how to book hotel in vegas

Merry xmas all,
In vegas dec 30th for 3-4 nights A lot of places appear expensive obviously enough 30th and 31st. I have a come across the 'vegas.com' webste. Is that the cheapest one to use to book a place? Has anyone been to vegas and perhaps might recommend their hotel?
Also I'm flying in to LA on the 30th(en route to NZ. stop for a week. going to san fran for the rest hopefully). I am being advised not to bother staying in LA a night to recover but head straight to vegas. Would anyone agree?
niall

niall_C said:

I have a come across the 'vegas.com' webste. Is that the cheapest one to use to book a place? Has anyone been to vegas and perhaps might recommend their hotel?

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There are all sorts of offers available online for different hotels and casinos. It depends on what you can find/what is available as to where will be the cheapest place to get the accomodation (at that time of the year you may not have a huge choice of offers).

Have a look at that website, then check a couple of others and try going direct to the hotel/casino website. You'll have a rough idea of what you should be paying and you'll know if your getting a good deal.

The hotels and casinos are all very good. Any of the big names will be excellent. If your budget can take in a night or two at the Bellagio then it really is a must do! The place is absolutly amazing and worth the extra few $'s for the experience. Given the time of year you may not even be able to get a room there though.

Stick on the strip (really is worth it. It just ain't Vegas if you're not on the strip and with the heat over there walking from a hotel off the strip is out of the question. Lots of taxi's, but so much easier to stay on it) and go with a well known name. Some are nicer than others but not massive differences to be honest (though I only know the rooms from the Luxor [good, not great, elevators (inclinators, they go at an angle) will have you a little queezy but is a good spot] and the Bellagio [wow! can't wait to go back - kinda makes the others seem also rans!]).

One or two are getting a little old and not as attractive as the others but the standard in general is very high in the city.

I am being advised not to bother staying in LA a night to recover but head straight to vegas. Would anyone agree?

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Personally, if I were going, yes. I would agree. I loved Vegas and can't wait to return. Whether it's the right decision for you? Depends on how tired you'll feel after the flight, how well you can sleep on planes, how excited you feel about it (the buzz will keep you going - not to mention the artificial conditions within the casinos (pumped oxegen etc.) which mean you never feel as tired as you should).

I've never stayed in LA, but some find it a little rough round the edges and a completely different atmosphere to that of Vegas (I believe one quote was "Taxis door to door wherever we were going in LA, I just couldn't walk there!"). May take you the night just to get out of the airport there, it's huge. If you don't plan on going to do the West Coast thing again (LA, San Fran, San Diego) it may be worth giving it a night, but personally I think Vegas is a different holiday and shouldn't try and squeeze too much in.

(Up by the giant Coke Bottle [you'll know what I mean if you look up a pic of the strip or when you get there] you can pick up tickets [at half price] for all the tour type stuff [Helicoptor tour of the Grand Canyon, show tickets etc.])

Try booking directly on line at the Venetian' s own web site. The prices can vary from as little as $65 to $500 for the same suite depending on the day & how many spare rooms they expect to have. I suspect that you are going at a busy time i.e. NewYear week end so don't expect bargains. Two musts whilst you are there are Barstow for outlet malls & Grand Canyon. The light aircraft trips are much cheaper than the choppers also a lot less scary. In case you don't know it will be much colder in Vegas than in L.A. & there will be snow on & around the Canyon at this time of year.
P.S. If you haven't been to N.Z. before you'll love it - Scenery is up there with the Grand Canyon, weather in North Island right now will be good & the Kiwi's are the best in the world not just at rugger.

Stayed in Ballys last year; great hotel and casino. Saying that the standard of hotels in Las Vegas is high anyway as there is a lot of competition; it is also worth paying a bit extra for a hotel on the strip especially if you have never been to Las Vegas before.

I found that booking directly with the hotel was quite expensive; I used www.vegas.com, best prices I could find

You probably won't get any great deals at that time of year.

Stayed at the MGM Grand and the Tropicana this year, both OK.
Got an amazing deal for one night at the Tropicana. $45, and we got upgraded to a luxury room (suite).

Try Hotels.com
I find I get better deals if I ring them than check online, but that isn't always the case.

The Tropicana itself is OK, the Casino isn't as Grand as some of the others, but it's a lot easier to find $5 blackjack, as opposed to the $10, $25, or even $100 tables in other casinos.

Remember there's smoking inside all the Casino's (as far as I know) which will come as a shock to the Irish.

Good luck. Stick to Blackjack, it has the smallest hosue margin, and If you're disciplined and know what you're doing you can break even or come out ahead more easilily than with any other game.

-Rd

daltonr said:

Stick to Blackjack, it has the smallest hosue margin, and If you're disciplined and know what you're doing you can break even or come out ahead more easilily than with any other game.

-Rd

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Playing a basic craps game (i.e. placing the minimum Place bet, and back it up with maximum Odds bet for all points), is the lowest house edge in all of vegas (have to double-check, but am almost certain its 0.5%, as opposed to 1.5% for playing perfect Basic Theory blackjack. Add in the fact that it's fun to play and has a great social aspect, and that's the game for me! Looks complicated, but read the guide , and you'll see it's a doddle - good luck!

The advice from both posters above is worth listening too.

It's all good and well saying stick to BJ or Craps to avoid the house margin, but you're there for fun not for profit.

I never heard of Craps lowering the house edge, I've always been told BJ is the lowest house odds (depending on the house BJ rules). It was always my game of choice and you will end up playing it (do look through some BT [you can buy/search for all sorts of guides on Basic Theory/Basic Strategy for BJ]). On my trip to Vegas I had absolutly no idea how to play Craps. This changed very quickly. Once you see the gangs of people huddled around the table shouting and cheering you'll get pulled in. It's definatly one of the more "fun" games. In most Casinos they will offer lessons in how to play the table games at certain times, but if you can find a quiet table the staff will teach you no problem. Also, if you bump into a friendly soul at a table they may happily explain the in's and out's.

If you have any interest in reading during your flight over I highly suggest picking up a copy of "Breaking Vegas" or "Bringing Down The House" by Ben Mezrich. Both books detailing MIT math students using systems to beat Blackjack in the Vegas casinos. While the "card counting" element of it won't teach you to make millions, the general coments on Vegas will be beneficial (good explanation of the older casinos and the general atmosphere of Vegas) and you'll definatly be in the mood for some gambling!
[both worth the read even if you aren't into gambling/casinos/vegas]