Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2014

secretmachines · 23 December 2013 at 6:34PM

COUPONS & VOUCHERS

There is a lot of money to be saved by taking advantage of coupons. You will often find coupons in your check in welcome pack from your hotel. You can also get coupons for buffets and rides, by signing up for a Players Club Card in hotels/casinos (see above). Staff often hand out coupons around the casino areas.

However beware not everyone handing out coupons (even inside the casinos) is trying to save you some money. Las Vegas has pushy timeshare people, if someone is offering free show tickets or trips to the Grand Canyon, be aware that they are probably trying to sell you something. The worst place for timeshare sales people is around the Excalibur and the entrance to the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood. Don't feel rude by ignoring their advances and walk straight past them with a "no thanks".

It is also a good idea to pick up all free magazines you see. You can often find these in taxis, monorail stations, shopping malls and hotel lobbies. The show coupons in these magazines are usually beaten by going to the Tix4Tonight booths mentioned earlier though.

If you are really serious about wanting to save some money, it's a good idea to invest in one of the following:

The Las Vegas Advisor Member rewards booklet will pay for itself very quickly just by making use of one or two of best coupons. By joining LVA for a year's online membership of $37 you get one book of coupons. You can have the book delivered for a charge or pick it up free from the LVA offices in Las Vegas.

The American Casino guide contains coupons for other cities as well as Las Vegas. There is a fair amount of coupons the same as the LVA Book, so you should probably only need one or the other depending on what you want to save on. This guide costs $12.95.

Also check out these free coupons, there are several that can be printed off and redeemed for coupon booklets at certain shopping malls.

www.lasvegas-nv.com/las-vegas-coupons.htm
www.destinationcoupons.com
Register with Las Vegas Premium Outlet North & Las Vegas Premium Outlet South

secretmachines · 23 December 2013 at 6:35PM

myVEGAS

myVEGAS is an online game, in which you collect chips which you can redeem for real-life rewards, for example show tickets, meals or hotel rooms. The game is run by the MGM Group, so free rewards are only available for MGM Group Properties.

To play, you will need a Facebook account, an Mlife account (both are free) and LOTS OF TIME!

By collecting free red chips, you build up your credit for playing the slot machines. Play the slots and your level count goes up. You will also collect V's which help build your hotels on the Strip. Like any slot machine, you will win and lose, so this game is all about time...

Have some red chips, spin the wheels, and you will build your strip and collect Loyalty Points (LPs / gold coins), and win/lose!

The purpose of playing the game is to build LPs, which are what you need to turn your time into real life freebies.

For every spin, a gold coin forms and then hits your pot, each time you level up, you receive LPs too.

It will take some time to accumulate a lot of LPs, but worth it given it's free. You will be able to use 3 real-life rewards in any 30 day window. That means if you book a room or show in January 2014, to use on 1st May 2014, the 30 day window starts from 1st May 2014 (or which ever offer is redeemed first).

You will have options to purchase red play coins if you wish. By purchasing play chips, you will increase your 'reward count' from 3 to 4 rewards in the 30 day window. But there is no fixed amount of what to buy... some people report that buying 3 transactions' worth of play chips over $60 has resulted in making 4 rewards available, but there is no rule to this, it's hit and miss!

At the end of the day, it's free to play, the more you play, the more chance you have of winning/losing. Don't assume betting big will win big, learn as you go, and go get some goodies!

The real-life rewards which are on offer, refresh everyday at 3pm (UK time), and are limited. The popular rewards will sell out very quickly, so being near a computer at 3pm can be vital!

My advice for playing this game on the PC (ideal if you get your partner to do the same):

1. Join a myVegas Facebook group (search for "myvegas gifts" on Facebook).

2. Find the sub heading for 'Add Me or Add Friends', you will get a list of members asking to be added, or you add them. Having more friends will allow you to earn more.

3. You ideally need a minimum of 50 'vegas friends', but go for 60 at least. Once you have added or accepted friends, you can click on that person, and in the button where it states 'Friends' with a Tick next to it, click on that, remove the tick for 'Show in News Feed', and then click on 'Add to another list', and then choose 'Restricted'.
The purpose of this is so you don't see any posts from that 'friend' and they don't see any of your info.

