My first trip to Vegas and a challenge! (for me)

So I managed to get a few extra days off work this week, and wanted to plan a little trip. I did a little searching online and discovered, to my surprise, that Harrah's Total Rewards was offering me 3 free nights at the Flamingo (not the nicest place on the Strip, apparently, but I'm not too picky--as long as it's clean and has a comfortable bed I'm happy). So it's off to Vegas I go!

I've read the all the guides, both here and at vegasclick.com, so I think I have a pretty good idea of where to go and what to do. Despite the free room offer, I think I'll have to say "screw you, Harrah's" and not play too much blackjack there--looks like there are better games out there.

There is one thing that thought would be a fun challenge to try, and wanted to get some feedback on whether you folks thought it was doable--I want to try and visit EVERY casino in the Vegas area, play there for 1/2 an hour, and get some kind of souvenir as evidence of my visit. According to the hotel list on this site, there are 96 casinos in or around Vegas. 5 of them don't have any table games, and to me the definition of a casino is a place with at least one blackjack table, so I'll go ahead and skip those. That leaves 91 places to try and get to in the span of about 3 days (arriving Wednesday afternoon, leaving Saturday at about noon). I don't plan on renting a car, so I'll be relying on walking and public transit, which will further add to the challenge, I'm sure, but I still feel up to it--no matter how little sleep I get. :-) How do you folks feel, is it doable or am I crazy?

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

is it doable or am I crazy?

The two are not mutually exclusive. (LOL).
Seriously, you might consider PRE-applying for a card at the various casinos that offer such options where you simply show up and are already in their computer so obtaining the card is faster. I don't know if you are doing this to get the various trinkets such as plastic chains as if you were a slot player, a pair of dice or some such thing. And to do it walking ... wow! I'd just spend that time in a party pit or a buffet or at a serious blackjack game ... what do you want to trek all over town for? There are some casinos such as Terribles that I would PAY not to have to enter again! And to remain there for half an hour??? No way!! Go to the M buffet instead... its all the way South in Nowheresville but everyone raves about the food and since beer and wine are included, you can sit there and get a nice buzz on and think of how better it is than traipsing around in the hot sun going to a zillion other casinos.
(PS: Just call me SpoilSport).

Spending a half hour each at 91 places means you'll spend 45 hours and thirty minutes out of 72 hours inside the casinos. This leaves you 26 and a half hours to travel between them, eat and sleep. I don't want to say "impossible," but it would be highly improbable. Of course you could save time by eating at some casinos.

It would cost you 91 bucks to have a compleate collection of $1 chips from each casino- pretty impressive collection if your into that sort of thing. Its a form of souvinear.

The timing as mentioned dont seem to fit- 1/2 an hour at each over 3 days.. a 4th day maybe? Especially if walking.

Yeah, I guess that plan was a little over-ambitious. I still want to check out some seedy local places just to experience something different (Western, Joker's Wild, etc.) I am always up for a little adventure...

One more question: what's the best bar/club for young people to hang out without having to pay $400 for a bottle of wine?

Not doable, man; not without a car, and even then it would be cutting it close. But that shouldn't stop you from giving it a shot. Whatever keeps you from gambling :-)
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I would recommend players cards instead of chips. All casinos with blackjack tables in Las Vegas have players cards. Sometimes they give you a free gift when you sign up, like a packet of Grandma's cookies at the Longhorn. Oftentimes you will get freeplay, which means you will actually make money. If you want to add an extra element of +E.V., I would recommend buying the American Casino Guide which has a lot of coupons for out-of-the way casinos.
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You could maximize your time by hitting close together groups of casinos. Buy a multi-day RTC bus pass. Take the Boulder Highway bus to Henderson where you can hit Club Fortune, Eldorado, Joker's Wild, Klondike Sunset, Skyline, Longhorn, Eastside Cannery, Boulder Station, Arizona Charlie's Boulder, and Sam's Town all on one bus route.
You could also take the MAX bus up North Las Vegas Blvd. and hit Poker Palace, Jerry's Nugget, Silver Nugget and maybe Bighorn if you are willing to walk down Lake Mead.
Another good "circuit" would be LV Hilton--Terribles--Westin--Tuscany--Ellis Island--Hard Rock--Hooters utilizing the Paradise bus or walking.
Of course there's the strip and downtown ... duh.
The West Flamingo trio of Rio-Gold Coast-Palms is very easy to do in about half an hour.
Good luck!

