Vegas help please

[maxward]

I am due to go to the main event this year and have recently received details from Pokerstars re the package.

The problem is that they only pay for accomodation till the 12th (day 3 of 7).  If i stay beyond day 3 then they pay the rest of my accomodation but not beforehand.  As such when I am looking to book my flight I have the problem of not knowing when I will be coming back.  Many airlines appear reluctant to offer open ended flights and I was a bit concerned that if I booked a single the cost of the return leg would either be very expensive or have no availability (due to being last minute booking).

If anyone has been out there and experienced these kind of issues a helping hand would be appreciated. 

[boldie]

I am due to go to the main event this year and have recently received details from Pokerstars re the package.

The problem is that they only pay for accomodation till the 12th (day 3 of 7).  If i stay beyond day 3 then they pay the rest of my accomodation but not beforehand.  As such when I am looking to book my flight I have the problem of not knowing when I will be coming back.  Many airlines appear reluctant to offer open ended flights and I was a bit concerned that if I booked a single the cost of the return leg would either be very expensive or have no availability (due to being last minute booking).

If anyone has been out there and experienced these kind of issues a helping hand would be appreciated. 

No experience here and no help..just wanted to say; You jammy sod! Hope to join you there and experience the same problems.

[4KingNutz]

Same here wouldn't know anything about it m8 but if you win then you wont have to worry about the cost of the return flight .




   Nutzzzz

[Woodsey]

I think whenever I have tried to book a one way flight they pretty much charge you the same price for a return anyway so you would just be better off booking to stay till the end of the WSOP and have fun for a few days if you don't go deep. I know that some US airlines have a different policy to this and you only pay half for a one way trip, but I have a feeling if may only be for internal flights in the US. I would look at the US websites for the airlines in preference to the UK ones and expedia etc to see if this would make any difference.

[WellChief]

We flew with continental airlines last year, and they let us change the flights for free when we knew we were staying beyond day 4, dunno if thats the norm or not though.

[doubleup]

Congrats on qualifying - if you are still playing on the 12th you will be in the money (22k last year) and could be heading for a really big payout, so I really wouldn't bother much about this.  Stars will surely take care of your hotel and 10 mins on the internet should get you a flight home.

[Longines]

I assume you get to book your own flights from an expenses allowance?

You've got a few options:

a) book the cheapest/most convenient flights and check the fare rules. Most cheap ones will be non-changeable, non-refundable. If you go deep and cash, suck it up and buy an open single ticket home. This will not be cheap.

b) book a ticket where the fare rules allow changes at a cost. A quick check on Expedia found a £700 American Airlines ticket that allows changes for £50 a time.

c) book a fully flexible ticket. You're looking at roughly twice the price of the cheapest ticket unless you get lucky and find a bargain.

When you book tickets on Expedia, Opodo etc. the fare rules are available to display at some point during the process.

[maxward]

Appreciated guys.

Will do a bit more work on getting a flexible flight I think. That said, I maybe giving myself far too much credit!!!

[bone1986]

Book a flight that returns after the end of the main event, if you don't make it past day 3 then go and stay in the gold coast or some where cheaper until you fly. The hotels in Vegas are quiet at that time of the year so you wont have any trouble finding accommodation.

[Moskvich]

Bit of a long shot, but if and when you got knocked out and didn't want to stay in Vegas thinking about what might have been - you could arrange to go somewhere else in the US for a couple of days. I went a few months ago, but booked a return flight with Virgin where I flew into Vegas direct, but flew out of New York. Not much more than a standard return. Got a cheap single internal flight to get from Vegas to New York. If you did something like that, then you'd only ever have to change the internal flight, which would be much cheaper than changing the international flight.

[nosey-p]

BMI also fly direct out of Manchester
i don't know about a flexible ticket tho

wot hotel are you in? did you get a choice?

[Royal Flush]

virigin will let you change it for £100 (i think)

[Woodsey]

Bit of a long shot, but if and when you got knocked out and didn't want to stay in Vegas thinking about what might have been - you could arrange to go somewhere else in the US for a couple of days. I went a few months ago, but booked a return flight with Virgin where I flew into Vegas direct, but flew out of New York. Not much more than a standard return. Got a cheap single internal flight to get from Vegas to New York. If you did something like that, then you'd only ever have to change the internal flight, which would be much cheaper than changing the international flight.

Thats your best bet thinking about it. Get a cheap return to NY, a single to LV and then you will have no probs getting back to NY when you fancy it in time for your return flight to the UK. For single tickets in the US they do charge half the price of a return unlike transatlantic flights, there will be several flights each day to NY from LV.

[maxward]

Woodsey and Boney thats a really good idea - I will most likely go for that. Looks like an early exit maybe followed by a quick trip to LA or NY.

Good thinking guys and thanks for the help

[RichD]

Just enjoy it max!