Well spotted, although can't find it any more I'm looking at November though so might be a bit far out yet for bargain prices. Am out Thanksgiving week which i'm led to believe is a quiet period so should be some good deals about?

It looks like the Low Cost Holidays offer has gone unfortunately. Keep checking Trivago for your dates as prices change daily. Also try www.lowcostusa.co.uk and www.smartervegas.com

www.lowcostholidays.com are currently doing the Encore for £109 per night inc breakfast.  Plus if you spend more than £900 on your hotel booking you can use voucher code SUM16 to get a further £60 off.  That Encore price includes breakfast, which is a $35 per person per night credit that can be used at loads of places in Wynn/Encore at Breakfast or Lunch.  That itself is worth £45 per day, so that £109 per night rate is a massive bargain!  I just booked 14 nights inc breakfast at Encore for £1462 from 23rd June 2016.  You can only find the rate via a Trivago search!  Then you click on View All Deals to find it.

That is superb. Love Wynncore, and I wish I could book that far in advance nowadays :/

Thought I had a few thousand miles, but just checked and they're not there now, sorry.

No worries, thanks for checking

Nice find and thanks for sharing.  Definitely one of the best places to stay.

I had a little click around on the site... quite liked the option to "upgrade to room only for only £6.07 per night"

Forgot to say that the £60 off is only available until midnight tonight!

www.lowcostholidays.com are currently doing the Encore for £109 per night inc breakfast.  Plus if you spend more than £900 on your hotel booking you can use voucher code SUM16 to get a further £60 off.  That Encore price includes breakfast, which is a $35 per person per night credit that can be used at loads of places in Wynn/Encore at Breakfast or Lunch.  That itself is worth £45 per day, so that £109 per night rate is a massive bargain!  I just booked 14 nights inc breakfast at Encore for £1462 from 23rd June 2016.  You can only find the rate via a Trivago search!  Then you click on View All Deals to find it.

The transfer fee is usually the same amount as the purchase fee, so it would be easier and cheaper to just buy them.

It's a solid price for Encore imo and I really liked staying there, quality hotel.  Encore and Wynn don't really go rate chasing though, they just set their stall out and that's that, so deals are rare and usually somewhere else will court my custom far more readily.  So I usually end up putting Encore on the short list and then ending up staying somewhere else for the price differential.  I certainly don't think you are getting a bad deal, ~ rare to see < £100/night average on a 2week stay.

I don't shop at Tescos either!  But I do try and put petrol in there and also my energy supplier gives Tesco points... somehow with that a few thousand miles keep dropping in to my account which definitely adds up over the year.

The cost to transfer is now cheaper than the cost to purchase.  Buying 17,000 points is £285.  Transfer cost for the same 17,000 is only £142.50.  I think it used to be the same, but they've changed it.  It's only worth someone selling their points if they know they're not going to use them. 

If anyone is willing to transfer any unwanted Virgin Atlantic flying club miles to me, I will pay the transfer fee plus a bit extra.  I'm looking for 17,000 miles.

I don't have any perfect answers unfortunately.  Would suggest:

- Get the black card, if you are spending enough on white to qualify for 2 upgrade vouchers each year, then yes the extra points from black will cover the annual fee.
- Depending on your miles earned each year, take the chances to top up to your anticipated requirement over the course of the year, then you don't need to hope that there is a sale on when you are booking.  Tesco Clubcard Auto-Conversion is a pretty good rate imo and Buy Miles +25% offer when they have it.
- There definitely can be some call centre variance.  The last few times I've called, they seem to have a call centre in Cardiff or similar now, which is much much better than when they had off-shored it in years gone by.  Maybe I've run good, but the last few calls to them have been excellent.  In the old days, if I wasn't getting the right answer, I'd just ring back and speak to someone else.  It is a lot easier if you know your dates, have your miles already and are ready to book.  Then when you get the answer you want, snap-book it.
- The best options I have found (in terms of cost per mile and in terms of ease of use) are either 100k for an Upper reward return flight or 31,500+upgrade voucher for a P.E. reward return flight during a reward sale.
- fwiw, I don't know this is 100% correct, but in my experience the companion ticket is usually worthless, because "full price" economy ticket is absurdly expensive, sometimes more than buying 2 sale fare tickets.  I'd also doubt very much if the companion could be used at the same time as the upgrade voucher, but if one of their staff says you can, great if you are in a position to tell them to book it.

