“All you see Las Vegas show buffet” Harrahs All Stage Pass

Anyone who likes shows but can’t make up their mind as to what to see should consider the  exceptional value of the  “Harrah’s All Stage Pass”  as well as pretty cool logo this is a ticket that allows you 48 hours access to 20 Las Vegas shows across 9 Las Vegas resorts.  Apparently if you get your timing right and you can move pretty quickly you can get in 10 shows in the 48 hour period ! The cost of this ticket is $119 + tax of $99 + tax for Harrahs Total Reward Members so the smart guy will join Harrahs Rewards before purchasing the Harrahs All Stage Pass. These passes can be purchased at Show Tickets Direct in front of Ballys,Planet Hollywood box office, and the Crown box office at Rio

Access to the shows listed below is included in the price of the ticket in addition to this you can purchase tickets for top headliners Donny and Marie, Barry Manilow or Penn and Teller for only $40.

Matt Goss Fri.-Sat. 9:30pm
George Wallace  Tues.-Sat. 10:00 pm
Chippendales®  Thurs.-Tues. 8:00pm Fri. & Sat. 10:30 pm
Dirk Arthur  Mon.- Sat. 7:00 pm
Legends in Concert  Mon.-Thurs. 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm; Fri. & Sat. 8:00pm
The Mac King Comedy Magic Show  Tues.-Sat. 1:00 pm & 3:00 pm
The Price is Right™- Live Stage Show  Tues.-Thurs. & Sat.  2:30 pm; Fri. 7:30 pm
The Improv  Tues.-Sun. 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm
X Burlesque  Nightly 10:00 pm
Absinthe  Tues. & Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm Wed. & Sun. 7:30 pm only
Donn Arden’s Jubilee  Sat.-Thurs. 7:30 pm & 10:30pm
The Platters, Cornell Gunter’s Coasters & The Marvelettes  Nightly 7:00 pm
Anthony Cools  Thurs.-Sun. & Tues. 9:00 pm
Nathan Burton  Tues.-Sun. 4:00 pm
Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas  Sat.-Thurs. 10:00 pm
Human Nature  Sat.-Wed. 7:30 pm
Vinnie Favorito  Nightly 8:00 pm
Matsuri  Sat.-Wed. 4:00 pm Fri. 8:00 pm only
Defending the Caveman  Nightly 7:00 pm extra on  Sun. & Mon. 3:00 pm
Viper Vixens  Mon.-Sat. 9:00 pm

Direct links to the hotels ;

MGM Grand Excalibur Mandalay Bay, Luxor Aria Bellagio, The Mirage, New York New York, MGM Signature

Huge Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas discounts and promotions

We all know that the Cirque du Soleil shows are everywhere in Vegas, well there are 7 which means that there are is 7 times more Cirque shows than any other show in Las Vegas this makes them the best right ? Now despite the fact that more is not always better anyone who has seen a Cirque show will tell you that they are brilliant and going to a Cirque show is very much part of many peoples Vegas experience. People ask what is the best show and I can’t answer that I don’t like the Beatles so that rules out LOVE for me and I like Criss Angel but not with Cirque so that rules out Believe for me, I think that Mystere was my favourite and Zumainty – “oh so very much not for the children” was probably my second but we did have very good seats which made it better.

Steve Wynn has tried to rival “O” with his show La Reve but it has not taken the crown and “O” is still the best of the Las Vegas water based shows.

Sadly we also know that going to Cirque du Soleil shows are expensive well the good folks at Cirque have realised that there is a credit crunch on and are offering 2 tickets for $100 (+taxes nd fees) for Mystere, Zumainty, KA, LOVE, Believe between now and the end of October. These is a great deal and if you want to see a show in Vegas it is well worth taking advantage of.

 Bellagio also have 20% off of “O” on certain dates in July and September and it is very rare for “O” tickets to be discounted.

The Cique shows are on at the hotels listed below.

