How to Not Lose Your Shirt in Vegas, Baby

Vegas can either be a very cheap destination or a very expensive one. Here are some tips to make your stay inexpensive, but not miss out on any of the fun of Las Vegas.

– Set a budget for your gambling. It should be what you’re happy to lose. I like to separate out my winnings from my initial chips. I only gamble until I’ve spent the initial chips and then still have my winnings in a separate place in my purse, which I cash out.

– Go during the week. You can get some outstanding deals on Vegas hotels Sundays to Thursdays. Bear in mind that almost all the properties in Vegas charge a “resort fee” which can be up to $30 a day on top of your quoted room rate.

– Avoid the costumed characters on the strip. People dress up in costumes (everything from Elmo to Elvis) and take photos with tourists for tips. They can get very aggressive if you don’t pay them the tip they think they deserve. Note that there are no set prices as it wouldn’t be legal for them to operate unlicensed with set prices. Therefore if they do hassle you, you are fully entitled to tip only what you intended.

– Book in advanced for popular shows. I tried to go see Britney Spears at Planet Hollywood but couldn’t get any of the cheaper seats for my dates. The tickets that were available were more than twice the price of the lowest tier seats.

– Take the bus rather than cabs. The Deuce and SDX buses go up and down the strip. Get a bus pass. If you’re driving to Vegas you can get free parking at all the casinos.

– If you want to visit Las Vegas from the UK or Europe, include charter flights in your search. Even if you primarily want to go to LA, it might be cheaper to fly internationally to Las Vegas and then get a cheap Southwest shuttle flight from Vegas to LA.

– Las Vegas is one of the premiere fine dining destinations in the US. Many New York chefs also have restaurants in Vegas. Yet you still see people on the street in Las Vegas wolfing down giant slices of cheap pizza or other similarly low brow food. If you’re really looking to save money on food, consider eating one meal a day at a buffet. These are very cheap, typically decent quality, and you definitely won’t need to eat the rest of the day. Check out this excellent first hand guide to the best buffets in Las Vegas.

Do you love Las Vegas? It’s such a fun place for a quick trip. Here are some awesome suggestions from the New York Times for if you only have 36 hours.

The top photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.