Any advice for someone heading to Vegas next week?

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Captain Pants

Killed by a goddamned Dredgeling
My girlfriend and I are going down to Vegas from the 11th to the 14th. We've never been, and we are wondering what to do, and what not to do. Any advice on restaurants worth going to, shows worth seeing, great places to do a little gambling, etc. would be much appreciated. She wants to ride some rollercoasters while we are there, and I'm pretty much looking to Ron Swanson it with as much booze, steak dinners and breakfast food as I can handle. After getting tickets and the hotel booked, I'd guess we have a combined budget of around $500... maybe.
 
If they're there, check out Penn & Teller. It wasn't cheap, but it was a hell of a show and they greeted people outside. Signed my ticket, and were genuinely nice and approachable people.

Edit: Just noticed that budget. P&T might take a big chunk outta that.
 
Omegasquash said:
If they're there, check out Penn & Teller. It wasn't cheap, but it was a hell of a show and they greeted people outside. Signed my ticket, and were genuinely nice and approachable people.
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It can be fairly cheap. Ask your concierge at the hotel you are staying at.

As for restaurants there was a Mexican/Chinese Food Fusion place that was delicious. We also went to the Belagio Cafe for Breakfast and that was good as well.

The roller coaster ride at New York New York was a long as line and expensive for one trip, I wouldn't do that.

If you have time and you guys enjoy nature head out to Red Rock Canyon it's about an hour outside of the city and it's a neat place to see the desert and hike for a bit.

Also be sure to stop by downtown Las Vegas, it seems a bit seedier than the strip but it has the Stratosphere which is definitely worth going up at night to see the cityscape.
 
Captain Pants said:
My girlfriend and I are going down to Vegas from the 11th to the 14th. We've never been, and we are wondering what to do, and what not to do. Any advice on restaurants worth going to, shows worth seeing, great places to do a little gambling, etc. would be much appreciated. She wants to ride some rollercoasters while we are there, and I'm pretty much looking to Ron Swanson it with as much booze, steak dinners and breakfast food as I can handle. After getting tickets and the hotel booked, I'd guess we have a combined budget of around $500... maybe.
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500 dollars? That's outside of gambling and eating I hope.
 
Kano On The Phone said:
500 dollars? That's outside of gambling and eating I hope.
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We've got one meal covered. This whole thing is awesome, but it isn't a trip we planned. Her boss is AMAZING. She bought us tickets to Vegas, paid for a hotel room for us, and paid for us to go to a really nice restaurant Friday night. Since I own my own business, I pay myself very little. I'm trying to figure out how to make the trip fun and memorable. I think I'll have around $300 or $400 I can spend, and I'm guessing she'll have something similar, but I don't want to count on her paying for most of the stuff we do. I'm not cheap, just broke.
 
If you want to gamble, go to the old downtown area and do it there.

Don't get roped into going to the free shows. They are all awful and you still pay money for the overpriced drinks.

Spend some money and take her to a Cirque show. They are incredible and worth every dollar.

Don't be afraid to use the public transportation. It's the best value on the Strip and your feet will thank you.
 
$500 is pretty slim budget for what you want to do. It's not undoable, by any means, but it means that doing anything on the strip is almost out if the question. The restaurants and gambling on the strip are expensive. The cheaper places are found off the strip and in downtown Vegas. You can still get deals on strip though bit your going to have to look for them.

For a decent steak dinner, hit up the Prime Rib Loft in the Orleans. It's an off strip "locals" hotel. The prime rib is good and crazy affordable. The gambling at that place is also pretty cheap ($5 blackjack and the like). If you are into classic gaming or pinball machines in general go to the pinball museum. It's pretty much an arcade but they have wall to wall pinball and old arcade machines. Take $20 and be entertained for hours.

If you want an insane breakfast hit up Hash House a go go. The food is good but you go for the insane portion sizes. It's all the excess of Vegas on one plate.

For buffets I love the Rio's buffet. A little pricey but it is all you can eat and there is a variety of items to choose from.
 
