First time to Sin City approaching

[Buck]

We were there just more than a year ago.
We were hanging aournd in North Vegas and went to an unlicensed tacqueria operating in the back of a house. It was very cool.
Everything - asada, tripas, buche - cooking in one giant pan over an open flame.

 

[maberger]

OK, we're going Mandalay Bay (probably THEhotel @ Mandalay Bay, 2 THEsuite rooms for roughly $350 per person from our party of six for four nights). I know its out of the way a little, but eh, we'll deal with it. It's tops on the grooms list, so that was the push I needed to pull the trigger. From the sounds of things, you can't go wrong.

THEhotel is really nice. dont worry about the distance to things -- 10 mins cab, tops.

*don't be afraid to throw some money around, ie, would you rather wait in the cab line 10 minutes, or duke the guy running it 10-20 bucks?
*consider a cabana at the pool if you're going to be out pool-side all day -- dedicated waitresses, helps your game with girls
*you're going in the summer time -- it will be 120 degrees by 2 pm. think about that if you're hung over and scheduling golf
*if you go a strip club recommended by the cab driver DONT pay him the fare -- you'll be paying a cover at the door, and the driver will be getting that back from the club as a bribe
*consider -- but do not necessarily attend -- REHAB at the hard rock sundays.
*if you're going to try to get all 6 of you guys into a club, think about calling a VIP host to arrange it. otherwise, break into smaller groups and befriend some girls on the line -- offer to buy them drinks if they'll let you say you're with them in order to get in.
*when you play MEGABUCKS, and you know you will, for god's sake ALWAYS play max coins.
*if you're REALLY going to gamble it up, get rated.

you will have a great time. god i love vegas

 

[Pilot]

The Burger Bar ... doesn't sound like that will be a problem at all.

We get $100 credit per room toward a pool cabana. Anyone ever forked over for that? We can rent one on a Thursday for $100 more, and $150 on a Friday. Seems like it might be sweet, and not too expensive split enough ways.

How about that beach club thing? $40 cover for guys, so I hear, but the women go topless. Anyone ever been in there?

 

[Pilot]

OK, we're going Mandalay Bay (probably THEhotel @ Mandalay Bay, 2 THEsuite rooms for roughly $350 per person from our party of six for four nights). I know its out of the way a little, but eh, we'll deal with it. It's tops on the grooms list, so that was the push I needed to pull the trigger. From the sounds of things, you can't go wrong.

THEhotel is really nice. dont worry about the distance to things -- 10 mins cab, tops.

*don't be afraid to throw some money around, ie, would you rather wait in the cab line 10 minutes, or duke the guy running it 10-20 bucks?
*consider a cabana at the pool if you're going to be out pool-side all day -- dedicated waitresses, helps your game with girls
*you're going in the summer time -- it will be 120 degrees by 2 pm. think about that if you're hung over and scheduling golf
*if you go a strip club recommended by the cab driver DONT pay him the fare -- you'll be paying a cover at the door, and the driver will be getting that back from the club as a bribe
*consider -- but do not necessarily attend -- REHAB at the hard rock sundays.
*if you're going to try to get all 6 of you guys into a club, think about calling a VIP host to arrange it. otherwise, break into smaller groups and befriend some girls on the line -- offer to buy them drinks if they'll let you say you're with them in order to get in.
*when you play MEGABUCKS, and you know you will, for god's sake ALWAYS play max coins.
*if you're REALLY going to gamble it up, get rated.

you will have a great time. god i love vegas

Answered my cabana question before I even asked it. Thanks.

And please define "rated".

Thanks.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

*don't be afraid to throw some money around, ie, would you rather wait in the cab line 10 minutes, or duke the guy running it 10-20 bucks?

Recession bonus: Cab stands were all dead during the first weekend of June. Didn't have to outrageously tip or wait in line for any cab. All Vegas taxi drivers I talked to said business was either really slow or dead.

