Las Vegas Suggestions?

[man of many calibers]

cant believe no one has mentioned it
http://www.bcflightlines.com/

Do you remember how much this costs? I searched the website and I couldn't find anything on prices.

 

[jeffsoward]

When I say "We" I mean the wife and I.......So, no Bunny Ranch.

We are going with 2 other couples who have also never been. I have been to the Hoover dam before, but it has been about 15 years and I am thinking it might be cool to go back.

On another note, Do I need to dress nice? I always see on TV that people walking around Vegas are wearing suits and slacks. I am more of a boots/jeans kind of guy, so will that prevent me from getting in any places?

No. you don't have to "dress up". I would take something dressy for the nightlife, but during the day, whatever you want to wear.

 

[Danny Tanner]

Visit these casinos....but be warned their large and wear WALKING shoes.

Whatever you do. TAKE SOME COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, if you take away only one piece of advice from this thread, this should be it.

I'm assuming you've never been. Are you staying on the strip? Off the strip? Fremont area? Which hotel? Look up your hotel on Facebook and see what deals they have going.

If you're staying on the strip or plan on spending a lot of time on the strip, just realize that it's a LOT bigger than it appears on tv. Walking down the sidewalk in a straight line in front of the hotels can still take you 15-30 minutes to get from 1 side of the hotel to another depending on how many people are out there, if you stop to take in the sights and sounds, etc. Your feet WILL hurt unless you plan on staying in bed the whole trip. Everything is cement and tile, and the carpet in the casinos is basically fuzzy cement. The only cushion you'll have under your feet will be from your shoes. Take a good pair of comfortable shoes, take some inserts for even more comfort.

If you plan on living it up traditional Vegas vacation style (shows, buffets, $.99 cent shrimp cocktails, etc) then here are a few tips.

1. Show tickets are expensive, but if you hit up one of the discount "same day show tix" stands, you can save significant money by ordering tickets then. But strike early, hit them up at 6 AM.

2. I've had several buffets now and my vote for the best buffet still goes to Planet Hollywood's Spice Market. These bigger hotel buffets can run you over $30/person though, but right now they've got a promotion called "The Buffet of Buffets", it's $40/person (or $45 if you don't have a free Player's Club card) and grants you unlimited access to all of the Harrah owned buffets for 24 hours. http://www.harrahs.com/buffets/buffet.html This is a GREAT way to sample the buffets throughout the day. We were there a couple of months ago and did the Paris buffet for breakfast, Planet Hollywood for lunch, Imperial Palace for dinner, and then Planet Hollywood again for breakfast the next day before the passes expired. That's four $30+ buffets for only $40/person, not too shabby.

3. The $.99 shrimp cocktails, $2.99 steak and eggs, and other deals like this can be found, but read the fine print. For example, the steak and eggs bargain at Binions is only valid from like 2 AM - 4, 5, or 6 AM.

4. Drinking. Don't listen to those who say "drinking in Vegas IS expensive!". That's not technically true. It CAN be expensive, but doesn't have to be. Even if you're not gambling, sit down at a slot machine near a cocktail waitress, insert a $20 bill, order a drink from the cocktail waitress (ANY drink you want), and in the meantime, read the instructions on the game or just spin a few cheap spins to make it look like you're really gambling. She'll bring back your drinks, tip her $1 each, and if you want to stay off your feet for a bit or are finding yourself enjoying that slot machine, order another drink. She'll bring it back when you're done with your current drink, tip her another $1, rinse and repeat as many times and often as you wish. If you're receiving mixed drinks through this method, they aren't as big as they would be if you were to just walk up to the bar and order one, but they're served in about 8-10 oz glasses, they're just as strong as they would be at full price (which can be $10 or more PER drink). If you're a beer drinker, then they bring you a full size bottle of whatever beer you want, still free + $1 tip. So even if you consider your gambling losses from the slot spins and the $1 tip per drink, you're still consuming much more drink for a lot less than just hanging out at the bar. This works at ALL hotels and casinos, works the best at the small casinos on Fremont (The Bayou for example (one of my favorites)). This method doesn't appeal to everyone, but it's a really fun and different way to get your drinks.