As for pricing, this is what I would expect.

LV economy reward flight = 42.5K miles x2 = 85K miles
Tax = ~ £350 x 2 = ~£700
2 upgrade vouchers = £0

So by my maths, it should cost you £700 tax + £885 buy miles for a total of ~£1600  In other words, the £808p.p. he quoted you already includes the cost of buying the miles in? 

Thanks for this Simon.  Yes the quote included buying 58,000 miles (@ approx 1.52p per mile).  We were then told by someone that we could buy miles via Miles Booster because me and my husband flew to Vegas in the last 6 months.  We can buy double the miles travelled each (10k x 2 x 2 = 40k) for 1p per mile (£400), so this saves us £215.  We still need to top up the miles to 85k in total.

I already have a Tesco clubcard and have set up the automatic conversion to flying club miles, but I don't tend to shop in Tescos, so it's not worth much to me!

We're definitely going to get the black card I think.  It's a no-brainer for us, although we won't be spending £20k on a credit card every year.  We did it last year, but that was because we were building an extension and spent a lot!  We would normally put £10k per year on a credit card, so doing that on the black card would get us the same 2 reward upgrade tickets.

We've found what we think is an amazing deal for a hotel.  14 nights at Encore for £1485 inc tax (resort fee optional).  Do you think this is a good price?

I would like to broach the subject of the minefield that is the Virgin Flying Club in the hope that someone can decipher it.  It's so complicated that their staff struggle, as I seem to get a different answer every time I ring up!

Having spent a small fortune on their white credit card in the last 12 mths whilst building an extension, I have accrued 2 Reward Flight upgrade tickets and 1 companion ticket.  Myself and my husband want to go to Vegas in June 16 for 2 weeks.  I currently have 27,500 flying club miles.  When I rang last month I was told I could pay for 1 full price ticket in economy, then use the companion ticket to get another for just the cost of the tax.  Then they said I could use the 2 Reward Flight upgrades to upgrade both those to Premium Economy.  By doing it this way I wouldn't need to spend any miles.  I was waiting until my next credit card statement was produced in order to get the 2 Reward upgrades credited to my Flying Club account.  They went in yesterday, so I rang today to check the prices again and was told I couldn't use the tickets in this way at all.  I could either use the Companion ticket or the 2 Reward flight upgrade tickets, but not both on the same transaction!  So when he priced these 2 options up, the Reward flight upgrades worked out cheapest (£808 per person for a return Premium Economy ticket).  I think this is a good price, but I have to spend £885 buying 58,000 miles, if I want to book today.  That seems a lot.  

So I was wondering, is there a better way to get miles?  When do they have their reward flight sales and miles booster deals?  Does anyone know?

They recommended I apply for the black credit card, as I would get a bonus of 18,500 miles just from making my first purchase.  The £140 annual fee for this card would pay for itself, because it would cost me £285 to buy 18000 miles (of the 58,000 I need in total).

If anyone has any tips, they would be gratefully received!

How many levels are being played on day 1 please?

Nicola confirmed to me on Facebook last night that the August deepstack is definitely the weekend of Saturday 1st August.

Have the dates for the August deepstack been confirmed yet? Will it be the weekend of Sat 1st August or Sat 8th August? The Goliath at Coventry starts on Sat 8th.

Well played Alex!

[Starting on the Strip:]

Every Vegas steakhouse wot I has ever eaten at.

Over the years I've eaten at plenty of redic random ones that aren't singularly worth a mention, for example (ok I'm mentioning it I suppose, but only for example) http://www.rhythmkitchenlv.com/ where I doubt many people on here would be randomly driving past anytime soon, and certainly didn't merit a special trip.  No point in mentioning stuff that has since been demolished either...

The vast majority of these are going to give you a near identical standard of steak, most likely sourced from the same butcher (Pat Lefreida) and the only real differences are whether you want a rowdy nightclub steakhouse or dinner for 2 type ambience (for your stag party) and which salads/starters/sides you like the look of the most, possibly the wine list if you are really into your vino.

Starting on the Strip:

CHARLIE PALMERS (MB/4 Seasons/The Hotel/etc) tried it at the recommendation I think from MLHMLH off this board for their special price menu, was a really good deal, would go back for it.  Can't see any sign of it on the website now though, wouldn't make a special trip for full price, but was very decent.

