Oct 4 '14 at 20:23
Las Vegas can be an expensive endeavor. Some of the hotels can be overwhelming and just trying to pick a place for lunch that is simple and reasonable could be difficult. However...even if you drive a bit across the freeway or take one of the free shuttles just to eat at the Rio...it could very well be worth the time.
Cannot say the hotel itself impressed me...but the food is the centerpiece here and the Sports Deli really surprised us. We picked it because it looked fast and frankly...it was in front of us. LOL! Trying to save a little we thought about just splitting half a sandwich between two but, even at about $11...only another $3 will get you a whole sandwich. Warning...don't try to be a "hero" and think you must have a whole sandwich unless you are a super eater at the Sports Deli! The thing is a mountain! We well could have shared a half, it was that big. And it was fantastic!
They have one of several pizza ovens here and the pizzas look very tempting as did everything. The biggest surprise to me was the staff. We were not exactly getting a great welcome from most of the hotel staff that day. Everyone was on their cell phones whole on duty and in plain sight so just asking a question was daunting...but here, I just wanted to mention how surprised I was at the food and they were genuinely concerned that I had a problem. All three staff members came up and wanted to be sure the food was alright and were happy to here me say I was just shocked at how good it was. So I promised them I would upload images from the place here to Google so others would know my experience and see the mountain of sandwich we got.
I know not everyone will share my opinion and not every experience will be the same, but for the price, the time it took, the wonderful attitude of the staff (that showed a great pride in their work) and just the overall experience...you have to try this place at least once!