Zumanity is at New York New York, Las Vegas
KA,  is at MGM Grand Las Vegas
Love, is at The Mirage, Las Vegas
Believe  is at Luxor, Las Vegas
Zarkana is at Aria, Las Vegas
O is at Bellagio, Las Vegas

2 Free Las Vegas Buffets per day MGM, Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Aria etc

The MGM Mirage Group yesterday, issued a host of complementary buffet deals, if you book two nights under this offer you receive 2 complimentary buffets per booking per day. You do not have to use these in the buffet of the hotel that you are staying at  you can in fact use it at any of Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, Aria, Vdara, Monte Carlo, Mirage and Circus Circus. Mirage and Mandalay Bay are my two favourite buffets on the Strip it is great that if you stay at a cheaper hotel you can still eat for free in a far more expensive hotel. These deals are available on most dates until Spetember 8th but must be booked before June 27th

All of these deals are booked directly with the hotel on the links below.  All of these offers are fully refundable up to48 hours before check in, if the rate drops after you book contact the hotel and they will adjust your rate, these deals are available for everyone over 21 and
not just selected players. It is a very good deal.

I have just noticed that this page is suddenly after a few years getting a few hits again sadly these deals are all over there are still good deals to be had the best place to find them is to go directly to the hotels themselves this gives you greater flexability and also more chance of obtaining an upgrade when you check in and if you dont book direct with the hotel it is more difficult to get comps applied against your room rates. The links below will take you directly to the hotels have a great trip.

 

MGM Grand    Excalibur    Mandalay Bay,    Luxor     Aria    Bellagio    The Mirage   New York New York,      MGM Signature

 

MGM Grand Las Vegas “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!” From $65 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay(*See site for additional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun 15 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp6/27/11)

Mirage “Complimentary Buffet Everyday!”* From $69 per night Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions).Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp 6/27/2011)

Monte Carlo “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!” From $56 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp6/27/11)

New York New York “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!”  From $55 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*see site foradditional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11(Expires 6/27/11)

Luxor “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!”* From $36 per night Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffe teveryday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions).Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp 6/27/11)

Excalibur “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!” From $32 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun 13, – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp6/27/11)

Mandalay Bay “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!”  From $80 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp6/27/11)
ARIA “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!”* From $129 per night Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffeteveryday of your stay(*see site for additional details and restrictions).Promotion Runs: Jun 8 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp 6/27/11)

Vdara”Complimentary Buffet Every day!”* From $109 per night Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet every day of your stay(*See site for additional details and restrictions).Promotion Runs: Jun 13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp 6/27/11)

CircusCircus Las Vegas “Complimentary Buffet Every Day!”  From $27 per night *Book two nights and receive two complimentary meals at any MGM Resorts buffet everyday of your stay (*See site for additional details and restrictions). Promotion Runs: Jun13 – Sep 8, 2011. Promo Code: ZBUFH11 (Exp 6/27/11)

 

How much money do you need to take to Las Vegas ?

After being asked about how to get a free upgrade the question that I am asked the most is “How much money do I need to take to Las Vegas ?” This is a very difficult to answer as it is the same as someone saying “How much do I need to spend on grocery’s each week ?”

So I will do the best I can to try and show some examples of spends and costs and what I would spend. I am going to assume that your hotel (including resort fees) and flights are paid and that you do not have a rental car and that you will not be doing any shopping. Please bare in mind that I have have great trips in Vegas on $25 per day when I have been hard up and great trips when my budegt has been $1k per day its not the money that makes it better or worse.

