A friend and I are going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. We’re both recently 21, I’ve never been there before, I think he has once a few years ago. So, any suggestions as to hotels to stay at? Hopefully something a little less pricey than the Bellagio, and a little classier than those hourly-rate ones I’ve heard of.
Any casinos, shows, bars, restaraunts we don’t want to miss out on? What’s the weather going to be like in mid-March? A legal question: Is it true you can have open containers of alcohol in public? I’ve been told this, but I’d rather not get arrested and find out that “Some Guy Told Me It’s OK” isn’t a valid legal defense.
The Luxor pyramid is one of the coolest places I’ve ever stayed, and I don’t think it’s that expensive. They have a kick-ass spa, too. But don’t stay in the other Luxor buildings; the pyramid is where to stay, if nothing else, just to ride the inclinators. 
The Rio has the best seafood buffet in the world. All you can eat lobster (and a thousand other items) for about $27.
If you can only see one show, see “O” at the Bellagio. It’s worth the money, no matter where the seats are.
If you have a bit more money, go skydiving in Boulder City, just outside of Vegas about 45 minutes. It’s AWESOME.
As a geek, I have a soft spot for Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton (the one near the convention center, not the one on the Strip). I’d like to catch it again, just to experience the “transporter”, but I haven’t been able to go by when it’s open the last few times I was there.
One of my favorite places to stay on the strip has been the Monte Carlo. It’s in a good spot, and because it’s not as trendy as some of the other casinos, you can usually get yourself a good deal on a room. Same goes for the Imperial Palace. You can get really good deals if you get a room off the strip. It depends on if you guys want something nicer than a ‘motel’ room, and how much you feel like walking.
Best Breakfast Buffet Ever is at the Paris. It’s expensive next to some of the other buffets out there, but the food is remarkable. Besides, if I eat a late breakfast there, I’m good until dinnertime, anyway.
Freebie stuff to see: The water fountain show at Bellagio; The Pirate show in front of Treasure Island; The Roman Gods show (I can’t remember the actual name of it) at the Forum Shops at Ceasar’s Palace. www.cheapovegas.com is great for looking for free/cheap stuff to do/eat during the day.
Yes, you certainly can walk around with open containers of alcohol.
I’d suggest going to Border Grill at Mandalay Bay, but you live in SoCal, so you can always go to the original in Santa Monica. Worth it for their Prickly Pear Margaritas. Yum.
I haven’t been, but I also heard outstanding reviews of “O” at the Bellagio, too. Ticket prices are steep, though.
O is great, but I actually prefered Mystere. It is an older show, so maybe tickets are cheaper.
I second the suggestion on the free shows. There are tigers at one of the hotels (MGM, maybe?) and an outdoor zoo at the Flamingo.
Trams run between certain hotels, which are a quick free ride. You will be surprised at how far apart hotels are which are next door to each other. The things are just so big that even that is a longish walk. There is also a bus that looks like a streetcar that is a cheap way to ride the whole strip.
A cheap, but utterly delicious breakfast at Paris (if you don’t want to spring for the buffet) is to buy a loaf of bread and then snag butter and jam off the condiments bar at the bakery. Yummy.
I heard a while ago that Treasure Island was revamping the pirate show to be a bit more “adult oriented”; anyone know what was changed (if it has changed yet)?
Oh, and don’t forget the new Las Vegas monorail, that ought to be worth a ride or three.
The Treasure Island show has been completely revamped. Lots of boobage this time.
For a good, cheap, middle of the Strip hotel, we like the Imperial Palace. It has a monorail stop in the back, and is within walking distance of just about anything on the Strip.
Good shows depend on your tastes. As younger folks, you might like different things from us old farts. Lots of boobs if you look for them.
Best nightlife is at the Rio and The Palms.
Well, I just got married in Vegas in September, so I’ll share what I can:
Before we got hitched, she stayed at the Aladdin, and I stayed at the Tropicana. The Trop was fine, but it’s way at the south end of the strip, so it’s not real convenient. The rooms at the Aladdin were, to me, unreasonably small and overpriced. After the wedding, she and I stayed in an Eiffel-tower-view room at Paris Las Vegas, and man, that is the way to go. Not only was the view spectacular, but the bed was super-comfy and the shower was huge. Very nice indeed.
So, shows. We went to quite a few of them. The first night, we went to “An Evening At La Cage” at the Riviera, which was a great, hilarious, inexpensive show; they upgraded us to VIP tickets for just $2 more, and we were smack in the front row. Much fun was had by all. But, if you’re not into drag shows, it’s probably not for you.
Second night, “O” at the Bellagio. Great, great show. But, it has two hurdles: tickets are really expensive, and if you want a decent seat, you’ll need to book about 4 months in advance. I’ve seen “Mystere” before, and it’s a great show, probably the best alternative. I hear Cirque has another new show called “Ka” at the MGM Grand now, but it’s probably still hard to get tickets for that one. “Zumanity” at NYNY isn’t the same as the other Cirque shows, I hear, and some folks I’ve spoken to who’ve seen it didn’t much like it. YMMV.
