If you want to see the Folies Bergere in all their topless glory, don’t buy a ticket, do the following:
Go to the Tropicana during midday and get a free pull on the bigass slot machine outside. They’ll give you directions to the slot club desk. Go there and sign up for a slot card. Get one for your wife, also.
Then go to the bar area that’s across the casino. They have quarter slots and video poker in that area. Play conservatively for an hour, and don’t forget to put your card in the machine. Dole out your quarters carefully… count to fifteen before inserting another one, or making another bet. (But don’t wait too long… if you stop gambling, it times you out and doen’t start counting again until you make another bet.) There are also nickel and quarter slots in the area in front of the coffee shop, but make sure nickel slot play counts towards Folies tickets when you pick up your card.
After you play for (I think) two hours (combined), you qualify for a free pair of tickets to the show. Go to the second (late) show, and arrive about a half hour early. If you really want a good look at showgirl boobies, ask to be seated way up front. They’ll put you far too close… close enough to catch a few drops of nipple sweat if you’re lucky. Or they’ll sit you in the back… where you couldn’t tell a nipple from a coffee stain. (The best seats, the ones for actually appreciating the choreography, are for paying customers. Maybe if you bribe the usher, he’ll put you there.)
But if you’re gonna pay for a show, then give your money to Penn and Teller instead. It’s worth it. Book your reservations early… they don’t let you look at a seating chart, and all ticket prices are the same. (I got stuck with tickets way out past the foul line, even after reminding them dozens of times that I’d rather be in the back than off to the side.) Get the orchestra level if you can… P&T let you go up on stage and inspect their props before the show starts.
Only one buffet tip: Bellagio has the best Sunday champagne brunch buffet. Absolutely awesome food, it’s no contest. The cost is like $35 per person, but get there early and hang out for a couple-three hours and make it worth the money. Be prepared to stand in line for an hour to get in, though… maybe even longer during CES. (If they still have the rock shrimp ceviche, then I’ll pay you to sneak out a baggie full for me…)
And since you’re at the Riviera you must eat breakfast or lunch at the Peppermill, just south of your hotel. Go in and sit around the fire pit in the bar and have a bloody mary. It’s awesome. Then go have a meal in the restaurant… it’s one of the best coffee shops in Las Vegas. (There’s one in Reno, too… with an entire casino attached.)
If the $5 minimums at table games are too high, but you want to play, then you’re going to be mostly out of luck on the strip… try downtown during the day. Binion’s Horseshoe still had at least one $2 craps table, last I saw. The few low minimums on the strip can be found at Casino Royale and O’Shea’s next door - they usually have one or two $2 “Wheel of Fortune” blackjack tables… just don’t play the wheel. Also check casino schedules for slot or blackjack tournaments… usually a $25 or $50 buy in gets you a lot of tournament chips to play with… this is a fun way to play.
If you want to play poker, check the schedules for MGM and Luxor. They usually have good low limit games that aren’t replete with career sharks, and I believe the Luxor has daily fixed buy-in tournaments that make the investment part a bit easier to handle.
Also check out http://www.cheapovegas.com for current deals and specials.
Things to Avoid: Rainforest Cafe (unless you need to entertain small kids). The Stratosphere (they make you walk thru a mile of mall-like cheapass crap tourist shops before you get to the elevator, and then you have to pay money to ride up). New York New York casino (overcrowded, cramped, and annoying as hell). People on the street handing you things (they’re always ads for adult services of dubious quality). Brand-name-oriented shops (there’s a whole strip of them just north of the MGM, for Coca Cola and M&Ms, etc). Finally, don’t agree to attend any timeshare presentations or basically to show up at any sort of appointment unless the name attached is top shelf, like Hyatt or Hilton.
Oh, and HAVE FUN!!!