Ongoing Las Vegas 'pro-tips' thread - Advice on all things Vegas

[Nufy]

Was there last weekend and can confirm.

$$$ for everything... (I have about $300 US or uber charges alone)

Managed to get off strip on Friday for a Dam tour and some grocery shopping...

Grabbed a 12 pack of Modelo Especial for around 13 bucks at a Walmart.

That conflicted with $25 US for a double Vodka Soda on Fremont Street.


The Sphere is incredible...even viewing it from a tour bus on the strip.


And dont even think about enjoying the mini bar at the Mirage...

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

My dad, R.I.P., used to go to Vegas in part because of the cheap food and drinks. He also loved, he said, being able to stand at the urinal with his d1ck in one hand and a slot machine lever in the other.

There's nothing cheap in Vegas anymore. Nothing.

That was one of the charming parts of Vegas - super expensive and high end places, juxtaposed with $11.99 all you can eat buffets with $0.99 drafts and penny slots.

I think the only blackjack tables that are under $25 are at Excalibur.

Even the run-down Tropicana can't be had for less than $200USD a night.

[ajr4013]

Last time I was there we spent a ton of time at Ellis Island. 5 dollar craps and blackjack and they brew their own beer as well. The Strip is pretty ridiculous to gamble during off peak times let alone at night.

[Fuzz]

The RV park at Circus Circus is the best deal in Vegas. $56-$76 a night! Back in '96 we stayed there for $10 a night with free pool use and laundry, plus showers. No better deal for a couple 18 Y.O.'s with fake id.

[flamesfever]

The last time I was at Vegas, a few years ago, we booked a cheap flight and stayed at one of the casinos at the end of the strip. When we walked into our hotel, we found that a can of coke or a bottle of water was $5.00 US. and a special seafood buffet had a sign saying $55. US per person. The only thing you saved at was as long as you were gambling, you never had to pay for a drink. However, if you figured out how much you had lost, the drinks were quite expensive.

[Swift]

Hmm, we're heading to Vegas in Sep for the U2 show at the Sphere (should be amazing, apparently the inside is fully surrounded by screens too which can obviously be used in conjunction with the music. U2 have always been great at elaborate stage shows, so should be an experience) as well as a Cirque du Soleil show.

This is our first and likely only time, as it's not a place that really appeals to us, so we're splurging a bit staying at the Venetian. But it's interesting to hear about the cost of drinks. I had no idea. Is dinner just as expensive? Should we just be hitting up the food court at the hotel where we're staying?

[8 Ball]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The RV park at Circus Circus is the best deal in Vegas. $56-$76 a night! Back in '96 we stayed there for $10 a night with free pool use and laundry, plus showers. No better deal for a couple 18 Y.O.'s with fake id.

Did this exact same thing. I couldn't believe how dirty we got staying there lol.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Swift

Hmm, we're heading to Vegas in Sep for the U2 show at the Sphere (should be amazing, apparently the inside is fully surrounded by screens too which can obviously be used in conjunction with the music. U2 have always been great at elaborate stage shows, so should be an experience) as well as a Cirque du Soleil show.

This is our first and likely only time, as it's not a place that really appeals to us, so we're splurging a bit staying at the Venetian. But it's interesting to hear about the cost of drinks. I had no idea. Is dinner just as expensive? Should we just be hitting up the food court at the hotel where we're staying?

Food is all over the place in terms of pricing but I wouldn't consider anything really cheap even the food courts. There are a few cheap options with good specials like Ellis Island or Earl of Sandwiches. But for pretty much any restaurant on the strip you should expect $30 min per entree and at least $45 min for any of the celebrity chef restaurants.

A couple places that I think are pretty decent and reasonably priced are Ramsay Burger in Planet Hollywood (have a reservation or you will wait for an hour or more) and Nine Fine Irishmen in NYNY. Eataly also has some decent options and I consider some of it to be priced fairly.

Best thing to do is google cheap eats in Vegas and read the various articles/pages and figure out what looks good to you.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Swift

Hmm, we're heading to Vegas in Sep for the U2 show at the Sphere (should be amazing, apparently the inside is fully surrounded by screens too which can obviously be used in conjunction with the music. U2 have always been great at elaborate stage shows, so should be an experience) as well as a Cirque du Soleil show.

This is our first and likely only time, as it's not a place that really appeals to us, so we're splurging a bit staying at the Venetian. But it's interesting to hear about the cost of drinks. I had no idea. Is dinner just as expensive? Should we just be hitting up the food court at the hotel where we're staying?

There is a Seafood Buffet dinner in it for you if you Rugby Tackle Bono.

[blankall]

There are still lots of cheap food options in Vegas. You still find steak and seafood specials all over the place. You just largely won't find them directly on the main strip. You can even find, for example, a high end steak for about $40 USD at the Circus Circus Steakhouse. There's also plenty of off strip Mexican restaurants that are top notch.

Will you find a place that cheap and has a celebrity chef's name on it right on the strip...probably not.

There's also a lot of romanticizing about the way things used to be. The standards for food especially about pre 2010 were just really bad. Lots of restaurants would have been serving you pre-made frozen patty burgers that nobody would eat anymore.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by blankall

There are still lots of cheap food options in Vegas. You still find steak and seafood specials all over the place. You just largely won't find them directly on the main strip. You can even find, for example, a high end steak for about $40 USD at the Circus Circus Steakhouse. There's also plenty of off strip Mexican restaurants that are top notch.

Will you find a place that cheap and has a celebrity chef's name on it right on the strip...probably not.

There's also a lot of romanticizing about the way things used to be. The standards for food especially about pre 2010 were just really bad. Lots of restaurants would have been serving you pre-made frozen patty burgers that nobody would eat anymore.

