A lot of cities have their own special hot dog. Chicago has its seven-topping style, New York the dirty water dog, and Detroit with its chili-topped Coney dog. Even Seattle is trying to have its own hot dog with cream cheese and grilled onions.
Similarly, Las Vegas has its own special variety of hot dog: cheap. Vegas has been drawing people in with cheap eats since the first Chrysler Town & Country ambled down the Las Vegas Strip, and the only budget snack that remains may be the mighty hot dog.
Today, it's much harder to find a great deal in the Las Vegas Valley, where we now swallow resort fees and pay to park. But if you know where to look, you can still find a hot dog deal. And sometimes they even taste good.
We bailed on the WSOP for a day to track down and try the cheapest hot dogs in town with Sammie Gruber, our resident hot dog analyst, who went along for the ride to offer her expert opinion.
South Point — $1.50
Located south of The Strip along I-15, South Point is the last bastion of cheap, delicious casino food in Las Vegas. South Point is still family-owned, and it famously loses millions of dollars per year on its full offering of restaurants.
The philosophy extends to its hot dog stand, which sits near the race book and only charges $1.50 for a Vienna Beef hot dog. It is also steps away from the poker room and a perfect break-time snack.
Hot dog appreciators know that Vienna Beef is as good as it gets, and $1.50 is a steal. The limit is three, and you're going to need it. Be sure to get there before 5pm, or you are out of luck.
Casino Royale — $3.49
Look, Casino Royale is not the nicest joint in town. It's not elegant, there are no luxurious amenities, and you shouldn't expect it to be very clean.
But if you want a cheap foot-long hot dog, wander in and snake to the rear of the building and look for a restaurant called $3.49 Foot Long Hot Dog. It's as obvious as it sounds. It wasn't the best hot dog Sammie tried, but it wasn't the worst either.
Stage Door — $2
The Stage Door is the closest cheap hot dog to the WSOP, sitting right across the street at a small bar in the shadow of the Flamingo casino. It's a five-minute walk from The Strip, but when you get there, you'll find the very best special in town.
For $3, you can get a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog and a beer. You can have the hot dog for just $2 or the beer for $1. The $1 beers are available all day, every day, and you'll usually find a packed crowd.
Even so, Sammie ranked it as one of the best hot dogs on the list.
Downtown Grand — $3
For this cheap dog, you'll need to bounce from The Strip and head to Downtown Las Vegas, where two more hot dog specials are available on or near Fremont Street. The first is at Downtown Grand, where the snack bar also offers a beer & dog deal for $3. However, it's less flexible than Stage Door: you must take both for $3, and there's no discount if you don't want a beer.
The hot dog isn't very good, but the price is probably right. Be sure not to eat it at the slot machines. They had to make a sign.
American Coney Island Chili Dog — $5
The final dog on the list is the most expensive, but it's grilled on a flat top, and it comes with chili and cheese. Sammie liked it. For $5, that's not a bad meal in Downtown LV.
American Coney Island Chili Dog has been quietly turning out 24-hour eats under the escalator at The D for years, and the price has remained reasonable while the rest of Fremont gets more expensive. If you're tired of using McDonald's and 7-Eleven for your budget meal downtown, bounce over for a Coney.
You can watch our very own Sammie test them all below.
