Vegas for the Low Roller?
My fiancee and I are from southern Utah so we will be going home over spring break and are gonna try to sneak down to Vegas Tuesday 3/13 and come back home Wednesday 3/14. I am hoping to find some good advice on where to stay and play cheaply. As college kids, we are certainly on a budget so we mostly just play BJ 5-15 dollars a hand. We will probably jump around to several casinos to get players cards and use some coupons we have but it would certainly be nice to stay somewhere that we could afford to play at.
The only criteria other than price is that we want a jacuzzi/pool (I know some may be closed but it appears that some are open year round/opened up at the beginning or March). Basically my fiancee loves hot tubs so as long as there is a round hole in the ground filled with hot water she will be happy, nothing fancy is required. The other thing is that we would like to stay on the strip, downtown, or slightly off the strip (like The Orleans distance away). Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Cody
Some rooms will have a Jacuzzi but if you are on a budget ... .
The rules are simple on WHERE to play: All over. Visit casinos, sign up for their Players Club card, look for 3:2 games, rather than 5:6 games. Be prepared to do LOTS of walking and do remember to consume extra water. You will get better bargains at The M or South Point but such places are away from the glitzy STRIP.
Alot of places have Midnight Specials in the wee hours of the morning, plus your play may earn you a few buffets and many places offer BOGOs.
Plan carefully.
I would try and hotwire or priceline a deal...
Also tolerable might be Hooters, at $44, including the resort fee. I've got no experience with it. http://www.hooterscasinohotel.com/stay/pool/ . One report I saw says it's only heated to 60°, so if that's true, it might be a little chilly for you.
Quote: hook3670You will probably find it cheaper downtown. However, google cheap vegas hotels and you will find a bunch of pretty decent rates midweek. Not to bust on you but 21 and already engaged??!!
I know, I know. I never thought I would be engaged at 21 either, but sometimes life happens. However, I can assure you it's not the usual Utah date for 2 months then get married to have sex routine lol. We have been dating for over 4 years now and we are ready to start living our lives together, theres not much sense in waiting when you know your with the person you wanna be with.
Quote: CodydenI know, I know. I never thought I would be engaged at 21 either, but sometimes life happens. However, I can assure you it's not the usual Utah date for 2 months then get married to have sex routine lol. We have been dating for over 4 years now and we are ready to start living our lives together, theres not much sense in waiting when you know your with the person you wanna be with.
AMEN >>
If you follow this link, then click on the "Show details" link right under the words "Hot Deals", then enter the number of people and click on "Show Calendar", you should get a page for the Rio showing a rate for Tuesday 3/13/12 as $49. I don't know what the rate might be if you just showed up without booking this "hot deal".
Now that rate gets you a pretty nice and quite large (for most low-roller standards) "suite" room, but not a jacuzzi in the room. I have never used the pool area there, though I might give it a try this year. Their web site is slightly unclear about it's status: There is the comment, "Season starts March 9th!", and a description of the Voodoo beach as:
Quote:VooDoo Beach at Rio features real sand beaches, cascading waterfalls, four swimming pools and five Jacuzzi-style spas. VooDoo Beach also offers the ultimate in waterfront indulgence: poolside massages!
Hours – Daily 9am-5pm
Admission - Complimentary Admission
That sounds as if it would meet your request. There is also a possibly-conflicting comment that, "The Voo - opens April!" and describes that possibly-different facility this way:
Quote:A European-style pool at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Designed specifically for adults over 21, this pool allows guests to bask in the sunshine while listening to the music of a live DJ and watching go-go dancers on the pool deck the hottest dance music with live resident DJ's.
I'm thinking "European-style" may imply topless (or something more) and that this is in a more private locale than the general pool area. It may also involve an admission fee, but if it doesn't open until April, it won't be relevant for your upcoming trip.
Golden Nugget is worth looking into if you want to live large and be downtown. Tuscany is one of my favorites but it might be too sedate for you.
Quote: hook3670You will probably find it cheaper downtown. However, google cheap vegas hotels and you will find a bunch of pretty decent rates midweek. Not to bust on you but 21 and already engaged??!!
Don't listen to hook. lol
I was married at 19 and am on my 34th year with a woman who puts up with me playing craps from midnight to 6:00AM when we go on trips. Plus, we had our kids early, so we have been empty nesters for the past few years already. Most of my peers are trying to figure out college expenses, and ours are already graduated and in the work force. What you're missing in your early twenties living a single's life you gain in the back end as your retirement years approach.
