I had the most thoughtful, sparklingly witty, and incredibly intelligent post written, hit “submit reply” and…poof. Gone. I’ll try again, though I’m sure this one won’t shine like my last creation. Hah.
The tunnel tip is a wise one which I greatly appreciate. Being a travel rookie, this is just the thing I’d have to watch out for. There’s one born every minute and…it’s a girl!
No worries about gambling the life’s savings away. Like I said, I’m not much of a gambler and have not a clue about the tables. The nickel slots/free drinks combo is more my speed. Mmmmm, free drinks. (insert Homer drooly face here) My friend “Robin” knows I like to blow off steam once in a while, and goodness knows I need it. I think twenty dollars a day is plenty for me. For gambling, that is. Not for the rest of the fun to be had.
It sounds like there’s so much to see, I don’t think we’ll be sleeping much! The Ghost Bar is going to be a definite destination, as is the Free Zone. Pirates, and tigers, and drag shows, oh my! I think that my companions are probably going to spend at least one day lounging around the pool, which is not really my thing (I’m impossibly pale, and I look ghastly in a bathing suit). I would really enjoy taking a tour bus to the Grand Canyon for the afternoon. Is it a long trip?
I will also be in Las Vegas soon! We’re going to spend one night there on our way to see the Grand Canyon…I think the fifteenth. Since we’ll hardly have any time there and we don’t gamble, I don’t know what we’ll do…probably just walk around gawking.
I always think it’s so cool how relevant threads show up right when I need them.
I posted a thread asking for advice last week too. And going on Halloween with my friend as well. Ghostbar looks promising for Halloween night. The only thing I’m worried about so far is that we have to stand in line for a long time for the clubs. My friend wants to club at LAX for sure, but I’m a little weary about it. Just for kicks, we’ve decided to go to a drag show called “Lucky Cheng’s Drag Cabaret” (it includes a buffet!) and I’m going to see the Blue Man Group without her, since she’s already seen them.
I’m going to tack on a question that I didn’t ask in my thread…
What are the camera policies like in the casinos? I’m going to be very touristy, so of course I’m going to want to get the cheesy photos with the peace sign and everything, preferably in front of a slot machine like a big ham.
If you want a cheesy photo, go to the Riveria (across from Circus, Circus). They have a bas relief sculpture of some showgirls. Certain parts are shiny from all the rubbing. I made my poor husband pose with his hand on a butt. Difficult for an Englishman, but he was still young and persuadable then.
Your Canadian ATM card will NOT work at point-of-sale in stores. It will work at any bank machine with the Interac symbol on it, as featherlou mentioned.
Have fun! If you’re a non-smoker, or allergic to smoke, stock up on the allergy meds. People smoke everywhere there.
You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think we ever tried to buy stuff with our debit cards there - just took money out of an ATM once. All store debit machines are Interac, too - you’d think our Canadian cards would work on them, too, but it’s no surprise if they don’t - there’s any number of little things like that to trip you up when you’re in a different country (like not being able to get a sale price on bras because my postal code was Canadian).
Ain’t that the truth. They do have amazing air cleaning systems, though; much better than any I’ve seen anywhere else.
If you’re fairly discrete you can take photos in the casino. Avoid taking pics of people actually playing at the tables or machines if you can. Also, you’re not allowed to take pics of the casino cage for security purposes.
Thousands of people take pics every day in the casinos so you’re not likely to be confronted by security. If you are confronted just play dumb and apologize, pleading ignorant to the rules. But again, that’s so unlikely to happen you shouldn’t be overly worried about it.
If you google you might find some tour company that does flights or day trips to Grand Canyon but it seems to me like a daytrip might be pretty exhausting. It’s quite far away really. We drove out and stayed in Flagstaff for a night and visited the GC from there. It’s so impressive and breath-takingly beautiful that it would be a shame to rush the experience too much IMO.
In Las Vegas just trudging up and down the strip going in to look at all of the casinos and shopping malls in the hotels was entertainment enough and there is the Bellagio fountain, the pirate - cheesetastic in the extreme, the volcano and all that too. You’ll have no problem whiling awaya couple of days. Your feet WILL get tired though so bring comfortable shoes.
Didn’t know anyone asked for postal codes during sales! If that is the case, feel free to use mine: 89123
However, if you are buying gas directly at a pump, they do ask for your zip code (to ensure no fraud with credit card use) and I am not sure how that will translate when trying to use a foreign credit card or ATM card.
I smoke, but have lots of friends who don’t. When the non-smokers visit here, most say that they don’t notice any problems in the casinos unless they sit directly next to someone smoking, and even then it usually isn’t a problem. Most casinos have ceilings that are two and three stories high at a minimum, and they pump air through those air conditioners at a furious rate. That is why I suggest even bringing a light sweater or jacket even in the middle of the summer…it can get freezing cold, very quickly, in most of the casinos and showrooms.
