I'm planning my first trip to Vegas with a couple buddies and have no idea on where to begin for it. Should I bundle the trip using expedia or a similar site? Should I pay individually for the room and flight and just split the costs with my buddies? I'm assuming staying in the middle of the strip is the way to go? Help me out Chatter.

Can't help but have fun.

Whats your budget? How many days are you going to be in Vegas?

e/-
Tripping on acid and visiting Fremont Street is a must.

salto;1676420 wrote:Whats your budget? How many days are you going to be in Vegas?

e/-
Tripping on acid and visiting Fremont Street is a must.

4 nights/5 days. I am personally taking anywhere from 3-5 grand for gambling/food/etc.

I just got back from Vegas in September. I looked all over the Internet and used Travelocity. Most of the sites were within $15-$20 for the week in a hotel and flight. This is how I would rank the hotels.

1) Cosmo
2) Aria
3) Wynn
4) Bellagio
5) Ceasars Palace

Those are the top 5 but also the most expensive. After that I would choose MGM or Paris out of all the 2nd Tier hotels.

Make sure urge you go downtown to Fremont Street. It's cheaper gambling and usually a more fun gambling environment. If you see a show I recommend Absinthe which was fucking awesome. You can wait to buy tickets while your there and get them from half price tickets booths for a good price. I've been probably 7-10 times so if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a pm.

If if you want to try a Vegas Buffett I recommend Wicked Spoon inside the Cosmo or Aria (I forget which one). Also sign up for players cards and get some free gambling money or 2-1 Buffett coupons.

Also so visit the Spearmint Rhino.

I've stayed at Excalibur (South end of strip), Paris (closer to middle), and The D (old Vegas aka Fremont St.) and The D was easily the nicest of them all and also the cheapest. But being your first time in Vegas and also based on your budget I'm thinking you should stay in the middle of the strip as it will cut down your travel a lot. I've always just gone on Priceline and searched around to find a good deal and it has worked well. Last time I went we flew out of Indy as that was easily the best deal we could find, but I've flown out of Cincy at a reasonable cost as well. I've never done any bundling so can't speak to that but doing flight and hotel separate have always worked well for me. What days of the week are you getting there and leaving there?

Edit: Forgot that I've also stayed in Encore(associated with the Wynn). That room was awesome, highly recommend it even though it's on the north end of the strip.

On that Budget you will have a good time.

Food Places I recommend:
Wicked Spoon
Gordon Ramsey's Burgr
Lotus of Siam (in the ghetto but awesome)
Pick a famous chef and go to their restaurent my favorite is Tom Colichos craft steak

Some more casual but good places
earl of sandwich
Lobster me ( a personal favorite)

sportchampps;1676428 wrote:1) Cosmo
2) Aria
3) Wynn
4) Bellagio
5) Ceasars Palace

If you want to be in the middle Durkie then this is a good list. Wynn is a little further north but the other 4 are all by each other in the middle.

And Fremont St. is my favorite. Love gambling there. Pretty sure that's where I'll stay every time I go out there from now on.

Terry_Tate;1676429 wrote:I've stayed at Excalibur (South end of strip), Paris (closer to middle), and The D (old Vegas aka Fremont St.) and The D was easily the nicest of them all and also the cheapest. But being your first time in Vegas and also based on your budget I'm thinking you should stay in the middle of the strip as it will cut down your travel a lot. I've always just gone on Priceline and searched around to find a good deal and it has worked well. Last time I went we flew out of Indy as that was easily the best deal we could find, but I've flown out of Cincy at a reasonable cost as well. I've never done any bundling so can't speak to that but doing flight and hotel separate have always worked well for me. What days of the week are you getting there and leaving there?

Edit: Forgot that I've also stayed in Encore(associated with the Wynn). That room was awesome, highly recommend it even though it's on the north end of the strip.

July 9th-13th. Depart Thursday, get back Monday evening. The people I'm going with are going to gamble/party so seeing any shows won't really be in the plans. I saw the MGM on expedia, for 708 for the 9th-13th and that includes hotel and flight. I didn't think that was too bad?

DeyDurkie5;1676433 wrote:July 9th-13th. Depart Thursday, get back Monday evening. The people I'm going with are going to gamble/party so seeing any shows won't really be in the plans. I saw the MGM on expedia, for 708 for the 9th-13th and that includes hotel and flight. I didn't think that was too bad?

Just checked and a flight out of Cincinnati is around $470 right now for those dates, so that means around $240 for hotel. $60 a night isn't too bad for a nicer hotel there. MGM is more south but it's only like a 15 minute walk to Bellagio and all of those places. It's right across from New York New York which is one of my favorite casinos there.

Sport may know but with bundling like that how does picking the time for your flights work? That would be the only thing I'd be unsure of.

Also, summer sucks for sports betting since baseball is the only thing to bet on. Though I know you're getting set up for online betting so that part probably doesn't even matter for you.

What kinda room at the MGM I wouldn't recommend the west wing rooms unless your going as a couple as their kinda small and theres not a bathroom door.

