Jump to content

Trip Planning


variables  

26 members have voted

  1. 1. dates

    • Last weekend of May and start of WSOP
      16
    • Weekend after July 4th and start of WSOPME
      10
  2. 2. Accomodatons

    • riviera
      0
    • sahara
      0
    • flamingo
      4
    • hooters
      1
    • luxor
      2
    • stratosphere
      0
    • treasure island
      1
    • excalibur
      1
    • imperial palace
      4
    • circus circus
      1
    • bally's
      1
    • golden Nugget
      2
    • rio
      2
    • monte carlo
      3
    • hilton
      1
    • super 8
      3


Recommended Posts

So I'm putting together a trip to Vegas. The plan is to play poker a couple of three days (primarily small stakes nlhe cash with the odd daily tourney possible) and then drunken silliness the rest of the time. I'm trying to keep travel/hotel costs low without staying on the Cali state line or someplace I run a 75% chance of getting mugged as I am nowhere near "Balla" status. In my preliminary searches these hotels seem to offer the better prices, though some are prohibitively more expensive during one timeframe than the other. So, if the voting overwhemingly chooses a location, with sufficient reasoning behind the choices, I may bypass the timeframe question altogether and vice versa. Rooms aren't that important as I plan on pretty much just sleeping/showering there but at a minimum I shouldn't feel like I have to shower after walking into the joint.If you have suggestions outside of options listed feel free to go off script, just give some details as to why you feel that choice is superior. Also, if you're going to be in Vegas during one of the timeframes, please say so. I'm going solo again and I'm lonely...so, so looooooonely.The July option has a slight edge pre-voting because:A) July 8th is my birthday2) Preliminary searches returned better pricing.pi) Gives me more time to lose some weight and I might actually be able to visit a pool with only minimal shame.Of course the opinion Beans will carry significant weight and may influence the judging heavily.So go to it you closet travel agents.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Of those listed Flamingo is in the best location on the strip. Ballys is kinda right there too and dirt cheap(they were advertising $29 awhile ago but it is kind of a shithole). Dont stay at the Golden Nugget, it is probally the best hotel of the ones listed but downtown is kind of a cross between heavens waiting room and red neck gathering for a Lynrd Skynrd cover band.