I respectfully disagree about the food pre 2010, it's not like dining standards have changed THAT much. There was the classic affortable places, family places, mid tier places and top end places.

The problem is the corporations who run Vegas have just gone for a maximum revenue generation model across the board. There are not really deals and everything is insanely expensive not by Canadian standards but by American standards.

Lot's of $35+ sandwich places in a food court. When an American family is spending $110+ for sandwiches at a non fastfood chain, that's expensive. The higher end restaurants were $80-100 a plate now, it's through the roof.

The places I used to party at went from $18 USD a highball with a strong pour but than we could get bottle service for $325 with a table so that made some sense for no line/no cover. It exploded to $700 a bottle and than when I went years ago, the place where we used to sit for $325 for 4 people was $10k minimum spend. It's like we were starting to rent real estate in the club which became literally insanity, thankfully I don't partake anymore.

I recall reading an article that was really true years ago. Describe how literally average Joe's and Jane's go to Vegas and literally spend mountains of money like they are uber wealthy celebs or billionaires but they are baristas, carpet store installers or admin in an insurance office. Vegas was never like that before.

Just wild times all around. Personally I have been to Vegas a million times but I haven't been in ages, the costs and the good times just don't add up as much as they used to.

[Calgary14]

In Vegas today, surprised to see how busy it is given the heat warning. 46 degrees yesterday and the same expected today

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

In Vegas today, surprised to see how busy it is given the heat warning. 46 degrees yesterday and the same expected today

I hope your hotel room has good AC. Last week it was about 42 when we were there and our room was nice and cool in the morning but when we returned in the evening it was pretty hot in the room despite having the temp set at 15.5c. The AC just couldn't quite keep up with the mid day heat and we had the curtains closed the whole time.

[Table 5]

As someone who doesn't really gamble, my favourite part of LV has always just been as a starting/end point in seeing all the great national parks in that part of the US (Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Death Valley etc). I find a day or two in Vegas is more than enough to have a little fun before moving on the natural wonders.

[Calgary14]

Yeah the hotel has great AC. The casinos have AC on full blast, some even have ice water available for free. The strip has misting machines as well to cool people down.

Pro tip - don’t order DoorDash delivery to your hotel room. The drivers aren’t allowed to go up to the rooms to deliver and the front desk can’t legally accept food deliveries due to licensing, so the drivers just drop off the food on the ground out front. Source - me

You can still get delivery you just need to wait for the driver out front and meet there

[blankall]

Originally Posted by curves2000

I respectfully disagree about the food pre 2010, it's not like dining standards have changed THAT much. There was the classic affortable places, family places, mid tier places and top end places.

The problem is the corporations who run Vegas have just gone for a maximum revenue generation model across the board. There are not really deals and everything is insanely expensive not by Canadian standards but by American standards.

Lot's of $35+ sandwich places in a food court. When an American family is spending $110+ for sandwiches at a non fastfood chain, that's expensive. The higher end restaurants were $80-100 a plate now, it's through the roof.

The places I used to party at went from $18 USD a highball with a strong pour but than we could get bottle service for $325 with a table so that made some sense for no line/no cover. It exploded to $700 a bottle and than when I went years ago, the place where we used to sit for $325 for 4 people was $10k minimum spend. It's like we were starting to rent real estate in the club which became literally insanity, thankfully I don't partake anymore.

I recall reading an article that was really true years ago. Describe how literally average Joe's and Jane's go to Vegas and literally spend mountains of money like they are uber wealthy celebs or billionaires but they are baristas, carpet store installers or admin in an insurance office. Vegas was never like that before.

Just wild times all around. Personally I have been to Vegas a million times but I haven't been in ages, the costs and the good times just don't add up as much as they used to.

10+ years ago, the "high end" places were always expensive. Places like Ceaser's were expensive places, but the places like Flamingos and Circus Circus were cheaper. There are more expensive options, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that the cheap places don't exist.

There are plenty of places you can get bottle service for less than $10k ($300-500/bottle). I do agree that young people are spending far more money now than young people did 10+ years ago though. What the bank of mom and dad will pay for has changed dramatically. It's gone from helping with school to brand new cars, expensive vacations, houses, etc...

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by ajr4013

Last time I was there we spent a ton of time at Ellis Island. 5 dollar craps and blackjack and they brew their own beer as well. The Strip is pretty ridiculous to gamble during off peak times let alone at night.

Did you stay at Ellis?

It looks like a pretty decent place to stay, as well as save a couple of bucks.
Headed to U2 in Oct and I wanted to book Ellis but my bro said no - it's Strip or nothing!

[ajr4013]

Originally Posted by craigwd

Did you stay at Ellis?

It looks like a pretty decent place to stay, as well as save a couple of bucks.
Headed to U2 in Oct and I wanted to book Ellis but my bro said no - it's Strip or nothing!

I did not as the people I went with prefer to stay on the Strip as well. We were there over US Thanksgiving though so I think we got cheaper than usual rates at the Mirage.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by craigwd

Did you stay at Ellis?

It looks like a pretty decent place to stay, as well as save a couple of bucks.
Headed to U2 in Oct and I wanted to book Ellis but my bro said no - it's Strip or nothing!

I've stayed there. It's clean and reliable, and they give you a voucher for a free coffee and croissant in the morning which are pretty good. Gas station next door is kind of shady at night. The air conditioning can make a racket turning on and off during the night. They're all individual units and not central. No streaming TV (Netflix/YouTube), just normal channels.

Usually go there if it's a weekend. On weekdays, the Strip prices are the same as Ellis Island on the weekend.

[troutman]

A Vegas visitor for 40 years told me when the Mob used to run things they didn’t gouge on food and drinks and just took profit on the tables.