Penn&Teller in Vegas + a few bonus questions

Cafe Society
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God knows if this goes in GQ, CS or here. But here’s the forum I was reading so here’s where it starts.

I’m going to be in Vegas in a month or so and I’m keen to go see Penn and Teller at the Rio (I know it’s been getting mixed reviews lately). The first thing I want to know is how far in advance I’d need to get tickets, can you pick up decent Saturday night tickets on the Friday, is there any point when I can book them upfront now.

Also is it worth paying for the front row seats, it’s not that much extra but I know in some theaters the front row seats actually aren’t actually that great as you’re too close and at an odd angle to the stage. I can’t get a feel for it from what I can find on the web, so I thought I’d ask here. Who’s been, what was it like?

While I’m here, I’ve got a few more. If I want to get into a vaguely upmarket club is it worth paying upfront for VIP ‘queue-jumping’ passes? Or are they a con? I’m only around for a few days and don’t mind paying extra to not spend ages in queues.

Lastly I know we’ve got a few poker players on the board, any recommendations for a decent poker tournament in Vegas? Preferably one that runs quite fast with a buy in of around $100 give or take fifty bucks or so, but I’d consider anything that people have had a good experience with.

Any other advice? I’ve been to Vegas before and I’m just going for a bit of a chill-out and some poker so I’m not too interested in the touristy stuff but if you thought there was something really cool that was worth a few hours (that I’ll likely have when I get busted out of a poker tourney early … )

Cheers all,

SD

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Seen P&T twice at the Rio, three years ago and last spring. Got tickets both times on the day of the show and they were pretty decent. I would not sit in the front row, I think you see it better from a bit further back in the middle. We liked it both times. Some of the bits were the same but enough was different that we didn’t feel like we saw the same show twice.

Have fun;

sinjin

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Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.

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I’ve seen Penn and Teller twice. Once, several years ago, when they came to Baltimore, I sat in the middle of the theater, and it was good to be able to take it all in.

However, when we went to Vegas in July, we sprung for the front rows seating. (The 3 guys I took had never seen them live and no one complained about the view.) It also had the perk/disadvantage (depending on your POV) that it made me an easy target - I got pulled up on stage for the opening trick. Definitely a good story to tell the older family members who asked about our trip.

If you’re not committed to front-row, and others say you can get tickets on a day’s notice, get a coupon book at a Harrah’s-owned casino and there should be a coupon for cheaper tickets.

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Thanks for the info everyone.

I’ve probably got all the info I need but I’m going to give this thread one bounce to see if anyone else has any thoughts.

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Saw P&T a few weeks ago.

You don’t need to book waaay in advance, but neither would I leave it until the day before. They are doing pretty good trade.

Absolutely no need to sit right at the front, but there’s no penalty if you do (other than the increased chance of being selected to help with a trick, which you may or may not consider A Good Thing). The Penn & Teller theatre is very well designed, and you’ll see a good show pretty much wherever you sit. Somewhere between 5th and 15th row would be good.

If you haven’t seen it, make sure you see the Mac King show at Harrah’s. It’s on twice most afternoons, and lasts an hour. It’s the best hour’s entertainment in magic, and possibly the best hour’s entertainment anywhere, any genre. It’s cheap, central, and great fun.

A few hours to kill? Go to the Stratosphere, go to the top, and see if you have the nerve to go on either ‘Insanity’ or ‘Xtreme’. You can Google for more information about these ‘attractions’ and you can even track down Youtube footage of what they look like in action. The view from the Observation Deck of the Stratosphere is absolutely breathtaking. The Obs Deck is also one floor below where the ‘Insanity’ and ‘Xtreme’ attractions operate, so you can look out and up and see other people on these rides before you yourself decide whether to go on them. This is the stage where most people decide it’s too dangerous-looking, and decide not to go (even though they already have their ticket).

Or… ‘The Forum’ is the massive, unbelievably elegant shopping mall inside Caesar’s Palace. Well worth a few ‘kill time’ hours, even if you aren’t much of one for shopping and shopping malls. I’m not, but I could cheeruflly spend hours in there… it’s unlike any ‘mall’ you’ve ever seen.

Or… take your camera, go to the top of The Parisian, get in a good position and wait for the Bellagio dancing fountains to start. You’ll get some amazing photos.

Or… go to the Venetian, stick around the main square long enough to see the free shows (there are two… a mainly singing show and a mainly variety show) and then take a gondola ride.

Or… go to the Sahara and find the buffet upstairs. Nice big place with plenty of seating, lots of choice of food, food is reasonably good if nothing special, eat and drink all you want, dirt cheap.

Or… go to a roulette table with a friend, sit either side of the table and place 50/50 bets that cancel out (eg whenever you play red, friend plays black) and meanwhile enjoy all the free drinks they’ll bring to you just for the asking.

