Las Vegas

[stargazer]

Hi all

Has anyone on the forum been to las vegas either with a package deal or holiday.

Looking to go early october from Adelaide.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Accomodation tips.

Best agents to deal with etc.

Staying for 2 weeks.

how many stop overs etc

Cheers
SG

 

[2020hindsight]

Any advice would be appreciated. SG

SG - lol - casually stroll through and check out any credits left in the poker machines - invariably money left in a few as my kids discovered - highlight of their trip to US

stay away from the roulette wheel ("O" as also "OO" !!) - sheesh - ripoff - casino advantage 2/38 ( about 6 %)

- stick with craps - pass line, up to about 3 times odds bet casino advantage less than 0.5%

better still go to Reno.- up to 10 times odds bet .

 

[stargazer]

Hi 2020

As much as i appreciate your humour i really am looking for something more along the lines of any particular parts to stay away from.

Is there much difference in price and quality with accomodation.

Use cards or travellers cheques etc

I haven't travelled overseas for a long time so i am really out of touch. How do you deal with the currency conversion are there designated places or speak with bank here.

These sort of things if you are able to share.

Cheers
SG

 

[disarray]

watch fear and loathing in las vegas

as for america, its a piece of cake to travel in, everyone speaks english. credit cards and a small wad of cash are enough to get you by. travellers cheques are largely redundant (and not worth copping the % cut) in civilised places now.

who are you going with? wife? kids? lover? solo?

 

[stargazer]

Thanks Dissaray

So a travel agent would be the go to give me all the info i would think.

I am hoping my wife can get time of work if not i am going solo

Cheers
SG

 

[2020hindsight]

agree with disarray - but bludy phones were a real hassle (get some advice before you go - maybe mobiles work these days)

and - SERIOUSLY - if you are driving - !!! WATCH OUT FOR THE TRAFFIC!! They drive on the wrong bludy side lol!.

I forgot once , and pulled out of a gas station , and looked up to see three lanes doing 60mph in my direction and 20 yards off !! (granny lane , sandwich lane , and hammer lane as they call em) - fortunately I was able to swing straight into the gas station's "other" driveway - but it was reeaallll close

As for accommodation - plan ahead - ask booking agent to get you best deals - we stayed at Circus Circus, but that was disappointing. (several thousand rooms, all of which are 'impersonal' and sterile). Make sure you go to National Parks - not far to Grand Canyon - maybe Yosemite - again plan ahead, stay at the parks themselves.

Aussie Libraries have books, but google em as well.

Lol - watch out for the "badgers" or the "beavers" or the girls (with blokes in tow) playing "possum" or whatever ... when I was single I went there, some girl sat beside me at the craps table, rubbing legs etc - anyway I had seen her come in with a bloke and suspected some con going on... she stayed for a while, but I preferred to "do the hitting onto" rather than be "hit on"

My brother went there on some deal or other - just had to spend some money at their casino, but the airfare was halved or quartered or similar... The week cost him virtually nothing ( he won )

Magic shows are great in Vegas. I once met an Aussie taxi driver, was so impressed with a brothel in Reno, he took his entire family there lol - hundreds of these hookers - he was in heaven lol. He insisted his wife enjoyed it as well - I would have liked her opinion direct

 

[2020hindsight]

PS our family planned it for months - had as much fun planning it as actually doing the trip - for each night you stay in a hotel, stay one in a national park etc.

 

[stargazer]

Hi 2020

Thanks for that appreciated the more detail. Did you go through a travel agent or do everything online.

Any online sites you might recommend

I have heard accomodation can be very expensive and also affordable. Circus Circus is one i saw on the net and it looked ok to me..lol they all do.

Passport?
Visa?
Medical?

