I often stay at the Grand. Pre-Katrina, I could sometimes get a room there M-Thurs at 40 bucks or less. Post Katrina you are lucky to get it at 50-60. Its an honest 30+ minutes or more down there. However, they have a gym, wireless internet (for a fee), and its nice enough to do some business while I am in town with clients as well.
The casino there has grown in volumne...used to be easy to stroll in, work into a 5 or 10 buck table or a hot craps table. Beer/food/comps came quickly. Reminded me of old downtown Vegas casinos circa 1990s (for you ex AF types...) Post some mangement changes (casino's been bought/sold at least once and possibly twice since I went there) its a bit more crowded, service is slower, and there are fewer gambler friendly game tables (single deck 21, craps, single 0 roulette).
Bally's became independent of Harrah's when Harrah's bought the Grand a few years back. The oldest facility down there, the hotel is...well...a holiday inn select type place. It is perfectly acceptable for a crash pad, but there isn't internet access available (except dial up) and its not quite as nice for hosting business as the Grand. On the other hand--the casino there has been very very good to me... Less crowded, nice comps, and a few more good games.
The Sheraton boasts a jacuzzi tub in every room. Its a nice hotel. Probably best place if you are bringing the wife down for a night or plan on soaking away some aches and pains after a day on the gold course, a night at the tables, or the emotional shock of your losses. The Sheraton, the Gold Strike, and Sam's rarely have rooms for less than 100 bucks. Even before Katrina, they seemed to price to scare the cheap airline pilot away. I guess they figure that's cheaper than spraying for us one we infest a joint...
I won't pretend to lecture anyone on gambling--there are plenty of guys here who probably know strategy and odds. What I will say is IF you know a game and IF you play with a bit of discipline you can usually at least stretch your bucks out to last quite a while. When I play my goal is not to double my signing bonus, but rather to entertain myself a few hours, get a drink or two and perhaps a meal, and ride an upside wave to pay for my room for the day. I've had my butt kicked a few nights, but generally speaking I can do alright. I'm usually too tired or have other work to do when I down there to gamble EVERY night (that gets dull too...) but its a nice diversion when I can get down there. Bally's steak place is also pretty good. I usually avoid the bloatorama buffetts and their crowds, but the food and service at the other place (I think its called the barn) was very good. Dinners are more than the 10 buck buffetts but typically less than 20 when the bills are settled.
The real story, however, is still the Holiday Inn on Democrat. I still seem to end up there more than anyplace else lately... With the airport shuttle its just too convenient of a place to meet other folks and/or scramble to the airport to jumpseat home at the end of a trip. Also worth mentioning--the lunch buffett there is country cooking and IT ROCKS. I don't know how long the current stafff has been there, but guys come over from local businesses and the TANG to grab lunch there and its pretty darn good. And..for your airline pilots out there...I think they price it at 9 bucks or so.