Solo Trip to Vegas

My group of friends unfortunately do not appreciate Vegas as much as I do, so I decided to say screw them (their times, places to stay, lack of appreciation for gambling) and book my own solo trip. I'm hoping to get some general input/advice from people here who have done this before. I have done one trip to Vegas before, staying at the NYNY and gambling around there.

Some questions to start:

1. Where have you had your best ambiance with fellow gamblers? I plan on playing a good amount of craps and blackjack. I would like to stay at $5 pass line bets but if I must go up to $10 which I think I will have to for some of the more fun places so be it.

The following two questions have to do with joining players clubs. I plan on betting MAX $20/hand blackjack and $10 on the pass line. Is it really even worth it to join the club? The only advantage, if my play is completely ignored (I don't think my sports bets would be), is that later in life when I'm betting real money it seems like I'm a long standing valued customer.

2. I'm trying to decide on which players club to join. I am having to decide between MGM and Harrah's, since it seems like they have a duopoly. I'm thinking MGM because Harrah's has been given a pretty bad rap by the Wizard and some of the fellow gamblers on this site.

3. Assuming I go with MGM, is the best place to make my bets at MGM Grand or the Bellagio? I assume one of the bigger properties, if not please inform me of a better venue.

With your preferred betting limits in mind, I would recommend that you head downtown. The Main Street Station offers craps with $5 minimums, 20X odds, and great crowds (if you don't mind a distinct Hawaiian flavor).

As for players clubs, I strongly recommend that you join wherever you play. At worst, they will not send you any promotions, but at best, you could end up with free room, board, food and play.

Have a great time!

You may want to stay off the Strip. A place like the Orleans has lower limits and will give you benefits for lower levels of play. The Strip hotels have the highest levels for ratings, usually $25 for table games.

Wouldn't Casino Royale have $5 with 100x odds? I'll be mainly gambling over an entire thursday day-night + wednesday night. Since I'll be alone, I haven't been to Vegas or downtown yet, and I won't have a lot of time I'm thinking downtown might be too much for me. I'd be willing to handle the risk with $10 limits

You may also want to check out Monte Carlo, which is on-strip and has $5 craps (with only 3-4-5x odds but if you're concerned with $10 line bets I doubt you'll be taking too many 10x odds). I've had fun there with good crowds and it's a more upscale atmosphere than Casino Royale.

It kind of depends on what you prefer: do you want a more ritzy environment? Some people dig the little more functional vibe of the cheaper/local places. Personally I don't like the sort of drab, functional vibe at a place like The Orleans. It's a fine place and I stayed there without a ton of complaint once, but I'd rather spend a bit more and be on strip.

I've had good experiences with the MGM Mirage set of properties with the MGM Grand / NYNY / Monte Carlo. I play anywhere from $5 craps (with max odds and a come bet every time) to about $25/hand blackjack. When I was at MGM Grand last October, I think they had some $10/hand BJ and this was over the weekend. They actually gave me about $90 worth of food comps for my play, and I was around $20-40/hand, so it's not as exclusive as it gets made out to be sometimes.

Thank you very much, I was planning on playing $10 BJ for a house edge of .26% at Monte Carlo anyways so I might end out just spending my entire time here. Except for my wake up game of craps at the Tuscany which is where I'm staying.

Also, is this normal? I was able to get an entire trip (plane + room for two nights) for $210 after taxes. The discount given for the deal is valued at higher than what my rooms + taxes cover, so they're basically paying for part of my flight. I understand them doing this for someone who has shown themselves to be a solid player, but someone random? Are times really that tough?

Where are you staying and where are you flying from?

Edit: Doh, missed that part about the Tuscany. It sounds like a good deal but not insanely good. Two nights midweek have a very low value to them anyhow.

Seattle, staying in Tuscany. Not the best resort by any means but this really seems like a steal to me.

Tuscany has large rooms that are quite cheap. I'm not sure what their current policy is on resort fees. They give good comps so join their players club even if you don't plan on playing there much.

It is generally best to make flight deals and hotel deals separately so the hotel can comp your room if they like your play sufficiently.

I'm told that casino royale can be quite smokey and quite hectic, perhaps that might even be appealing to some, but its not to me. One advantage of a solo trip is that you will be free to trek from one casino to another whenever you want to and so can sample a variety of atmospheres and table limits.

1. If you want to chat with other players, I suggest downtown or a cheaper Strip property. You mentioned the MGM and Bellagio in another question. As a $10-$20 player, you'll get no respect in those places. Regardless of your bet size, I think you should play where others are about at your level.

2. I have to admit that I'm partial to the MGM properties, but what is right for me may not be right for you (I think I got that from the Diff'rent Strokes theme song).

3. Again, at $10-$20 bets you'll look like a flea at the MGM, and especially the Bellagio. You might blend in better at a low-end Harrah's property like the Flamingo or Imperial Palace. All things considered, you should not overlook downtown. My favorites are the Golden Nugget, Four Queens, and Main Street Station.

