Vegas Trip Information for anyone looking to go this year.

[aaron1867]

I flew LGW > LAS. Isn't that the easiest way to do it?

Really enjoyed my first trip there. Was only for 3 nights but great fun. We were staying at the MGM Grand. My mate had 3 nights comped. He's back late jan and they're comping him 7 nights. Between us we gambled enough to have all our food/drink wiped from the bill lol.

Add in the fact I've come back with slightly more than I took and I'm v happy.

Just not looking forwards to having to pay for things again lol

How did you rate MGM? Think we've narrowed it down to flamingo/PH/MGM, we are all first timers & the date looks 10-20 April. No Boxing Day deals though.

[Simon Galloway]

Assuming the prices are about equal, you can insta-scratch Flamingo off your list.

Flamingo has it's supporters on here, but I doubt one of them would pay PH prices to stay there.

If prices are roughly equal, I'd go PH >>> MGM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Flamingo.

The only way MGM would reverse form with PH would be if the pool area was a big part of your plans.

[Graham C]

I flew LGW > LAS. Isn't that the easiest way to do it?

Really enjoyed my first trip there. Was only for 3 nights but great fun. We were staying at the MGM Grand. My mate had 3 nights comped. He's back late jan and they're comping him 7 nights. Between us we gambled enough to have all our food/drink wiped from the bill lol.

Add in the fact I've come back with slightly more than I took and I'm v happy.

Just not looking forwards to having to pay for things again lol

How do you get comped via gambling/poker?  Do you have to tell them you're playing there or do they find you ?

[Simon Galloway]

All the casinos have players clubs Graham.  Harrahs properties have "Total rewards" and MGM properties have "Mlife"  There are others for individual properties (Wynn, or Venetian) but the first two are the big two as they span a lot of properties.

So you sign up... when you play a slot, you put your reward card in.  When you play at a table, you hand your reward card over and they "rate" (= track) your play.

You can then end up with a bunch of points/comps on your card that can be used as you see fit.

Here's a few pointers

They aren't silly, they are good at tracking it.  Buying in for $10k and betting $5 on red or black doesn't work
Playing for comps is a bad idea.  They have it locked down pretty hard, where you stand to get less in comps than your losses (actual or theoretical)
Even buying dinner in a nice restaurant attracts points, so use your players card every time you spend money (including the hotel bill too)
You can log on to their online site and see how many comps you have.  It takes a good amount of gambling at modest stakes to get $100 in comps, and a hell of a lot to get your room paid for.
Bellagio are less impressed with $25/hand blackjack than the Strat would be.... go figure.
For even a modestly degen gamble, you will probably get room offers for next time.

[Graham C]

Cool, cheers.  If I get to go again I'll sign up, can't hurt.

Next question, who's got room in their suitcase

In before "It'd have to be  a bloody big case"

[Cf]

First thing I did was sign up for mlife.

We mainly played slots and a bit of blackjack. Didnt bother with poker in the end as we decided it'd take up too much time of only 3 nights.

Took our cards to the desk at the end of day two and was told we had warned 4 figures worth of comps. These are the hidden ones, different to free play etc. Slot wise we were playing on max stake (anywhere between $2.50-$6) and blackjack was generally $50-$100 per box.

As far as I recall the mlife card was accepted in MGMGrand/NYNY/Bellagio/Aria. I think there are others too but those are the places we went.

I really liked it as a hotel too. Nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in. How it compares to the rest of Vegas I wouldn't know.

[Simon Galloway]

If you are playing slots at those stakes then the comps will definitely roll in.  I'd check your Mlife account online now also, you will probably find you've got some free room offers on there, as well as a balance of unused comps and your tier credits.  And definitely check the rates there for next time, almost certainly will be cheaper than retail options.  This year I played zero slots and played some $50 pai gow for a few hours of break-even free drinking and that was good enough for a couple of free night offers to come through.

As for the MGM, the good news is that it is a solid mid-tier property.  The rooms were renovated recently, so definitely a decent stay, no shortage of options.  I say "good news" in that there are lots of better hotels to enjoy too.  Wandering around other properties, you quickly get an idea of where you'd like to try next time.  There isn't a right and wrong answer, some people feel at home in Tropicana, others like to enjoy some luxury in Mandarin Oriental.