VIP Passes and so on… generally, a con, but possibly worth it to you if you don’t mind the extra cost, and really think it matters. But be aware that in many cases you’ll discover it makes no difference (ie there is no long line to bypass) or precious little difference (5-10 minutes wait in line). In general, a smarter policy is just to use a little time management and plan your schedule so that lines aren’t a problem anyway.

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I saw Penn and Teller about a month ago. :cool:
I was in the middle row and could see everything perfectly (as Ianzin says, the theatre is very well designed).

I booked my tickets before I left. The theatre was full, so I think I did the right thing.

I played poker (but only $1-2 limit Hold’em :eek: :o ) at the Luxor. It was the beginner’s table, but they were very competent and friendly.
They run a couple of no-limit Hold’em tournaments daily. I think the buy-in was $40.

If you like English comedy, go to Spamalot. :smiley:
If you like amazing spectacles, go to Cirque Du Soleil. :cool: They have 3 shows running in Vegas. Love, featuring the Beatle’s soundtrack was fantastic.

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When I was at Las Vegas Dopefest in August, I went to see Penn & Teller on Sunday evening after the Dopefest. I got a same-day ticket through the discount outlet at Fashion Show Mall, in the middle of the Strip. My seat was at the front of the upper level, which extends so far forwards I won’t call it a balcony. For a Saturday night, though, I recommend you book tickets in advance.

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Penn and Teller are well covered (they are on my list for my next visit), so I’ll address Poker and other things to do.

I played at the poker room at the MGM Grand. Good low limit games and sit-n-go tournaments most of the day. Really fun, good service, and a nice room.

Make sure you plan for at least one high end dinner. I had the best steak of my life at Fiamma at the Grand.

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Saw P&T last month. Sat in the 10th row middle, which was excellent. I got the tickets a month before, but there were people buying tickets at the box that night. I would advise getting them in advance; the theater is well designed but I wouldn’t have wanted to be too much further back.

Also, I highly recommend Cirque’s “O” show. It’s all in water and it’s amazing. Definitely have to book waaaaay in advance- we got ours 6 weeks before the show and we were in the second to the last row of the balcony. There was a HUGE line of people waiting standby, I guess hoping people wouldn’t show up 15 minutes prior and they could have their seats.

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  1. Hi, Ben !

  2. Ben makes a good point. If you’re going to be here for a month, why pay full price on a Saturday night? You can get same-day half-price tickets for just about any ongoing show in Vegas (except Cirque shows and Elton John) at that discount outlet. Besides the one at Fashion Show Mall, there’s also one inside the giant Coke bottle in front of the MGM Grand. And not only production shows, but just about every comedy club on the Strip as well. I’ve also been recently informed that they have started carrying discount vouchers for some fixed-price restaurants in town–notably Pampas , a Brazilian “churrascaria”-style restaurant–grilled meat and lots of it!

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Just to stress a point already mentioned… if you want to see any of the Cirque Du Soleil shows, you can’t book too soon. Don’t try and leave it until you are there, unless spending an entire afternoon waiting in line for a possible ticket and no choice where you sit is your idea of fun. I’ve seen ‘O’ (so called because they couldn’t get Americans to pronounce ‘eau’) and ‘Mystere’, but haven’t seen the ‘Love’ show yet. Personally, I thought Mystere was better than the water show, but it’s all down to personal taste. Don’t go to ‘Zumanity’, their fourth show and the one that is pitched as an ‘adult’ show because there’s about 2 nano seconds of not-see-much nudity in it somewhere. Small show, small venue, not worth it. So I’m told by trusted sources.

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Just to correct my error…

When I read the OP, I mistakenly thought you were going to be here “for a month”, not “in a month”. :smack: Apologies all around.

Still, if you’re going to be here on a weeknight, that would be the time to see a show as that would be the best night to get discount tickets.

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Wow. Thanks everyone, top notch info – exactly what I was looking for.

I’m staying in the Stratosphere so I that’ll give me a great chance to check out the top – and then bottle out of going on the rides.

I’m not sure Cirque Du Soleil is my thing, I’d like to see it at some point but maybe not this time.

I think I’ll pick up P&T tickets in advance, I’ll also print out the suggestions in this thread and stick 'em in my bag so I know what to do when I get there.

Thanks again,

SD

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Huh, my wife and I went to it, and loved it. As I recall, there was pleanty of nudity. Specifically I think all the women were topless and while I don’t remember exactly, I think most of the men were scantily clad as well.

What we did was wait until the night of the show, then get in the “standby” line. True we did have to wait a few hours, but usually one of us would stand in the line for a bit while the other one played something, then switch. We ended up getting the “love seat” which was right in the front row. We had a great time, and thought the show was excellent. Of course this is all MHO and YMMV.