Rookie Question - how do I get cash?

Going to Vegas next month. My stake will be about $2500-3K. My bank doesn't have a branch in Vegas. Do I need to bring cash? I assume the ATMs there are subject to the same limit as my ATMs at home ($300 i think), right? Will my hotel cash my check without a ridiculous charge?

I realize this is probably a stupid question, but I can't seem to find the answer & would rather not travel with a gangster wad in my pocket.

Thanks.

Generally, casinos / hotels will cash checks, but only if set up ahead of time.

An alternative is t set up a credit line. Or just send them a check ahead of time to be put on account.


Bottom line, call the casino / hotel and tell them your concerns. You certainly are not the first to have these questions, but each casino may do things differently.

We have always used travelers checks with no problem. Small fee at bank to get them but makes it easy to get cash.

I've had luck just opening a bank account at a national bank for this purpose. There's a U.S. Bank branch on the north side of Flamingo about 3 blocks west of the Rio (6 blocks west of the strip) that I used when I was in town last October. I remember also seeing several Wells Fargo locations around town.

If you have a house and one of the big banks owns your mortgage, you'll probably qualify for a free checking account at that bank. For me, U.S. Bank owns my mortgage, and their account limit for free checking is >$25K. Sadly (luckily?) I owe them more than that, so it works out well for this purpose.

Cashiers Checks/Travelers Checks could also work for you.

Lastly, $3k in $100 bills is smaller than you'd think. That's a lot of value to be carrying around, but physically it's not too large. If you're like me, just remove the loyalty cards and receipts from your wallet, insert the $3000, and the wallet will be smaller than it was before:-)

Being from Canada I usually travel with the cash in a wallet in my side pocket not my back pocket. Once I hit the hotel I put most of it in the safe and just use what i need for the day. So far no problems. Or you could set up a higher limit for withdrawels before you leave, I know Canadians banks will do this especially if it is for a temporary time.

Talk to your bank. You may be able to get your daily ATM limit increased. Clearly there will still be fees on this, but the money isn't on you if that is a concern for you.

Personally I think bringing all 2500/3000 with you and then just dropping off the extra in your room safe would be fine.

The casino will usually cash your check for no fee, but there is usually a limit. I would set up a credit line. It's easy and convenient if you're planning to do all your gambling at one casino, or nearby. Plus you get a small amount of "float."

Whoever said $3K isn't that much is right. You can carry up to $10K pretty comfortably if you are not paranoid about it.

My advice is to just bring cash. If you're not comfortable with that, then traveler's checks.

Quote: teddys

Whoever said $3K isn't that much is right. You can carry up to $10K pretty comfortably if you are not paranoid about it.

That was me. And just to expound briefly, it's the fold in a wallet that makes it thick. Minimizing the number of bills that are in the fold will minimize the total bulkiness. with $3k, I'd make 6 $500 groupings, fold 4 of them in half, place 2 sets on each side of my wallet, then put $500 unfolded in front of those bills and $500 behind those bills. It minimizes bulk, and also pre-counts my buy-in for when I sit down at a table.

If I end up with a large amount of cash on hand, I sometimes throw a bunch of hundreds in a machine. Then cash that out on a single ticket. That has it's own problem on the Strip where you might travel from casino to casino, but I'm generally in one outlying casino for the evening. But it does reduce the space needed in your wallet. Just don't lose a thousand dollar ticket! I never have, but it's possible I guess.

... I use the ticket capability of the machines all the time when my wallet gets too full of small denominations, instead of going to the cashiers to change it. Put a bunch of small bills in one machiine, cash out, and then cash the ticket out in the regular changer for a couple single hundreds or whatever.

Quote: rxwine

... I use the ticket capability of the machines all the time when my wallet gets too full of small denominations, instead of going to the cashiers to change it. Put a bunch of small bills in one machiine, cash out, and then cash the ticket out in the regular changer for a couple single hundreds or whatever.

Me, too. I also like to add cash to increase ticket value to lessen the number of resulting bills. Ex. $87.50 ticket + $20 bill = $100 bill + $7.50.