The first expense that you will have is getting to your hotel from McCarran you have four options cab $15 – $30(depending on hotel and time of day), shuttle bus $12-$15 (return), public bus $2.50 or Limo approx $60. How to get from the airport to the Strip

When you get to the hotel if you have bags that you will check you should allow $5 per bag for a tip for the bellboy, at the same time it is worth putting a few dollars away for the maid they do a good job and often get forgotten we generally tip the maid $3 per day or $5 if we want extra shampoos etc to take home for Christmas presents 🙂 How much to Tip in Las Vegas

We generally take in a show every two or three nights when we are in Las Vegas we book one absolute cannot miss show before we leave home so this would not come out of our budget all the others we buy from the half price booths and we have paid as little as $15 for a magic show and about $125 for a Cirque show. I think that if you budget $75 for a show that as long as you are prepared to be flexible you should be able to find something that you like. If you want to book direct with the hotel when you are out there shows vary in price depending on show and seats and day of the week etc from about $40 to several hundred dollars.

Dining in Las Vegas is something where you can get buy on say $15 a day but you can also pay $10 for a coffee so what you spend is really up to you. We tend to either have a very small breakfast just coffee and a danish then coffee shop or deli lunch and proper meal in the evening or large or buffet breakfast a snack at lunchtime and then decent dinner. Excalibur and Luxor have 24 hour buffet deals for $24.99 and then $29.99 respectively and this is probably the cheapest way to stay full in Las Vegas though not the best. We generally allow $10 for coffee and danish, $15 for deli or coffee shop lunch and then the evening can be anything from a $20 buffet to a $200 fine dining meal at Eiffel. Food prices change between hotels we were surprised to find that staying at Wynn we spent a lot more money than say at MGM Grand as everything costs more.

Drinks are free when you are gambling (subject to tipping) but if not the prices vary greatly from one casino to another and how you get them ! Casino Royale has the cheapest beer with Michelob $1 all day every day at their bars generally though expect to pay $8 for a beer and $12 for a shot and mixer in a casino bar. Following the rules in the link below will ensure that you maximise your free drinks at the same time don’t piss off the cocktail waitresses.. FREE DRINKS IN LAS VEGAS

Like everything else in Vegas you and gamble as little or as much as you like there are slots from 1c and tables from $5 up slots at $1k per spin and tables with minimums of $5k per hand. Please  remember that most machines are multi lines and to get any return you need to play multiple lines and you should expect a minimum for 25c per spin on a 1c machine Unless you have a few good wins to start with as a rule of thumb you will spend at least twice what you think that you will on slots. $5 tables now are few and far between in the major resorts but Tropicana and believe it or not Bellagio have $5 BJ tables open 24/7 but generally speaking the more upmarket the hotel the less likely you are to find low limit tables. I have had days when I have stared with $40 and it has lasted me all day and I have even left with a profit and had other days where I have dropped $200 in 20 minutes. You can get comps on your play but never ever play for comps take them as nice bonus but don’t expect or try to play just to get a comp.

So roughly here is what I would allow as spending money for a 3 night trip Las Vegas

Taxi to and from airport $40
Tips for bellboy and maid $20 (plus $20 Upgrade trick)
Show with drink $80
Food* $250
Drinks (above free ones) $80
Gaming $300 – $1000
Misc $75

*Food
1 x Luxor 24 hour buffet deal $35
2 x coffee and danish breakfasts $20
1 x med quality dinner $100
1 x good buffet dinner $40
snacks and sodas $55

Please note this is a very rough idea and you really spend as little or as much as you like in Las Vegas,

Las Vegas 24 Hour Buffet passes and Vegas Buffet Deals

Shrimp at Las Vegas Buffet

One of the things that I love about Las Vegas is the Buffets they are great OK you are best to avoid the real cheap ones as they are well real cheap !! For what is a small amount of money you get the choice of loads of different types of food and you can pick the bits you really like and avoid the stuff that you don’t which usually happens to be the healthy stuff. If you want to eat a tiny main and stacks of deserts you have it, if you want plate of starters as your main you’ve got it.  It works well when dining in a group and you all like different things each person can choose what they want without the usual arguments about the type of place you go to eat, you go to the buffet and each choose the type of food that you like.