Anything like that to go to the states after 9/11

Cheers
SG

 

[tasmanian]

gday stargazer,

ive been too vegas twice and will be going again in october as well(let me know when your there maybe catch up for a beer).ill only be there for a few days just a stopover.

make sure u have medical insurance.
you dont need a visa or anything being aussie you will get 3mths at the airport on arrival.
accom is pretty cheap in vegas just check out a few of the hotels online.and id book them myself over the internet even cheaper.
also vegas is free alcohol as long as your gambling.beer,wine and spirits but dont forget to tip at least a dollar.so buy a few drinks at once.yanks dont look too kindly to people that dont tip.
as mentioned before nat parks worth a look.
for food go to the buffets there amazing you only need one huge lunch a day eat as much as u want from a huge selection and good value.
take some US dollars before u leave.can get at a bank here no problem.
when getting cash oiut of the bank get out as much as u feel comfortable holding the more u use the bank the more fes u will pay.
plentyy of cool things in vgeas to do for free.just walking around checking out all the casinos and walking the strip is good fun.
id book my own flights as well over the net bugger the travel agents but go and talk to them anyway too get some more ideas and prices.

if your into golf awesome courses there but not real cheap for that.
have fun let me know anything else thats all i can think of atm.

cheers

 

[tech/a]

Was there in 2003

Damned hot!
Some good points here.
Most of the Casino's have special package deals.
USE PHONE CARDS
$20 will get you around 500 minutes and you can call australia from motel rooms using your card DONT use the Phones in house you'll be ripped off blind!!
Cost me $230 for 20 mins of Calls to Australia to sort out a problem from a motel in New Orleans. Before a backpacker gave me the tip.
A $20 card lasted me 2 weeks.
Motels out of the Vagas strip were cheaper.

Exchange rate much better now!
Definately do an intenational show.
We did Zigfreid and Roy before he was carted off by one of the tigers!
We were in the dress circle and could have touched the tigers.
Sort out hire cars before you leave Aust. Much cheaper--better deals.

Remember to tip you'll get looked after better.
best to pick one or 2 and make them your buddies they will bend over backwards for the occasional $10-20.
Check out the out of town special shopping tours. Great fashion and even better prices.
Only the beautiful people can afford casino shopping.

Its an adults playground.
Dont know if your single but if you are then your in for one hell of a ride!!
Definately do the Coyotee Ugly Bar if its still operative.
Was better in real life than the movies.

Enjoy--I'm envious!

 

[2020hindsight]

Was there in 2003
USE PHONE CARDS
Definately do an intenational show.
We did Zigfreid and Roy before he was carted off by one of the tigers!
Remember to tip you'll get looked after better.

guess I was there 1993. (with family) and single back a bit further.
The Missus got most of the options with motels / hotels etc using NRMA travel agent ( the girl she dealt with was great - but heaps of others of course) . We left a few nights to "play it pearshaped" - a bit of flexibility which city to stay in etc. But mainly we knew where we had to get to when, even before we left Aus.

Even phone cards got tricky up in the hills - you pull up at some place the equivalent of "oodnagalahby", and the only phone is Bell company and not some other ... like - imagine if optus cards only worked in some phones etc. Maybe sorted by now.

lol - yep Zigfreid was bludy good. Also went to some show - arrived late - ticket counter was closed - so I snuck in - a Wayne Newton show - hiding there in the pitch blackness, thinking I'd gotten away with it , lol - when this 8 foot tall security bloke gave ma a gentle nudge towards the exit

all I heard was "Such are the dreams of the everyday hous......" whoosh!!

tipping sheesh - they claim not to be paid , rely on tips etc. crazy system - the restautanteer / cafe proprieter etc seems to be a win-win , and the tourists are on a lose- lose.

walk into a bar, and sit down - they ask where you're from - you say Australia, they immediately take down some Aussie beer like VB, throw it expertly from one hand the the other , opening it in midair (ala Tom Cruise / Bryan Brown in "Cocktail") - pour it 180degrees upside down - then ... you say " did I order a beer?"

eventually youweaken and buy it - but after that I'd always start with - no beer yet , but I think I'm from Aussie"

BTW, here are those stats on craps table ... you'll see that if youplace only on the Pass line - casino advantage is 1.414%
If you place odds bet double the first, then it's down to 0.606% ( as in most Aus casinos)
If treble , then down to 0.471%
If tenfold (as in Reno) then down to 0.184% !!

like ... you bet $1000, you get back $ 998 - give em $1.84 , big deal

And (often) you're drinking free beer! - or at least free coffee. (with $5 tip lol - twice the casino advantage)

PS I think this graph is right - but DYOR lol. If it's wrong that could explain why it's still possible to do a bundle in a minute and a half

PS I did that graph in a hurry - now to go back and check it lol
yep - looks right. Note how the casino makes 50.9 cents on your bet whether it was $36 (without subsequent odds bet)

or $36 followed by subsequent tenfold odds bet.

