Going to Las Vegas next week. Looking for some tips

[rgf207]

Hi
I am heading to Las Vegas next week on business. I will arrive on Tuesday Morning about 10am and Departing on Friday Morning at 10am. I am staying at the New York New York Hotel and Casino. I will have about 4 hours to work on Wednesday and after that, all the time is mine.

I was looking for some tips on places to eat around there. I know you can get food cheap and at huge buffets. What are your recommendations. I would like to try some of those really big famous buffets and some other sit down places. I will have a rental car but I dont really want to use it if I dont have to.

I wont be going to any shows because I am there by myself. I will be spending some time at the tables. What are the normal minimums at those casino's during mid-week?

What are your suggestions and tips?

Thanks so much.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Restaurants sort of depend on what you like to eat, but the buffets I've heard the best reviews on are the one at Bellagio and Paris (although they're not cheap) and the biggest one (which I've heard mixed reviews on) is at the Rio.

Sit down restaurants -- I loved Emeril's NO Fish House (at MGM Grand) and the Brewpub at Monte Carlo. There's a ton of choices, though -- although a lot of the better places you'll need a reservation for.

As far as table games go, most major Strip casinos mid-week, you'll be lucky to find $5 minimum tables at. That's certainly the lowest you'll find -- $10 is more likely. Places on the Strip like Casino Royale, Imperial Palace and Barbary Coast you should have better luck finding the $5 tables. And if you venture a little farther north up the Strip, you might be able to find some $3 tables at a place like the Sahara. Since you'll have a car, I would drive to a place like that and valet park it for the time you're there (valet parking is free at all the hotels -- except for a tip).

Good luck and have fun!!

Oh, here's a good site (that's a lot of fun to read, too): http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php

 

[SamIAm21]

The buffets are not quite as cheap as they used to be. Really, there's very little cheap food left in Vegas, unless you get comped, but that's not really cheap in the grand scheme of things either. I've heard the buffet is good at MGM across the street and there's lots to choose from. Right in your hotel, you may want to try Gallaghers Steak House. Pretty good steak, but the last time I was there, the service was a bit slow. Monte Carlo has a good steak house called Blackstones and the Chinese restaurant there is really good. It's right inside the main doors to the casino, you can't miss it! The MC Brew Pub is around back in the "mall" type area. If you get tired of the tables, a good place to check out is the Mandalay Bay. The Shark Reef is pretty cool, but a bit pricey. The only upside to that is they explain that the $$ goes to the upkeep and care of the fish and sea creatures. Also, there's a lot of good choices for eating inside MBay. Red Square is good place to chill, what with the bar top that is made of ice!

Your best bet for low tables is probably Casino Royale, the Riviera, Sahara, and Imperial Palace. Not the most glamorous places on the Strip, but really good fun places to play. For a real eye opener, stop in at the Wynn. It's worth it just to see the place once.

You won't be bored in Vegas, there's always something going on!!

 

[funhouse8]

The pizza at the New York New York is really good. Take it from someone who lives in NY. You can get a slice and sit at the tables right outside and listen to the music from the piano there. The bar is called The Bar At Times Square and the music is great. They have dueling pianos and take requests. The whole bar has sing alongs. It's alot of fun too.

 

[mickeyboat]

Don't accept the flyers people are handing out on the street!

You will have to pass through the casino every time you go into a new hotel -so be prepared for the smoke.

We really liked the "mall" in the Aladdin!

We also enjoyed Emeril's Fish House and the Brew Pub at the Monte Carlo. And I agree, we didn't really find much cheap food.

Make sure you just go into all the hotels to look at them. Some are amazing!

Denae

 

[rgf207]

Thanks for all of the help. Keep em comming

The Cheapo Vegas site is great. I have maps and I printed out some pages for reference. I think I may try the Buffet at Aladdin and definately get some pizza at NY NY

 

[BunsenH]

You can spend a lot of time just hotel hopping. NYNY is in a fairly central location. Just walk around. I agree that you should avoid driving. The traffic is terrible on the strip.

If you are a Star Trek fan, take the monorail from MGM to the LV Convention center. The Star Trek Experience is expensive (about $33?), but wort a few hours for fans.

 

[hydster]

There are a ton of things to do in Vegas. The shopping is really fun even just to look at the expensive stores like Dolche Gabana and others. The forum shops at Caesars have some cool stores in there. For eating.....Buffet the best in my opinion is the one at Bellagio but it's pretty pricey! The one at the Paris is really good too as is Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris. Mandalay Bay has a cool restaurant called Rum Jungle. Caesars has a really good Italian restaurant in the Forum shops that has a water feature in the middle but it's fun to sit and watch people. Margaritaville at Flamingo Hilton is fun.
Stuff to do...............................

Bellagio Conservatory *free*
Bellagio Art Gallery *$$*
Bellagio Fountains *at night..free*
Venetian Gondola *$$*
Paris Eiffel Tower *$$*
Caesars forum show *free*
Mirage Dolphin *$$*
Mirage Volcano eruption *free*
Treasure Island Sirens of TI *free*
Flamingo Hilton wildlife habitat *free*
MGM Grand Lion Exhibit *free*
Luxor Imax *$$*
Luxor ride simulator *$$*
NYNY Rollercoaster *$$* and it really jerks you around so beware

Those are just the ones off the top of my head. We go at least 4 times a year to Vegas. As for the tables in the casinos generally we've found the minimum's to be no less than $5.00 and some as high as $15.00 depending on the table and the casino.

You can also look at www.vegas.com to find more ideas of what hotel/casinos offer what. This link will take you right to the attraction page for every hotel/casino
http://www.vegas.com/attractions/?vc1=2&vc2=tabs_gph_atr_11

Also use the monorail! Vegas is so deceiving that way! Things look WAY closer than they are! And beware of the porn slappers on the strip! They are EVERYWHERE! My advice is to not look at them and don't let them hand you anything. If you just keep walking they will try to hand them to you and if you don't take it they will hand it to the next person behind you. This happens day and night!

Also remember what happened in Vegas didn't really happen.