Link to post
Share on other sites
So I'm putting together a trip to Vegas. The plan is to play poker a couple of three days (primarily small stakes nlhe cash with the odd daily tourney possible) and then drunken silliness the rest of the time. I'm trying to keep travel/hotel costs low without staying on the Cali state line or someplace I run a 75% chance of getting mugged as I am nowhere near "Balla" status.Rooms aren't that important as I plan on pretty much just sleeping/showering there but at a minimum I shouldn't feel like I have to shower after walking into the joint.Of course the opinion Beans will carry significant weight and may influence the judging heavily.
Heres a suggestion...Book the Plaza. Roll in the valet off Main street...watch for the homeless and near homeless Greyhound passengers crossing your path. Pull forward over the two massive speed bumps and right up to the side door. As quick as you can say "That fuckin Beans!" Al or Mike will assist in retrieving your brown paper luggage from the trunk and park your car. Take ten steps through the double doors (pause for a second between the two and inhale the fragrance of downtown) and by the newly remodeled sportsbook. Keep right and turn left at the first bar, where yours truly spent many a week at. Head straight forward and under the "Winners Circle" and veer right at the craps table. Follow the debri field they call carpet around and up to the check in desk. Making sure that you request a North tower suite (probably five bucks more but well worth it) throw the sacks on the bed and break out the vice grips I told you to pack. Use them to remove the vandal proof screws on the window and squeeze out on the ledge overlooking Fremont Street. Enjoy the view until you remember that I told you that the LVFD made them install those screws because the cement you are standing on is crumbling and unsafe. Exit the room and walk out onto the intersection of Main and Fremont under the stifling hot incandescent bulbs over the main entrance. Total cost so far: twenty bucks per nightPicture010.jpg100_1069.jpgMain Street Station... if you look closely, my wife caught an apparition of a lady from the eighteen hundreds playing the slots at the bottom. I played the same slot and can vouch that it was in fact haunted Beanscraps.jpgStart off by walking North on Main, by the rail cars (the Plaza used to be the only casino in the world with a train station inside) and down to the Main Street Station Casino. The pit games are fair, drink service is good, and as an added bonus, you can view a section of the Berlin Wall in the mens room. The urinals are mounted to it, and if you look closely, some bastard wrote "BEANS LIVES!" over the second pisser. Enter the Triple Seven Brew Pub and order the Beans Special, which is the nacho platter and all the fresh brewed Pale Ales you can drink. Soak in the atmosphere until the beer kicks in and play craps at the first table you see. The overservers that bring drinks will gladly bring the same microbrews that you paid five bucks for inside the Triple. To avoid being run over on Main, exit up the stairs and across the enclosed pedestrian walk over to the California. Ignore the hundreds of Hawaiian patrons inside, exit back onto Main, and stroll through the Vegas Club. Note that "Worlds Most Liberal Blackjack" actually means the most infoed rules this side of Binions. Take note of the stripper pit at the entrance to Fremont and walk out onto Fremont. Dont ever go back in unless a piss stop is necessary and you cant hold it. Cost: twenty bucks plus any losing wagersWalk straight ahead and into the Golden Gate. This is home to the most inexperienced twenty one dealers in the world. They dont advertise it, but they might as well since the pit encourages finger counting to the staff. Sit at the twenty one table across from the bar and count how many times you win because your opponent stays on a soft sixteen and pays you off. Take note of the piano player and make a request. The giant tip glass seldom has more than three or four singles inside, so for a five spot he will play almost anything. He's pretty good at AC/DC now, so throw him something like Alice in Chains for more of a challenge. Pay attention to how the all Asian staff gets pissed when you win. The owner believes that they are naturally lucky, and rumor has it that they are beaten if their shift shows a loss. If you get hungry, the chicken fried steak in the diner is to die for, although so far Ive just been deathly ill from it. More after a beer break...
Link to post
Share on other sites
Heres a suggestion...Book the Plaza. Roll in the valet off Main street...watch for the homeless and near homeless Greyhound passengers crossing your path. Pull forward over the two massive speed bumps and right up to the side door. As quick as you can say "That fuckin Beans!" Al or Mike will assist in retrieving your brown paper luggage from the trunk and park your car. Take ten steps through the double doors (pause for a second between the two and inhale the fragrance of downtown) and by the newly remodeled sportsbook. Keep right and turn left at the first bar, where yours truly spent many a week at. Head straight forward and under the "Winners Circle" and veer right at the craps table. Follow the debri field they call carpet around and up to the check in desk. Making sure that you request a North tower suite (probably five bucks more but well worth it) throw the sacks on the bed and break out the vice grips I told you to pack. Use them to remove the vandal proof screws on the window and squeeze out on the ledge overlooking Fremont Street. Enjoy the view until you remember that I told you that the LVFD made them install those screws because the cement you are standing on is crumbling and unsafe. Exit the room and walk out onto the intersection of Main and Fremont under the stifling hot incandescent bulbs over the main entrance. Total cost so far: twenty bucks per nightPicture004.jpg100_1069.jpgStart off by walking North on Main, by the rail cars (the Plaza used to be the only casino in the world with a train station inside) and down to the Main Street Station Casino. The pit games are fair, drink service is good, and as an added bonus, you can view a section of the Berlin Wall in the mens room. The urinals are mounted to it, and if you look closely, some bastard wrote "BEANS LIVES!" over the second pisser. Enter the Triple Seven Brew Pub and order the Beans Special, which is the nacho platter and all the fresh brewed Pale Ales you can drink. Soak in the atmosphere until the beer kicks in and play craps at the first table you see. The overservers that bring drinks will gladly bring the same microbrews that you paid five bucks for inside the Triple. To avoid being run over on Main, exit up the stairs and across the enclosed pedestrian walk over to the California. Ignore the hundreds of Hawaiian patrons inside, exit back onto Main, and stroll through the Vegas Club. Note that "Worlds Most Liberal Blackjack" actually means the most infoed rules this side of Binions. Take note of the stripper pit at the entrance to Fremont and walk out onto Fremont. Dont ever go back in unless a piss stop is necessary and you cant hold it. Cost: twenty bucks plus any losing wagersWalk straight ahead and into the Golden Gate. This is home to the most inexperienced twenty one dealers in the world. They dont advertise it, but they might as well since the pit encourages finger counting to the staff. Sit at the twenty one table across from the bar and count how many times you win because your opponent stays on a soft sixteen and pays you off. Take note of the piano player and make a request. The giant tip glass seldom has more than three or four singles inside, so for a five spot he will play almost anything. He's pretty good at AC/DC now, so throw him something like Alice in Chains for more of a challenge. Pay attention to how the all Asian staff gets pissed when you win. The owner believes that they are naturally lucky, and rumor has it that they are beaten if their shift shows a loss. If you get hungry, the chicken fried steak in the diner is to die for, although so far Ive just been deathly ill from it. More after a beer break...
can i get on the list to have your babies!?
Link to post
Share on other sites
can i get on the list to have your babies!?
Im scared that they would be born naked or something...Now, back to the planOne of the best things about downtown, other than the fun you can have with a copy machine and several hundred fake slot vouchers, is the free entertainment available every step of the way down to the Western. Be sure and stop at the spraypaint artists for a quick huff, the Liberace wannabe, the saxophonist, or whoever the cheapskates that run the "Experience" scraped up for minimum wage that particular week. You can get lucky, though.... if LedZepAgain is in town, they can be quite entertaining. I didnt film this clip, but I was in attendance.
As an extra added bonus, you will also see acts not officially sanctioned by the Las Vegas Tourism Authority. One of these could quite possibly be an acquaintance of mine, a guy I call the Puker. He's a genius at the air guitar and drums. Unfortunately, he disappeared into thin air a couple years back. If you see him, be sure and buy the guy a beer for me
Buy these good folks a round as well...IMG_1077.jpgBeer break
Link to post
Share on other sites

