Help me plan my 5th visit to Vegas

[kvangild]

Good morning LVA peeps;

December 20-28th I am planning a trip to Vegas. I have been to Vegas previously, but mainly comprises of time at Imperial Palace, Golden Nugget, even one time at Circus Circus due to family choices. The budget is good for 9 days at a 4-5 star place, as long as I can wire money for gambling. I plan to get a rental car and so would appreciate any input on that (fox rental, etc).  Plan to go and see my buddy in Cali one day.  I'd like to book it by the end of July to get a decent deal on prices. Not counting on much for comps as my budget for gambling is only 6-9.5 k tops

[Vegas Introvert]

Well, depending on where you live, the Southwest flight sale that starts today and ends Thursday is the best I've seen in awhile. From Houston, Vegas r/t is $198.  I'm booking my December work trip this week through that sale.

Oh darn it...looks like it ends right before you want to go.  Sorry!  (...but leaving this if it might help others)

[bardolator]

There's no reason to book super early for those dates. Although Christmas itself may be busy, otherwise it's during the slowest weeks of the year. Hotels will have vacancy. Cars will be available. You'll find a seat at your favorite machine or table.

First and foremost, book directly with the hotel, airline, and car rental agency. Do not use a third party or you will lose your flexibility.

Get air first, since you're traveling near a holiday. Look for the next SWA super sale. These sales occur fairly often. I received the same SWA email Dan mentioned. Contact SWA so you get the next one. Once those dates open up, book the cheapest convenient flights within your travel window. Don't wait. Cheap holiday fares go fast.

Once you have your flight, book the car. DO NOT PAY IN ADVANCE. Reserve with one or two agencies. You will be checking back with car rental agencies from time to time and will cancel and rebook as rates fall. This can continue right up to a few weeks before the trip. EZ and Fox are okay, so long as you don't mind being inconvenienced at the counter and getting a not very new, not very clean car. Oh, and Fox gives you an extra bus ride, too.

Hotels will have vacancy and good prices. Shop around and book something, but once again, DO NOT PREPAY and be prepared to cancel and rebook if a better deal comes along. If you'll be out of town overnight, this can work in your favor with booking because Vegas is geared to shorter stays. Shoot, you might even swing some free nights for part of it- maybe one place before Cal and another after. If possible, visit your friend on a Friday or Saturday night because Vegas hotels cost more on those nights.

Shows are harder to book for that week because some of them will be on vacation. What you can get and how you get it depends on numerous factors, but the main thing is that booking a show involves a monetary commitment, so be sure what you book is what you want. Maybe winter would be a good time to try a half-price booth after you get into town. For my money, the best show in town right now is Human Nature, the four Aussies who sing Smokey, if you like that.

Some restaurants will also be closed. There is no lack of food opportunities in Las Vegas, though, and you can probably get in almost any place that is open by calling the same day.

[Vegas Introvert]

That is about the best summary of how to plan Vegas that I have ever seen...down to the Human Nature suggestion (who we are seeing for the 3rd time in two weeks...excuse me, less than two weeks).

[phil7200]

Dan is right. Nice work by the Bard. Perhaps Kevin can keep this around for easy access.

[kvangild]

Thanks for the plan Bard and Dantex who have been so kind to respond so far. To give a little more information about me, I'm recently a single man (out of a LTR) and just looking to get away and so I will be flying solo.  I have a buddy that lives in Reno and he plans to come take me out on the town at the "Rhino" (don't forget your singles....lol) . In case your wondering why I'm not spending Christmas with my folks and siblings, they will be in the Europe for a month and....... (not taking me!). Why you might ask? I only got two weeks vacation a year until I get to 5 years at the current gig. On year 3

But, alas, I plan to make it a good time and get some time away from work and just the same old same old grind. I have heard good things about Red Rock and the Palms but not sure if I want to put my eggs all in one basket. I'm a VP player, (usually 10 cents (Ultimate X)  to $2  (single line) tops).  It's been a few years since I've been a Diamond player at Harrahs and so not sure if it's even worth checking out there properties.  Even I have a decent amount to gamble with, that doesn't mean I don't want to maximize my bang for the buck.   I don't have a coupon book that Anthony Curtis gives with membership. If it's worth my $ I'm not opposed to getting it or picking it up while I'm in Vegas.

Bard, I do plan to drive to Cali on a Friday or Saturday and appreciate the 411.

Sites I'd like to see:  Pawn Stars shop (is this worth it? Heard there is a line that goes forever),  Counts Customs (love the show), Rick's Restoration (also good)

[jenaphir]

harrahs will charge you a resort fee if you are not above platinum, even on comped rooms.

[MissL7777]

It's your vacation and its Vegas.  Do what you want, when you want.  Don't try to over plan and most important, ENJOY!!!