P.S. For bars I like the Voodoo Lounge at Rio. Also, most of the nicer hotels' "center bars" can be quite fun with reasonably priced drinks and no cover.

Quote: teddys

Not doable, man; not without a car, and even then it would be cutting it close. But that shouldn't stop you from giving it a shot. Whatever keeps you from gambling :-)
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I would recommend players cards instead of chips. All casinos with blackjack tables in Las Vegas have players cards. Sometimes they give you a free gift when you sign up, like a packet of Grandma's cookies at the Longhorn. Oftentimes you will get freeplay, which means you will actually make money. If you want to add an extra element of +E.V., I would recommend buying the American Casino Guide which has a lot of coupons for out-of-the way casinos.
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You could maximize your time by hitting close together groups of casinos. Buy a multi-day RTC bus pass. Take the Boulder Highway bus to Henderson where you can hit Club Fortune, Eldorado, Joker's Wild, Klondike Sunset, Skyline, Longhorn, Eastside Cannery, Boulder Station, Arizona Charlie's Boulder, and Sam's Town all on one bus route.
You could also take the MAX bus up North Las Vegas Blvd. and hit Poker Palace, Jerry's Nugget, Silver Nugget and maybe Bighorn if you are willing to walk down Lake Mead.
Another good "circuit" would be LV Hilton--Terribles--Westin--Tuscany--Ellis Island--Hard Rock--Hooters utilizing the Paradise bus or walking.
Of course there's the strip and downtown ... duh.
The West Flamingo trio of Rio-Gold Coast-Palms is very easy to do in about half an hour.
Good luck!

P.S. For bars I like the Voodoo Lounge at Rio. Also, most of the nicer hotels' "center bars" can be quite fun with reasonably priced drinks and no cover.

this is all extremely informative. i followed a similar route to make use of my American Casino Guide last year and this year. i got a kick out of the cookie given away joining longhorn casino. silver nugget has a good promotion for new players. they give you 50% back of your losses up to $100 on playing slots your first day joining. so if you lose $200, you get $100 back.

Trip did NOT end up going very well. My wallet was stolen from my hotel room on my second day and I had no more money.

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Trip did NOT end up going very well. My wallet was stolen from my hotel room on my second day and I had no more money.

i dont understand how this could happen. why wouldnt you keep your wallet on you at all times? i guess i could see it if youre going to the pool or something but you could always put your wallet in a plastic baggie and take it with you. i just cant imagine ever leaving my wallet in my room. i typically dont keep much money in my wallet but keep my id and credit cards in there so always bring it with me.

Quote: rudeboyoi

i dont understand how this could happen. why wouldnt you keep your wallet on you at all times?

Let us not press him on that issue, it most likely was a case involving female companionship.

There are 36 casinos in Vegas Urban area that made over $72 million in gaming revenue in fiscal year 2009. There are four new casinos that opened during the year which will probably make it next year (certainly Aria will make it)

There are also a handful of older famous casinos on the strip which do not make $72 million in FY2009. These include Sahara, Circus Circus, Riviera, Tropicana. Also newer casinos like Stratosphere and Hard Rock did not make the cut.

It is difficult to go to 91 casinos and collect chips. You may want to try for this smaller list. As shuttle buses and public buses are extremely slow, go to Enterprise and Rent a car for one day to get the suburban locations. The North Las Vegas Casinos would be very difficult to get to without a car.

