# Honeymooning in Vegas...on the cheap! Suggestions wanted **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484 "2005-06-08T18:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Unkempt\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Unkempt\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Unkempt_One)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/21 "2005-06-09T15:08:40Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > You gotta go to [Lotus of Siam](http://www.saipinchutima.com), which is quite possibly the best Thai restaurant in the country. It’s in Commercial Center (a dingy strip mall a ways off the strip–you’ll need to take a cab if you aren’t getting a rental car). It doesn’t look like anything special, but the food and wine are fabulous. I’ve eaten at some very pricey places in various casinos, and LoS beats them hands-down. It’s cheap, too. > > For an appetizer, you _must_ get the nam kao tod. Otherwise, ask for Bill, tell him what you like and don’t like, and order what he recommends. > > I found it to be a “reset the bar” dining experience. I love thai food! Thanks for the suggestion! All of the other suggestions are great, too. I am sure that we are going to have a great time! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/22 "2005-06-09T16:05:09Z")
> [@Endemic](#): > > I’ve never been to Vegas myself, but recall a college friend of mine going there quite a few years ago telling me that some casino hotels will let you stay for free if you gamble at their casino. > > Do I have that right? That’s right, but not as simple as that. You have to get rated first. They get your info (you can just hand your drivers license to the pit boss) and observe your betting patterns, taking note of how much you bet and how long you play. Then they calculate how much money you have put at risk during that time and plug that into a formula to determine if you have any “comps” coming. It’s a fairly low percentage, about a percent or something. Say your room is $100/night. You have to bet enough so that $100 is just a percent or so of that amount. This isn’t the actual formula, but it gives you an idea of how much you have to gamble to get those “free rooms”. After you get rated by the casino, and if you ever do get comp’d rooms, you’ll be entitled to a “casino rate” on your room any time you come to town, even if you don’t gamble enough to warrant getting your room payed for on that trip. Similar thing with slots, but you get a player card that you insert into the slot machine that keeps track of your play. I don’t play slots enough to have any experience with that. But you have to put enough money at risk (winning or losing) to make it worth their while, you can’t just pop in and make a small bet or 2 and get a free room. Also, winners of big jackpots are offered free rooms in hopes they will lose some of their winnings back to the casino. All players get free drinks, so that’s a comp. You can get a pack of smokes or a cigar, stuff like that, if you are a good player…they don’t want you to leave the table to go buy them. Always tip the cocktail waitress, dealer, and the bell hop…it’s a karma thing. I got comp’d a buffet at the Sahara for making a nice bet for the craps dealers in honor of Bill Bennet (former CEO), soon after he had passed away. Plenty of other ways, like coupons and freebies. Bally’s used to give a free pull on a slot every morning to guests to win tee shirts and coffee mugs, sometimes cash I think, too. If you are just leisurely sight seeing, you can take time to search out these freebies. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/23 "2005-06-09T18:31:07Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > 1. Head to the top of the Stratosphere or the Eiffel Tower at night. I don’t think you need to do both. But it’s very, very pretty. I think it’s about $9 per person. > > 2. See the free parades at The Rio. Cheesy fun entertainment. You can kill two birds here if you go to the VooDoo Lounge at Rio. It’s a bit more expensive ($20 cover charge at night) but it has a nice view also and outdoor decks on the roof. Plus, it’s not a bad nightclub if you are looking for something like that. And yes, Lotus of Siam is good and cheap. It’s on Sahara east of the strip, but not to far (but you’ll still want to drive there). Inside a commercial center, so it doesn’t face the street, you’ll need the address to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Notorious\_Nik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Notorious\_Nik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notorious_Nik)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/24 "2005-06-09T18:31:59Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I think you mean right next door to the Westward Ho at the ever popular Slots 'O Fun…cheap beers, cheap eats, and actually a pretty fun cheap crowd! > > But maybe not. Westward Ho also has a little snack area in the back with a great cheap strawberry shortcake that will easily stuff two people. But otherwise their prices have gone up a tad - though still decent for the size of the portions. > > But Slots 'O Fun is the cheap drink winner hands down! Hmmm, now I wonder if my memory fails me. It’s possible, I suppose, that due to the amount of cheap drinks I consumed I could have forgotten the origin of those drinks. I know we passed through Slot’s O’ Fun on the way to Westward Ho. Oh well, specifics be damned. Cheap drinks are easy to find. Of course, the easiest way to get a cheap drink is to sit and play the slots for a while. Just bring a roll of quarters. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/25 "2005-06-09T19:41:45Z")
> [@Notorius Nik](#): > > Cheap drinks are easy to find. Of course, the easiest way to get a cheap drink is to sit and play the slots for a while. Just bring a roll of quarters. Yes, forgot to mention that ANY bar in Las Vegas will give you free drinks if you stick some money in the slot at the bar and are playing when you order. So take the $3.00 or more you would have paid for a drink, stick it in the machine, get a free drink (but leave a tip) and maybe you will win on the machine. I always seem to have very good luck at bar counter video poker machines. Oh, and about that roll of quarters. Those days are numbered. Very few machines actually take coins nowadays! Only paper money, and you get a paper voucher when you cash out. Much more convenient. You don’t have to worry about a machine being empty of coins and sit around and wait for them to come and fill the machine up. In most of the newer casinos, there is not a single machine that takes coins anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Notorious\_Nik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Notorious\_Nik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notorious_Nik)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/26 "2005-06-09T21:30:31Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Oh, and about that roll of quarters. Those days are numbered. Very few machines actually take coins nowadays! Only paper money, and you get a paper voucher when you cash out. Much more convenient. You don’t have to worry about a machine being empty of coins and sit around and wait for them to come and fill the machine up. In most of the newer casinos, there is not a single machine that takes coins anymore. You know, as much time as I spend down there, you’d think I’d have noticed that. Learn something new every day I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/27 "2005-06-11T16:36:13Z")
What? I just found the container full of US coin that I knew was kicking around here someplace, and laboriously scavenged out all the pennies. I’m loaded with nickels, dimes and quarters, and (almost) ready to go. (We leave Monday for Vegas.) ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/28 "2005-06-11T23:47:41Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Always tip the cocktail waitress, dealer, and the bell hop…it’s a karma thing. How much? Is it really hot in June? We leave Monday. (40th birthday present, quickie holiday combo for us). ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/29 "2005-06-11T23:50:21Z")
Erk, wrong copy-n-paste work there. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484/30 "2005-06-11T23:56:30Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > How much? > > Is it really hot in June? > > We leave Monday. (40th birthday present, quickie holiday combo for us). You should be looking at temperatures around 100 in the day, down to 73 or so at night. Doesn’t really matter, because everything is massively air-conditioned, and even walking the Strip you get blasts of cold air out of every doorway. Always tip the help. I generally tip a buck a drink, double my bet if I hit a single number at roulette, and I play the bonus from a blackjack as a hand for the dealer. General karmic maintainance. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honeymooning-in-vegas-on-the-cheap-suggestions-wanted/307484.md?page=1)