I only say $36 because that covers all outcomes.

BTW, If you haven't played craps - For odds bets , you get perfect odds, eg if first roll is a 4, then you keep rolling till you get a 4 (3 ways) or a 7 (6 ways) - odds given are 2:1 (i.e. perfect odds) - the only free bet in the casino. !

And my own motto is, If I can't afford the odds bet, then I can't afford to original Pass line bet - and I go home.
But to be perfectly honest - since I started on the ASX, (and playing backgammon on the internet), don't think I've been to a casino - maybe $20 once or twice. : 2twocents (and you can gamble on the ASX in your pyjamas lol)

You see dice do strange things - like once I got five double fives in a row - then didn't get another for a month

Of course chops-a-must will beat this odds because he can remember the colour cards in Blackjack ( the only way to get casino advantage in your favour )

 

[2020hindsight]

Like I say - you can still do a budle in a hurry
Here are odds as googled - BUT they don't highlight the benefit (lol - yeah right) of odds bets behind the Pass line bet..
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dice-play/CrapsOdds.htm

With NIL odds bet - you put $1 on the Pass line 36 times, (= $36)
you get back $36 less 51 cents.; casino advantage 1.414%

with tenfold odds - you put $1 on 36 times, you get back $36 less 51 cents.
and ALSO with 24 of those bets you put down another $10 - so you invest $36 + 240 = $276.
you get back $276 less 51 cents; casino advantage 0.184%

oops - they are talking 5% commission on lay bets / odds bets . mmm maybe things have changed. would need a rethink if the casino did that to you .

If waiting for the Pass Line to make a decision is too slow (although the faster you bet the more you potentially lose of course - sorry if this is sounding like preaching - just stating the bleeding obvious) , you can always 'come out' with a new bet, - and add odds bet to that as well etc , so exactly equivalent to pass line. (and gives a "one-off" insurance against a nasty seven)

Note that Field bets etc ( 5% + casino advantage ) are mug's bets. Some even get above 10% lol. (any any 7 costs you 16.9% "insurance" )

Note:- http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dice-play/CrapsHazardHistory.htm
the origin of craps is either
a) the crusaders , or
b) the Arabs (lol)

 

[2020hindsight]

good ole wikipedia sets em straight:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craps
only two bets to consider imo :-

Also they go into the concept of "casino advantage per hour" (assuming 102 rolls per hour) - even calculate how much you'll lose in a 20 hour gambling half - week lol.

This seems to be based on 0.42% casino advantage , which is about 4 times odds bet (by my reckoning - as I say DYOR) lol

no need to wonder why they keep hurrying up the dice thrower - turn your half week stay into a week or two

 

[2020hindsight]

Also they go into the concept of "casino advantage per hour" (assuming 102 rolls per hour) - even calculate how much you'll lose in a 20 hour gambling half - week lol.

This seems to be based on 0.42% casino advantage , which is about 4 times odds bet (by my reckoning - as I say DYOR)

I believe there's an error in the above Wikipedia calculation ....
(they make a typo when they say .42% casino advantage - they mean 1.414% )
They say (or imply) ...

If you make $10 Pass line bet (full table etc)- AND come out on each and every roll (wow - keen or what)
each roll you put $10 on Pass or Come, and $40 on the previous one (sheesh - $50 going out on the table every 35 seconds!! - ignoring the first roll with only $10 coming out)

then (they claim) you lose 4.2 c per roll, x 102 rolls per hour = $4.28 per hour.

perhaps easiest, and most accurate is if you say that you lose 14.2 c per roll, (and ignore odds bets, where you lose "nothing")
then you lose 102 x 1.414% x $10 (where $10 is pass line bet or come bet put out each roll) = $14.40 per hour

 

[2020hindsight]

Let's take Vegas as the "middle quality casino" between Aus and Reno - in terms of permissible odds bets behind the pass line

[ you go to Reno, I know you can get 10 times odds bet, possibly more - Aus you only get about 2 times I think ]

Say Vegas is 3 times ,

and you have choice of either .......

a) craps table, betting one $10 chip per roll, and $30 odds bet behind it - and hence you are betting, each hour, about
102 rolls x $10 and in addition about 34 odds bets at $30 = say $2000 per hour, (casino advantage approx 0.47% based on post #11)

b) or roulette wheel, betting at the same rate, eg very approx $70 per roll x 30 rolls of the "little wheel" per hour = $2000 per hour (with "0" and "00", as they do in US, casino advantage is (2 / 38) = 5.26%!! ridiculous)

THEN
a) the craps would cost you $14.40 per hour,

b) and the roulette would cost $105.20 per hour !! (7.3 times more expensive.)

