Fodor's Expert Review Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall

The pioneering "locals casino" has anchored Boulder Highway since 1979 as a pure example of the casino as a mall-meets-community-center: locals flock to the movie theater, huge sports book, and sprawling underground bowling center. If you do make a special trip, the distinguishing feature is the Mystic Falls Park, an indoor garden under a beautiful skylight, rimmed by hotel rooms, a bar and patio seating at the Angry Butcher Steakhouse, punctuated by the occasional howls of animatronic animals and periodic synchronized light shows.