You want to be near the strip for your first trip, especially if you have limited funds. If the gambling goes cold on you, you will be able to fill all of your time just out walking the strip, and taking in all of the free outdoor shows. They run on set schedules, so to see them all in one night, you need to do some planning. You could go to Vegas for a 24 hour period, play games for two hours, and still find stuff to do for the other 22 hours and never spend a dime.
The pool is very nice, but you need to call them to make sure it is open. I think they don't open until the weather starts getting nice consistently.
I am sure they must have hot tubs outside, but I cannot recall where they are. The 'European' style is exactly what Doc surmised, topless. It used to be girls get in free, the boys get to pay an entry. Of course, as I heard it, it also used to be run by a local strip joint, presumably brought in to supply plenty of sun bathers, so the boys would be inclined to pay the entry fee. Sounds like a reasonable business plan, right? Well, when we were there, the 'European' pool area was closed, and the scuttlebutt was the girls got a bit more creative with the business plan than was anticipated, and were offering services not on the menu.
Don't know if that was true, but it sounded plausible enough, given it was Vegas. What is surprising is that someone would have put the kibosh on it. Probably couldn't figure out a way to make a profit from it...................
Quote: CodydenThanks for all the advice everybody! I was already considering the Golden Nugget, the Flamingo and the Rio, so when the fiancee gets back from clinicals I will have to pin her down and make her choose between the 3 since I did the pre-work in narrowing it down to several prospects. We are both so indecisive which makes easy decisions hard, but it sounds like you can't really go terribly wrong with this choice, after all a hotel room is more or less just a bed to sleep on for a couple of hours.
NOOBEE. The bed is for putting your suitcase on. There's no time to waste sleeping when you are in Vegas.
The "FAB Deluxe" room is $60.00 for the night you're there. I highly recommend it at that price.Quote: progrockerFor the young, budget-minded first timer I would go with the Flamingo. It has the best location on the strip, has a great pool and is close to cheaper gaming options at Bill's and IP and a bit further is Casino Royale. All of these reasons attract a lot of your age group to that property. You may even get a Go room for cheap mid week, but I hear they've renovated their basic rooms as well recently.
I would recommend Mac King. Yes, it is during the afternoon, and yes it is pitched towards families, but it is great. For $20 bucks, or the price of a drink (find a coupon or two-for-one at the players' club), I don't think you can beat it. Heck, you could throw in another big ticket show with the money you'd save.Quote: CodydenAlso, we are hoping to go to some sort of show on Tuesday night. I have already seen KA and Phantom but everything else is fair game. Any suggestions for that? Preferably something that you believe is a good value for the quality of show. I don't mind paying extra to see a great show but we would also enjoy something a little less extravagent if you still get your money's worth.
Edit: Oops, you might not be there for an afternoon show.
You're not from Hildale or Colorado City I hope.Quote: CodydenWe can definitely make it to an afternoon show. We are only 2.5 hours away from Vegas so we will probably leave fairly early on Tuesday to maximize our time there.
I have seen most of the Cirque shows twice (never Elvis, Believe, or Zumanity based on recommendations against), and you can't beat them for entertainment provided that's your thing! They tend to be a bit pricy, too. My wife and I have also enjoyed Jersey Boys, Rita Rudner, Donnie and Marie, and Penn and Teller, but I haven't checked into who is appearing during your visit.
Quote: s2dbakerYou're not from Hildale or Colorado City I hope.
Haha no I am from Parowan and my fiancee is from Cedar City. They are still small towns but they have a bit more diversity and certainly have a lot less polygamy.
If you wanted to look at mid-strip you might take a look at Mirage or TI. If you sign up for TI's email list they will give you a big discount of their list price. Mid week those could work for you...then you walk across the street to Casino Royale for the low limit tables. Mirage's pool area is great.
Quote: DocI highly endorse teddys's recommendation for Mac King's show. Just bring an appreciation for good magic, along with a 3rd grade sense of humor. (and I mean that in a positive way) If you are interested in a "traditional, old-style Las Vegas" show, you can probably get discounts for Jubilee at Bally's. You don't need to pay for the expensive seats either -- in my opinion, you see the show best from the front row of the rear section. If you get true front-row seats, you miss all of the stuff that's going on behind you, like on the catwalk. Yes, it's a topless revue, but it's nothing at all like taking your date to a strip show.
I have seen most of the Cirque shows twice (never Elvis, Believe, or Zumanity based on recommendations against), and you can't beat them for entertainment provided that's your thing! They tend to be a bit pricy, too. My wife and I have also enjoyed Jersey Boys, Rita Rudner, Donnie and Marie, and Penn and Teller, but I haven't checked into who is appearing during your visit.