Just walking around some of the hotels can be fun. Like the amusement park in Circus Circus or the shopping mall in Ceasars. There's also a pretty great excursion just off the strip. It's a murder mystery of sorts. I don't remember what it was called, but it was fairly inexpensive and a really nice evening.

If you have money to see a good show, I'd definitely recommend Penn & Teller. Any of the Cirque De Solie shows are great too, but probably way out of your budget.
 
if you arent double fisting drinks with a gin and tonic in one hand and a plastic football filled with daquiris in the other hand you're doing it wrong

you should aim for your bloodstream to be mostly replaced with alcohol by the time you leave
 
going to vegas this thursday too, have to babysit the bro whos playing at US Open table tennis thing.

I heard vegas has some kickass buffets any to recommend?
 
Earl of Sandwich in the Planet Hollywood casino has amazing sandwiches

If you want to get a cheap steak dinner check out ellis island casino, it's a small walk from the strip

Drink prices are all over the place

Giant frozen drinks are awesome, keep your giant novelty cup and refill it over and over, different places refill them for different prices........Luxor had the best prices a couple months ago

Check out travelzoo and groupon and see what Vegas deals they have for when you are there..........travelzoo usually has a voucher for 6 drinks for 25 dollars at a bar in TI


Also, do a search for previous threads on Vegas, lots of good info in there

Oh and if you have Facebook you should really play MyVegas and join one of the fan groups for it, you earn points to use on rewards at MGM properties.....I played for a few months and was able to get a free night at Luxor, 50 dollar dining credit at Monte Carlo (used at Andre's), 100 dollar credit for Fine Nine Irishmen pub at NYNY, and 2 free Bellagio lunch buffets......
 
Captain Pants said:
We've got one meal covered. This whole thing is awesome, but it isn't a trip we planned. Her boss is AMAZING. She bought us tickets to Vegas, paid for a hotel room for us, and paid for us to go to a really nice restaurant Friday night. Since I own my own business, I pay myself very little. I'm trying to figure out how to make the trip fun and memorable. I think I'll have around $300 or $400 I can spend, and I'm guessing she'll have something similar, but I don't want to count on her paying for most of the stuff we do. I'm not cheap, just broke.
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http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/guide/bargainhunter.html

A good way I found to get cheap drinks is just to find a bar with a blackjack machine built in. Play blackjack, drink, and if you're any good at blackjack (the machines are fixed I'm sure, but you can still do all right if you know the game) you can cash out for close to what you put in.
 
I was just there for a convention. I can echo some of the things mentioned above.

Use the bus. Fees were $8 for 24 hours but you can find a 3 day for $20 in certain locations.

Eat breakfast at the Hash house a gogo.

Gamble in Old Vegas(Golden Nuggent, Freemont, Binions, etc) - $5 blackjack tables and free booze

None of the hotel rooms will have a fridge, microwave, or coffee maker.

Invest in sun block
 
-Go to EVO! I'll be there :p
-Insert Coins looks like a fun gaming bar to go to
-Cirque Du Soleil shows are the best
-Fountains of Bellagio
-Nathan Burton Comedy Magic was pretty decent (especially for free)
-Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area seems like a fun place to go hiking at
-Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmopolitan
 
If you like to drink head to a grocery store and pick up cheap booze when you get there so you can get a little buzz going in the room. Also, you can carry a drink wherever the hell you please in Vegas so you can bring a big one with you while you walk around. Depending where you are staying you can also sneak them into the pool. This will save you a lot of money.

See a Cirque show. I would recommend Ka, but tragically one of the performers fell and died on Saturday so it is closed down. There are several others to see, however.

Spend the days at the pool if you can. You'll eventually get bored of just walking from casino to casino (they are all the same really, and the walks between are very long). If you are not careful you will be tempted to waste a lot of money on gambling.

Maybe go to a nice club if you are into that, but they are very crowded and non-VIP get treated like sub-human shit at some of them. If you're not waiting in a huge line for a drink, you are getting shuttled around in a circle by a man with a flashlight because the only open areas are "walking only." I've had a fun time at some of them though if a good guest or resident DJ is playing.

