CELL PHONE IN VEGAS

[VegasBound1]

I currently have verizon wireless as my cell company. I also have voice stream. I'll be in Vegas at the end of April and was wondering if anyone here has been able to have service through voice stream while in Vegas. It's not on their coverage map but I was told that the Utah tower may give some coverage to Las Vegas.

Thanks in advance

[csmith2884]

We just swiched plans and they (verizon) told us that not only will we get a good signal but with our new americas choice all calls from las vegas are local area even though home is upstate new york. We can also call cell to cell so I might be able to find my wife after she goes shopping.I'll know in May.

[Billy from TX.]

Thankyou for your choice of phone service! As a stockholder and employee of Verizon, formerly GTE here in Texas, I greatly appreciate your buisness. I to am a verizon wireless cst and am on the America's choice program. You should have no problems while in Vegas using your cell phone.

[VegasBound1]

I've used my verizon service in vegas before but it cost me to roam, plus long distance. With voice stream I have no roaming and no long distance anywhere, as long as I can get service ( That's the catch smile.gif ) I'll still have my verizon acct. until May 9th. I was also told by a friend that they did recieve a signal on voice stream in Las Vrgas but he wasn't sure if they were on roam.

[Jimbo338]

I stopped into Verizon a week before my trip to LV in February to upgrade to America's choice plan. He told me that their would be roaming and long distance charges to most of Nevada including LV as well as Wells Beach and most of Maine the two places I was interested in getting the plan for; I didn't upgrade.

Jim

[csmith2884]

Wow that's not what we were told. I found this map at their site http://www.verizonwireless.com/ics/plsql/coverage_maps.map_popup?p_plan_category_id=1 0934 (http://www.verizonwireless.com/ics/plsql/coverage_maps.map_popup?p_plan_category_id=10934) it's a little small but I think las vegas is there.

P.S. It won't let me cut and paste but under that it says Las Vegas is in the home area. I think you need to call them Jimbo

[ March 10, 2002: Message edited by: csmith2884 ]</p>

[Jimbo338]

Damn, Las Vegas is in that red area at the southern most part of Nevada! All those long distance calls I could have saved!
Thanks, I'm going to call or go back to the store and be more specific. Perhaps it was just a miscommunication.

Jim

[Jimbo338]

Just called Verizon again and got someone who knew what they wre talking about or, perhaps I asked the right questions (maybe both).
America's Choice covers both Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada as well as the Wells Beach area and Portland Maine, the two areas I was concerned about. Furthermore it, doesn't matter which direction you are calling for the plan.
I plan to be better equipped on my april trip!

Happy for you retired and/or working Verizon employees, and/or stockholders! Verizon was my second carrier. The first one put the wood to us but Verizon has been wonderful!

Jim

[Billy from TX.]

Brandy and I took our cell phone with us last week to Vegas and it worked great. We have the Americas choice plan. The only time that it did not work was when Brandy's sister tried to call us while we were in the terminal when we just arrived in LV. It was our first time to go to LV with a cell phone and I could not imagine ever going again without one. It saved us alot of time and money. We never had to use the phone in our room so we were not charged those ridiculous prices.

[Jimbo338]

Billy:
Thanks for reporting on the cell phone use. I have carried a cell phone since getting stuck in Chicago for the 2nd time in 2 years. Was able to rebook flights while standing in a line that just wouldn't move!
I was going to switch to the America's plan but got some erroneous inf0. My old plan cost .90 a minute and the telephone card cost me /.50 a minute. I just got the America's choice and spent hundreds of hours on the phone long distance over my aging mom's worsening situation. Thank god for the plan. Now I will use it on our trip to LV in april. Thanks again!

Jim

[HurricaneMikey]

Just one piece of advice though....NEVER use your cell phone within spitting distance of the race and sports book. They frown on that terribly...

Mikey

[Billy from TX.]

Hey Mikey,
Its funny that you mentioned it. Last month while standing in front of the sportsbook at The Stardust waiting for Brandy to get out of the restroom, We got a call on our cell phone. I remembered your trip report and quickly walked toward the exit wich was about 100 steps away. By the time I got away from the betting area its stopped ringing.

[Go Blue]

I was in the NY-NY sports book last fall talking on my cell phone..they were pretty nice about telling me to turn it off.

Anyone know the reason behind this rule? Is it just to avoid bothering the people next to you, or does it involve any gambling strategies?

[HurricaneMikey]

Blue--

One of the reasons that any type of two-way communication device is forbidden in any Nevada sportsbook is to keep people from having a group of friends at different books around the city and "arbitraging" the lines. That is, finding out who has the most favorable line at any given time and putting wagers there, and trying to put the opposite wager at another book who's line might be significantly different. It's theoretically possible to "middle" the books and win both wagers.

Sometimes, in the past, the lines could vary significantly from casino to casino, but it's not such an issue anymore. A lot of books get their handicapping from the same sources.

Mikey

[mary]

People were using cell phones all over the casino when I was there last week. I was surprised because other times I was there my cell would say no service as soon as I got into a casino. This time it did not....weird.