Introduction

This is one in a series of money-saving tips. For more information, please visit my home page.

Las Vegas

welcome sign My wife and I like to go to Las Vegas twice a year, usually spring and fall. Some people spend a lot of money on a vacation. We prefer to spend less and take more vacations. That means we look for the best bargains which usually involves being flexible about our travel dates.


Lodging
We have gotten players cards from all of the major casinos and, even though we're definitely not high-rollers, we regularly receive offers for free rooms for 2 or 3 nights. This makes the lodging free or very cheap. Lacking these offers, you can still stay relatively cheap if you can avoid Friday and Saturday nights when the rates at all the hotels are the highest.


There are also several times during the year when rooms are cheaper. These times include the entire summer, the week of Thanksgiving, and around Christmas. Check the various travel sites for hotels and air/hotel packages. But then cross check the prices with the hotels and airlines as well.


Our favorite place to stay is Harrah's as it is in the center of the strip. Harrah's also owns Caesars Palace, Bally's, Paris, Rio, Imperial Palace, and the Flamingo. We concentrate most of our gambling at these casinos to insure that we get the free room offers.


We also have a Harrah's Total Rewards Visa card which adds more points into our players club account. As a result, we usually have enough points to pay for an additional night beyond the free ones which makes our lodging expense zero.


Airline Tickets

airplane We fly out of Chicago. The cheapest tickets of late have been on Southwest out of Midway airport or U.S. Air/America West out of O'Hare airport, but we have also gotten good prices on United and American occasionally. The key is to be flexible, if possible, with your travel dates.


Southwest isn't listed on the travel sites that many people use. You must go to their web site to check prices. We try to keep the ticket price below $250 each and we were successful virtually all of the time until oil got well over $100 a barrel. Most recently we had to use AirTran out of Milwaukee to keep the price below $300.


Airport Parking
When we fly Southwest out of Midway we always drive there and park the car at a nearby facility called "Park Ride & Fly". Their current rates, which are obviously subject to change, are $9.75 per day.


When you enter their lot they follow you in a bus to whatever parking space you choose and then take your luggage out of your car and load it on the bus. Then they drive you to the terminal door and take your luggage off the bus. On-airport parking rates are $14 per day for the remote lots so this is over $4 a day cheaper and the service is absolutely fantastic.


When you get back from your trip you just give them a call and they'll be there shortly to pick you up outside the terminal door, drive you back to your car, and transfer your luggage. They even have some indoor parking spaces for $2 extra per day.


The facility is completely fenced in, well-lit, and seems totally secure. Park Ride & Fly has locations in many cities around the country.


Getting Around Las Vegas
Sometimes we rent a car. The cheapest is usually Payless. As is being done at other airports, you now exit the terminal and catch a free shuttle that takes you to a rental facility outside of the airport where all of the car rental company's rental counters are located. This is a lot faster than the old days when you had to wait for your car rental company's bus.


But, the taxes imposed on car rentals is absolutely outrageous and can easily add 35% or more onto the cost. On top of a 7.75% sales tax there is an airport access fee of 10%, a local tax of 2%, a government service fee of 8%, a license recovery fee of 4%, and a $3 per day customer facility charge! I guess that explains the "free" shuttle.


So maybe you'll want to skip the car. You can hop in a cab at the airport for about $15 to the center of the strip or you can go on a shuttle bus that will make multiple stops for about $6 a head. But, if you take a taxi, here is an important point. Tell the driver to NOT take the expressway. Tell him to use the Swensen exit from the airport instead. A trip to Bally's, for example, is $12 (before any tip) using the Swensen exit but $24 if the expressway route is taken. The expressway route is at a higher speed but is many more miles and the cab fare is primarily based on distance. Travel times are about the same using either route.


bus Once you arrive at your hotel you can take advantage of free shuttle buses provided by many of the casinos. Here are some examples:

Gold Coast (off strip) has a free shuttle for its guests to the strip and its sister property, the Orleans.

Green Valley Ranch (off strip) has a free shuttle to/from the airport and to/from Mandalay Bay.

Harrah's - Bally's - Caesars Palace - Rio: Starting at 10:00am, the shuttles leave approximately every 30 minutes from each location.

Sams Town (off-strip) has shuttles between their casino and Harrah's, Tropicana, Downtown, Riviera, and Bill's Gamblin' Hall (previously known as Barbary Coast).


There are also a few free monorails and trams. One runs between the Excalibur and Mandalay Bay. It also stops at the Luxor on the way to the Excalibur but not on the way back to Mandalay Bay. Another runs between the Mirage and the TI.


Public transportation consists of a double-decker bus called the "Deuce" that runs from just South of the airport, along the strip all the way to downtown. You can buy a single ride for $2.00 or a 24 hour pass for $5 on the bus. Time between buses runs from 7 to 17 minutes depending on the time of day and the day of the week.


There is also a monorail that runs between the MGM and the Sahara with stops at Bally's, the Flamingo, Harrah's/Imperial Palace, the Convention Center and the Las Vegas Hilton. It costs $5 per trip but a number of multi-ride passes are also available.


Free Entertainment
Bellagio - A huge water, music and light show occurs frequently in the large pond in front of the Bellagio.

Caesars Forum Shops - There are a couple of fountains with statues that "come alive" every hour starting at 10:00am.

Fremont Street Experience - A canopy covers four blocks of Fremont street in downtown Las Vegas and it is lined with over 12 million lights. Every evening on the hour there is a different light show accompanied by music.

Mirage - A volcano eruption is simulated by sound and lights periodically in the evening outside the Mirage, weather permitting. The eruptions are currently suspended but will resume at the end of 2008.

Sams Town - There is a laser light and water show at 2:00pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm, and 10:00pm in the Mystic Falls Indoor Park.

TI - At Treasure Island there is a battle between two pirate ships in the waters out front. There's acrobatics, sword fights, and song & dance numbers. Show times are 5:30pm, 7:00pm, 8:30pm and 10:00pm, weather permitting.

Helpful Books