Is Vegas a meme, overpriced rooms, overpriced alcohol, and pinky

>>1213487
>Is Vegas a meme,
Yes, absolutely, and not at all.
>overpriced rooms,
Rooms in Vegas are among the cheapest in the United States; they're absolutely the cheapest for a major destination city. Both the cheap rooms (the town has literally thousands at well under $100) and the higher-end ones pack more bang for your buck than they would elsewhere. (Yes, you can pay $14,000 for a crazy suite, but you'll be getting $30,000 worth of suite for that price.)
>overpriced alcohol,
There is both cheap and expensive alcohol all over Vegas. No law against open containers, so you'll often see people walking around between the casinos drinking on the street. At most casinos you'll receive 'free' drinks if you sit and gamble for a little while.
>and pinky activities that take money?
I don't know what pinky activities are. It's true that the number of things to do for free in Las Vegas is limited, but it can be good for surrealist people-watching.

I am not crazy about Vegas. I personally always wind up drinking too much and spending too much money while I'm there, so my experiences correspond, I think, to your meme ideas. And the no-natural-light airlessness of a casino gets claustrophobic for me after about 24 hours.

If both gambling and drinking are repugnant to you in general, you may not like Vegas much.

But despite my mixed feelings, there's a lot there that I do appreciate. It's a great restaurant town. Lots of live entertainment (music and comedy most obviously, but other stuff too). The Pinball Hall of Fame. Some interesting stuff oriented more towards locals (weird thrift and record stores, dive bars with local bands, etc.).

If you want to get outside, the Hoover Dam is interesting to look at and less than an hour away; the Grand Canyon isn't much more than two hours away and it's pretty spectacular.

>>1213487
Vegas is cool, but only for a couple of days. It gets old quick.

Last time i went to Vegas, i got our room for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at IP (The Linq now, i believe) for under $200 through the Harrahs/Caesar's rewards program.

There are plenty (or was) places where you can get a beer for $1. Most cocktail waitresses never cared about the comped drinks for players rule as long as you tipped. We made friends with a waitress at IP playing craps, every time she'd bring us a beer, she would also put a shot down for my buddy and i on that ledge below the craps table. We got shitfaced for probably $50 worth of tips.

If you want to get loaded for cheap, sit at a 2/4 limit hold em table and fold everything but premium hands. That counts as gambling and you can get all your drinks for a $1 tip.

People watching is fun too. I like(d) sitting at Diablo's cantina, drinking margaritas and people watching.

I'm kind of an alcoholic, and drinking makes it worse for me, so i used to do Vegas pretty hard.

Like i said, it's fun for a few days, but it gets old quick.

Me and my buddy got kicked out of 4 Queens one night for taking a 12 pack of natty light in and drinking off of it while playing penny slots.

Don't do that

>>1213732
Yeah that's frowned upon.

Look I've said this in other Vegas threads and I'll say it again: the strip is expensive as hell, and if that bothers you, don't go...you won't have fun.

You don't HAVE to spend a ton of money on the strip. Rooms at the lower end resorts (Harrah's, Flamingo, Bally's, Excalibur) can be gotten for $40 or less/night, but then you have to factor in resort fees of around $25+, so the real cost is closer to $75+. This still isn't bad, compared to even low end hotels around the country. None of them are Bellagio or Wynn level, but it's a clean comfy room in most cases.

Is eating/drinking on the strip expensive? Yes, in most cases. You CAN drink nothing but PBR and eat at Taco Bell, but if you're doing that what's the point in going to Vegas?

SO many people try to do Vegas "on the cheap" and it's just the wrong way to do it. Bars are expensive. Clubs are outrageously expensive. Food in a decent place is expensive. Gambling is obviously expensive - unless you have card skills you WON'T win, so don't expect to.

If you don't go to town with a reasonable budget (say $400/day minimum) THAT YOU ARE OK SPENDING, just don't go. You'll be constantly worrying about money and you'll drag yourself and everyone with you down.

I usually go with $1K per day. That's food, drinking, gambling all in. I'm a low roller and that covers me comfortably so I don't have to worry about money. Your mileage may vary but consider that for adults there aren't too many other places in the country that offer as much to do as the strip, if you do it the right way. Have a wad to blow and be comfortable blowing it and it's a fucking blast.