The New York, New York rollercoaster sucks IMO. Stratosphere has thrill rides, but you'll pay $20-30 for a ride and I don't even know if that includes admission to get to the top of the tower in the first place.

As far as the day club pool parties go, they are extremely crowded. I had a lot of fun at one with my bros (had to tip the guy $30 to get immediately past the huge line, plus admission) but my wife would hate going to one because it's almost like sharing a bathtub with 500 people.
 
If you want to go to a club try Voodoo at the Rio, it is on the roof and has an absolutely epic view of the strip and is a generally laid back atmosphere

With a 500 dollar budget you probably won't be able to get the open bar package from vegas.com though
 
What would you guys say is a good budget to have when going to Vegas (assuming you stay for ~5 days and excluding the costs of hotel).
 
Two votes for Hash House A-Go-Go. We'll definitely go there. She loves breakfast food almost as much as I do, so that will be fun. We talked about hitting up the pinball hall of fame, so I think that'll definitely happen. I like the sound of the cheap drinks and $5 blackjack off the strip. I've been to Jackpot, Nevada before, and that sounds in line with my experience there.

I'm prepared for the heat. I'm on my bike today here in Boise and it is 110°. I'll look into the Cirque show, and I definitely want to catch Penn & Teller.
 
teruterubozu said:
Tipping goes a long way in Vegas. Bring lots of bills.
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This x 1000. People will treat you differently if you tip. Hell, give the person checking you in a $20 sandwiched in between your credit card and drivers license and they will typically upgrade your room. If not they will give you something in return.
 
My wife and I just spent a week in Vegas on a budget of $2000 for everything, and we came back with $1200, mostly spent on gambling.

If you can, sit through some timeshare presentations. We ended up seeing two Cirque shows (Mystere and Zumanity, both awesome), Vegas the Show, and had buffets all week, all for free. We also got $100 off renting a Mustang convertible for a day to drive out to the Grand Canyon. (Learned an important lesson too. If you're driving a convertible in the desert, no amount of sunscreen will save you. Keep the top up until it's dark.)

The timeshare presentations are boring and some of them seem to last forever (Grandview was the worst at 3.5 hours) but for all the free stuff you get just for going, it's well worth it.

I would also recommend hitting downtown. The slots seem to hit bigger more often, and there are free concerts at each end every night. There also seemed to be a lot more interesting street performers. Speaking of street performers, on the weekend nights keep an eye out for a group of acrobats/contortionists a little ways north from the Planet Hollywood mall area. They put on a hell of an entertaining show.
 
IceCold said:
What would you guys say is a good budget to have when going to Vegas (assuming you stay for ~5 days and excluding the costs of hotel).
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It completely depends on if you gamble or not - you can get a ton of things comped if you're hitting the tables.

Also, after 3 days Vegas will completely burn you out and you'll be dying to escape from the sound of slot machines.
 
IceCold said:
What would you guys say is a good budget to have when going to Vegas (assuming you stay for ~5 days and excluding the costs of hotel).
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150 a day? Depends if you go to any shows or any big dinners or do any attractions


My last trip of 3 days I had 340 dollars worth of food/hotel credited from my MyVegas points, and then I won 430 dollars, came back with more money in my wallet than I left with, pretty much only had to pay for my flight and part of my friend's flight as it was his bachelor party
 
If you ever made $400 playing Star Wars slots machine on the first night in Vegas, STOP. For gods sake, don't try again on your second night. Or third.

;_;

/Lost $600 in the end.
 
Downtown vegas is awesome. 3 dollar black jack and roulette.

Full Meals for 5 bucks. Dollar drinks or free of course if youre gambling.
 
I suggest this in every Vegas thread....so far, I don't know if anyone here has followed my advice. However, quite a few others I've suggested it to have, and noone's come back disappointed....


