Heading to Vegas for the first time
MA209067
Posts: 77
My friend and I both recently turned 21 and are jonesing for a Vegas trip. Probably going to go sometime in the first three weeks of January. I was hoping to get a little info from people who have been on hotels, personal favorite places in the city, basically just anything you have experienced in Vegas would be welcomed in this thread. From the little research I've done online it looked like hotels come pretty cheap even for some pretty nice places. Would you recommend spending the money to stay at a prestigious hotel? (Belagio, Caesar's, Wynn) Or just getting a cheap one somewhere off the strip? Like I said, anything is welcome here. Thanks!
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9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine and a whole multicolored collection of uppers, downers, laughers, screamers . . . Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon . . ."
—Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1971
Nice. I'm planning on telling people that we're "Wine tasting" in Napa.
1) I would stay somewhere cheap but ideal location. Imperial Palace is dead center of the strip and half the price of other hotels. It's not the greatest hotel but for the amount you'll sleep it's fine!
2) Set a curfew, even if it's like 4am. Go there with a time in mind where you plan to be in your room in bed or you will never make it to your room and in bed
3) Whenever you're looking up at something ie)water fountain, pirate ship etc. don't forget about your wallet!
4) Eat at the RIO buffet. It's off the strip but they have courtesy shuttles that leave Bally's every 15 minutes to take you to and from. It's the best buffet in Vegas hands down. Aim for a dinner buffet so you can watch the show in the sky afterwards. I think that happens nightly after 7pm, just ask once you get there.
5) Hit old Las Vegas. Jump on the Deuce busses you see everywhere and it will drop you off at Old Vegas for like $4 round trip. It took me five trips before I ever made it there and I wish I would have gone there everytime! Great atmoshpere and casino's where you might actually have a hint of a chance at winning
6) Last but not least, catch a show! I would suggest Cirque Du Soleil at Treasure Island called Mystere. It's the cheapest of the Cirque shows and arguably the best of the 9 my wife and I have seen.
Hope some of these ideas help.....have fun!!
Leaving is for the answering machine.
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I'm very, very frightening
and I'll overdo it'
Luxor isn't that bad - we've stayed there twice and had no problems at all. The rooms are a little on the dark side but it's a decent enough place overall. The downside is it's right at the end of the strip, so it's a fair trek to the centre where most of the hotels are.
You might see Mexicans handing out call cards too. There's only about 10,000 of them though.... :roll:
Oh my God! This is so true. I was in Vegas last year for Thanksgiving and had no idea where to go. I thought I would be eating like Chevy Chase did in Vegas Vacation. You know, yellow stuff or blue stuff. Anyways, I asked a waiter in an Italian restaurant where a nice place to eat Thanksgiving dinner and he said the Rio. My wife and I went and had far and away the best dinner ever. Not only did they have all the turkey and fixings, but they had Mexican, Chinese, Italian etc... All for $23 per person.
Also had complimentary all you can drink champagne. I would consider going back to Vegas around the holidays just for this buffet. Unbelievable.
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
sitting at a blackjack table ask if you don't know what to do.
always split 8s
never split 10s
never stop before 17 if dealer has 7 or higher showing - always assume dealer has 10 underneath
don't sit at end of table if not sure what you are doing
in january, don't stay anyplace where the pool is the draw (mandalay, palms, hardrock). too cold. in fact, bring a coat.
try to stop at the wynn, bellagio and planet hollywood. they're all great. and i hear aria at the new city center is nice. skip caesars and mgm because they're both enormous and you'll get lost.
emeril's sportsbook in the basement of palazzo is also worth the walk.
if you're gonna stay on the north end, the riviera's new rooms are great. sahara's rooms aren't but they have a monorail stop. don't stay at circus circus (too many kids, no rotating bar from fear and loathing) or stratosphere (too far from everything else).
in the middle, stay at flamingo, harrahs or imperial palace. mirage and ti across the street are nicer, but more expensive and no monorail.
don't stay off strip, the walk and/or cab fares are brutal.
south end, stay at monte carlo or planet hollywood. don't even consider the tropicana or hooters. excalibur is ok, but it's where all the broke people stay, same as imperial palace and circus circus.
spend a day on fremont street. if you decide to stay downtown, vegas club has big cheap rooms, four queens has nice but tiny rooms, and el cortez' cabana suites 2 blocks away are amazing and their website usually offers $50 in free play and $50 in free food if you book 2 nights. and since 2 nights are like $106, it's basically free. don't stay at binions, fitzgeralds or golden gate. golden nugget is nice but not worth paying double what it costs to sleep next door.
If money's an issue a great choice is the Hooters - no shit either, I'm tellin ya - or The Flamingo or Bill's. Yes, Bill's. But no matter what you do, stay in the heart of the strip. The Mirage is usually my choice - centralized, not too extravagant or overpriced, HUGE sports book, buffet. Go to the shitty casinos like Bill's to play blackjack and roulette - cheap tables. Though I'm sure a lot of things will already be cheap due to the economy and it being January.
Do at least one fancy dinner at a steakhouse or something. And plenty of strip clubs - namely, Spearmint Rhino is glorious. Do plenty of drugs and consume massive amounts of alcohol. If you don't know where to get your illicit materials, ask the Mexicans flipping whore pamphlets and they'll hook you up. Five words: strippers in your hotel room. It's brilliant.
Vegas is better when the pools are open, or at least open and not cold. Beautiful "scenery". Vegas has become a stereotype of itself, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
It takes me a week to recover and piece together my trip everytime.
My only advice is.....PACE YOURSELF!
it's at the far north end of the strip.... right where the strip turns sketchy.... it's been there literally forever. They gave it a facelift a few years back...it does look better from the exterior, but you know what they say about polishing a turd. Being a youngster, it might be OK for you.
On the up side - you can easily score some rock cocaine just a few blocks away in "the naked city" :shock:
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14