Las Vegas-Jan 2015

[Scousebill]

Hi Gang....

I"m looking for some travel tips for Las Vegas, going early January next year.

Already noticed it is cheaper to book flights midweek but what hotel to use....?

Direct flight or East Coast connection.....

Thought I"d get some advice from people who have been....

Booking in the next day or two while I have the money.....

[Paulie_D]

How long is a piece of string....?

Flights you won"t save a lot of money flying with a stop and I certainly don"t think the savings are worth the extra time it takes.

Virgin are usually better (in terms of price and on-board quality) than BA if you fly direct.

Hotels...depends on your price range. I would certainly recommend (for a first timer) staying centrally to the Strip.

[KarmaDope]

Hi Gang....

I"m looking for some travel tips for Las Vegas, going early January next year.

Already noticed it is cheaper to book flights midweek but what hotel to use....?

Direct flight or East Coast connection.....

Thought I"d get some advice from people who have been....

Booking in the next day or two while I have the money.....

1. Book separately and directly with the flight companies/hotels. Never book through a travel agent/Expedia for Vegas.

2. If you have the money for flights - WAIT. There will be sales between now and the time you leave. You don"t need to book now, there will be seats on the plane up to 3 days before. Wait for the sale!! (the amount of people that don"t do this is mind-boggling. You can save up to £150pp if you run good - thats a lot of gambling tokens!)

3. Flights - as you are going in January chances are to fly direct you will need to go from London. Some people drive down the night before *cough*Ger*cough* and others fly down early morning from Manchester *cough*Me*cough*. It"s your choice. As you are effectively having to make one stop living in Liverpool, it might be worth seeing how much it is to fly one stop from Manchester to somewhere like Chicago or Los Angeles. Not worth stopping on the East Coast, as the connecting flight is like being on Easyjet and you dont want to be on that for 5hrs!!

4. Hotels - most of the Vegas hotels and the main ones I will recommend here will let you make a reservation and then cancel with no charge if you can find a second hotel cheaper. http://www.vegas-hotels-online.com is a good spot to look for cheap hotels.

5. Recommendations - its easier to recommend the hotels I wouldnt stay at on the Strip and let you choose. AVOID - Stratosphere, Circus Circus, Riviera, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Tropicana, Trump. Anywhere between Wynn and MGM/NYNY is fine.

6. This is kinda your call, but personally I wouldn"t even set foot in or stay at anything connected to the Venetian or Palazzo. This is because the owner, Sheldon Adelson, is the main player behind stopping all online poker in the United States and spends lots of money trying to make this happen, so a lot of poker players are boycotting it. It"s a pity, cos its a lovely casino/poker room/sportsbook, but after discovering that when I got back from my last trip over there I"ve decided not to go anywhere near it any more.

[Paulie_D]

5. Recommendations - its easier to recommend the hotels I wouldnt stay at on the Strip and let you choose. AVOID - Stratosphere, Circus Circus, Riviera, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Tropicana, Trump. Anywhere between Wynn and MGM/NYNY is fine.

I wouldn"t disagree but I would avoid The Quad for now until they have completed there room renovations (proposed).

Even within the geographical area mentioned by Adam, you have a wide range that would fit pretty much any budget.

I"m going to say that Harrahs will probably be the cheapest from that area"s range (other than the Quad)...it"s seen many an APAT"ers custom and whilst not the most glamorous it"ll do.

Location, Location, Location.

Centre strip is the place (for a Vegas Virgin) to be and Harrahs is easy walking distance to Caesars/Mirage/Venetian poker rooms.

Bellagio / Wynn are a little further but the MGM / Aria will involve a cab / monorail (+walk) ride.

To compare the Caesar"s Group hotels you can go to Caesars.com just plug in "Las Vegas" (don"t select a hotel) and plug in your dates.

It will offer you ALL the hotels available.

I think the default option is a month display.

Don"t be carried away by the prices...they do NOT include taxes (11%) or the, usually, mandatory resort fee.

EG. Harrahs is showing me $90/$100 a night for the week starting 11th Jan (there are conventions for a couple of weeks after that) BUT you won"t be looking at much less than $10 (per night in taxes) and $20 (per night)  in resort fees.

So, c. $130/$140 a night.

It ain"t cheap at that time of year...room rates are high due to convention business.

You can always scout for a deal / discount at SmarterVegas.com...just add your dates and see what is offered.

Even if you find one you like...take a day or so to post here and we have no problems seeing if we can find something comparable.

You are a looooong way out, patience is the key.

[Scousebill]

If it was just me going then patience would of been the key but as it is me and the Mrs going it is already booked now...

What needs to be done before I go... Visa for example...?

[Paulie_D]

If it was just me going then patience would of been the key but as it is me and the Mrs going it is already booked now...

What needs to be done before I go... Visa for example...?

Most tourists don"t need a Visa...the US operate a visa waiver scheme.

Providing you qualify...you can apply online here - https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

[ian.ski309]

I"m in Vegas for 5 nights mid-August 2014 as part of an extended California/Nevada trip. Are there any other websites which give better/accurate info re tournament buy-ins/structures in addition to www.pokeratlas.com/poker-rooms/las-vegas-nevada

We were in Vegas last year, but I"m just trying to save time and legwork this year - the 6 days will fly by and I"d rather have the info to hand in advance if poss, those casinos are just so damned far apart  

[Paulie_D]

I"m in Vegas for 5 nights mid-August 2014 as part of an extended California/Nevada trip. Are there any other websites which give better/accurate info re tournament buy-ins/structures in addition to www.pokeratlas.com/poker-rooms/las-vegas-nevada

Actually, being "onsite" as it were I believe that PokerAtlas (previously AllVegasPoker) is the most up to date option.

They have an app (http://www.pokeratlas.com/mobile) you can use.

If you have a data connection for your phone while over there you can also have access to the Genesis Bravo poker tracking system. This is the table / game management software used by most casinos (not all) in Vegas.

You know those screens showing games & availability outside poker rooms?...They usually operate via Bravo. Those little push button controls operated by the dealers at the actual table...part of the Bravo system.

Well, all that data is available LIVE and UP TO DATE (assuming data service) via their app

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bravopokerlive/id470322257?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.genesisgaming.bravopokerlive&hl=en

[ian.ski309]

Excellent ! Cheers Paulie  

[linziwan]

If this is your first trip to Vegas, hotel on strip is a must, for the atmosphere. If you don"t mind off strip, I liked the Orleans when I stayed there. Was a couple of years ago. But if you are off strip you will need to hire a car for convenience.