STRIPSTEAK (MB) a steak lover's steakhouse, haven't been for a couple of years and haven't heard much about it recently, but it was clear everyone from the bus boy to the chef were passionate about their steaks.  Must go back at some point and try again.

TENDER (Luxor) Used to really like this in the old days, old fashioned service, wood and leather (not the steaks) then it went downhill when it got remodelled.  Glad I gave it another chance, last couple of visits have been pretty solid, don't bother ordering the game tasting tho   Very inexpesnive wine list, easy to get a table when trendier places aren't and for the nits amongst you, also easy to apply a free $75 credit from MyVegas.com.  Not the best in town, but if you are in the area and hungry, certainly wouldn't put you off.

GALLAGHERS (NYNY) semi-rowdy, as it seemed there were a lot of people in there just drinking, meal was fine but nothing calling me back. 

CRAFTSTEAK (MGM) Very underwhelming.  Every visit it seems like the waiter has tried to put me in a full nelson in his attempt to get me to order Wagyu and not been impressed when I refused to tap out.  I actively try and avoid going here, if I get any input into the decision.  If someone else is in the chair..... I'll put up with it.

JEAN_GEORGES (Aria) Great steakhouse, one of those places where you can't get a table on the phone (it seems) but if you walk by and talk to someone earlier in the day, you always can.  Always on the short list, and a great choice for solo diners at the bar.  Last time waiter was a real prick, but I won't hold that against Aria.

BRAND (Monte Carlo) - perfectly fine, only been once though and there's not too much else at MC to pull me back in.

STK - (Cosmo)  Been in here twice now and not actually managed to order ;(  Both times due to people that think travelling the length of the strip on a Saturday night should only take 5 minutes.  It's pretty upbeat, menu looks great, perfect for part of a night out on the tiles.

STRIPHOUSE (PH) - My fav solo dining spot, great service at the bar.  The steaks come quite heavily seasoned, which I happen to like, the Romanoff potatoes are great.  Table service has been worse than bar service in my experience.

SMITH & WOLLENSKY - nothing wrong with it... but no reason to go back.

PRIME (Bellagio) - Has definite appeal as a table for 2 venue, fountain show is a very nice backdrop and its a 40s/50s style 'speakeasy' decor which I really like.  Not that much actual choice for steaks tho!  Very happy about getting taken here, less happy about paying for it.

BALLYS - Haven't been here since their heyday Sterling Brunch which was a great deal, as long as you weren't planning on doing anything until Tuesday.  Not even sure if it still exists, I doubt it would compete as a standalone steakhouse.

PALM (Forum shops) - great lunch deal.  Would not go back for full price.

OUTBACK - you know you are having a bad trip when you decide to eat here.... Budget of all budget steakhouse, was ok, but was like going to a "nice Harvester"

PHILS - TI  Pretty decent, also a decent hotel choice if you are playing Wynn/Venetian a lot.  Would happily go back, but in the "not worth a special trip to go there" category

DELMONICOS (V/P)  A really great pick for a decent lunch menu.  Evening service is really really good, a good choice for a group where a lot of people will want non-steak options.  Can get offered a 10pm table over the phone, or walk in at 8 and find they are empty and will seat you immediately.  Hate it when places do that.  Anyway, a really good dining experience, just not really a full-on steakhouse imo.

CUT (V/P) Really nice service, much more bustling brasserie feel than Delmonicos, likely to be quite spendy so make sure your credit card roulette form is decent.

MORELS (V/P) Had weekend brunch here, was fine, but nothing is pulling me back in to try the evening.

CARNEVINO (V/P) Used to be great.  Last couple of visits I've gone off it a lot.  Apparently they do an off the menu Riserva steak which is all the rage, not tried it.  Will probably swerve this place for a while, too many great alternatives in walking distance.

BOTERO (Encore) steakhouse with a .. work it out.  However, a table outside by the pool is a pretty good option if you want to be able to hear what anyone says.

SW (Wynn) Not sure about the frog.... Usually on the short list, rarely actually go. Can't put my finger on why, so I'll give it another go next visit.  It's a good choice if you have vegetarians/vegans in the group, as all Wynn restaurants cater for vegans.

CIRCUS CIRCUS - must have been 10 years since I last went.  One of the few places significantly cheaper than the rest.  Was surprisingly good too, I imagine they will have struggled to keep prices down and standards up, at the point where that doesn't happen, no point in going there.