Not all of these casinos are bright shining stars, but they all exceed a standard yearly amount, so you will have seen the range.

# NAME
1 MGM GRAND HOTEL/CASINO
2 MIRAGE, THE
3 BELLAGIO
4 MONTE CARLO RESORT & CASINO
5 MANDALAY BAY RESORT & CASINO
6 LUXOR HOTEL AND CASINO
7 NEW YORK - NEW YORK HOTEL & CASINO
8 EXCALIBUR HOTEL AND CASINO

9 HARRAH'S CASINO HOTEL LAS VEGAS
10 RIO SUITE HOTEL & CASINO
11 CAESARS PALACE
12 FLAMINGO LAS VEGAS/O'SHEAS
13 IMPERIAL PALACE HOTEL & CASINO
14 BALLY'S LAS VEGAS
15 PARIS LAS VEGAS
16 PLANET HOLLYWOOD RESORT & CASINO

17 PALMS CASINO RESORT
18 WYNN LAS VEGAS
19 VENETIAN CASINO RESORT

20 GOLD COAST HOTEL AND CASINO
21 LAS VEGAS HILTON
22 PALACE STATION HOTEL & CASINO
23 TREASURE ISLAND AT THE MIRAGE
NEW Aria

END STRIP CASINOS


24 ORLEANS HOTEL AND CASINO (close to strip)
25 GOLDEN NUGGET (downtown)


WESTERN LAS VEGAS

26 SUNCOAST HOTEL AND CASINO
27 RAMPART CASINO
28 RED ROCK CASINO RESORT SPA
29 SANTA FE STATION HOTEL & CASINO (north of the previous 3 casinos)


NORTH LAS VEGAS

30 CANNERY HOTEL CASINO, THE (North Las Vegas)
31 TEXAS STATION GAMBLING HALL & HOTEL (North Las Vegas)
NEW Alliante Station (north las vegas)


BOULDER STRIP

32 BOULDER STATION HOTEL & CASINO
33 SAM'S TOWN HOTEL & GAMBLING HALL
34 SUNSET STATION HOTEL & CASINO (Henderson)
NEW Eastside Cannery


SOUTHERN LAS VEGAS

35 GREEN VALLEY RANCH STATION CASINO (actually inside city limits of Henderson)
36 SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO
NEW M Resort (actually inside city limits of Henderson)

Wow, if my wife stole all my money, I would not be happy with her.

I'm sorry to hear that, absolutely horrible first experience. I fear each time that I will lose my wallet or have it stolen. I could list out things that I do, but I'm sure each and every one of them has gone through your head. Sorry to hear that again.

Quote: rudeboyoi

i dont understand how this could happen. why wouldnt you keep your wallet on you at all times?

All it takes is a moment's distraction. Once I left my wallet in a store right after paying for something. Fortunately I realized it in time and went back for it immediately. More fortunately the store's security found it first and safeguarded it. I got it back with all contents intact.

Also since I was robbed a few years ago near my office, I no longer keep my credit cards, license and ID in my wallet.


When traveling I always keep the bulk of my money, be it cash or traveler checks, in the safe deposit box along with my passport (I used to keep airplane tickets there, but with electronic tickets that's no longer necessary). I do carry my US visa with me, though, as many casinos for some reason prefer that to my drivers' license for ID.

Quote: FleaStiff

Let us not press him on that issue, it most likely was a case involving female companionship.

Well...yes and no. I was approached by a girl in the hotel lobby in the early morning, and she followed me into the elevator and into my room, but as soon as she was in I realized this wasn't a good idea (I had been drinking, but not THAT much) and told her I wasn't interested.

Unfortunately, I had already gone into the bathroom, and she either had taken my wallet from my pocket at some point or (more likely) I threw it on the desk out of habit and she ran with it.