Fourth night, we went to “We Will Rock You” at Paris. Truly, this was a rockin’ show, and I highly recommend it. The more familiar you are with the music of Queen, the better.
Fifth and final night, we saw “Penn & Teller” at the Rio. The Rio was a really cool hotel, and I bet you can get great room deals there; off-strip hotels tend to be more aggressively priced. Anyway, the show was good, but it seemed awful short; I wish they’d done more tricks. Before the show, members of the audience can come up on stage and examine the props they use for their first box escape. That was kinda fun. Also, they hang out in the lobby after the show, signing autographs and talking to people, and they’re super-nice and super-cool.
So, that’s shows. Food! Um. The Aladdin buffet is really good, and huge, so you’re certain to find something you like on it. But, it’s pricier than some of the others. I highly recommend getting breakfast in bed at Paris, which was incredible. We had dinner at La Provencal in Paris one night, and thank GOD someone else paid for it, because the prices were insane. The food there was good, but very rich, although you’d slap your momma for the creme brulee. If you want something more casual, the Rainforest Cafe in MGM is fun, but careful when you order drinks. A friend of ours didn’t realize the special drinks he ordered were “buy the glass”-type special offers, so he got socked with a bill for around $36 for three drinks.
And now, the mother of all food advice: Battista’s Hole In The Wall. It’s a free-standing place a block or so behind the Flamingo. Italian food that makes Carino’s look like Spaghetti-Os. House wine comes with the meal, as well as espresso after the meal (which by itself is so incredibly delicious you’ll kiss the waiter on the lips for bringing it to you). I cannot recommend this place highly enough.
Free stuff. Well, if you’re into that kind of thing, the Flamingo Gardens are quite pretty; that’s where my wife and I were married. Just walking around the shops can be fun; the Aladdin has a pretty neat “mall” called Desert Passages, and sometimes it rains indoors there. The Bellagio is really pretty too (gotta see the glass sculpture on the lobby ceiling), and the fountains are a must-see. I had good luck there at video poker, too. The best view you’ll have of Vegas is from the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, although it’ll cost you a few bucks. Wanna see a picture I took from up there? It looks like a postcard!
Whew. Hope that helps some. Oh, and I saw a show on the Travel Channel the other day about the alcohol, and the deal is: yes, you can walk around with open containers and drink from them. But do NOT get into a car with them.
Nitpick: The Aladdin “rain” only happens in one small section of the mall, and most of the rain falls into a conveniently-placed pond in the middle of the way. So you have to work real hard to get wet. 
For Vegas window shopping, The Shops at Caesars can’t be beat.
And as long as we’re talking shows, avoid “Viva Las Vegas” (at the Stratosphere) like the plague. It’s often peddled to tourists as a “free special,” and it’s not even worth that price. Going to the top of the Stratosphere is decent, though.
I’ll be going the 13th of March - I’ll be at the Trop. It’s a business function so I didn’t get to pick the place but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.
Email’s bean at imabadlittlegirl dot com
I’ll be out and around should you care for a birthday celebration drink with another doper if you’ll be there at that time. Vegas dope night, anyone? I’ll be leaving on the 17th.
I believe that it is illegal, but tolerated on the strip and downtown. As long as you are not being a jerk about it, it’s cool. And fun.
I stayed in “TI” about 3 weeks ago (apparently acronyms are more trendy). The pirate show (Sirens of TI) is basically like watching the Spice Girls battle the Backstreet Boys on the high seas. There’s a club in the casino called Tangerine that’s kind of a burlesque club/nightclub.
I think it’s Mandalay Bay that has a great all you can eat breakfast buffet (if you like crab legs and shrimp for breakfast). We basically spent 3 hours there eating.
I don’t know why they changed it, the original was great and always drew a huge crowd. Shame they had to go and ruin it.
It is not illegal to drink an open container of alcohol on the strip. But it *is * now illegal to posses an opened or unopened container of alcohol in a vehicle, so just to let you know in case you are taking a limo. But you really shouldn’t worry, though. I got the information from the Travel Channel.
From my experience, you want to eat at the Aladdin buffet, they have the best from American, Arabic, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, seafood, quail, everything, and it is the finest selection for a good price. Do not miss the show O, it is so amazing, and it is at the Bellagio. It’s a little bit pricey but better than the other Cirque du Soleil. The best pools are at Caesar’s Palace, though you need Caesar’s room keys to get in. I suggest that you enjoy brisk walk down the Strip to the Bellagio and party at Light, the nightclub. You accend an escalator to the vision of Light. That should be it for you guys. Oh, and don’t worry about weather, as a fellow once told me, in Vegas it’s always sunshine. Just make the most of it.
Well, TI’s show is still crowded (was when I was there, anyway) but it’s terrible. It’s called Sirens now, and it’s just god awful. Boobage, yeah, but the rest of the show is so bad, who wants it? Wish I could’ve seen the original.