4. Now you have 60 friends, you need to invite them as 'neighbours', so once in the game, click on 'MORE' button near top left and then choose 'Invite Friends', then select 'myVegas Players'. Click the names in that list and then choose 'Send Invites'.

5. You will start to see players walking up and down your strip, and those players are your 'vegas friends'... What's the purpose of this?

6. You get a free daily spin, which occurs every 22 hours. You may land on 100+ red play chips, or even gold LPs, but by having at
least 50 friends, you get a % bonus based on max. 50 friends. This helps a great deal with collecting red and gold coins.

7. Also, with having friends, you can gift each other, by clicking on 'MORE', and then choose 'Send Gifts'. Do this every day, you get
the same in return, this adds to another way of building your stash of red play chips.

8. While under level 50, you ideally don't want to bet any more than 1000 red coins per spin, and while building hotels, bet low and
use the auto spin. 3 good games are 'Excalibur', 'Wild Birds' & 'Bet the Farm'. All have a bit of user interaction. 'Studio City' is
the only game to spin through right until the bonus round (where you do a few clicks).

(Thanks to StuieUK34 for writing this info!)

secretmachines · 23 December 2013 at 6:36PM

OTHER USEFUL BITS & BOBS

INSURANCE

Tips on getting travel insurance can be found on Martin's Travel Insurance page.

WHEN TO VISIT

July and August are often disliked because of the intense heat.
January and December are quiet months (hotel pools often close down October-March ). That said Las Vegas is a year-round destination. Many consider the best months to visit as April/May, September/October. Prices for UK flights in traditional UK holiday months of June to early September always seem much more expensive than April/May (excluding bank holidays and Easter of course), yet April/May are better times to visit. By avoiding the traditional UK holiday season, you could save a considerable amount of money on your flight, meaning more money to spend on your hotel.

THINGS TO TAKE WITH YOU

Aside from the usual holiday things make sure you take a comfortable pair of walking shoes: it can be 15 minute walk from your hotel room to The Strip. It's a fair bet that no matter what your mode of transport around The Strip, you will still be doing a fair amount of walking within the casinos.

MONEY

Using the MSE Travel Money website is a great start to learn about using cash abroad. To get more $ for your £, consider getting your cash well in advance of your trip. Also read up on different cards you can take to minimise costs and fees on transactions abroad. Be aware that taking cash out of ATMs can be expensive, with a fee for using the machine, as well as your card taking a percentage fee. Avoid using ATMs in many casinos, as these will carry the highest charges. By reducing the number of times you use ATMs, will reduce the charges, so for example think about withdrawing $200 in one go, rather 4x withdrawals of $50.

TIPPING

As with most places in the US, tipping is the etiquette when receiving any kind service (bell hops, cocktail waitresses, valet, concierge, taxis, meals, etc...). Vegas.com offers a comprehensive resource for all things tipping.

CALLING HOME

Please read this MSE guide. Phone cards are also a good option, but don't buy the cards found in the casino, places like CVS and Walgreens have better value cards. You can purchase a mobile phone from Walmart for around $30, including airtime. If you are a couple and need to split up, 2 of them could be useful.

[update Feb 2014] In late 2013, the UK mobile network Three launched their "Feel At Home" service, which basically lets you use your UK tariff abroad (currently limited locations, but USA is included). If you are not a Three customer, you can simply get a free Three Pay As You Go sim, purchase an Add On package (for £10 or £15) and use minutes, texts and data in the USA at no extra cost. If you are a new Three customer, you will have needed your sim card for 30 days before you can use Feel At Home (so just remember to order it in plenty of time!) Full details can be found here.

You can also use this pay-as-you-go sim card from T-Mobile (US network) is recommended. For a nominal charge for the SIM card (around $1, sometimes free), you can get unlimited talk, text (domestic) and web for $3/day. For $10/month you can get unlimited international talk/text. This SIM card is only available to purchase in America, so either purchase/activate one when you arrive, or if you have a friend in the US who can mail one to you, that will work.