So yeah, I broke pretty much all the rules (never invite strangers into your room, keep valuables & extra cash in the safe), it's a hard lesson to learn, and completely my fault. The good news was that most of the money was "found money" that I'd won playing craps anyway, so all the "real money" I did lose is probably about par for the course in Vegas.

91 casinos at 1/2hr play = ~45.5hrs of action =~ 1.89 days of nonstop gaming.

Factor in the time for commuting, cashing your chips in and out, food, shower, and maybe a happy ending I find the probability of you completing your goal highly improbable.

However, if you were to attempt to hit 91 casinos in the span of 3 days, I'd recommend going to each to buy a cup of coffee, which would be cheaper than the losses and time consumption of playing at each place. Not to mention you might go broke first by the time you hit your 40th casino or less.

I remember my first time in vegas. It was a blast. I recommend booking a show, a good steakhouse, a nice club, some time to wander the various casinos, some gaming action, a little window shopping, and a good spa treatment. If you have time, a trip out to the Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon.

~Cheers
AsswhooperMcdaddy

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Well...yes and no. I was approached by a girl in the hotel lobby in the early morning, and she followed me into the elevator and into my room, but as soon as she was in I realized this wasn't a good idea (I had been drinking, but not THAT much) and told her I wasn't interested.

Unfortunately, I had already gone into the bathroom, and she either had taken my wallet from my pocket at some point or (more likely) I threw it on the desk out of habit and she ran with it.

So yeah, I broke pretty much all the rules (never invite strangers into your room, keep valuables & extra cash in the safe), it's a hard lesson to learn, and completely my fault. The good news was that most of the money was "found money" that I'd won playing craps anyway, so all the "real money" I did lose is probably about par for the course in Vegas.

Vegas is all about the money, and you have to protect your money, your chips, and everything of value at all times.
I never leave money about in my room - it is always on me, or it is in the safe. Surveillance should have had photos from the Flamingo's elevators and you should have contacted the police about what happened.

Love works the same way in Vegas as it does everywhere else. If someone follows you to your room after knowing you for 5 minutes (or even 5 hours), all of your warning signs should be going off, just as they would if you met a stranger in any other place in the world.

WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?

I am sure that many men have paid a much higher price for their moment of weakness. You stopped yourself and you seem to have lost only cash (I assume you stopped your credit cards) and recovered your identification.

As a life lesson you got away pretty clean.

>Well...yes and no.
Well ... a good deal more Yes than No.
>I was approached by a girl in the hotel lobby
The Flaming O is known for its gauntlet of hookers. In the casino there is a sort of electronic doggie fence where the hookers know they must stop but in the hotel area they are not at much risk of casino security.
>and she followed me into the elevator and into my room,
And you didn't notice her there? She just happened to follow you and get lucky. Heh, heh!
>I had been drinking, but not THAT much
Yes, it was THAT much!! And probably more!

>she either had taken my wallet from my pocket at some point
At which point she would have split!
> or I threw it on the desk out of habit and she ran with it.
Yeah, you habitually take out your wallet and put it on the desk when you have pressing needs to go to the bathroom and there is a hooker in your room. Pure habit.

>never invite strangers into your room
Ah, so you are now coming clean with us... there was indeed an invitation!
>keep valuables & extra cash in the safe
Its not like the movie Pretty Woman. And most hookers will roll a drunk for his credit cards and chips. There are very few Dedicated Women anymore who just stick to sex. And at the Flaming O, I would say that ALL the hookers carry straight edge razors, particularly the under age ones who are too young to go to the casino's bars. In most of the USA its females who have to be wary of date rape drugs in their drinks, but nowadays in Vegas its men who have to be careful of their drinks because a hooker will often slip something into a man's drink and then she and a suddenly materializing pimp will help their "drunk friend" to his room.

But you had your adventures in a seedy joint, which is what you were looking forward to. Fortunately, you survived those adventures, even though your wallet did not.