In Vegas you kiss goodbye to your body clock when you get off the plane and buffet dining helps you with this as there are generally all types of foods at all open times buffets work better for me in Vegas than anywhere else I the World. The only problem that you have is that the decent buffets have long lines and you can wait up to an hour (more so at Wynn) to get a table.

My favourite buffet is Mandalay Bay this is because of the food and the setting it is just really nice, I like the Mirage and Bellagio buffets for the sheer quality of the food  and that the breakfast buffet at Excalibur whilst never the best is one of the best value. As a general rule the quality of the hotel will determine the quality of the buffet the worst I have eaten at is Palace Station followed closely Tropicana and I would not eat the Circus Circus or Imperial Palace buffets if budget allowed me to eat elsewhere.

Anyway Harrah’s Entertainment are offering a “buffet of buffets” pass for $44.99 this gives you 24 hour access to 7 buffets, Caesars Palace: Lago Buffet; Flamingo: Paradise Garden Buffet; Harrah’s Las Vegas: Flavors; Imperial Palace: Emperor’s Buffet; Paris: Le Village Buffet; Planet Hollywood: Spice Market Buffet; and, Rio: Carnival World Buffet. This is a brilliant deal if you think that the dinner buffet at Paris for instance is $27.99 and if you time it right you can get two dinners, a breakfast and a lunch which could cost up to $93 ! If you want a cheaper 24 hour pass look at Excalibur from $24.99 or Luxor from $29.99

“No craving stands a chance with a “Buffet of Buffets” all-access pass. It’s good all day at seven different buffets for only $44.99*. Fuel up for the morning with a made-to-order omlet, satisfy your afternoon appetite with some sushi and seafood, or just enjoy every meal throughout the day at a different spot. Simply walk up to any participating buffet and ask for the “Buffet of Buffets” pass. You’ll receive your credential which is good for 24 hours from the time of purchase. Then dig in!”

Luxor Buffet offer; all you can eat buffet passes from $29.99 for Adults and have the option of adding unlimited wine and beer for $10

MGM 2-4-1 –Buffet Deal; There is a deal at present at MGM where you can get 2 4 1 for a buffet when booking a room

Excalibur  have a 24 hour Buffet pass from $24.99

Circus Circus offer 2 free buffets with a stay of 2 nights or longer also includes $150 of dining, entertainment and retail vouchers

Youc an of course still try to get the best buffet in town for free read how to do it here !

 

 

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas – My Review

3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South

Las Vegas

NV 89109

+1 (702) 731 7110

www.caesars.com

Location Between Bellagio and Mirage Dead centre Strip; this is the marker for other casino’s location. The only problem is that when Caesars was built no one walked on the Strip; all travel was done by car. As a result the casino entrance is about 500 yards back from the Strip. Don’t worry though the good folks at Caesars have put in a series of moving walkways to get you to their machines quicker.

Theme It’s Rome, ancient Rome from the spectacular fountains, delightful statues and cypress trees that you pass on your way to the casino to the toga costumes the staff wear. This certainly is ancient Rome with electricity and air conditioning. It is a very Grand Rome with loads of marble and gold, everything that can be gold and glittery is gold and glittery. The theme like most of Vegas is completely over the top; but in the best possible way. If there was a casino themed on Las Vegas, Caesars would be it. Las Vegas at its best.

Attractions Well there are the wonderful, if slightly dated magical statues in the Forum shops these are robotic statues that come alive with the aid of smoke and lights and act out Roman and mystical type tales; free and great for the kids. The race for Atlantis IMAX 3d simulation ride, the Omnimax movie theatre where the film actually seems to surround you and several amusements arcades. To be fair the whole of the forum shops could be counted as an attraction with plenty to see

Shopping The Forum shops at Caesars is the best casino shopping mall on the Strip. Re-creations of Michelangelo’s David and a copy of the Tivoli fountain compliment the great range of shops; the whole shopping experience here is great. Shops include many usual US high street stores such as Nike Town, Macys, and FA Schwarz but also designer labels such as DKNY, Hugo Boss and Vasari. It must be good, as the average retail turnover per square foot in the US is $300 per annum whereas the Forum shops take $1200.

