Gambling Money

Leaving for Vegas in two days, and staying at the Cosmopolitan.

My wife and I would obviously like to do some gambling while we are there. We are not high rollers by any means, but plan on having about 2k in our bankroll, for about 4 days of gambling.

In lieu of toting 2k of cash to Vegas in my pocket, I'm wondering if there is an alternate way to go about accessing cash. I know the last time I was on a cruise ship, I could get a marker for X amount of dollars, which would then be billed as a room charge.

Is this an option in the casinos? I've heard of applying for a line of credit, but I'm not willing to do that over a poultry 2k bankroll.

Thanks guys - Jason

 

You can wire your bankroll to the cage of the hotel you're staying at

 

2k in cash fits in your pocket so easily it doesn't make any sense to pay crazy ATM fees and stuff to access your own money. Just put it in your pocket or your wife's purse and forget about it. Personally I've carried 20k in my pocket and my wife had had 50k in her purse and nobody knew, nobody cared. When you get to Vegas put most of the money in the safe in your room and just pull a little bit out when you need it.

 

They won't want to do it for that little. Generally they frown upon wires under 5k.

 

I agree here, OP - if you are worried about losing it all or something just keep it in several places. Typically I have a roll of 5-600 in my front pocket, some in my wallet (all my bankroll will be in these two spots during travel to and from Vegas), and the rest in the safe. I typically carry a buy in for whatever I'm about to play in my front pocket and rebuys in the wallet lol.

 

You have to change your perspective a bit when gambling in Vegas. While it would be silly for me to walk around my home city with more than a couple hundred in cash in my pocket, it doesn't faze me at all to have 3 or 4 thousand in a money clip in my front pocket in Vegas. If you stay on the strip or downtown and don't go walking alone in some other sketchy places at night, your risks are very low.

Of course, if you set a daily limit for yourself (which makes tons of sense), just having $500 for today's activities is no problem at all, leaving the rest in the hotel safe (which are usually free, nowadays.)

I put my bankroll in my carry-on for the plane trip and have never had a problem in any way with that.

 

Learn something new every day

I am flying to LAS right now (coming to you from 37,000 ft at 434mph) and I have nearly $4k on me and no one knows jack or cares.

 

1. Basically, I agree with shifter.

2. Going in two days? Makes it kind of difficult to get everything done between casino & your bank in terms of wiring, or line of credit.

3. Stores that sell travel luggage carry what I call "passport wallets" . These are cloth wallets with zippers that either go around your neck, or around your waist under your shirt. Economical & secure.

4. My first step after checking into the hotel room is to stash all but $500 & all but a single credit card &
my DL into the room safe.

5. Last, I have a money belt that easily accommodates five $100 bills.

 

Does this have to be removed from wherever you are wearing it on your body when you go through security at the airport.

 

Thanks everyone for the reply and including some great tips. Let me clarify a bit more. My original post was less to do about safety, and more about taking advantage of my credit card rewards program. With my credit card, I get points for each dollar spent - so if I can run 2k through the card instead of cash, I get the points. I then just pay off the card at the end of the trip.

I suppose setting up a line of credit with the hotel is still an option though correct?

So, would this be something I could do? Set up an "account" or line of credit with the hotel, and just draw off the marker?

 

I suspect with the new "microwave body scanners" you need to remove any hidden wallets because they will show up and then be questioned. They have stopped me for having a handkerchief in my back pocket, not being able to identify it. With these units they want everything out of your pockets, metal or not - it's not just metal they are looking for anymore....

Now, I read recently that the FAA is retiring a lot of those scanners because the maker could not modify them to show less nudity and focus only on bad stuff. Not sure if there is another better generation of these units being brought out or whether we are going back to metal detectors - but my airport is still using the nakey ones.

What is in your bag is still checked by X-Ray so I would suggest keeping your bankroll in your bag until past security. My carry on is never out of my sight or touch - so I often just leave the bankroll there until in Vegas and then the only security question is how to walk around with the daily bankroll (rest in room safe). Have never felt insecure with whole bankroll in wallet in almost any casino though (two bill compartments in wallet - bankroll and general cash). For me, money belts are for dodgy European and Asian backstreets - too much a bother in Vegas. But that's just me.

JZB

 

You can see their marker app online the min is 2500. Go ahead and do that if you want. It's super easy but seems like overkill for that amount. Its worth repeating what others have said that 2k is very easy to carry. It's so thin it can easily fit in your wallet, not even an amount you'd have to hold in a separate pocket. Also you won't get points for cash advances on your credit card, instead you'd pay a ridiculous fee and its a seriously ghetto way to get money at a casino. I know it's different on a cruise ship.

 

I agree, and no way in hell would I ever do a cash advance on the card.

 

I'm getting the sense you don't care about carrying 2k in cash but instead want to know if there are any options for you to "maximize" the value of it by getting points or whatever. I respect that, I'm the same way. However there isn't any option like that in the casino. If you really want to nitpick, by opening a credit line you can leave the money in your bank account and send them a check for any losses...so I guess you'll earn a bit of extra interest. Though these days thats pretty much nothing.

 

I suggest you get 20 $100 bills and each of you carry 10 each. You wouldn't know the difference in your wallet. When you get to the casino put them into the TITO machine to make change. Put the money in the safe if you're concerned about carrying the cash. I usually bring $15K in three envelopes and hold them above my head through the scanner. I often get searched and I tell the TSA guy I have cash in my hand. I carry it in my front pockets. You can hardly tell I have anything other than handkerchiefs.

 

1) agree with several on this thread - give up on finding a way to run the $2k through your credit card. it will never work.

2) $2k in cash is easy to travel with, but if you want a free alternative, instead of applying for credit at the casino, just apply for check cashing privileges.

 

Good advice. Yes, one of my rituals before any trip is to convert my bankroll pile to Benjamins ($50 bills are bad luck anyway) so that I have a very manageable envelope to travel with. You don't want to carry a mountain of $20s and $50s - why?

Didn't know that TITO machines break down bills - but that's even better. Depending on my trip length I may carry between $3k and $5k - more for a week or extended trip - and while $5k in Bennys in kind of fat in your wallet, its not that big an envelope to carry through the scanner and every TSA will understand your concern. Just hold it in your hand through security and show it to the nice agent. No big deal.

JZB

 

I get what you are trying to do. It just does not work in NV. A "credit line" in a LV casino has nothing to do with your credit cards or award points. It is essentially proof to the casino that your checks are good up to a certain amount. Which is why the suggestion you get "check cashing approval" instead makes no sense either. It is essentially the same thing and at least the LOC gives you 30 days to pay. Furthermore, I doubt a strip hotel will open a LOC for $2000, as it is a pain for them as well.

For the amounts you are talking about, any of this is way too much trouble and your best bet is to just carry the BR in cash.

 

I'd consider the line of credit, but I'm not keen on adding yet one more inquiry on my credit report, especially not for a measly 2.5k/

I've got the cash in hand, and I'll follow the advice you guys have given.

Thanks again

 

Given the the length of your trip and the smallish bankroll, you're very much in the same "price" range as my trips.

If you're staying downtown, just ATM out $500 a day at the El Co.

Yes, ATM fees can be ridiculously high, but on my last trip, I exclusively used the El Cortez ATMs (based on what I had learned here, BTW! ) - and the 5% free-play bonus they give you for that WAY more than covered the ATM fee and the fee from my bank.

...and, at 5%, that's way better than most "reward" or mileage rates that the credit card companies give anyway!
(I have no idea if any property on the strip is offering anything similar)

Good luck!