I have honestly never seen a magic show in real life so Mac King sounds like a wonderful thing to do! I did however get peed on by one of Siegfried and Roy's white lions when we went to the Secret Garden when I was little. (It wasn't magic however, I was just an unfortunate little boy standing within the lions range I guess lol).
Mac King's show is nothing at all like the over-the-top, smoke-and-mirrors, disappearing/reappearing tigers, production magic shows you can find around town (or at least used to be able to). It's just very entertaining stuff -- most of which he could do for you in your living room -- combined with his very amusing banter. If you can still pretend you are a kid, you will enjoy it even more.Quote: CodydenI have honestly never seen a magic show in real life so Mac King sounds like a wonderful thing to do! ... Siegfried and Roy ....
Quote: slytherDefinitely check out the Tix4Tonite discount ticket booths. There are several of them along the strip. I'm sure they have a website that lists locations.
If you wanted to look at mid-strip you might take a look at Mirage or TI. If you sign up for TI's email list they will give you a big discount of their list price. Mid week those could work for you...then you walk across the street to Casino Royale for the low limit tables. Mirage's pool area is great.
Actually I'd recommend NOT going to the Tix4Tonite booth. By the time you add in their fee, you're really paying 70-80% of the "list" price of the tickets. Instead go directly to the box office of the show you want to see and see what offers they have. We got true 2 for 1 tickets to Mystere at TI last year directly from the box office.
As for rooms, the Wizard has a positive review of Casino Royale and that's right on the strip. Maybe more than you want to spend though.
--helpmespock
Look at the EasyVegas section on gambling cheap. It explains how to play simplified craps and other table games to keep a small bankroll going.
If you don't mind slumming, go to the bar a half block off the strip, the stage door. They have a beer and a Nathan's hot dog for 2.50, and a vodka red bull could be had for around 3.50 I think. Just don't go after 10 oclock or so, as the clientele gets a little sketch.
Have a good trip.
Quote: CodydenThe only criteria other than price is that we want a jacuzzi/pool (I know some may be closed but it appears that some are open year round/opened up at the beginning or March). Basically my fiancee loves hot tubs so as long as there is a round hole in the ground filled with hot water she will be happy, nothing fancy is required. The other thing is that we would like to stay on the strip, downtown, or slightly off the strip (like The Orleans distance away). Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Cody
The El Cortez is the original casino hotel in Las Vegas. Despite the somewhat advanced age, the views from the Tower Room are actually pretty good. The casino was built when there were only 8000 people living in Las Vegas (and was briefly owned by Bugsy Siegal). They do have some suites with jacuzzi's inside the suite. Usually on weekends they are given to gamblers, but they can be rented. You were not clear if you were talking about a public jacuzzi, or a private jacuzzi.
If you are talking about public jacuzzis then there are more options. The one above is at Platinum hotel, about a block from the strip.
Quote: DocMac King's show is nothing at all like the over-the-top, smoke-and-mirrors, disappearing/reappearing tigers, production magic shows you can find around town (or at least used to be able to). It's just very entertaining stuff -- most of which he could do for you in your living room -- combined with his very amusing banter. If you can still pretend you are a kid, you will enjoy it even more.
Definitely check out Mac King if you can !
Keep an eye out for discount ticket offers,
they often hand them out in the courtyard
outside Harrah's or on the way in. If you
sign up for a Players Card there, ask about
it there.
Put a $ 5 bill behind your discount tix when
you are seated, and politely ask if there are
any seats up front. I'll bet there will be,
if you know what I mean.
Quote: CodydenAlso, we are hoping to go to some sort of show on Tuesday night. I have already seen KA and Phantom but everything else is fair game. Any suggestions for that? Preferably something that you believe is a good value for the quality of show. I don't mind paying extra to see a great show but we would also enjoy something a little less extravagent if you still get your money's worth.
Consider, "Blue Man Group". Lot's of fun, and not too expensive if you take advantage of the discounts all over the place.
Given your preferences, I'd also recommend the Luxor. The pool has a nice layout and is a pretty good size. Confirm if the pool is open though.
Hard Rock has a year round pool / Jacuzzi. It's not an enjoyable walk to the Strip though.
Note that you will only be in town for what sounds like 24 hours. Don't overschedule. Gamble, Show, Pool, Sleep, Eat... I'd recommend you pick two things that you really want to spend money on for quality, and don't worry about the rest.
Recommend the Golden Nugget as well. Rio is great, just cross the street for cheaper gambling there.