Main Street Station is good, but when I was there the table was crowded.

Had a great time shooting craps at The California.

Lots of Hawaiians, but they're pretty cool, and take the game damned seriously.

Quote: ahiromu

2. I'm trying to decide on which players club to join. I am having to decide between MGM and Harrah's, since it seems like they have a duopoly. I'm thinking MGM because Harrah's has been given a pretty bad rap by the Wizard and some of the fellow gamblers on this site.

The upside to Total Rewards is that Harrah's has joints all over the country where you can earn points which also gets you stuff in Vegas, whereas MGM/M Player's Club only works in Vegas, Detroit, Tunica, and Biloxi. Of course, if you don't live near a Harrah's property, then this isn't really an upside.

The downside, of course, is you're giving money to —ing Harrah's.

I wouldn't say that Harrah's has an awful rewards system as it has a very different system. Because it has casinos all over the country, including Chicago, AC, Windsor, Las Vegas, and Mississippi, they market their cards differently.

Cash back is very lean, especially on table games. They offer alot of discounted hotel room deals (0 at Ballys for example) even for their low end gamers. The rewards really come by collecting enough points to become a diamond or platinum member which puts you to the front of the buffet line, gets you more comps, show tickets, and other things.

If you are going just for a few days and are looking for short term comps, stay away from Harrahs. If you are a chronic low level gambler who is looking for great accommodations center-strip at cheap prices on a future visit or are a mid-level gambler who can accumulate the points to become a premier member, Harrahs actually works fairly well.

Agreed. You could do worse than Harrah's. What a lot of people do is focus their play at other properties that have decent games (A.C., Windsor, Rincon, Ak-Chin, and maybe some other places that I'm not thinking of) and then spend their points and offers in Las Vegas.
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But for a one-off trip to Las Vegas, I would not bother giving them much, if any, play. Especially since you live in Seattle where they don't have a property.
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People (including myself) have had good luck at Venetian recently with scoring free room offers with limited green chip play. You could give that a shot and maybe get a suite for a future visit.

Quote: ahiromu

2. I'm trying to decide on which players club to join. I am having to decide between MGM and Harrah's, since it seems like they have a duopoly. I'm thinking MGM because Harrah's has been given a pretty bad rap by the Wizard and some of the fellow gamblers on this site.

Some widely dispersed advice is for you not even to play anwyhere until you've joined the players club. I've joined just about every club there is in every casino I've played in, for all the good that does. A lot of casinos will give you the elastic key-chain and clip to hold several club cards (I got one from Excalibur, Fitzgeralds and Startosphere). It's free and usually only takes a few minutes.

Last count I got cards for the Sahara (stayed there once), Harrahs, MGM/Mirage, Fitzgeralds, Riviera, Stratosphere, Casino Royale, Boyd Gaming (that's Sam's Town, Fremont and others). I dind't get one fro the Golden Nugget or Four Queens because the lines were hideously long the times I went there. I kind of collect them, too, and I try to see as many casinos as I can every trip.

Not to get this thread off track (okay, I will), but I'd hold my collection of player's cards against almost anyone's. (The Wizard probably has me beat). I think I've got cards for every single casino/casino chain in the Las Vegas Valley. I don't have any old/defunct ones. I should take a photo and post them here. I've even got the Siegel Slots and Suites players club card, and that's a tough one to get!
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FWIW, Skyline on Boulder Highway does _not_ have a players club. They are maybe the only ones that don't. I asked to join, and when I was told they didn't have one, I was shocked.
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Edit: I've just realized I don't have a Hooter's Owl Club card! Good heavens ... guess I've never had a reason to go in there. (The $200 "free slot play" isn't much of an incentive.)

Indeed, I have quite the collection. If you stacked them all up, it would be at least six inches, although admittedly with a lot of repeats. I should have every type of card in Vegas, except maybe a few places like Jerry's Nugget. I've got one for every place in the San Diego area, and lots from Reno, Tahoe, Atlantic City, Tunica, Biloxi, and Macau. I never throw away defunct cards either. I need to find a way to organize them. High levels I have attained are Harrah's Diamond, Venetian Plantinum, and Stations President.

I'm not what you'd call an avid collector. I've modest goals. Like visiting and playing in at least a diferent casino each trip, and getting their club card. Last trip that included Fitz, Fremont, Riviera and Stratosphere. I think next time I'll get a couple more Downtown plus Wynn and Venetian.

If I ever get any sort of level other than the very basic card, I'll frame it (after I have it gilded) ;)

Quote: ahiromu

3. Assuming I go with MGM, is the best place to make my bets at MGM Grand or the Bellagio? I assume one of the bigger properties, if not please inform me of a better venue.

I'd hit up Luxor if you're looking for an MGM property with those betting standards.