I’ll add another plug for the Wynn buffet. Not cheap, but probably the best buffet I’ve ever had. My wife and I went for the Sunday champagne brunch and definitely ate and drank our money’s worth.
On the reward clubs: it depends. On a long weekend at the old Aladdin, my wife and I gambled enough to get a crappy baseball cap and a cheap watch – kind of like cashing in Chuckie Cheese tickets. But after 5 days at the Palazzo we got one of our nights comped, which was cool. I’d say there’s no harm in signing up. Give a fake e-mail if you don’t want spam.
Card Counting/Cheating will get you hurt really bad.
If a woman looks too pretty, she is either a cop or a hooker (and possibly underage).
5a. Prostitution is against the law in Vegas.
5b. Solicitation is too.
Drugs are too.
So is public intoxication.
If you leave with any money in your pocket, you won.
I just got back from Vegas on Sunday and stayed at Flamingo which is next door to Harrah’s.
Not sure what time your conf. ends but O’sheas(between flamingo and harrah’s) has $1 miller high life’s until 6 PM. After that you can slip a few bucks into a video poker machine at the bar and they’ll comp you drinks while you play. It’s a small place so it’s easy to get in/out of but I found myself there alot during my week long visit.
There’s also a food court there(burger king is the only one I remember for sure but there are others).. Flamingo’s also has a food court as well(LA Subs, Johnny Rockets, a bad chinese food place, and a pizza place). There are restaraunts all over(margaritaville), Burger Joint(Flamingo), among others and these are all fine if you want to pay $12 - $15 for a burger/sandwhich/salad but I certainly visited the food courts for a quick and cheap meal.
As stated above, drink plenty of water and wear comfortable shoes.. nothing is as close as it looks.
Have fun and good luck.
I second the Wynn buffet–it’s really awesome! My strategy when I stay there is to fill up on a huge buffet breakfast and I’m good until dinner. The “breakfast” includes all kinds of great seafood + carving station + delicious desserts. Good call!
I also second “BLT Burger” at the Mirage, which is the place to which Moonlitherial referred.
I did enjoy BLT Burger, but I have to say, I like Burger Bar at Mandalay Place more. I think it’s my favorite burger anywhere. But BLT is very good, and much closer to where the OP is staying!
Well, actually I would say to be sure to pack a sweater!
They crank those air conditioners at full blast, and if you sit anywhere for any length of time (a show, or in a conference room, etc.), you might find you are freezing. No joke.
BTW, regarding BLT Burger at the Mirage - we just had friends visit from NYC and one of them is a hamburger connoisseur and has visited every burger restaurant in every city he has ever visited. They went to BLT Burger and he claims it ranks in the top four of burgers he has ever eaten in his life. High praise from this dude.
Crap, thanks for the reminder. I need to register for that conference.
If you want something different then you might want to try Flyaway(assuming you have a bit of time that is). It is indoor skydiving and quite fun.
There are a couple free shows worth seeing. The fountains at the Bellagio are rather cool. Treasure Island has a Sirens of TI (note, I haven’t seen this one in a while and I believe they revamped it, no idea how good it is).
Also, if you have a free evening a couple hours down at Freemont Street is always nice. They have street vendors and shows.
Second the fountains at Bellagio. The lobby chandelier is also worth seeing, (a Chilhully) and they generally have an art exhibition going inside. I think it was about $10 and a really fine VanGogh grouping when I was there.
I also really liked the rollercoaster and other rides on top of Stratosphere. Go at night so you can see the lights of the strip zipping by beneath you.
A walk down the strip by day is also worth doing. Try to picture where you’d have to climb and how narrowly you’d have to frame in order to get some of those elegant photos you’ve seen all your life. The contrast between what is presented and what is really there defies understanding until you’ve walked through it. You’ll never look at an advertisement the same way again. . .
Las Vegas also has some truly fine cuisine available, and it’s worth looking into if you can swing it financially. There are few places where so many kitchens are displaying true art and skill.
Be sure you know in advance exactly what the company will/will not reimburse and plan accordingly.
I regret that I didn’t make reservations in advance to take a helicopter tour; everyone I’ve talked to says they are spectacular.
This is way off the wall since I have no idea where you normally live or what your taste in movies are, but on the off-chance the info will come in handy: the movie Attack The Block starts at the Village Square tomorrow. I don’t know where that’s located. The movie has been in limited release only playing a few cities in North America, adding more screens by the week. It opens in several more cities tomorrow but still not that many. IF you were interested and IF you normally live somewhere where it wouldn’t show for weeks or ever, you should jump at the chance. IF you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s a low-budget British alien invasion movie that’s tons of fun and is well on its way to becoming a massive cult classic. IF you like/love movies like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Kick-Ass, Super and that ilk, you will almost certainly love it. If those kinds of movies aren’t your cup of tea, never mind.
I only post because if I were visiting a city and something was playing in that city that I really REALLY wanted to see, but didn’t know it was playing, and found out after I got home to a place where it wasn’t playing, I’d be upset. So, just in case.
Edit to add I know about this playing in Vegas because I have a friend there who’s been waiting impatiently for it to open, and I found out yesterday that it was and I was able to tell HER. The movie has already opened, played several weeks, and closed in Chicago.
I was there last year and there were girls litterally selling cheap buckets of beer for promotions. It was also St Pattricks day and NCAA March Madness week so I don’t know if that’s all year round.
Drinking IIRC, tends not to be that expensive anyway.
The dealers will also give you advice on playing table games.
Don’t try to renact scenes from The Hangover or any other movie you may have seen about Las Vegas.
Try to take in one of the Cirque de Soleil shows.
It doesn’t sound like you are a big “club guy”, but I would avoid going to any of the big mega-clubs unless you reserve something ahead of time with a group of friends. Otherwise you have to wait in line forever with a bunch of riffraff only to be crammed into a huge dance floor with all the other peasents.
An all day bus pass is like $7.00… save your feet some agony. The routes are really simple, and the stops are frequent. It wasn’t until my third trip to Vegas that I was clued into the public transportation system, and it was a life saver.
It wasn’t open the last time I was there, but the East side of the strip has a monorail. It’s a bit expensive at $5 a ride, but an all day pass is $12 and a 3 day is $28. It goes from the (former) Sahara to the MGM Grand. The Strip bus is OK, but way slow because of the traffic.
Going back over new year (I doubt I’d like Vegas if I went any of the hot times), and from recent research people are saying that Cosmopolitan is best buffet now, with Wynn second.
If you are doing a cirque show (or like it), then do O or Mystere (perhaps Ka, but I didn’t like that as much), or La Reve which is a ex-cirque persons show and is good too.
For cheap alcohol, Freemont street is the place to be (Grand station did 4 pints of excellent microbrewed beer (1 each so 8 total) on an afternoon for $6 one time we were there, it was happy hour, but still…)
Do you like raw oysters? If so, there’s a place in the Forum Shoppes (the mall attached to Caesar’s, not far from you at all) that does a great happy hour. From 2:45-6:00 every day but Saturday, they do dollar oysters and BOGO drinks. It’s called PJ Clarke’s, IIRC. My husband and I were there every day we were in Vegas in May. The bartender is a really nice guy, too. My husband went there the last day, before his flight (and before happy hour started) and they comped him a dozen oysters because he’d been there every day for a week.