Take $20 and go spend an afternoon at the Pinball Hall of Fame. This is a must-do in Vegas:
http://www.pinballmuseum.org/
Google even street-viewed the place:
3dpic3.jpg

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=pinb...n&ved=0CBEQ2wU&sa=X&ei=SLrcUL74IMOAxgGy_oDQCg


And remember to play some of the really old machines. Just incredible moving from one of them to some of the newest.
 
It is oppressively hot right now. Prepare for that. Stay indoors as much as possible.

As others have said, check out a Cirque show if you can. I've seen Ka and Mystere so far.
I live in Vegas, but I don't really know many touristy things to do out here.
 
Which hotel and do you have a car? Taxis can get expensive after a while.

Have plenty of sunblock. Sunglasses. Light colored shorts and tees. And COMFY SHOES!!! Everything looks close but is not. You will be on your feet a LOT. Don't skimp on the water. But don't buy it from random guys standing outside with a cooler. They've been known to grab empty bottles from the garbage and fill them up wherever.

Recommended free stuff:
- Bellagio fountains at night: http://www.bellagio.com/attractions/fountains-of-bellagio.aspx. Must see.
- Bellagio conservatory (inside, just past lobby)
- Wynn/Encore interior. Check out the crystal dragon in the Japanese restaurant at Encore!
- Cosmopolitan interior. Giant chandelier that women find breathtaking!
- Fremont Experience: cool video roof thing. Lots of crazy people, random costumed performers looking for tips. Some cheap but good food can be found in the surrounding casinos.
- Caesar's Palace forum shoppes. Just a cool-looking area. The free hourly moving statues show is pretty lame, though
- Venetian interior. Take your girl on a gondola ride with singing gondolier (not free) and grab a frozen cup of booze at the Lime Ice Bar (not free either)


Recommended discounts:
- Mac King show: It's a comedy magic show in the afternoon (1/3pm), lasts about an hour or so. Very simple, laid back show, production values are not high, but it's a good time and super cheap. You can get "free" tickets by going to the Total Rewards (player's club) desk at Harrah's. They require a drink purchase, though, so you end up paying like $13/each for the ticket and 1 drink (bar is kinda lame, so don't expect much there). The tickets are for seats in the back, so you won't get chosen for the audience participation stuff or have a close up view of the tricks, but it's still very much worth the $ and time.
- Discount ticket booths. There's one by Fashion Show Mall and one just north of MGM Grand. Get % off on same-day tickets. I recommend Absinthe as the premium show of choice.
- Alternatively, check online sites like smartervegas.com. Just don't pay full price for a show. Only a few, such as O, ever require it.


Recommended paid stuff:
- Hash House a Go Go for breakfast if you like to eat lots of food. The chicken & waffles serves two, easily. If you have a rental car, the M Resort is the best place to go for this. Otherwise, the Quad (formerly Imperial Palace) is acceptable.
- A 5 star buffet: Caesar's Palace, Wynn, Bellagio, or Cosmopolitan (in no particular order). Preferably for breakfast, lunch, or brunch, since dinner is more expensive, and you can eat so much at lunch that you won't need dinner. Plus, omelette stations.
- Milkshakes at Holsteins
- People watching at the Vesper bar in Cosmopolitan. Grab an overpriced drink in the evening and chill on a comfy chair while you watch the club crowd arrive and the high-end hookers work their marks.
- Look up the 24 hour restaurants in the area now, before you're too drunk, and have them in your phone or something. You'll save yourself some hunger pains and fruitless walking.


Gambling:

Print up 2 blackjack strategy cards (http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/strategy/calculator/) with these parameters:
- Decks 4 or more
- Soft 17: Dealer hits
- Double after split: Allowed
- Surrender: not allowed
- Dealer peek: dealer peeks for blackjack
You can have these with you at the table and refer to them, though you have to keep them off the table. (Also - no cell phone usage while at the table, and no touching your cards in the typical low-min blackjack game). Never play at a blackjack table that pays 6:5 for blackjack. It should be 3:2 only. If it's not written on the felt, ask the dealer.

