Summertime in Las Vegas traditionally means low room rates, and the summer of 2013 is no different. A survey conducted last week turned up 53 hotel-casinos with rates of $50 and below, one more than last year’s total.

Rooms with prices of $20 and below were found at El Cortez, Hooters, Palace Station and The Quad, while Boulder Station, Circus Circus, Four Queens, Gold Coast, Golden Gate, Harrah’s, LVH, Plaza, Rio, Riviera, Sam’s Town and Santa Fe were among 30 with rates of $30 or less.

Rates change quickly, and these are base prices that may be subject to any combination of taxes, booking charges and resort fees, but they’re an excellent place to start if you’re trying to track down great room deals over the next couple of months.

» High-enders: The summer brings good deals at the elite resorts, too. The following represent the best prices found at the upscale casinos: Golden Nugget $42, Tropicana $51, Monte Carlo $54, Paris $59, Palms/Palms Place $59, New York-New York $60, Hard Rock $65, Mirage $76, Caesars Palace $78, Vdara $84, MGM Grand $90, Trump $90, MGM Grand Signature $92, MBay $100, Aria $109, Nobu $149.

» NBA summer: The NBA Summer League will be back in Las Vegas in July, with 22 teams and some of the best players in the NBA participating. Games will be played July 12-22 at the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion, with tickets starting at $10 and daily passes available for $25.

Question: I recently stayed at the Golden Nugget, and when I checked out there was a $5 "Fremont Street Experience fee" on my statement. Do all the downtown casinos charge this?

Answer: The Golden Nugget is the only casino that levies this charge, reasoning that as the largest contributor to the FSE fund, it needs to recoup some of those expenses. The $5 is a lot less than most "resort fees" that are charged by many casinos now. Then again, none of the downtown casinos (except the Plaza) charge resort fees, either.