Regarding taking photos in the casino, generally if it is a single, quick shot of YOU and not other customers, standing in front of a big slot or a winning machine, not a problem. Otherwise they frown on it as many people in casinos want to keep their privacy and even though that is not your intention, some people do not like the idea of being photographed in the background playing slots or whatever in a casino. Years ago, when I got a royal flush on a video poker machine, I took a photo, my partner took a photo of me standing by the machine and when i was about to take another photo, security came up and said, “Sorry, but no more photos. That was enough.” In other words, they had seen us take the two pictures and didn’t have a problem with that, but figured that was ample.
Another resident chiming in, if that’s OK. Free drinks at the slots is one of the perks of Vegas, but the service isn’t the fastest. By that I mean that you may blow through your allotted $20 before the waitress returns with your drinks, so learn to play slow.
Also, the “nickel slots” have been pretty much replaced by “penny slots”. Now, while that sounds like good news to most people on a limited gambling budget, it’s real easy to burn through a lot of money in a short time at the pennies. And, according to this article from yesterday’s Sun, the return rate on them isn’t that great. My advice is try to find machines with 20 or less playlines (they’re all video slots now, though there’s been a renaissance of sorts of the old “reel” machines); your money will last longer that way. 40, 50, or 100 lines sounds like more chances to win, but it’s also a lot more chances to lose.
If it’s nickels you seek, I’d stick to video poker. Regular slot machines can be “tightened up” to pay less frequently (especially during the holidays), but all video poker machines are pretty much created equal. Each hand dealt is required by law to be a random draw from a standard 52-card deck–that doesn’t leave a lot of room for adjustment.
Another cool thing at Halloween in Vegas is the Frightdome. Circus Circus has a small amusement park called the Adventuredome, and during October they convert it to a Halloween theme, complete with haunted houses, ghouls, zombies(!) etc. Check out the Circus Circus website for more details.
The buffets on the Strip, while still excellent, are a bit pricier than they used to be, with most averaging $20-30 and up per person. The aforementioned Spice Market at Planet Hollywood is one of the best; the Luxor and Mandalay Bay are also very good. Just west of the Strip on Flamingo are the Palms and the Gold Coast; both have good food and are under $20 per person. And if you like Chinese, you must check out Ping Pang Pong and The Noodle Exchange at the Gold Coast. Real Chinese, too–not your generic Panda Express stuff. And less expensive than P. F. Changs!
Then again, I have a friend who swears by penny machines, but she has her own system. She claims that the penny slots offer more of the 10X win and 50X and 100X and even the occasional 1000X win of your bet, as most people usually bet low (5 - 10 cents). Now, with playing a penny or two, those wins are nothing to write home about. However, those penny slots allow you to play a maximum of about 250 coins ($2.50) per pull. Sounds like a pricey pull, but if you get any of the multipliers listed above, it adds up quickly! She puts in a $100 bill, plays maximum coins every pull, and claims she usually doubles her money every time she plays. (She quits the minute she doubles her money and goes home! Wise woman.) She also claims to win more than double her money about every 3 or 4 times she does this. So, that is one person’s story…take it for what it is worth…but I can see how even a 100X win on a $2.50 bet is nothing to sneeze at.
Otherwise, as you mention, the nickel video poker machines are not bad…just yesterday I was waiting for a friend and playing nickel Double Double Poker (a local’s favorite you will see on those machines when you get here) and got four Aces and a 3…payout on a 25 cent bet = $100. I was happy. A royal flush for 25 cents pays $200, so it is not a total waste of time to play those nickel machines, and you can usually play longer with a limited budget.
This has been our “system” the last year or so. Penny slots have lots of action, they keep you entertained, they are slow to eat your cash (usually), and if you lay $5 on the cocktail gal right off the bat, you can get superb drink service while you play. My personal favorites are Mermaids and Goldfish machines, although I have also been fairly lucky at taking down the Wizard of Oz machines for decent payoffs.
We started to book a room at (I think) Planet Hollywood, but noticed it doesn’t have air conditioning. WTH? Being from Florida, we think air conditioning is nearly as important as running water. How does a four-star hotel in LV get by without it?
I’ve visited Vegas twice (from the UK) and DMark was helpful and accurate.
My sister visited the Grand Canyon (including the Skywalk), Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and took a night helicopter flight over the city.
I went to the World Series of Poker, bought magic tricks in New York, New York and played poker in the Luxor.
If they didn’t have air conditioning, they would have guests dropping dead in droves during the summer months. Thus, considering I have seen no reports of masses of corpses stacked behind Planet Hollywood this past summer, I have to assume you might have misunderstood something when booking your room.
As I have often mentioned, you have a better chance of freezing to death here in the summer than dying of heat, due to the unbelievable temps they have in there. Seriously, even in August we often leave a casino and don’t even turn on the AC in our car for awhile on the ride home, simply to warm up!
And don’t forget, those Las Vegas commercials mean what they say about . . .“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” Anything that you wouldn’t do at home, feel free to indulge in in Las Vegas! Isn’t that right, DMark?