Don't play more than maybe $20 at slots. The casino edge is about 20X higher on those than on the blackjack games you'd be playing. (Although about 3.5X lower than the typical state lottery)

Check with the player's club to see if they have any sign-up promos. These often negate the casino advantage on a small amount of gambling by giving you free promo chips or limited loss discounts.


Tipping:
If you get free drinks while playing, tip the waitress a buck for each drink. At the lower-rent joints, a five buck tip on the first drink will get her to coming back quickly and often.


Not recommended
- Sirens of TI free outdoor show - don't recommend this, too corny and very hot and crowded
- Gambling in downtown casinos: most are so smoky that it's a serious health hazard. Drink service is not great in terms of frequency and quality of drinks. Just do $10/hand blackjack at a number of other casinos if you want to gamble.
- Criss Angel
- Palace Station (if this is what you booked...sorry. Take the shuttle to the Strip and stay there all day)
- Timeshare stuff (your time in Vegas is valuable)
 
Open Source said:
Which hotel and do you have a car? Taxis can get expensive after a while.

****Awesome comprehensive list****
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Wow! Thanks! A big thank you to everyone in this thread, but this is great. I really appreciate your time, and I'll be sure to have this post bookmarked on my phone.

We are staying at Green Valley Ranch. I hear it is a ways off the strip, but they've got shuttles.
 
If you want Vegas on a budget and drink, head over to the 1 cent machines. Sit there and play until a waitress comes round, order drink. She'll come back, tip her a dollar and basically wait it out while she keeps coming back offering drinks.
 
Captain Pants said:
She wants to ride some rollercoasters while we are there...
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If you don't mind driving, "Desparado" is my favorite Vegas coaster. It's at the Nevada/California Stateline, about 40 minutes from the Strip. (You could probably score a nice cheap dinner there too). It was my first "big" roller coaster and I still make sure to stop and ride every time I drive to Vegas.

Other than that, there is a mediocre rollercoaster at Circus Circus ("Canyon Blaster"), and a terrible one at New York New York ("Roller Coaster" - such a creative name).

If you guys are real thrill seekers, check out the rides on top of the Stratosphere. They don't have a roller coaster anymore, but they have some crazy rides up there, including the opportunity to jump off the top of the 1100 ft building.
 
Kano On The Phone said:
http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/guide/bargainhunter.html

A good way I found to get cheap drinks is just to find a bar with a blackjack machine built in. Play blackjack, drink, and if you're any good at blackjack (the machines are fixed I'm sure, but you can still do all right if you know the game) you can cash out for close to what you put in.
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Kano nailed this one.

Forget all of the other "cheap" drink tips. I go to Vegas every year with friends, and this is how we get our Bloody Mary fix in the am, and how we get spun up for some gambling.

Sit at a bar with a video blackjack machine, bet a dollar a hand, and your drinks will be comped at nearly every casino on the strip (fuck you, Bellagio). Tip the waiter a dollar a drink and they'll pour better booze (Bacardi, Patron, etc.)


Also, don't o more than three nights. Everyone makes that mistake the first time, but even the first time will have you ready to go home after three nights.
 
I was in Vegas last weekend and this was my first trip there where I actually tried out the pool parties (Daylight at Mandalay Bay on Friday, general MGM pool Saturday)...despite suffering mild heatstroke and headache/hangover Saturday evening from being in the sun for 6+ hours and downing too many $3 Jello shots (lol)...definitely good times, yo.
 
GamePnoy74 said:
I was in Vegas last weekend and this was my first trip there where I actually tried out the pool parties (Daylight at Mandalay Bay on Friday, general MGM pool Saturday)...despite suffering mild heatstroke and headache/hangover Saturday evening from being in the sun for 6+ hours and downing too many $3 Jello shots (lol)...definitely good times, yo.
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Agree. We do at least one day at the pool on each trip. Shitload of fun if you have a large, fun group. Went out there with 20+ friends last year, our day at the pool was awesome.
 
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