Las Vegas

just got back from a weekend at vegas with a few mates. we stayed at the bellagio, it was a nice hotel. they had 3 pools side by side in the courtyard with deck chairs all around it, a smaller fountain you can swim in around the corner and a pretty spacious heated jaccuzi. it was pretty cold all weekend though, so no one was really swimming.

we also saw the penn and teller show. i didn't know about them before this, and i am now a fan. if you don't know them they are a magic duo who do excellent tricks and the big one talks about magic and ethics and liberty. i am still blown away by the goldfish trick and it was overall a great show. we also fired ak-47's at a the guns and ammo garage, that was a buck a round and loads of fun. i fucking love america.

if you're driving in, traffic can be a bit of a grind in places, but it only took us about 5 and a half or 6 hours from san diego (i love the freeway system), and once you hit nevada you'll notice there's a lot more highway patrol pulling people over on the main incoming arteries. have a good trip.

Illuziun_sl said:

Summer is the only time to go to Vegas, it's pool party season. The pool parties at Encore Beach, Marquee Day, TAO Beach, and a few others are what make Vegas, Vegas.

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Go to Mount Charleston (~mid 70s in August) and/or do the Red Rock Canyon drive. Both can be done in a day...way better than the strip IMHO.

The MGM has the best pool setup of the hotels I've been to. Lazy river all day.

Knytestorme_sl said:

For Oblio and ToeMissle mostly I guess but open to all.

Rewatching the MvF Vegas episode and I'm interested in checking out Hash House-a-go-go when I'm there, is it worthwhile at all in terms of food and value? He also went to some shimp place that looked interesting but can't recall it's name to ask about.

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My buddy goes there weekly, and he and his wife split the MvF dish (Fried chicken eggs benedict).

I always know when he did it before work because he's a retarded sloth work for the first couple of hours. He swears up and down by that place.

Just got back from Vegas myself. Was mainly a work trip so I spent a lot of time schmoozing and getting free beer at different cocktail parties/events, so I didn't have much time for exploring. But something I did come across that saved my life after flying in late was Strip Burger. It's a little outdoor burger stand that has excellent burgers and if you are there during happy hour there are great drink specials. Overall very reasonably priced, less than $15 per meal for the food.

I've found some really good room prices at the Rio a couple times. Nice rooms, most(maybe all?) are suites, and even though it is off the strip, it's a Harrah's owned property so they run a free shuttle bus to like 3 or 4 of the strip hotels. The first time I stayed at the Rio they ran free shuttles to Caesars, Harrahs, Ballys, & Rio. Last time I was there I think they had streamlined it to just Rio/Harrahs/Ballys. But still easy enough to get around, free shuttle back to your hotel from mid-strip. I think they ran from like 6am to 2am or something, so pretty well covered most of the day.

joeboo_sl said:

I've found some really good room prices at the Rio a couple times. Nice rooms, most(maybe all?) are suites, and even though it is off the strip, it's a Harrah's owned property so they run a free shuttle bus to like 3 or 4 of the strip hotels. The first time I stayed at the Rio they ran free shuttles to Caesars, Harrahs, Ballys, & Rio. Last time I was there I think they had streamlined it to just Rio/Harrahs/Ballys. But still easy enough to get around, free shuttle back to your hotel from mid-strip. I think they ran from like 6am to 2am or something, so pretty well covered most of the day.

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Good tip.

When I go on business I try to stay cheap. I made the mistake of staying at the Stratosphere this time around. Not only is it like a $15-$20 taxi ride to get to the strip, it is also a dump. I thought I could handle the walking, but not only is it a long walk, it is pretty shady. That end of the strip might liven up as they redo Sahara and build up a couple of other properties, but right now it's just bums and the poor fools who stayed at the Stratosphere walking up down there.

Only good thing about the Stratosphere is that they have a live feed of people jumping off the building. Pretty sure one guy I watched passed out 1/2 way down. That was funny.

opiate82_sl said:

Only good thing about the Stratosphere is that they have a live feed of people jumping off the building. Pretty sure one guy I watched passed out 1/2 way down. That was funny.

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Jumping off the tower? Like parachuting?

Also dude, you were at the Stratosphere. You do realize the worse part of Vegas is behind there, right? The Naked City? Cops won't go down there unless they're 4 cars deep.

lol, that's such a horseshit myth. It's not a good area, but most major cities (including Vegas itself) have worse hoods. The entire area is also up being cleared out for sale to large scale developers, too.

Salshun_sl said:

Jumping off the tower? Like parachuting?

Also dude, you were at the Stratosphere. You do realize the worse part of Vegas is behind there, right? The Naked City? Cops won't go down there unless they're 4 cars deep.

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No, they have a setup where you jump off while hooked to a set of cables that slow you down as you near the bottom. If you didn't know it was there it would look like people were offing themselves.

And no, I didn't realize it was the ghetto beyond Stratosphere, but after running into the crazy-bum-lady who was throwing rocks at passer-byers, I am more aware.

Adam12_sl said:

lol, that's such a horseshit myth. It's not a good area, but most major cities (including Vegas itself) have worse hoods. The entire area is also up being cleared out for sale to large scale developers, too.

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You're probably right. The problem is it's passed so much into urban legend it's hard to think of it in any other way and it's hard to shake the notion.

opiate82_sl said:

And no, I didn't realize it was the ghetto beyond Stratosphere, but after running into the crazy-bum-lady who was throwing rocks at passer-byers, I am more aware.

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A buddy saw a lady on Maryland and Trop (a MAJOR intersection) out of her car ripping wiring out of it screaming "the bugs will eat my stereo!". He went into a store, came out 5 minutes later, same shit, no cops. On that intersection, every 3rd car is practically a cop, luckiest meth head alive.

I'm headed to Vegas next month and staying at MGM and Venetian for a couple nights each. Have any of you attempted the 20 dollar trick where you slide the person checking you in 20 bucks and askif any "complimentary upgrades" are available? I've seen some chatter on other travel sites, but I trust the RR people.

It worked for me at TI in 2004, upgraded from a normal room to a suite with a great view. It really depends on how busy the hotel is. Summer is pretty slow for the most part, especially on weekdays, so you should definitely give it a shot.

I tried it and was upgraded to the "Back to the Future II" suite at Planet Hollywood.

I'm going in late June so I don't think it'll be crazy busy. Only problem is that the week I'm staying at MGM, Beyonce is playing. Bieber follows with his gay shit the next night.

Thanks for feedback. Will try it out and post pics of room upgrade if it works.

Any other good deal eats on or near the strip? I'm a big fan of the 7-7-7 deal at Hard Rock Casino.

Terribles Casino on Paradise and Flamingo a little ways past Hard Rock has a 2-egg breakfast any time of day I believe for $2.99. Think you just gotta sign up for their slot card thing which I noticed Hard Rock wants you to do now before you can get the 777 special.

Not the best thing to like in that town, Tuco.