Dining La Piazza Food Court is my favourite on the Strip; you enter together, you chose your different food (Pizza, Salads, Hot Dogs, Chinese etc) get your drinks together and pay together. No queuing up separately just because one of you wants Pasta and the other Chinese. The seating area is lovely, on the edge of the casino allowing you to see the action, sort of inside the branches of a big tree. There is a very small buffet with very long queues and quite high prices (B$15.50 L$17.50 D$23.50, Sunday Brunch $23.50 or $33.50 with champagne) which I have not tried. There are several other high quality restaurants including Hyakumi – Japanese, Bacchanal – a six course Roman feast and Café Roma the 24hr coffee shop. General reports of food at these restaurants are good .

Gaming Caesars has 118,000 sq ft of gaming space containing over 2000 slot and video machines, over 70 tables and 13 roulette wheels. Surprisingly there is a very good range of nickel machines here, table limits can be a low $5 minimum but this is only ever one or two tables and only when trade is slow. The layout of the casino is very odd; it seems bitty; like some bits were added on rather as a second thought. Parts of the casino are very dark and others very light. The way in which the floors are arranged makes you very disorientated. I am not sure if this is deliberate or not, but this, along with the expedition back to the Strip does seem to make you stay longer than planned.

Drinks Service I found the drink service to be quite good, although I think that depends on where you sit as there are many nooks and crannies which probably do not receive such good service. I always make sure that any cocktail waitress who passes within 20 foot of me knows I want a drink and this obviously helps a great deal.

Best Thing Just the whole over the top “we have got it and boy are we going to flaunt it” atmosphere.

Worst Thing The distance to the entrance from the Strip and the that Ceasres is confusing easy to get lost and has human traffic jams.

Overall If you ask anyone to name a casino (with possibly the exception of Bob Stupak and Steve Wynn) they will say Caesars Palace. Caesars is Vegas and Vegas is Caesars. You get a chance to see “whales” (high rollers) at play and yet still feel like you are a million dollars putting your nickels into the slots. If you are in Vegas and you can only go to one casino, this has to be it. You will not be disappointed. However be aware there is a large expansion program on at Caesars at the time of writing.

New York New York, Las Vegas My Review

New York New York
3790 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas
NV 89109
Tel +1 (702) 740 6969
New York New York Las Vegas

Location Right on the money, sitting on the corner of the Strip with Tropicana Avenue, the busiest road intersection in the USA. There are foot bridges connecting New York New York with the MGM Grand and Excalibur.

Theme Well what can I say; it’s the Big Apple. All of the buildings outside are 1/3 scale copies of those in Manhattan including the Empire State, Chrysler and CBS buildings. There is also a Statue of liberty and a Brooklyn Bridge with a ” Coney Island” roller coaster screeching round the whole lot. The theme does not stop outside, as you enter the casino you will see manhole covers with smoke rising out of them, trees in Central Park and hotdog vendors. It is dubbed as the greatest little city in Vegas something, we think, is well earned.

Rooms NYNY used to be a cheap resort I am not sure why but now it’s generally more expensive than MGM Grandand Monte Carlo. The rooms are a little on the small side but they are nice, be warned though if you have a room facing the strip you will hear the rollercoaster. It’s quite cool that your room is in a particular New York Skyscraper like Empire State or Chrysler tower.

Attractions The Manhattan Express rollercoaster, supposedly the best in Vegas, runs round the outside of the structure speeding up to 67mph for $7 per ride. Sadly The Coney Island Emporium amusement arcade has been closed down. There are Ice shows outside, around Ellis Island, in the winter and tugboats spray water at each other in the summer.

