Is Las Vegas the Next Detroit?

Here's the game, in a nutshell.

If you find a hotel property whose rooms and amenities you like, get a player's card. When you play, use it.

This will get you on their mailing/email lists. If you play AT ALL, you are likely to begin to receive deals . . . deals much better than you'll find on Expedia.

Now, this is not as good a situation as it was in the past, but it's better to be known to a property than to walk in off the street or to pick up the phone with no previous connection.

 

Buying drinks in a casino on a retail basis remains insane. Play, wait for the waitress service, receive your libation, and tip reasonably. You wind up 'way ahead.

 

Interesting.

I'm a less than once a year guy. Always figured it wasn't really worth it to get a players card, since I was unlikely to earn enough "credits" and didn't want to end up on a ton of mailing lists.

But, I guess if they send you some good offers, it's probably worth it.

 

Depends on what you want.

I got a 2BR condo in the middle of the strip, across from the Bellagio, for like $119 a night. No casino, but all the others are what, a 5 minute walk? Worth it to me.

 

You'll also get preferred treatment over off-the-streeters, in close calls.

I don't play enough to get buried, but even after not visiting some properties in several years, still get an occasional heads-up, which I don't mind a bit.

 

Mom's first rule: Nothing with buttons. Only pullovers.

 

Agreed, I would never buy a drink on the floor, I am talking about the prices in the bars and restaurants. I took full advantage of the cheap beers at mid-Strip joints like Bill's and O'Shea's.

 

Still illegal in Clark County, which is where the majority of the major Vegas properties lay.

Always good for a few laughs.

The only law the Vegas cops seem to take seriously is drunk driving.

Don't, if you value your future.

 

When Bill's was the Barbary Coast, it was one of the great deals on Earth.

Now, under Harrah's drooling eye? An armpit.

 

Agreed, but the $1 beers were a very welcome sight!

Forgot to look, but the Maxim is gone right? Stayed there when I was in town for Holyfield-Douglas.

 

Long-gone. RIP.

They dealt a GREAT blackjack game for a few brief, shining moments, back in the day.

 

FWIW, there is no such thing as a five minute walk in Vegas, at least not between worthwhile destinations. It may take 10 or 15 to walk from the street side sidewalk in front of the Bellagio fountains to the front door of the actual hotel/casino. Heaven forbid you try to walk from that area to somewhere like Luxor or Mandalay Bay.

Not saying you made a mistake in lodging. Unless someone is prepared to bunker down in the hotel they're actually staying out, walking is a major part of a Vegas trip.