Las Vegas 2007 bargain hunt + tips

robp

I've just returned from a week in Vegas, having visited with my wife on a multi-centre trip.

It's changed a lot since I was last there, and to be honest I was disappointed.

The whole place is a building site at the moment, with condo's being built next to Bellagio.

We stayed at the MGM Signature which had one of the best rooms I've ever stayed in. There was construction across the road, although it wasn't intrusive, just an eyesore.

The Treasure Island show is shut until after Christmas which was a shame.

We saw Stallone, Bruce Willis, Danny DeVito and Demi Moore outside the Planet Hollywood opening. Stallone was the orange one.

On the upside, once Dollar gave us a car that actually worked the drive to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead was well worth it.

We came out even on the gambling front....$5 down on the week. With free drinks the whole time and the fun of blackjack I reckon we were actually up!

robp

Forgot to mention, AA gave us PE seats on the flight out to San Francisco by default.

No opportunity to upgrade on the flight back from Vegas though....fully booked.

JoshThomas

trets77 wrote: »

okay never flew with NWA but if you can pre book seats then use www.seatguru.com to see if you bag one of the better ones. as Minneapolis will be your entry point you should not worry to much about being at the front or back ( unless your connection is tight) as you will have to queue for border control , then collected your bag , go through customs , and then re check your bags for connecting flight. in Philly this year the process took about 45 mins in total but if there are queues it may be longer. make sure you have your green form filled out correctly otherwise you might end up being sent to the back of the queue see this example of all the sections you need to fill out , a lot of people miss the departure bit http://www.immihelp.com/visas/i-94w.html

the $20 trick might get you and upgrade or a corner room or a strip view room. worth a try.

for everything poker wise check this site out.

http://www.allvegaspoker.com/ it has a full Poker Tourney schedule that is worth printing off before you go http://www.allvegaspoker.com/tournaments.php. pretty much all the casinos have poker of some sort now , but the surroundings are irrelevent to me. give me a good game at Binions over the Pomp of say The Venetian anyday . The Mirage is well known as where the Best of the best amateurs players ply their trade. my tip is buy in early as they only have limted amount of spaces per tourney , not like my local casino game where they will squeeze in everyone who shows up

as for the fight , there are loads of sports bars ect. you might fancy somewhere like The ESPN zone in NYNY, or maybe The Crown and Anchor pub (if it has it on) would be a good choice, i,m sure the atmos in there will be fantastic for it

http://www.crownandanchorlv.com/index2.html

Brilliant help - thanks so much. Managed to log into the nwa site to see our seats. The annoying this is that pretty much all of their Isle seats (in the front half of economy) are reserved for their 'elite' members. Still looking to see how I can upgrade at nwa but can't find anything? Any ideas?

bitgiggy

JoshThomas wrote: »

Ok its my first trip to Vegas next monday as a birthday treat (it was yesterday) and I can't wait! But would like some advice...

I couldn't get direct flights so I am going with nwa (Northwest Airlines) via Minneapolis - has anyone else done this? I have no idea what nwa planes are like so it would be great to get some feedback! What are the best seats - what is the cabin like? If its a flight to Minneapolis I guess it can't be too crowded - does anyone know the best way to getting upgrades?

Secondly I am staying in the Flamingo but in one of the newly Refurbished 'Go' Rooms - is it worth doing the $20 Front Desk Tip trick - is there even a better standard of room than these new rooms?

Thirdly - I am looking to play quite a lot of Poker when I am out there - has anyone else played out there? and what daily tournaments get the biggest fields?

Fourthly - Can anyone recommend somewhere to watch the Hatton fight - other than being at the MGM itself!

Thanks in advance!

Josh

I flew with NWA last year on the exact same route as yours (via Minneapolis) and I can say that we had no problems at all.

We checked in 24 hours before our flight online and prebooked our seats and printed out our boarding passes, but when we got there the machines wouldn't read them so we had to queue up anyway. Luckily we still got the same seats we reserved.

The plane itself is very comfortable, the seats could have been a bit bigger I guess but you have a screen directly in front of you in which you can choose from a range of films/tv shows and games at the push of a button. You can also watch that annoying little map of the plane moving about a mm an hour!

We didn't have any problems at all so hopefully you will have the same experience.

Have a good time mate!

trets77

Luxor from $59
from Las Vegas promotions. stays until end of Jan 2008

includes
• One $20.00 Food Dining Credit good at Fusia, the Asian inspired restaurant or The Luxor Steakhouse
• One $10 Beverage Credit at FLIGHT Bar
• One $25 Spa Credit for Spa services
• One 2 for 1 admission to The Spa at Luxor
• One 2 for 1 IMAX Movie theatre ticket
• $10 in Free Play for New Player Club Members
• $300 in discount shopping certificates to Mandalay Place

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=LUX&host=promo&code=PZOO16&kbid=374305

trets77

MGM Grand from $79
from Fatwallet. stays until 04.01..2008 .expire 20th Dec + 5th Dec

includes

$35 shopping credit at the Miracle Mile Shops located in Planet Hollywood
* 15% off spa services or 15% off Christophe salon
* $20 upgrade to Bungalow suite
* $30 upgrade to Celebrity Spa suite

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=INB139&kbid=27920

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=INB141&kbi=27920

luci

I doubt it will be possible to see the Mayweather v Hatton fight at any sports bars. There were tickets to watch it on CCTV at the MGM which were $50, but even these are like gold dust now.

Ads1982

Hello all!

Am going to Vegas in January for a week! Can't wait!! My girlfriend has charged me with finding a good place where she can get her hair cut out there (no idea why she wants it done there, but that is my mission!). Does anybody know of where a good salon might be, and what small fortune this may cost me?!

Cheers!

fizzystutter

Can't sleep as I go to Vegas on Wednesday morning on my stag do with 17 mates.

Booked it at the start of the year before the Hatton fight was announced so we've got pre-fight prices.

Watching the fight at Mandalay Bay on CCTV ($50).

We're also using VIP Vegas for 3 of the nights that will gurantee us entry to certain clubs.

Busy surfing the site for vouchers / coupons that I can use whilst out there.

:beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

bigvince76

Does anyone know of any good value day trips from Las Vegas? I will be there for a few days and would like to see the grand canyon. Money is tight so Helicopters are definitely out! I was thinking a a bus trip but the al the ones i have found on the web are really pricey. I am travelling alone so 2 for 1 deals are no good to me.

Also any advice on cheap places to eat would be good, as I say 2 for 1 deals seem to be plentiful but are not good if travelling alone. I am staying at the El Cortez, down town near Freemont street. Thanks.