Pool Surprisingly for a resort that has spent so much attention to detail the pool is very small and drab; this is not a place to stay if the pool is very important to you.

Shows and Entertainment Zumanity is the Cirque De Soleil offering here it’s the sensual side of Cirque, that means nudity and sexiness all held together by a drag queen compere. We loved this show it was great fun but you have to be opened minded to enjoy it and you also need to sit facing the center of the stage we were at the side and feel that we missed something for this. Coyote Ugly whilst not a show in the true sense is an interactive bar where the bar tenders dance on the bar and pour drinks directly into patrons mouths.

Dining This is the only Strip resort that has no buffet. America – 24 hour coffee shop is very good though the wait for the food can be longer than you feel it should. Il Fornai is a lovely Italian next to a stream that offers “outside” dining this is one of the best places for breakfast in Vegas. Gallaghers Steak house is pricey but very good you can see all the meat maturing in glass fridges. Nine Fine Irishman is an Irish pub offering good food and ambience. There are also several Delis and hotdog stalls as well as the village eatery. This has a variety of, eat in/take away fastish food.

Gaming 81,000 sq ft of well themed gaming fun containing nearly 2500 state of the art slot and video machines, along with about 50 tables and 7 roulette wheels. NYNY contains one of the best selections of slots on the Strip with a very large selection of my favorites; the good old low roller nickel machines. They have all the usual wheel of fortune, Adams Family, Winning Bid etc. plus Swing which we did not see elsewhere. The gaming area is a little dark and in certain parts slightly cramped but didn’t appear as noisy as some. Live acts performing at the huge bar at the front makes a nice diversion to the hundred dollars you have just lost. I don’t know if we were just lucky but we seemed to have a better hit rate on the NYNY slots than at any other Strip casino. The tables used to be covered in Central Park type tress sadly this has been removed and replaced with somthing that looks like lit up sweet wrappers.

Drinks service Like all casinos the service you receive whilst playing on the lowly nickel machines is never as good as when you are playing on the dollar ones, but the service here, even for us low rollers, was quite good. One thing – steer clear of the coffee.

Overall We love it, it’s exciting and you leave the real world for the time that you are in there. The theme works very well, with a very good variety of slot machines and friendly staff. It is our favorite casino, although it may have helped that we hit a jackpot there.

Good points The whole theme thing as you enter from the upper level is New York; it works well and is great fun.

Bad points I don’t think that there is anything that I dislike about NYNY apart from that at busy times we had to wait for machine attendants but this could have been the same anywhere.

Top Tip If you ride the rollercoaster and love it you can by re-ride tickets for about half price or if you really love it you can buy an unlimited daily ride pass.

To find out how to ensure that you get the cheapest possible rate read the post here

http://clk.atdmt.com/MGM/go/kwbngmgm0010016098mgm/direct/01/?kbid=542076

My Las Vegas memories

I first arrived in Las Vegas Labour Day weekend 1992, we arrived at night by car and at this time this was the only way to to arrive in Las Vegas. From miles away you started seeing the faint gleam of neon as you got nearer as you took twists and corners in the road the light got brighter and the excitement rose. I had never been to Las Vegas and to be honest had not read much about it, this visit was just a short stop on a road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, I knew that there were casinos there and I knew that there were shows but nothing more than that. The Las Vegas we arrived to was amazing and immediately I fell in love with the town. On this first trip I had gaming lessons at The Sands, munched 3 castle burgers for 99c at the Hacienda, had 99c Shrimp cocktails, surf and turf for $3.99 and buffets for less than than the cost of Starbucks Latte. I did a Bungee jump at AJ Hackett which was located behind Ballys when you got up the tower it was pitch black to the desert on the East, on what is now a highly populated valley. In 1992 you could get all sorts of freebies from almost every Casino just for gracing it with your presence it was a totally different town.