 

[Gutter]

*if you go a strip club recommended by the cab driver DONT pay him the fare -- you'll be paying a cover at the door, and the driver will be getting that back from the club as a bribe

IIRC, a few of the clubs offer free limo service from your hotel. The Rhino does this and waves the cover for you.

 

[Gutter]

The Burger Bar ... doesn't sound like that will be a problem at all.

We get $100 credit per room toward a pool cabana. Anyone ever forked over for that? We can rent one on a Thursday for $100 more, and $150 on a Friday. Seems like it might be sweet, and not too expensive split enough ways.

How about that beach club thing? $40 cover for guys, so I hear, but the women go topless. Anyone ever been in there?

Definitely get the cabana ... the pool area will be packed in the summer. Therefore, you'll be guaranteed a spot and will get good service. Learned the lesson the hard way on this one.

Didn't go to Moorea, but it might be a nice way to get away if there are plenty of kiddies running around.

 

[maberger]

[/quote]

Answered my cabana question before I even asked it. Thanks.

And please define "rated".

Thanks.


[/quote]

'rated' is what the casino does to measure your play for consideration of comps. in order to be rated you'll need to spend a minimum of 25 dollars a hand at strip casinos on table games, and the casinos will be looking for a minimum of 4 hours of play per day.

though your mileage may vary, here's an example of how that works. say you play blackjack for $25/hand. Assume, for the sake of easy math, 100 hands/hour. that's $2500 you've put into action. now, regardless of game, the house will multiply that number by the game's edge -- say 2 percent for blackjack, altho there are now some terrible (for you) games being dealt on the strip (including mandalay bay). that 2500 x 2 percent = 50 bucks an hour the house expects to win. Generally, 40 percent of THAT will be returned in comps -- so, 20 bucks.

play four hours a day, expect 80 bucks in comps back. play four hours a day x 4 days, expect one nite off your room or equivalent.

if you play higher or play games with higher house advantages, expect the math to follow.

the euro pool at mandalay has been overrated frankly the times i've been there. the rio had been doing a thing called the sapphire pool, a topless pool featuring girls from sapphire's, but i'm not sure if that's still on.

getting rated and getting a players card costs nothing, but be realistic in terms of what you think you are due -- you'll have a better time when you know the casino isn't screwing you out of something you think you'e earned

 

[Gutter]

the euro pool at mandalay has been overrated frankly the times i've been there. the rio had been doing a thing called the sapphire pool, a topless pool featuring girls from sapphire's, but i'm not sure if that's still on.

Forgot to mention that before ... yep, that's still going on: http://www.riolasvegas.com/casinos/rio/casino-misc/sapphire-pool-detail.html

 

[RossLT]

I can't believe so many people are willing to go to downtown at night. I lived in Vegas for two years (moving back in two weeks) and never went downtown at night. If you stay under the canopy on Fremont you are OK but step out from under it and you are in the worst area of the city.

 

[buckweaver]

Hey, man, Fremont after midnight was where Joe and I won all our money at the SJ gathering of '07. :D

 

[RossLT]

Hey, man, Fremont after midnight was where Joe and I won all our money at the SJ gathering of '07. :D

You want to keep that money after leaving Fremont you jump in a cab and get out of there.

 

[exmediahack]

If on a budget and renting a car (which I LOVE to do in LV because I like to casino-hop and see 20-30 different places over a few days), consider following these:

http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/topten.cfm

My wife & I did the Top 10 a few years back and made a very fun game of it. A great way to see Vegas and experience it beyond just The Strip. Saw plenty of local grinder joints as well.

Also, a guaranteed way to break even and see plenty of LV at the same time:
Pick up a Vegas 'Fun Book' with tons of match play coupons ($5-$10) for blackjack. Example: Play a $5 hand -- if you win, you get $10 back on top of the five. Do that for all the local casinos -- you'll likely be up $100 or so and get to see it all. Take a day and make a game of it with the lady.

Of course, if you have tons of cash -- a suit, multiple hookers and copious blow always make for a great LV trip.