[bardolator]

Glad to help. Thanks for the kind words, fellas.

The pawn shop may disappoint you. Half of it is full of Pawn Stars memorabilia, and you're not likely to see any of the guys from the show. Sometimes in the morning there's no line. We tied the pawn shop visit together with a tour of the Mob Museum downtown, which we thought was fun.

If you're planning to hit RR and Palms, bone up on FPDW and Double Bonus. Both are positive expectation games. Be sure you're playing them at 99% accuracy.

The LVA website may have a list of the coupons in the book. That should help you decide if it is worth the investment. I quit several years ago over an unrelated matter, but was becoming more and more disappointed about the dwindling number of matchplays. I seldom used anything else.

[redietz]

Bard gave a beautiful summary. Those dates (and the week after New Year's) are usually cheap, but the Fri/Sat near Christmas can be rough. So don't worry about hotel costs non-Fri/Sat -- they will be mega-discounted. So will car rentals. You may be able to swing suites (if you want them) for the cost of regular rooms non-Fri/Sat, and you can negotiate when you get there.

One note:  pack some "night clothes," as the wind whipping in off the desert at night is brisk and can be brutal.

[kvangild]

harrahs will charge you a resort fee if you are not above platinum, even on comped rooms.

Thanks for the heads up jenaphir. I apologize if this is covered somewhere else on this forum. But, does Harrah's still have the diamond in a day?

[kvangild]

It's your vacation and its Vegas.  Do what you want, when you want.  Don't try to over plan and most important, ENJOY!!!

Good morning Lisa-In-Phoenix. I think you hit the nail on the head and couldn't agree more. However, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate input, suggestions, cost savings from folks like yourself who might have much, much, more time spent in Vegas and are on to old tricks and things to watch out for.

[kvangild]

Glad to help. Thanks for the kind words, fellas.

The pawn shop may disappoint you. Half of it is full of Pawn Stars memorabilia, and you're not likely to see any of the guys from the show. Sometimes in the morning there's no line. We tied the pawn shop visit together with a tour of the Mob Museum downtown, which we thought was fun.

Good information bard, and I might just bypass the Pawn Stars ship after your assessment and head to the Mob Museum. Is that anywhere near the Pin ball hall of fame?

If you're planning to hit RR and Palms, bone up on FPDW and Double Bonus. Both are positive expectation games. Be sure you're playing them at 99% accuracy.

Will do, I still have my old version of VPFW by Mr. G

The LVA website may have a list of the coupons in the book. That should help you decide if it is worth the investment. I quit several years ago over an unrelated matter, but was becoming more and more disappointed about the dwindling number of matchplays. I seldom used anything else.

I haven't have a LVA subscription in quite a while (years). Just looking to maximize opportunities that would not otherwise be available to me in my local area.

[kvangild]

Well, depending on where you live, the Southwest flight sale that starts today and ends Thursday is the best I've seen in awhile. From Houston, Vegas r/t is $198.  I'm booking my December work trip this week through that sale.

Oh darn it...looks like it ends right before you want to go.  Sorry!  (...but leaving this if it might help others)

Morning Dantex, I haven't overlooked checking out Southwest. Unfortunately, I don't have anything that is near unless I drive 4 hours.  Allegiant air is close to me, but that's about it.

[RecVPPlayer]

If you want more bang for your buck, then Downtown LV could be an option since they have some very good VP -- although that's mostly 9/6 Jacks, 10/7 Double Bonus Poker and Pick 'Em Poker (Pick-A-Pair Poker).

The LVA website definitely does have a listing of what coupons are in the Members' Rewards Book and it also has some additional online coupons to print out.  You also might look into getting a copy of the 2013 American Casino Guide and checking out its coupon list as well.

I do know that there is a company that does tours of Pawn Stars, Tanked, Toy Shack, and Rick's Restorations.  I have no idea how this tour is but I picked up some vouchers of this to give to friends who have told me that they like watching some or all of these shows.

The voucher that I have says "Take the only tour in LV that will show you behind the scenes of the real Pawn Stars.  Your tour guide will take you to the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, where you will skip the line and get to see the pawn shop in operation.

You will also visit three other locations where the Pawn Stars Experts work.

The tour leaves at 2:15pm every day from the North entrance to Bally's (just outside the Bally's box office)."

Then it offers a phone number and website address to book the tour.  I don't know how much it costs either or if it is worth it.

It's from a company called "OnBoard Sightseeing Tours."  The website address to book this from is http://www.onboardtours.com

Also, if you're going to Palms, check out http://www.slotplaycoupons.com where you can get (for a New Member) $50 in Freeplay for $25 or otherwise if you are not a New Member you can get $40 in Freeplay for $25.

I hope that this helps you!

RecVPPlayer