Of the solid mid-tier type properties, MGM often have sales readily available, sometimes $50/night stuff even during higher seasons. Tough to argue with that.  In fact, the only argument is usually from those staying at the Quad, saying it's only somewhere to sleep, whilst inadvertently paying $60 /night (and thereby losing the argument) to do so.

[Cf]

The comps you find on the website aren't the same as the "hidden" comps you earn. Eg I got my balance up to $35 as can be seen on the site but when it comes to paying your bilI you have a hidden balance (which will be much higher as long as you're betting big/a lot) that they will use against your bill.

I already miss the ability to charge things to my room

[Marky147]

I've probably done myself up a fair bit by paying cash for everything at the Nugget over the last couple years!

Especially when we've had a group of 20 for dinner @ Vic & Anthony's, and I could have bunged that on the room

[aaron1867]

As mentioned it will be my first time, so I don't have any idea on hotel.

I have seen Harrahs £990 for ten days + flight for 10-20 April.

[Marky147]

As mentioned it will be my first time, so I don't have any idea on hotel.

I have seen Harrahs £990 for ten days + flight for 10-20 April.

10 years ago I would probably have been on a Paul Ho sabbatical

You're going to get lots of different prices, when you're looking at different places, and different dates.

There essentially is no right or wrong, but I would be pretty shocked if I couldn't get your firm a better deal than £1k a man for 10 days.

[aaron1867]

As mentioned it will be my first time, so I don't have any idea on hotel.

I have seen Harrahs £990 for ten days + flight for 10-20 April.

10 years ago I would probably have been on a Paul Ho sabbatical

You're going to get lots of different prices, when you're looking at different places, and different dates.

There essentially is no right or wrong, but I would be pretty shocked if I couldn't get your firm a better deal than £1k a man for 10 days.

We have concluded on 10-20 April, but as things stand for a decent hotel, we are looking at over £1k?

I am at risk of repeating myself, but I think we have also come to a conclusion that it's PH/Harrahs/Aria, however I do not want Aria.... it's too expensive for me & everything is up and above £1k in april

[Marky147]

You can get 10 nights at the Palazzo for £1200 those 10 days with Expedia, which would be fine for the 3 of you, and save you getting 2 rooms.

2 of you check in, ask for a queen room and up you go, then once you're all settled get housekeeping up and throw them $50 to makeup the 3rd bed for you. They will be fine with it and it saves you paying an extra $30 a night.

When you go down the first time, say that you have left a key upstairs and you now all have keys.

Otherwise, you're going to have to book 2 hotels and that is where your costs are going to get higher if you want a decent hotel.

[aaron1867]

You can get 10 nights at the Palazzo for £1200 those 10 days with Expedia, which would be fine for the 3 of you, and save you getting 2 rooms.

2 of you check in, ask for a queen room and up you go, then once you're all settled get housekeeping up and throw them $50 to makeup the 3rd bed for you. They will be fine with it and it saves you paying an extra $30 a night.

When you go down the first time, say that you have left a key upstairs and you now all have keys.

Otherwise, you're going to have to book 2 hotels and that is where your costs are going to get higher if you want a decent hotel.

Cheers, sadly we have chosen to have seperate rooms, don't think we want to be under each others feet, really! Thanks

[Marky147]

You can get 10 nights at the Palazzo for £1200 those 10 days with Expedia, which would be fine for the 3 of you, and save you getting 2 rooms.

2 of you check in, ask for a queen room and up you go, then once you're all settled get housekeeping up and throw them $50 to makeup the 3rd bed for you. They will be fine with it and it saves you paying an extra $30 a night.

When you go down the first time, say that you have left a key upstairs and you now all have keys.

Otherwise, you're going to have to book 2 hotels and that is where your costs are going to get higher if you want a decent hotel.

Cheers, sadly we have chosen to have seperate rooms, don't think we want to be under each others feet, really! Thanks

Blackpool isn't bad that time of year


You've picked a bad set of 10 days to start with, because you end up paying for 2 weekends. You would be able to trim a fair amount off by going Sun-Thurs, and you also gain a night on your trip.

If you all want your own rooms you can probably do it under a grand, but you're definitely not going to be staying in Planet Hollywood and you'll likely not be in Harrahs either.