LAS VEGAS APPS

See the first post in this thread for apps run by the casinos/hotels. Apps appear all the time, but some useful ones are from vegas.com, Fox5 Vegas, [url="http://www.vegasmate.com/]VegasMate[/url] and TripAdvisor.

PREVIOUS MSE LAS VEGAS THREADS

link to 2013 thread
link to 2012 thread
link to 2011 thread
link to 2010 thread
link to 2009 thread
link to 2008 thread
link to 2007 thread

secretmachines · 23 December 2013 at 6:38PM

MSE member Trip Reports

Usually when MSE members have come back from a Vegas trip, they're encouraged to write a trip report, detailing what they got up to (as little or as much!) - this helps imminent visitors with any current offers, shows, news, deals and interesting info, so they don't miss out!

2014
6 Jun - StuieUK34 (trip date 19 May - 2 Jun)
27 Apr - secretmachines (trip date 17-25 Apr)
5 Apr - pm04gn (trip date 28 Mar - 2 Apr)
29 Jan - alictait (trip date 23 Dec - 8 Jan)

2013
25 Sept - nvh (trip date 2-12 Sept)
7 July - roryorlando45 (trip date 21-29 June)
6 July - Hovis91
4 July - vanilla8 (trip date June)
4 July - ratkarth 1, 2 (trip date 1-8 July)
6 June - StuieUK34 (trip date May)
28 May - stu1892 (trip date 15 May)
12 May - Wendell Pierce (trip date Apr)
12 May - ferf1223 (trip date Mar)
11 May - lizzielie (trip date Apr?)
11 May - photome (trip date Apr/May)
17 Apr - martmonk (trip date 13 Mar)
4 Apr - Vern58 (trip dates Mar)
18 Feb - Spursman180 (trip dates early Feb)
11 Feb - stevie11 (trip dates Jan/Feb)
30 Jan - marsman802 (trip dates 21-27 Jan)

2012 (date is when report was posted, not necessarily time of trip)
5 Jan - Zaffi
25 Feb - rpstdavids
31 Mar - jadamcp 1, 2
3 Apr - photome
4 Apr - costingbunny
11 Apr - vern58
12 Apr - roryorlando
13 Apr - bitgiggy
27 Apr - gill247 1, 2, 3
17 May - buzz78
22 May - foosterino
14 Jun - parcival
10 Sept - rahven
10 Sept - alisonofagun
16 Sept - secretmachines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
23 Sept - credit_crunch
23 Sept - lesley74
21 Sept - scottishnellie 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
15 Oct - Glenbois
30 Nov - Seldom Seen Kid 1, 2, 3, 4

Bri1 · 1 January 2014 at 12:05PM

Triolette wrote: »

Hi vegas gurus.
Need to pick your brains.
We're spending a week in the Vegas area in sept.

Ballys? Good, bad? We want to be central strip. I'd quite like to stay in the Luxor but I'm disappointed that the Egyptian theme has been toned down - and it's a bit far south.

While we're there, we're planning to visit LA. but I'm not sure if its actually worth the time? We're debating one or two nights.
I've flicked through guide books and it seems like there isn't actually much to do? We usually do museums, sight seeing etc (we were walking miles and miles in NY/Paris/Rome to visit places) but LA seems to be Hollywood sign, the Chinese theatre, expensive shops and the beach????

Would we be better stopping for a night near Death Valley (this is a must along with the grand canyon) on the way into LA going into LA for a day staying the night and then back to LV mid morning.

Ta Muchly

We are also going in September, and it's a nice time of year to spend time in LA as well. We did that last year. Long Beach is lovely for a day or two. We also did the city sights, remember to include Griffith Observatory, Walk of Fame etc. It's not really a place to walk around though like you would in Rome. I think there is plenty to see though. Santa Monica pier is worth a visit. You can park for a dollar or two for an hour in most places, including right on Walk of Fame.

Is Death Valley not too hot to visit at that time of year?

Personally Bally's wouldn't be my first choice. Have you been before? What is your budget per night for Vegas hotel, and what are your needs other than location? Great pool, cheap food options, fridge, washing machine :rotfl: etc? There's loads of options, perhaps we can make suggestions if we know more about what you need. Also note that hotel rates are much higher at weekends (can be double or more).