>>1213876
Granted i haven't been to Vegas in 5 years or so, but there are some things in Vegas I'll usually go cheap on.

Food is one of them, sure, there are world class restaurants all over the place.. but all of my trips to Vegas were for two things; partying and gambling. That Chipolte/McDonald's/pizza place/Panda Garden next to Harrahs was my go to dinner place. We'd grab a buffet or eat at a sit down place once a trip, but i always skipped the fine dining.

Clubs are a fucking meme. They are a scam unless you are an attractive woman. Don't go unless you want to waste your money and time. I was told this before my first trip "there are no night clubs in Las Vegas, only long lines to sober up in" and it's 100% true.

Caesers/Harrahs has resort fees now? Gay. That was their selling point during my Vegas heyday. No Resort Fees. They are gonna get that extra $30 no matter what, let me gamble it.

I usually tried to give myself a $500 a day minimum of spending on gambling alone, plus another $100 or so on drinks and food. We play a lot of poker, and I used to be alright at it, so i had many good nights playing $1/2 NLH @ The Mirage.

Last time i went, for just a long weekend, i took $1200, lost 1k the first night blacked out drunk playing poker at Harrahs, spent the rest of the weekend hung over, broke and miserable. Of the 5 trips I've taken to Vegas, that was the only one i didn't have fun on. I haven't been back since.

Every time i look at going to Vegas, more of the places i like are being closed down or remodeled (Bills, IP, O'Shea's, Fitzgeralds ect) and being replaced with super douchey fancy resorts. Plus, i use to be able to get a flight and hotel for $500.. now it seems like it's at least $650/700. I'm not paying that.

But I think i have the girlfriend talked into a Vegas wedding, so i might be going next summer.

>>1213876
>>1214031
Where is the fun in wasting a lot of money playing games when you know you won't win?

>>1214048
I really don't play blackjack, slots, roulette ect.

I stick to craps and poker.

>>1213487
Vegas is fun as fuck if you aren't a poor motherfucker.

>>1213731
4 Days. My friends and I have done Vegas a few times and we found out that 4 days is the limit, and then either boredom, or trouble ensues. With us, it's usually trouble, which is why we're usually on our flight out on day 5.

>>1214048
If you don't enjoy gambling, no one is going to be able to explain it to you. Either you enjoy it or you don't. If you enjoy it (and you do it responsibly) it's not any more of waste than most other ways to spend your money.

>>1214031
It's completely possible to eat really well in Vegas without breaking the bank. Especially if you're willing to go off the strip. There's a huge spectrum between 5-star dining and fast food. I personally have an unhealthy love for Le Thai down on Freemont Street. I cannot recommend it enough, particularly late night after a night of partying.

>>1214129
>4 days
Last time I was in Vegas I stayed 7 nights and that still wasn't enough. I'm going again in May. 8 night stay this time. I have no doubt I'd last a month before getting bored. If only I had the money.

>>1214162
If i had the money i could have a blast for 8 days. 8 days of poker and sports betting would be a great time. When i was going to Vegas a lot i was in my mid 20's, so mix in binge drinking and staying up til 9 am every day, and it got old after about 3 days.

Winning cures all though

>>1214162
The four day rule was instituted after a seven night stay. After day 4 we did the usual Vegas stuff and managed to make local contacts. Heavy drinking (to be fair, the drinking started before we left the airport), drug use, and reckless gambling ensued. Highlights of the last 3 days include multiple blackouts, doing peyote for the first time, blowing my $10k reserve in about 6 hours, accidentally taking LSD and having the worst trip of my life, and waking up in my friend's bed with a stripper/hooker.

Like I said, we tend to find trouble after 4 days. Some people can handle it, we can't. We're not good at self control in a lot of ways, particularly when everything is as readily available as it is in Vegas. If we do manage to stay away from trouble, we get bored with drinking and gambling relatively quickly.

>>1214194
My actual favorite part of Vegas now that I've grown up is just chilling in sports books, getting fed drinks and watching games.

Anyone recommend a buffet all my co-workers are split on the wicked spoon and Bacchanal

>>1214598
Haven't been to Wicked Spoon but I have been to Bacchanal and it wasn't that great. Wicked Spoon is apparently really good though. I'd go there if I were you.