On my first visit there was no Mandalay Bay, no Luxor, no MGM Grand, no Monte Carlo, no NYNY, No Paris, Bellagio or Venetian, Treasure Island was not built and the Desert Inn proudly sat on the lot now occupied by Wynn. Aside from the casinos there was little reason to come to Vegas except to gamble and maybe to have a stopover or use it as a base for a trip to the Grand Canyon, Vegas was not the playground it is today, many thought that Vegas’s time had gone and Atlantic City would be the new entertainment Mecca and had it not been for the belief, hard work and commitment of the likes of Steve Wynn and Kirk Kerkorian then this may well have been the case and the Las Vegas that I love today would not be there.

Since 1992 I have visited Las Vegas countless times and intend to do so for as long as I am able, in fact this Christmas will be my second in succession that I spend in Las Vegas. I have stayed in many hotels at all levels of comfort from Circus Circus at the value end to Wynn and Bellagio for the height of Las Vegas luxury. I have enjoyed some more than others and this is not always based on price.

Vegas has changed beyond recognition since my first short visit and I have no doubt that this will be the case forever, some changes will be for the better and some for th worse, prices will go up prices will come down Las Vegas will change to what the visitors want and for what they are prepared to pay for. The one thing that I don’t think will change is that there will always be something for everyone to love in Las Vegas and just when you think that you have seen everything Las Vegas will re-write the rule book and amaze you even more.

Las Vegas on the Cheap – Cheap Hotels

In these days of credit crunch and high gas prices I thought I would write a few posts showing how to save money in Las Vegas and still have a great trip and am kicking it off withover 40 trips to Vegas some on a large budget and some on very small budgets a post on Cheap hotels.

I have stayed at almost every property from Bellagio, Wynn and Encore to Excalibur, Circus Circus and Sahara. I have eaten at places on every level of the spectrum from Eiffel at Paris LV and Mix at Mandalay Bay to Peppermill and the Circus Circus buffet. I have had best seats at Cirque Shows and front row seats to Vegas “A list” headliners I also been to shows where tickets cost $5. Whilst I would not say that my most enjoyable ones have been the ones where I have been on the tightest budget I have still had great trips without, spending  very much money. I have discovered that the cheapest options do not always save the most money, in this post I hope to give you some pointers from my experience on how to get the most out of a trip to Las Vegas when on a budget. You can make huge savings  on how you book and when you come there is a post all ready on this here.
 

Your room will take up some of your budget but not as much as you think, in Las Vegas there are rooms that will suit every pocket and in most cases you generally get what you pay for. Now the cheapest rooms on the Strip can  be found at Rivera, Circus Circus , Sahara and Stratosphere. The problem that you have with all of these resorts is that the location will mean that you will end up spending money on transportation to get to the parts of the strip that you want to be at, even if you buy monorail or Deuce bus passes the cost of these can be as much as the difference between staying in one of these hotels and staying at a better hotel in a better location.

Excalibur, Tropicana, Bills, and Imperial Palace are the cheap options with good locations Luxor is also worth a mention as some of the offers  that  they have make bring the prices on a par  with these. I have stayed at all of these hotels and unless there is a great offer on at Luxor Excalibur is my budget choice. The rooms are large  and the hotel is clean, not too smoky and it has a great location., with good staff, good cheap eats and also they have some of the best offers around offering not only rates as low as $25 per night but also often include food or entertainment credits. I once stayed at Excalibur on a $40 a night rate for 2 nights this included 2 free buffets, 2 free spa passes, 2 free drinks and some 2 4 1 coupons the value of this  was about $120, more than I paid  for  total for my stay. Wherever you stay if you get any extras included make sure you use them millions of dollars worth of these coupons are thrown away each year.

If you get a very good rate at an expensive hotel you will spend more money than you would if you stay at a cheaper hotel, as everything is more expensive, coffee, breakfast, water or soda in the shop and of course meals and drinks at the bar. Even if you try not to spend money you will spend more if you stay in an expensive resort than if you stay in a cheaper one.