She had to get the washing machine in !! Good to see the thread traditions running for another year

If you've not booked your flights yet why not cut the driving down and fly into LAS and out of LAX putting your LA time in at the beginning or end of your holiday ? One way car hire is very do-able .

Big thanks to Pebbles for the video of the wedding chapel at the Tuscany . It does look really nice.

duchy wrote: »

If you've not booked your flights yet why not cut the driving down and fly into LAS and out of LAX putting your LA time in at the beginning or end of your holiday ? One way car hire is very do-able .

That's exactly what I'm doing in a few months LAS then back via LAX, there's no one way rental charges with the usual car hire firms either on that route, I think the difference in Flight prices when I booked was negligible about £20 - 40 I think, so the saving in fuel & extra free time to enjoy is well worth it

silvercar · 1 January 2014 at 12:25PM

Triolette wrote:

Hi vegas gurus.
Need to pick your brains.
We're spending a week in the Vegas area in sept.

Ballys? Good, bad? We want to be central strip. I'd quite like to stay in the Luxor but I'm disappointed that the Egyptian theme has been toned down - and it's a bit far south.

While we're there, we're planning to visit LA. but I'm not sure if its actually worth the time? We're debating one or two nights.
I've flicked through guide books and it seems like there isn't actually much to do? We usually do museums, sight seeing etc (we were walking miles and miles in NY/Paris/Rome to visit places) but LA seems to be Hollywood sign, the Chinese theatre, expensive shops and the beach????

Would we be better stopping for a night near Death Valley (this is a must along with the grand canyon) on the way into LA going into LA for a day staying the night and then back to LV mid morning.

Ta muchly (I might copy his into the 2014 thread when it appears)

There really isn't much to do in Death Valley. I would visit the centre, have lunch in Furnace Creek and continue on your way to LA.

photome · 1 January 2014 at 2:05PM

Originally Posted by Triolette Hi vegas gurus.
Need to pick your brains.
We're spending a week in the Vegas area in sept.

Ballys? Good, bad? We want to be central strip. I'd quite like to stay in the Luxor but I'm disappointed that the Egyptian theme has been toned down - and it's a bit far south.

While we're there, we're planning to visit LA. but I'm not sure if its actually worth the time? We're debating one or two nights.
I've flicked through guide books and it seems like there isn't actually much to do? We usually do museums, sight seeing etc (we were walking miles and miles in NY/Paris/Rome to visit places) but LA seems to be Hollywood sign, the Chinese theatre, expensive shops and the beach????

Would we be better stopping for a night near Death Valley (this is a must along with the grand canyon) on the way into LA going into LA for a day staying the night and then back to LV mid morning.

Ta muchly (I might copy his into the 2014 thread when it appears)

Ballys is ideal if you don't want anything special from a hotel, it does what it does at a good price

We have been to LA a few times and always found plenty to do although if its just sight seeing as opposed to theme parks, horse racing and shopping to name a few, LA may not be for you but we usually tag it on at the beginning or end so that we can fly in or out of LA rather than doing a return trip from Vegas

We could also spend a couple of days in Death Valley as there are so many sights to see, particularly like walking on the salt flats, the golf course and the sand dunes

Triker · 1 January 2014 at 5:40PM

Happy New Vegas Year to you all, thanks for all the hard work Secretmachines.

Froggitt · 1 January 2014 at 6:44PM

Good job Secretmachines

Triolette · 1 January 2014 at 8:22PM

Photome - I think Ballys might be a winner. It will be somewhere to sleep and to hang around the pool a bit. We'll be out and about and in the other hotels/casinos most of the time.
Can you pay to use other hotel pools?
Unless someone cn find something better for £300 for four nights inc a fri and sat night in mid sept.

To be honest we've got no interest in Disneyland or universal studios. But if there are big roller coasters somewhere that would be fun.
I'd quite like to see a tv show being filmed. We saw the daily show in New York while we were there.

I'm starting to think more time in Death Valley or Grand Canyon would suit us more and a wizz around the sights and an afternoon at the beach/griffin park in LA would be enough. I'm not a huge shopper - but Gap/Forever 21 at US prices does excite me.

Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2014

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