If you decide to skip that method and just booze it up, I would suggest hitting up one of the Fat Tuesday stands and picking up a 190 Octane frozen drink + the extra shot in one of those plastic yard cups. This initially runs like $14 + tip, but you'll be feeling the buzz in the first 1/3 of the drink. The first year I went out there with my dad and brothers, we each had 2 of these (and nothing else) and our night played out much like The Hangover (different stories, but similar situation). Refills on these drinks are a few bucks less if you keep your cup.

Each hotel has its own theme. Walk in and out of each of them, this is absolutely free and there are a ton of free things to see in and out of each hotel.

Some hotels have realistic sky paintings on their ceilings, a couple of them even have water spouts that they do thunderstorm shows every 30-60 minutes. The Bellagio has their water fountain shows a couple times or more each hour, the Mirage has the volcano show every hour or so, and Treasure Island has the Sirens pirate show every couple of hours or so. As far as action goes, I'd rank them from most action packed to least as TI, Mirage, then Bellagio, but as far as my personal favorites, I rank them as Bellagio, Mirage, then TI. The main reason I don't like the TI show is the viewing area is small and gets really, really cramped. No matter how tall you are (I'm 6'2"), there will ALWAYS be somebody taller than you who decides to walk up and put the back of their neck about 6 inches away from your face. Idiots.

Checking into your hotel.


Check out http://www.frontdesktip.com/ , look up your hotel and see what the success rate is when using the "$20 sandwich". I've tried it two times with 1 success and 1 failure. I failed at MGM Grand (like a lot of people have), I succeeded last year at Planet Hollywood (got upgraded from a normal bleh room to a room with a view of the strip and the Bellagio fountains, AWESOME!). Here's the view I had snapped with my cell phone:
[Broken External Image]

Transportation.

Depending on which hotel you're staying at, there are generally 2 ways the cabbies drive you there. 1. The more expensive way. 2. The cheaper way. Try to look up the cheapest taxi route to your specific hotel.

To get from one of the the strip to another (besides walking), pick up the Deuce bus tickets (one way, 2 hour, 24 hour, or 3 day I think are your options, we always did 24 hour unlimited passes for like $5 or $6 I believe). They now have an extra type of bus that makes less stops and you can use your Deuce ticket on these as well, they run less frequently, but they're great if you're trying to get from Fremont to the strip, as the actual double decker Deuce bus can take over an hour to make the same trip this other bus takes in less than half the time.

Food.

If you're wanting fast food, skip the restaurants inside the big hotels and make yourself down to the food court for some Del Taco. I ate at the Nathan's Hotdog stand in MGM Grand the first year I went, I ordered the 2 hot dog combo with fries and a drink and it cost me $17. The hot dogs were nothing spectacular (ever eaten a Nathan's hotdog at the food stand inside a Sam's Club for like $.99 a dog? Yeah, THAT'S what I paid $17 for), the fries were cold and soggy and crappy, and my drink had more ice in it than a Del City trailer park (just seeing if you're still paying attention to what I'm saying).

The food court is a lot like the food courts in shopping malls, and priced much more reasonable than the restaurants inside the big hotels.

Walking the strip anytime from late afternoon to late night, you will be bombarded by what I like to call "Smut Card Flickers". The ONLY way I've been able to walk past them without them trying to get me to take their cards was by holding my 4 year old daughter's hand. Even walking around holding your wife's hand, they'll still flick flick flick away. Here's a video I took a couple of months ago just to give you an idea: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svca9G2JfrU

These make great collectibles, though, if you don't mind feeling like a pervert by accepting them.

Hoover Dam

If you do the HD tour again, I recommend the Pink Jeep tours. I've done the big tour bus and the Pink Jeep tours and the Pink Jeeps were about the same price, give or take a few bucks, but a lot more intimate (considering it's only a few of you versus a busload of you). http://www.pinkjeep.com/

Ok, I'm done for now. This is probably the longest post I've ever made on OSA, I hope you read through at least half of it, it's packed full of good info.

 

[man of many calibers]

Good Info. Thanks Danny.

We are stying at the Venetcian. What is the $20 sandwhich? I am guessing that means slip the clerk a $20 bill?

I never thought about doing that with the drinking at Casinos. Nice!

 

[Danny Tanner]

Good Info. Thanks Danny.

