It’s been awhile since we have had a general tips post.  Here are some odds and ends that we thought of that I know could benefit some of our fellow Vegas travelers.  So here they are in no particular order:

-If you are mainly a table game player and rarely play slots, you should consider changing it up a bit.  The rating systems are slanted even more heavily towards slot players now than ever before and unless you are sitting down with over $500 per session of blackjack and willing to bet at least $25 per hand, don’t expect much notice from the pit boss.  So now what?  Well what you can do is play the $1 Wheel Of Fortune.  It’s the most popular slot machine by far and you will get the biggest bang for your buck.  The key is to, “pimp them and leave”.  Lori calls it that as you basically take whatever winnings that you come to at any point and just leave.  For example; you put in $100 and play for a bit and you get a wheel spin.  Congratulations, this is what EVERYONE wants.  So you get $35 on the spin and you hear the clapping soundtrack, yeah!  Now you have done some winning (and some losing) on the session, but that spin of the wheel puts you to $128 on your total credits. Great, now leave.  I know that you are thinking that it’s just $28 of profit, but the point is not to win a ton; it’s not to lose any while you are trying to get rated.  Only in Vegas would $28 not seem like much of anything, because if you were at home and you saw $28 on the floor you would pick it up.  Now do the same thing here.  Use it for cab fare, or tipping (as you know I am all about), food, whatever.  What normally happens is that people just want to keep playing and playing and eventually they will lose all of their initial money.  So don’t let that happen to you.  Just take your winnings and go to the next stop, do what you do and play again later.  You won’t always win, but you will come out way ahead in the long run.

-Water.  A no brainer here, but still it has to be said.  Drink water all the time.  Too often people don’t and it can get ugly.  Especially in the summer months with 100+ degree temps.

-Use your points/comps on your trip.  A lot of times the play that you have done over the course of the trip has afforded you some comps in the form of discounts of just free crap.  Use them on the trip that you are on because they start to expire the moment you leave.  One thing that a casino host told me is that at the end of your trip you should go to casino marketing and have them apply whatever you have earned toward your hotel charges.  You have to go to casino marketing though, because the two systems are not connected and it doesn’t happen automatically.  Take what they give you, because they are definitely going to take from you!

-Have a plan, however loose.  The worse thing to do is to be wandering around aimlessly without a destination.  It’s too hot and things are too far apart to be doing that.  Plus random cab rides add up, so have an idea of what you want to do and plan around it.  Seeing a show? Great, plan dinner at or near that location. Want to watch some sporting event? Realize that you are on the West Coast and there might be a time change (like Sunday Night Baseball at 5 pm, what’s up with that?)

-Call your bank before going and tell them that you are traveling to Vegas.  There is a lot of fraud and if you have a bank like mine (Bank of America), they have a huge fraud department that works almost too well.  This is only really an issue if you need to go to the ATM, especially inside a casino because this may trigger something in their network to shut your debit card down.  Don’t let this happen to you.

-If you have to get money out of an ATM, don’t do it in the casino.  Recently the casinos have jacked up their fees to some crazy levels.  Our flight attendant on the way out actually made an announcement to that affect.  So we checked, and sure enough they had to the tune of $22+.  There are ATMs (Bank of America) in The Forum Shops @ Caesars (3 I believe), there is one on the 3rd or 4th Floor of the M&M store down by MGM and ATM at Casino Royale has a fee of only $1.00. Plus there are ATMS at all monorail stations (Bank of Nevada).  These are normal ATMs with normal fees.

-Ask for matches.  They seem to be the only things that are actually free, i.e. you don’t have to gamble anything to get them.  I actually saw a no money exchange for matches at a sundries shop in Ceasars.  I don’t even smoke and I almost asked for some.

More tips as they come up, but this should get you going in the right direction. Viva Las Vegas indeed!

And one is not money, what would you need?  I know that it seems like you would only need the God given ability to consume mass quantities of alcohol without losing your cookies, but believe me you need more.

Every trip to Vegas is going to necessitate 3 basic items, and no it is not food, shelter, and security (although you might leave Vegas wondering if you will even have those basic of needs when you get back home).

Very simply you need the following:

Water

You don’t even realize how easy it is to get dehydrated.  Just being outside and walking from casino to casino will sap all of the moisture out of your system.  This is even more of an issue if you come from a place that has some humidity as your body will not be accustomed to the dry heat.  In the summer it’s like a convection oven; stifling.  Your best friend is the bottle of water that you will have to have by your side at just about all times.  You will spend more on water than you would normally spend on vacation per say, but it will be worth it because the alternative is just a zombie like feeling that is only compounded with the constant boozing that you most certainly will be doing. Water first, Water later, and Water often.

Lip Balm

This is related to the dehydration situation stated above, but it’s more of a specific problem when it comes to your luscious lips.  I have seen guys with lips that are so chapped that they have spilt them open off of their bottled beer.  Not Pretty.  Girls are less susceptible to this because of the constant application of lip gloss, but still it’s a good item to have on hand.

Good Shoes

This is tremendously important because you will do more walking than you normally do.  Throw in the fact that you will have your “going out” gear on most nights and you have a recipe for some barking dogs come morning time.  I know you think that Planet Hollywood is close to Bally’s, but believe me there is some walking involved and if you are in some heels, you will be feeling it.  Lori has learned this lesson over the years and has since purchased “cute” heels that are also very comfortable.  This means that yours truly doesn’t have to worry that every step will cause some sort of major damage and that the mood will not turn south because of some busting bunions.  If you don’t adhere to this item, you will find yourself in a lot of cab lines when you are with the ladies.

So there you have it.  Sure you need a nice bankroll, a decent room, and some adult beverages to get the party started; but let’s face it you already have those things going for you.  Just don’t forget these 3 essential items that will keep you in the game longer and refreshed for the next day when you will lace them up and do it all again!