South                                                                                                                  Phone:702-382-3894

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.