We are stying at the Venetcian. What is the $20 sandwhich? I am guessing that means slip the clerk a $20 bill?

I never thought about doing that with the drinking at Casinos. Nice!

When you check in, you sandwich a folded $20 bill between your driver's license and check card, making sure you can see the denomination of the bill. When the clerk asks for the DL and card, you hand it over asking "Are there any available upgrades?".

If no (or they won't/can't accept it) they'll say "I'm sorry, I cannot accept this" and hand you back your twenty. If so, they'll say "let me see what we have available" and they'll type away on their computers for 4 hours, write down a few room numbers, and then present you with an upgraded room while they pocket the $20.

Last year when I did it at Planet Hollywood, the upgraded room was at least $20 more PER night, and we stayed for a week, so it works out pretty well, when it works. I didn't try it this year because we had an upgraded suite already, nor did I try it in our second hotel last year (Monte Carlo) because we already had a strip view.

 

[Cohiba]

Hey,
I almost forgot!!! Go downtown/Freemont and go to Binion's Casino. On the 24th floor is a GREAT steakhouse!!! You can see most of Vegas, it depends on which side you are seated. Still, its a cool and romantic place.

My wife loves this place over ALL of the steakhouses and its reasonable in price....you don't have to dress up.

In the casino...ASK which elevator it is that goes to the steakhouse or you'll have a heck of a time finding it. It is a nice and romantic place....trust me!!!

Here it is....http://www.binions.com/dining/steak_house.php

Cohiba

 

[NeekReevers]

Been to Vegas many times. For shows, you can't be the Cirque du Soleil shows. They are expensive, but worth it. I've seen Ka, Mystere, O, Love, and Criss Angel. I would rank them in that order from best to worst. Someone mentioned the Half Price Ticket shops and I would definitely hit those. They add fees and everything so its never half price...it should be called 3/4 price.

For free sights...the Bellagio fountains are awesome. Also see the Volcano at Mirage. The pirate show at TI sucks and isn't worth wasting your time on in my opinion. I think the white tiger and lion habitat at Mirage is free as well and is pretty cool. Beyond that, you can spend as much time as you want just walking through the casinos on the Strip. Almost all of them have some cool features that are worth looking at. I have never stayed at the Venetian but you will like it. It's my favorite casino but my wife likes the Wynn so that is where we end up.

For food try a place called Hash House a Go Go. I'm pretty sure its on Sahara west of the strip. They make home cooking type food that is really, really good. I think they may have one in Imperial Palace now but I have only been to the one on Sahara.

One other thing....if you don't want to be limited to just the strip, rent a car. I hear people all of the time advising people to not rent a car. We have rented a car every time we've gone to Vegas and never regretted it. You are free to go where you want, when you want, parking is free at all of the Strip casinos, and traffic is not bad. The only thing I would avoid is driving the strip on the nights on the weekends. That is impossible. Beyond that, its not bad. Renting a car will cost you about $15 a day and you'll spend over $20 each way in a taxi just getting from the airport to the hotel. Some people don't like it but were always glad we have it because we like to get off of the strip.

Have a great time...Vegas is a Disneyland for adults.

 

[rivers666]

i just got back from vegas a couple of weeks ago, it had been about 5 years since i had gone before that. the last time that i went in 2005 a taxi downtown was $12 from the monte carlo, this time from harrahs it was $24 downtown and $22 back, so i only went downtown once, it seems like a good ideal to rent a car. plus i would buy a 20oz pesi in the hotel store and it would cost me $2.99 plus tax, if i had a car i would have driven to a walmart and gotten by a lot cheaper(a week in vegas is too long)

i second the buffet thing, i stayed at harrahs and the cost of the buffet was about 17 dollars for breakfast, 17 for lunch and 27 for dinner so the $40 unlimited trip deal was well worth it.

 

[soonerwings]

If you're the type that likes a big hearty breakfast to start the day I'd HIGHLY recommend looking up a little joint called Blueberry Hill. As one would infer from the name, the blueberry pancakes are phenomenal. Personally, I enjoyed their country fried steak and eggs breakfast. It's been a while and I can't remember exactly where it's at but I do seem to remember that it's right outside Nellis AFB somewhere.