I'm staying in Las Vegas at Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (formerly known as Binion's Horseshoe, original home of the World Series of Poker). In the course of rereading Jim McManus' Positively Fifth Street on a recent plane ride, I discovered that he stayed in Room 1016 here at Binion's while researching the material for the book ("research" that included making the final table of the World Series in 2000 and covering the Binion murder trial). So, I requested 1016 when I got back to town last night, and to my good fortune, it was available.
When I say "to my good fortune" I don't mean that the room is anything palatial. It's quite far from it. The pink/teal/purple blankets on both of the double beds in the room have cigarette burns even though it's a nonsmoking floor. The shower doesn't exactly "work correctly." But, Room 1016 does offer a solid view of the Strip (Binion's is downtown, 10 minutes from the Strip) despite its relatively low floor.
I've yet to uncover any carvings that say "Bad Jim was here" or anything like that, and since I've stayed here at Binion's before, the novelty of lodging in the Positively Fifth Street room is somewhat lost on me -- it's just like the last room I was in, only slightly more literary.
For $29 a night, though, I can offer no real complaints.