[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. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]