Las Vegas

[walrus]

Does anyone have any tips on things to do/to avoid in Las Vegas? Had a read of the usual TripAdvisory websites, but wondered what people's experiences were on here?

What were the prices like? Thinking of taking around £800 between the two of us. We're both mid twenties.

One must-see is the Grand Canyon, which I'm looking to hire a Mustang for (car hire seems to be about £40).

Managed to blag both me and my girlfriend on my parent's staff travel (one advantage of living in a small town near Gatwick!) so it's the first time we've been on a non-package holiday. We are staying in the Golden Nugget.

[Bogus Dave]

I'm going to hop on this too. Staying  3 nights in the D (wherever that is).

[woolster]

Does anyone have any tips on things to do/to avoid in Las Vegas? Had a read of the usual TripAdvisory websites, but wondered what people's experiences were on here?

What were the prices like? Thinking of taking around £800 between the two of us. We're both mid twenties.

One must-see is the Grand Canyon, which I'm looking to hire a Mustang for (car hire seems to be about £40).

Managed to blag both me and my girlfriend on my parent's staff travel (one advantage of living in a small town near Gatwick!) so it's the first time we've been on a non-package holiday. We are staying in the Golden Nugget.

You lucky cunt, that is all

[sonicyouth]

get a car, drive as far away from Vegas as you can until money/time runs out

[Batch]

Think Whits just came back from Vegas. Maybe he'll have words of wisdom.

[lincolnred]

Gun store $100 to fire an Uzi! Helicopter ride on Strip $60 MGM buffet $40 gamble the rest mate!

[Nemo]

get a car, drive as far away from Vegas as you can until money/time runs out

Hehe, I can understand this. I went to Vegas a few years back, it's pretty much the pinnacle of everything that's wrong with humanity, but it's somehow grimly fascinating at the same time.

But yeah, the Canyon is pretty good.

[mystical_goat]

Get a Mustang convertible if you can, we picked one up in Vegas for a decent price. It was through Auto Europe I think.

As Lincoln says, don't mess around with any of the other ranges, go to the Gun Store to shoot massive guns:

http://thegunstorelasvegas.com/gun-rental-packages

They're the best around and we enjoyed spending an afternoon there, fucking terrifying things. We went for the Zombie package.

Stay in a new, good hotel. Hospitality in Vegas is insanely good, you barely have to lift a finger anywhere we were. We wangled a suite in the Palazzo for a bargain price, not quite sure how we managed it but search on all the travel websites and direct with the hotels; prices seemed to be different everywhere. Aside from walking up and down the strip once we spent most of the time in the hotel complex, which is huge and has everything you need. The Palazzo is connected to the Venetian too, so there was a choice of about 30 restaurants, 2 massive casino floors of the hotels, and about 6 pools. We walked around the corner one night to go and see Deadmau5 at the Wynn or Encore.

Food in Vegas can be fancy and expensive, but we found a restaurant in our hotel that was open 24 hours and served great food with classically American massive portions and cheap prices. Generally it's quite a bit more expensive than the rest of America because the whole place is about extravagance, but look around and you can find economy.

The Grand Canyon is mind-blowing. If you're going for a while I'd spend 4 days in Vegas then drive to San Diego and hang out by the beach for a few days, Vegas can be pretty full-on; we didn't want to leave but it was probably for the best.

Oh and if you don't know already, learn to play blackjack. Poker is high stakes, tournaments normally just once nightly and last ages and roulette is for mugs. We couldn't get our heads around craps, whose tables always have the loudest cheers and best atmosphere, but blackjack was easy to play and you can chat to the people who come and go at the table. The slots areas are the saddest part of the casino, mostly occupied by retired zombies who stare at the machines whilst chain smoking. Tip the waitresses on the casino floor a couple of dollars each time and she'll keep coming back to offer you more - for free.

[walrus]

Wooster - I know. I owe my folks big time - tickets are 1st class but have to go via Newark or Chicago.

Thanks Mystical-goat - a Mustang to the Canyon is on the top of my list! Did you arrange car hire before you travelled?

How much are the hands on Blackjack? I love football accumulators, but I tend to stake about 50p.... 

I've booked the Golden Nugget for a week - fuck knows how I'm going to last....

[4D]

re-enact the hangover film

[slinky]

Hi Walrus.  First thing I would say is that the Golden Nugget is Down Town.  For the first time in Vegas I would really want to be staying on the strip.  Down Town is great but not much really goes on in the day.  As for hiring a car first time I wouldn't bother.  Grand Canyon is a long drive from Vegas.  Far better to either get a helicopter tour if budget allows or on of the coach tours that sets off from Vegas at 6 am and returns at midnight.

I go to Vegas at least a couple of times a year.  Have done both expensive and cheap trips.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Whits]

Think Whits just came back from Vegas. Maybe he'll have words of wisdom.

my vegas wisdom is expect to come back with everything hurting, 3 hours sleep a night. Amazing place (have updated him on twitter btw)

[Whits]

How much are the hands on Blackjack?

Most casinos $25, they also have limited tables at $15 for blackjack during the day however, The later in the evening the bigger the minimum. You'll always be able to find a $25 table

[Ƭ̵̬̊: The Artist Formerly Known as CWIG]

The strip runs from the Mandaley Bay to the Stratosphere but the Stratosphere/Circus Circus end is now a complete shit hole. Extremely run down and beggars everywhere. I stayed in the Luxor. I was impressed with all the MGM owned hotels with the exception of Excalibur.

Agree with Blackjack as the most social/steady form of gambling. You'll find $10 hands during really quiet periods, during the day, during the week but usually $15-$25 minimum. It's also the best table game for the cocktail waitresses and free drinks minus a tip, they don't bother with the roulette tables as people are too busy getting there numbers on inbetween spins.

There's shit loads to do other than gambling though.

Prices are fairly steep inside hotels for most stuff, but nothing outrageous. I did grand canyon/hoover dam in a helicopter....quite an experience!

[Dazzza]

Rides on the stratosphere are always good for a giggle as is the revolving restaurant at the top.  Just watch out when you have a pish as you're table will have gone AWOL.  Not good after a few drinks.