By this point, youve staggered down to Binions, which used to be my favorite hangout before Becky turned it into a toilet and Harrahs overflowed it. The six to five twenty one and other info rules made it so popular that they had to close the hotel and the previously world renowned coffee shop. Peek in the east entrance and gawk at the Bennys Bullpen dealers for a second and move across the street before one of them turns around and scares up the beer in your gut. Rumor has it that Benny is so pleased with its condition now that he not only turned over in his grave, he exited it long enough to carry his statue from downtown to the Southpoint at the far end of town. 100_0120-1.jpgA quick glance to your left will verify why I suggested that Vegas in July was a bad idea. Even the beer is hot. Its also around midnight100_0121.jpgTo the immediate south is the Golden Nugget, which has a pretty good poker room that I frequent from time to time. Dont bother with sunglasses inside, I prefer a flashlight or nightvision goggles inside the cave like atmosphere. The last time I was there a month or so ago they had cleaned out the case that displays the Hand of Faith nugget, leaving just a scattering of the impressive gold display of the past. here is a good cigar store up the stairs that I took a pic of for Balloon Guy but I cant find it right now. Maybe later. Laugh at the folks impressed with the shark tank but dont be lured by the tight slots on the way outSince the area is is an economic disaster, heres a tip from Uncle Beans and Shane... free beer can still be had at the bars as long as this method is followed exactly. Belly up to a video poker bar and order a sud. Before the keep brings the bottle, insert a bill (Vegas talk for a hundred) into the pitiful seven/six machine, and start drinking. Wait until he walks away and hit cashout. Dont try this more than twice in the same joint though. Is quite awkward when they pull the beer back and say something like "Go ahead... hit max credits"By now, your eyes should see the world similar to this: 100_0130-2.jpgWe in the sick thread refer to it as "Randyitis"Thats it for now, part two will introduce the best kept secrets in Las Vegas. Dead men tell no tales, ya know...