GOLDEN STEER (Sahara jnctn) - very old school, took me a couple of changes of mind before finally going in.  Good if you like the super old-school, tableside preparation etc.  Not really cheap enough for what it is tho, but worth checking out once (but maybe not twice)


Off strip

Over the years, I decided to not line Steve Wynn's pockets any more than I needed to and went searching for great deals off strip.  However, I can't find any!  Lots of perfectly decent steakhouses, but all surprisingly close to strip steakhouse prices, so not a big reason to go there.  If you have rented a car, it is definitely easier to get a table off strip than on it, but not really worth the cab fare.

Mortons/Flemings/Del Friscos are chains to some degree or other, but as they aren't present over here, I certainly don't mind going in them, all solid meals and if you really do your homework, some really great happy hour opportunities.

Ruths Chris I consider to be an off-strip choice, as they always had 2 locations off strip.  Now they are back in somewhere around Harrahs on strip, but I don't care anyway as I doubt I'll ever go back.  If you do, and you don't want your steak to be doing backstroke in butter when it arrives, best mention it to the server.

Capital Grille is I suppose on strip as part of FSM.  I only give it a mention as in theory it opens all day, so if you get KO'd at 4pm and want good steak, it is one of the few options that don't just open for dinner.  I say in theory, as last time I tried it, they were firmly shut.

N9NE (Palms) Rowdiest steakhouse ever.  OK for a stag night, not a good choice to get down on one knee and propose. 

RIO - don't do it.

Downtown

HUGOS (4QUEENS) - long standing fav from Binions WSOP days.  Quality has gone down a notch or two tbf, but always enjoy eating here.  Salad cart/spuds+veg/sorbet/dessert all included, so if you know you are definitely in the chair, not a bad choice as no-one can completely kill you ordering off the menu.  Great sommelier, great wine list at very low markup (lower than Blonde poker fora are used to seeing anyway!!)

VIC&ANTHONYS (Golden Nugget) - fast becoming a regular choice for solo dining.  Whilst others go off looking for deep fried twinkies and McDonalds, for a couple of bux more I love eating solo at the bar here, its pretty small, so catch them off peak or expect a wait.  Would expect to visit here every trip at some point from now on, definitely cheaper than the Strip and no issues with quality, like the setting too.

BINIONS - Enjoyable back in the day, haven't been for a loooong time and I would pre-judge that it is likely gone way downhill, but I would be happy to stand corrected by anyone that has been recently.

OSCARS - Plaza.  Great view along Fremont Street (if you get given the right table) and scenes of several movies.  However, I haven't actually been in since Goodman got involved, hate to think I might be lining his pocket, any more than his pocket ever got indirectly lined by my LV visits.


ANDIAMOS (THE D) and Triple George Grill (Downtown Grand) haven't made it to either yet, but will definitely try them out next time.

OK, think that covers it

Can confirm that Charlie Palmers was on my recommendation and they're still doing their Cut of the Week deal which is amazing value (if you like that week's cut!).
http://www.charliepalmer.com/mobile/charlie-palmer-steak-las-vegas/menus/cut-of-the-week/

Apologies if answered elsewhere but I haven't been to Vegas for about five years. Planning a last minute trip next week and I'm going to be combining playing poker with my job so wondering about...

1) The state of wi-fi in the poker rooms, don't mind paying for it (will be mostly playing Planet Hollywood and The Rio)
2) How hard it is to get a pay as you go phone out there, or even if that's still the best option.

TIA for any help.

Don't know if it's what you need but I've bought a 3 sim card for 75p from B and M's, popped it into my (unlocked) phone and apparently all you need to do is buy a 'feel at home' credit bundle over here (for example I think you get 200 minutes, 3000 texts and 2gb of data for £20) and then just use it in the states as you would at home as 3 has no roaming charges.
Someone recommended it on here.

*edit* Just checked the website and you need to buy an 'add on' for £15 which gets you 300 mins, 3000 texts and what should be all you can eat data but they limit it to 25gb abroad,  so it's actually even better than I thought.  You do have to double check with 3 that your roaming is on though.

Thanks for this, I don't have an unlocked phone sadly so not sure that'll work for me, thank your for the reply though.

Depends how long you've had your current contract for but I rang O2 about getting my phone unlocked and they did it for me free of charge.  I think EE charge £8 if you're eligible. Not sure about the others. Definitely worth a phone call.

FT live stream on a 30 min delay about to start..http://www.partypoker.com/whats-going-on/dusktilldawn/live-stream.html