We we stayed at MGM. The wife and I both loved it. The gambling is good. There is always some kind of event there. We went during the Mayweather fight so we saw Tyson and Holyfield walking thru the hotel. The pools are great and the nightclub is pretty sweet but the lines to get in can get crazy. UFC hosts a lot of events there so you might get lucky and be there during an event. You can also catch the deuce ( a bus that goes up and down the strip) right outside and be in the center of the strip in about three minutes.

DeyDurkie5;1676412 wrote:I'm planning my first trip to Vegas with a couple buddies and have no idea on where to begin for it. Should I bundle the trip using expedia or a similar site? Should I pay individually for the room and flight and just split the costs with my buddies? I'm assuming staying in the middle of the strip is the way to go? Help me out Chatter.

MGM Grand is the only place I will stay .....
Never assume the idea of spliting the cost, give them the details and individually make the arragment. Taking the responsiblity for others (buddies) is never a good idea.

MGM is the only place I'd stay at the south end of the strip. Cosmo is really cool and central. Ceasars always has a ton of games. Bellagio is very nice. For the money, Planet Hollywood has a nice location.

Go to a show. Especially since you are there 4 nights.

Vegas.com gives great deals at times.

I stayed in the Flamingo. Basically right in the middle of the strip. I will not spend much money on a hotel in Vegas. I don't spend time there, unless I'm sleeping. I'll save my money on a room and spend it on gambling, shopping, and food (mostly food).

DeyDurkie5;1676433 wrote:July 9th-13th. Depart Thursday, get back Monday evening. The people I'm going with are going to gamble/party so seeing any shows won't really be in the plans. I saw the MGM on expedia, for 708 for the 9th-13th and that includes hotel and flight. I didn't think that was too bad?

I've never been, but I would definitely be going to a good pool party.

Have fun and bang some hookers!

Went a few years ago in December and stayed at MGM. Went through a travel agent friend of ours, and it was only $500/person for room, flight, a food credit, and shuttle to and from airport. The room was awesome, can't remember which "wing" it was, but it faced the Hooters casino. It had 2 queens and a sofa bed. The blackout shades were the best feature though...lol!

Bottle service.

be choosy when getting a female escort. the price ranges are crazy with fluctuations. i have paid a couple of c notes and had a great time for 30 minutes. i also got a high ender at 5 c notes for an hour. she was good too . made my toes curl . the hookers are out of this world .
i love vegas.

steubbigred;1676510 wrote:be choosy when getting a female escort. the price ranges are crazy with fluctuations. i have paid a couple of c notes and had a great time for 30 minutes. i also got a high ender at 5 c notes for an hour. she was good too . made my toes curl . the hookers are out of this world .
i love vegas.

For a minute I thought you were just talking about the HS parties in Stuebenville.

I was in Vegas for my bachelor party last month. We stayed at the Vdara. It's part of the Cosmo/Vdara/Aria group located next to the Bellagio. The Vdara is still "off strip" but that's because the complex takes up quite a bit of real estate. We were still able to get to the strip no problem though. The hotel was really nice. The decor was comtemporary/modern, however there wasn't a casino in our hotel. No biggie as the casino was located in the Cosmo. One thing I've learned in my travels to Vegas is that it doesn't really matter where you stay (if you want to be in the action). You don't really spend much time in your own hotel, so it may not be worth breaking the bank on an expensive hotel.

We spent time in a smaller hotel called The Cromwell. It's centrally located, across the street from the Bellagio and Caesar's. At night, this place was crazy. Great music (if you like 90s Hip Hop and R&B), beautiful women, and just the overall atmosphere was party-centric. The guys and I just hung out at the bar in the casino and drank there on one of the nights. If you like EDM, then you can hit the club called "Drai's" on the roof at the Cromwell. Supposed to be one of the best pool parties in the city. Rehab at The Hard Rock is also great. But I kind of get the vibe that it's "Spring Break-ish" if you know what I mean. We went to Rehab the first saturday after the summer parties had ended. It was still a great time. Although there's nowhere to sit down. You almost have to pony up the coin to get a cabana or a bed. We ended up getting a bed/bench for about $250. However, the kicker is that it's a $250 "credit." So you basically HAVE to buy at least $250 worth of food and liquor in order to satisfy the bill. This was an off day, I'm sure it's 2-3x the price during peak time.

The Cosmopolitan has one of the most popular clubs in the city. I believe it's called Marquee? The line for Marquee was ridiculously long so we didn't bother going in. If you're into clubs, then I would suggest doing bottle service. There are clubs with more reasonably prices for bottles (not Marquee), and there are countless people handing out free passes to clubs on the streets anyway. Ask you cabbie for passes to a good club. Our goal was to avoid paying cover (cover charges are scams..fugg that) at all costs. We were able to avoid it most of the time, except for Rehab at Hard Rock. I believe we paid $20 to get in.

Check out Travelzoo for hotel deals as well. However, you may not be able to book a Travelzoo deal this early. You may have to wait until the new year. Also, Jetsetter, LivingSocial, etc., those places will get you to the better hotels.

Just want to clarify I live MGM just make sure to not stay in the cheapest room option spend the extra $10-$15 and it's an awesome place.