You can of course stay in a cheaper hotel Downtown (Fremont Street) or off Strip, whilst I will on a longer trip have a  couple of nights downtown its not where you want to stay for your Vegas vacation. I have stayed off Strip once and would not do it again as it just does not fell like you are in Vegas and the transportation to where you want to be is inconvenient and can be costly.

To find out how to ensure that you get the cheapest possible rate read the post here

Great Discounts for Las Vegas Shows In cluding La Reve at Wynn

Goldstar offer great discounts for shows in Las Vegas there are always more dates than first shown and the beauty is that you know what you are paying and can book your tickets before you leave home.  On my last trip we saw Meserised and Steve Wyrick real Magic, I would see Steve Wyrick every trip but would not see mesmerised again even if it was free (and it was via goldstar last time)

Sin City Comedy with Burlesque Group Sin City Dollz and the Country’s Top Comics
V Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops (Las Vegas, NV)
Tuesday, Jun. 2 @ 9:00pm
Wednesday, Jun. 3 @ 9:00pm
and 60 more dates.

Full Price: $60.00    Our Price: FREE – $30.00
Rating:

Beautiful girls and famous comedians take the stage when this hilarious show combines sexy burlesque with world-class stand up comedy in a choreographed production of music and fun. Hot ladies of the Sin City Dollz perform seductive dance numbers and two headliner comics keep audiences rolling in the aisles. Learn More

Acrobatic Spectacular Le Rêve at Wynn Las Vegas
Le Reve Theater (Las Vegas, NV)
Thursday, Jun. 4 @ 7:00pm
Thursday, Jun. 4 @ 9:30pm
and 82 more dates.

Full Price: $141.90    Our Price: $82.50
Rating:

Le Rêve (The Dream) offers breathtaking performances in an intimate aqua theater in-the-round. This stunning show was created by Franco Dragone, whose signature brand of visually stunning and innovative entertainment is at the core of the production. Learn More

Steve Wyrick Real Magic: International Magician of the Year in Vegas
Steve Wyrick Theatre (Las Vegas, NV)
Tuesday, Jun. 2 @ 9:00pm
Wednesday, Jun. 3 @ 9:00pm
and 49 more dates.

Full Price: $92.00    Our Price: $50.00
Rating:

Steve Wyrick Real Magic is a Vegas-style magic spectacular, featuring beautiful sets, talented dancers and International Magician of the Year Steve Wyrick performing spectacular large-scale illusions and remarkable close-up magic. Wyrick has recently been seen on The Late Show with David Letterman, VH1, and more. Learn More

Penn & Teller: Famous Magic/Comedy Duo at the Rio
Penn & Teller Theater at The Rio (Las Vegas, NV)
Tuesday, Jun. 2 @ 9:00pm
Wednesday, Jun. 3 @ 9:00pm
and 58 more dates.

Full Price: $85.00    Our Price: $52.80
Rating:

The Rio presents the famous duo of Penn and Teller. Known as the “Bad Boys of Magic”, their irreverent, edgy, and hilarious performances have earned them countless TV appearances, as well as their own show on Showtime. Learn More

Blue Man Group: Las Vegas’ Mega-Hit Show at The Venetian
Blue Man Theatre (Las Vegas, NV)
Tuesday, Jun. 2 @ 7:00pm
Tuesday, Jun. 2 @ 10:00pm
and 42 more dates.

Full Price: $101.85 – $142.00    Our Price: $65.11 – $89.20
Rating:

One of the biggest theatrical hits of the last two decades, Blue Man Group presents their unique and wildly imaginative stage show at The Venetian. Audiences worldwide have experienced and loved their exuberant, blissful combination of hilarious performances, fabulous visual effects, and Grammy-nominated music. Learn More