Most of what I liked in Vegas has already been recommended in this thread but I still have a couple pieces of advice that haven’t been mentioned.
If you do plan on gambling then one of the “players” cards that each of the hotels offer could be worth your while. Those things track what you spend and you get perks (like discount show tickets) depending on how much you blow. They are only worth it if you were going to gamble at that location anyway, don’t pick up the habit in hopes of getting a room upgrade.
If you’re there for a week then get out of town at least once! When the neon and the noise start to feel normal and you’re getting used to walking past a mile of slots just to use the bathroom then it’s time to get out of town. It doesn’t matter where you go, just being in the desert puts that whole city in a new perspective.
It’s not illegal. I’ve stood right by LVPD while drinking a beer. It is illegal in cars, but I’ve drank beer in the back of a cab (you can’t smoke in a cab…the cabbies were VERY strict on that). But I’ve wandered Vegas day and night with drink in hand, even in the company of police, with no problems.
A couple of things you might not realize. Those casinos are BIG. You can start out walking to one that looks really close, and it just takes forever to get there. I’ve trudged from the Stratosphere to the Luxor in a day, only 5 miles, but by the time you venture into the casinos, it’s more like 20.
Also walked from MGM Grand to Hard Rock, looks close on the Map. That was about a mile one way (and only a $5 cab ride back).
So if you want to see much, get a cab. That $1.50 trolley bus sucks. Never rode the monorail.
The monorail, when running, is great! Quick, efficient, and it runs from one end of the Strip to the other. No good if you want to go to The Palms or Downtown, but you can’t have everything.
The OP didn’t give exact dates, but since Rez mentioned a weekend I would like to point out that the weekend of March 12th is NASCAR weekend. Room prices are extra high (some are more than double the prices on surrounding weekends). If you aren’t going for the race, I would avoid that weekend. That said, I’ll be out there that weekend.
If you haven’t been to Vegas before, I would recommend staying on the Strip just for the sake of doing it. I’ve stayed at the Riviera and the Sahara on past trips. They are both on the cheap end of the scale for hotels/casinos on the Strip. The Sahara was kind of a dive. I liked the Riviera slightly better. One other place I noticed with very good prices for being on the Strip is The Stardust, but I’ve only been there to use the sports book and get some cheap prime rib. This year we decided to upgrade a little (hopefully) and booked rooms at TI.
As others have mentioned, you most certainly can drink while walking down the Strip. There are places to refresh your drinks along the way. I’ll really can’t answer much about the shows, since my trips have been more for the NASCAR races and golfing. We usually confine our night life to drinking, gambling, and strip bars. Be careful about dropping a large chunk of change on meals. It’s been my experience that you can pay as much as you want for a meal out there, but the quality doesn’t necessary keep pace with the price.
Have a great time!
I live in Las Vegas and the tips so far have been great.
My advice is to get the cheapest rooms possible…at age 21, and being Vegas Virgins, you will only be in the room long enough to throw up, pass out, shower and get dressed for the next day. There is so much to do in Las Vegas, just look for a room with a clean bed and don’t worry about anything else.
Paris Buffet wins hands down as the best buffet in Vegas. Worth every penny, even for lunch and dinner.
Wear really comfortable shoes, as you seriously will do more walking in those few days than if you had done a Grand Canyon hike. As mentioned, those casinos are gigangamungous, and just getting from the Strip into the Casino is a schlep, let along then walking through it and on to the next place.
Video poker is a good way to spend the time, but if you have to play mindless slots, at least go for the Wheel Of Fortune machines…they are all hooked up together throughout Nevada, the progressive prize is usually very large, and believe it or not, those machines usually hit on The Strip…but make sure you ALWAYS play maximum coins in those machines (three quarters on the quarter machine or two dollars on the dollar machine). Otherwise, should you be lucky enough to win, you will get $750 instead of $1 million or more! So if you can’t play maximum bet, go to a cheaper machine…nickels, whatever.
You never have to pay for a drink if you are playing a machine…tipping is expected, but you never have to pay. This holds true if you go to the casino bar and slap $5 or $10 in the video poker machine on the bar (yep, right there imbedded into the bar). If bartenders se you playing, they will ask what you want, bring the drink and then put a piece of paper in a glass in front of you. You just have to sign the paper that you got the free drink (they have to do that for accounting purposes) and then you just leave a buck or two for a tip. Consider this…you can buy two beers and leave a tip for a total of about $7 or you can get free beer and slap that $7 into the video poker machine instead - at least then you have a chance to win more money and either way you were going to spend $7 or more.
And while it is nice people are giving you all these tips and suggestions, my bet is that once you get into your room and on the Strip, you will be so busy running around and checking out the sights that every single plan you had before you got here will be ignored.
That’s ok. You and your buddy should just run aound, check out the hot bods, eat too much, drink too much and pass out at night.
You have to do it.
It is the law.