Link to post
Share on other sites

I said TI....you have TI, Mirage, Wynn, and Venetian within walking distance. The Venetian will most likely be packed as it always is during the WSOP. The weather is much more bearable as well. Ill be here both times you'll be here obviously since I live here. Always down to do whatever as long as I dont have to work.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I usually go with the IP. Deluxe room though. Not the most comfy bed, otherwise fine.If you have a Total Rewards card, you can probably get nights for free right now. If you actually have used it at all, try all the Harrahs hotels, because when I've looked semi recently, I could get free nights everywhere but Caesars.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Of those listed Flamingo is in the best location on the strip. Ballys is kinda right there too and dirt cheap(they were advertising $29 awhile ago but it is kind of a shithole). Dont stay at the Golden Nugget, it is probally the best hotel of the ones listed but downtown is kind of a cross between heavens waiting room and red neck gathering for a Lynrd Skynrd cover band.
Well, I could use a gumjob and some crystal meth. What's cabfare like from GN to say...MGM?
Heres a suggestion...More after a beer break...
Dammit, I knew I should've entered the protege contest to have a shot a learning from the master.
hehe my first trip to Vegas I stayed at the Plaza one night. It was $24. Somebody in the ajoining room tried breaking into mine at 4am. I did win $400 playing bj there though.
Do I need a concealed carry permit to wear a gun to bed?
Link to post
Share on other sites
I said TI....you have TI, Mirage, Wynn, and Venetian within walking distance. The Venetian will most likely be packed as it always is during the WSOP. The weather is much more bearable as well. Ill be here both times you'll be here obviously since I live here. Always down to do whatever as long as I dont have to work.
I'll definitely try to set something up. Thinking about trying to recreate my "balla experience" at Wasted Space. Hopefully their poker room is still alive and fishy.
I usually go with the IP. Deluxe room though. Not the most comfy bed, otherwise fine.If you have a Total Rewards card, you can probably get nights for free right now. If you actually have used it at all, try all the Harrahs hotels, because when I've looked semi recently, I could get free nights everywhere but Caesars.
I used to have a rewards card (IIRC I was pretty close to going diamond) but started a personal boycott of Harrah's properties because of the way they were wrecking the poker room I frequented in Council Bluffs. Had a few quarrels with the floor etc etc. But I've tried it a time or two again and they seem to be finally realizing they were screwing it up pretty bad. I'm sure I'm still in the system. I might have to look into it...
Link to post
Share on other sites
Well, I could use a gumjob and some crystal meth. What's cabfare like from GN to say...MGM?
About $15 each way. As for TI some people I know stayed there a year ago and said the place still has alot of kids staying there. Personally I think no one under 18 should be allowed on ths strip. As as for the 18yo's only if there hookers.
Link to post
Share on other sites
hehe my first trip to Vegas I stayed at the Plaza one night. It was $24. Somebody in the ajoining room tried breaking into mine at 4am. I did make $400 giving bj there though.
fyp
Link to post
Share on other sites

Go through MGM's site to book both air and hotel.... I had the same AA flights and the room was practically free for booking though them.(Round trip on AA only was $429...booked through MGM the air and 3 nights hotel was $475..... before the upgrade, which you don't have to do of course)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Im thinking of going around that time. I like riding solo in vegas... only thing is I like restaurants, and it is kind of weird eating alone.Rio is the nicest... there will be shuttles from Rio to the strip during WSOP so you dont have to taxi. If you are on the strip I'd definitely take TI. It is nicer compared to the other cheap casinos on the strip.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Heres a suggestion...Book the Plaza. Roll in the valet off Main street...watch for the homeless and near homeless Greyhound passengers crossing your path. Pull forward over the two massive speed bumps and right up to the side door. As quick as you can say "That fuckin Beans!" Al or Mike will assist in retrieving your brown paper luggage from the trunk and park your car. Take ten steps through the double doors (pause for a second between the two and inhale the fragrance of downtown) and by the newly remodeled sportsbook. Keep right and turn left at the first bar, where yours truly spent many a week at. Head straight forward and under the "Winners Circle" and veer right at the craps table. Follow the debri field they call carpet around and up to the check in desk. Making sure that you request a North tower suite (probably five bucks more but well worth it) throw the sacks on the bed and break out the vice grips I told you to pack. Use them to remove the vandal proof screws on the window and squeeze out on the ledge overlooking Fremont Street. Enjoy the view until you remember that I told you that the LVFD made them install those screws because the cement you are standing on is crumbling and unsafe. Exit the room and walk out onto the intersection of Main and Fremont under the stifling hot incandescent bulbs over the main entrance. Total cost so far: twenty bucks per nightPicture010.jpg100_1069.jpgMain Street Station... if you look closely, my wife caught an apparition of a lady from the eighteen hundreds playing the slots at the bottom. I played the same slot and can vouch that it was in fact haunted Beanscraps.jpg
I got stuck here because...well...I thought there's no way this is the first picture with this name
Link to post
Share on other sites

Question:Is it better to book hotels:1) Way, way ahead of time (months before stay dates)2) Last minute (10 days or less before stay dates)3) standard six-ish weeks outHow heavily does it affect pricing?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...