attn: Vegas vets -- trip advice requested

[hutz]

I have flight credit that must be used by June 9. I'm seriously considering a trip to Vegas May 22-24, May 29-31, or June 5-7. Keeping travel expenses to a minimum is important to me, so I'm thinking of doing the following: arriving in Vegas late (11 pm) Thursday night, dropping my bags off at the hotel, playing hold'em through Thursday night/Friday morning, checking in Friday (mid-morning, if possible), crashing Friday morning/afternoon, playing most of Friday night, grabbing a few hours sleep Saturday morning, and leaving Saturday late morning/early afternoon. This plan would let me avoid one night's hotel cost.

My primary concern with this plan is that the games won't be so hot between 2-10 a.m. and I'll get stuck sitting around with not much to do for several hours at a time. I'm planning to play $3-6, $4-8, or $5-10 limits and am comfortable playing shorthanded as long as the game isn't hyper-aggressive. What are the games like during the wee hours on Thursday nights/Friday mornings? Is my concern justified or will I be able to find a game during that time?

I'd like to stay at a decent Strip hotel for the lowest cost possible. All I care about is that it has a lock on the door, is clean, has non-smoking rooms, and is within a reasonable (fifteen minutes) walking distance from the Mirage area. So far, I have found a $75 rate for the Friday night stay through lasvegas.com (at the Stardust). Does anyone have suggestions for a less-expensive choice?

While in town, I'd like to meet those of you with whom I have corresponded either on here or in our shorthanded study group (Dynasty, Clarkmeister, or anyone else who's in town). If you'd like that too, send me a PM and let's set something up.

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

[sucka]

The Stardust is actually more than a 15 minute hike to the Mirage. Our last trip we stayed at the Westward Ho which is right next door to the Stardust (and a dump to boot) and one of my friends walked back from the Mirage one night and it took him 45 minutes. One bad thing is that they are doing a ton of construction on that side of the strip just south of the Stardust so there's no sidewalk there. You'll have to cross the street twice to avoid it.

I'd recommend looking at Harrahs, Imperial Palace, Barbary Coast, etc...

You can get contact info for those and others at cheapovegas.com.

FWIW, it's only about a $5-6 taxi ride from the Stardust to the Mirage. We'd walk from the Ho over to the Stardust's valet/taxi area and catch cabs from there. It was only about a 5 minute walk for us and cabs aren't exactly lined up at the Ho so we really had no choice.

BTW, I wouldn't recommend the Ho nor can I recommend their $1.49 footlong hotdogs. /forums/images/icons/ooo.gif

I think someone had posted on here a short while back about cheap rates at the Treasure Island so you might check into that as well.

In short, if you want a place within a 15 minute walking distance I don't think the Stardust is your place. One thing to consider though - the Stardust does have a poker room so if you don't feel like walking you can always play there. We walked through last time during the day and there were several tables going. Old crusty rockish types though.

[Homer]

BTW, I wouldn't recommend the Ho nor can I recommend their $1.49 footlong hotdogs.

Would you recommend their big ass 99 cent margaritas? /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

-- Homer

[Zag]

It's been a long time since I was in Vegas (sniff, sniff) but I know that when I was there last, the best deal I could find was to book the room through the poker room and get the poker room rate. In order to get it, I had to play at least 4 hours a day, which was, of course, not a problem.

[hutz]

If you drink enough of 'em, you (1) forget you're hungry or (2) don't realize how bad the hot dogs are!

[AceHigh]

Boardwalk is located between Mirage and Bellagio and it is about the same price as Stardust. Closer to Bellagio than Mirage, I think, but much closer to Mirage than Stardust. You might want to give that a try.

Thursday nights are much cheaper in Vegas than Fridays or Saturdays, so if you want to avoid a nights hotel stay it should be Saturday. Maybe stay up Saturday night into Sunday Morning and take very early flight out of Vegas. I've done it before and it makes Sundays flight a lot more enjoyable, sleep through it all. Though, I've kept my hotel room, in case I get too tired, or I wanted to clean up before flight.