SUMMARY - you can bet for a week playing craps in Vegas, for the same probable loss as betting at the same rate at the roulette wheel - but for 1 day!!. (obviously the chances of winning are much worse at the roulette as well. )

test your roulette theories lol - (what a joke!)
http://www.lonniebest.com/Roulette/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roulette
Betting strategies and tactics
Albert Einstein is reputed to have stated, "You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it."

Nevertheless, ... (come on in , sucker lol)..... the numerous even-money bets in roulette have inspired many players over the years to attempt to beat the game... etc etc (bs, rhubarb, bs rhubarb

 

[kgee]

If your going to vegas try getting there midweek as its much cheaper from sunday to thursday
I stayed at the tropicanna last year its not a bad location close to everything including the airport where buses run you to your designated Hotel every 15 minutes and its right next door to HOOTERS where as well as been served by beautiful girls they have rib eye steak for $4.99
Personally I wouldn't worry about a package deal its pretty easy to get everything sorted out by yourself over the internet...most hotels are pretty similar and offer discount if you book 2 weeks in advance same with the airlines I flew with southwest but be warned while theyr'e cheap they're also cattle class with no designated seats so its somthing of a free for all!
Maybe a nicer option than flying is catching a train from los angeles Its a nice trip and you always seem to meet interesting people it drops you off right inside one of the main hotels on the strip although I can't remeber which one
Good luck las vegas is one of my favorite destinations although after a week of it I' pretty burnt out 2 weeks thats a long time to stay in a very chaotic city

 

[GreatPig]

We went there some years ago and also stayed at Circus Circus. I think it's as good as any. After all, you shouldn't be intending to spend much time there. Accommodation is pretty cheap, but the place can be amazingly busy. It's the only place I've ever had to stand in an amusement park like queue just to check in!

The best thing in Vegas is the shows, and the best that I saw by far was the Cirque de Soleil production "Mystere". The better shows are not cheap though. And walk down the main drag at night to see all the displays outside the casinos.

Food's pretty cheap too. Check out the giant crab legs, and the Cajun food at the New Orleans casino.

And you can do a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We didn't go as we didn't have enough time, but would have liked to. I think you can visit the Hoover Dam too.

GP

 

[stargazer]

Hi all

Thankyou very much for all your replies and your own experiences.

So i need a
Passport
medical insurance
Book my accomodation.....(any online sites suggestions)
Book my flight (any online sites suggestions)

Take some USA currency cash from here
When i am over there i can use Visa ....Do i have to have a special Visa card for international use or my existing one)

Get a Phone Card

Looking to stay there approx 2 weeks.

Whats the weather like at that time of year (October)

Do you fly to Los Angeles first and then either connect flight to Vegas or train as was suggested?

HOOTERS sounds interesting

Cheers
SG

 

[kgee]

Yep los angeles first
You can use your original visa card you can also use ATM's and your normal banking account- could be an idea to upgrade Visa for the trip as some offer travel insurance
Vegas is hot and dry year round- once played a rugby tournament there in 44c heat!!
Theres lots of great cheap casino's to stay at and while someone suggested getting out of the strip or main areas I'd suggest not because taxi's get pretty expensive
Yeah Hooters is great theres somthing about beautiful skimply clad woman smiling and getting you free drinks!

 

[2020hindsight]

yep- personally I'd be getting a rental car - in two weeks you can do heaps - and more, shall we say, "spirtually satisfying" than Vegas

LA has Venice Beach and Disneyland,
then inland to Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Montezuma, etc Arizona , Mesas etc, Hoover Dam,
maybe come back to San Fran , via Lake Tahoe (skiing?), via Yellowstone even (?) , Yosemite, San Fran, Redwood Forests, etc etc - your call of course, and I usually cram more in than is wise - like , you need a holiday to get over it , lol.

If you're there in Nov (4th Thursday), I think they have Thanksgiving Day - interesting experience. etc etc .