Solo Vegas Staying Downtown

Taking a solo trip coming up beginning of March... Midweek, not a fan of crowds and over priced travel costs. This will be my first solo trip, bringing about 1500 to mess around with. My question is if anyone has any advice for a solo trip. 24, Mainly looking to gamble quite a bit and drink of course. Any ideas for other entertainment, cheap food, deals? Any input is appreciated.

 

What games do you play? I can't give you much feedback on tables but if you play 2,000 points in a day at MSS or the California they will gladly write you a free buffet comp. 4Q has a generous comp system as well. I think it is $6.25 in comps for every $1,000 through the machines. You use your points at the register. I play a lot and build up comps quicker than I can use them.

 

There are others here that can probably respond with much more knowledge than me....but you sound a lot like me.....low roller looking for deals. You have come to the right place. It is important to know what games you play....The "wizard of odds" can advise you on best places to play....best game rules, best odds, etc. You don't really need a new thread here...look at past threads...food deals, trip reports, Vegas for the frugal...getting around vegas.....the info is here...just dig a little...your research can do more for you than any one answer , "cuz it's already here"...good luck.!!!

 

You might not be doing a ton of gambling on a 1500 bankroll. .25c slots and such. Plenty of outdoor bars or near outdoor bars at each casino so you will be able to drink as you please. Entertainment wise, mostly smaller/lounge shows downtown, but they usually have fun bands outside on the stages, or at least DJ/dancers. Cheap food is easy to come by downtown, also some high end places if you want. Mcdonalds always has the dollar menu and the café level places are good and affordable.

 

That's usually my bankroll for a Vegas trip and I never have a problem making it stretch. I play a lot of table games and poker though. With some wins here and there, I usually never use more than half of what I brought. Typically we game only in the evening and are usually bumming around in the afternoon. (rarely up before 10am)

Downtown you will find plenty of blackjack and craps at $5 table minimum. Binions and Golden Nugget also have some great poker tournaments at reasonable buy ins. I don't usually play much when it comes to slots except for Bubble Craps. (and that's pretty cheap and fun)

Have a great time!

 

If you're not too fussed on hotel, then you can usually get a good deal on El Cortez, or the Four Queens.

Plenty of cheap drinking & dining options all up and down Fremont St.

 

Enjoy being on your own and doing exactly what you want to do. When you are with others you sometimes find yourself doing things because people say you should, or to meet others desires. The nice thing about vegas is you can do whatever you want at almost any time. Do not feel the need to pile in tons of activies. Relax and have fun.

 

Stay on East coast time and eat happy hour dinner, fifty cent wings at El Cortez, half price apps at 4 Queens Chicago Pizza. I used to like taking a bus to the Strip after breakfast to kill some time before evening activities.

 

I`ll be there the 3/2-3/5. I am bringing my 5 best friends for my almost 50th birthday. We are volume midwest beer drinkers with the same bankroll as you. We are staying at the D. We gamble downtown 60% and float around vegas the other 40. If you are there when I am, we can meet up. Most of us will drink 25 beers a day. I save by having accessible beer in our room, purchased from a local grocery or local store. While DT in the evenings. We will hit the souvenir shops and buy tallboys for $2. Since we will not have our girls with us, we will save money and eat wherever is a bargain. the Main street cafe at the Cal for the $10.00 primerib in the evening will be hit. We hang at the D longbar a lot.We also drink $1.75 pints at Boarshead at Main street station. The El Cortez always has $5 BJ seats open, but the drink service is slow.The crowd a little more blue collar or local. We will play at 10 dollar tables at the D. $5 craps at Golden Gate. The Plaza, I think has a party pit from 5pm to 10ish with $5 BJ. We like the free concerts on the FSe.

If you are in your 20`s take a Uber trip to the Casino Royal for younger drunk college girls and $1 Mick lights. They also have a hotdog stand with 99 cent foot long dogs

 

Stay at El Cortez Cabana Suite, play blackjack at El Cortez, and eat oxtail soup at California Hotel & Casino during 11pm-6am (no wait for solos, just walk in and sit at the booth).

 

Checked rates for the El Cortez for the beginning of March. Vintage room are $35/night (they are part of their original hotel and have no elevator) Pavillion rooms are $45/night, Tower rooms are $55/night and Cabana suites are $72/night. Also add $8.95 resort fee.

 

Solo downtown? 24 years old? I would suggest the Fremont (because getting your room comped is pretty easy there), or snagging a Golden Gate suite (or a regular room at 'theD').
Go to East Fremont... gamble at the ElCo...hit Pizza Rock... flirt with the girls at Golden Gate...go to MSS for 'winding down'... stroll through the Nugget to remind yourself how great it is to still be young...
Drink...gamble...flirt...drink...and gamble some more...
Go and have fun...!

 

Take the time to go through each property methodically. Check out if they have a cafe. Does the cafe have a special you might want to hit up later? Do they have have the games you like? Do they have a lot of them or just one table/machine? Are the rules good on that game? Do they have something cool...like Main Street Station has a hunk of the Berlin Wall in their men's room...you can piss on it! The Golden Gate has some ancient slot machines near the check-in area...and babes dancing on the BJ tables at night. Take all the time you want to wander around and learn the property. Then decide if it's your kind of hang-out...and move on to the next property. Check it out thoroughly. After a few days of this you will actually be able to say, "I like this property the best because blah/blah/blah and I like these properties almost as much because of blah/blah/blah. You will be able to plan future solo trips or ones with your sweetheart around this information.

 

I also travel solo 2x a year and stay downtown. These are fantastic tips. Thanks for posting them!

 

this year I made 8 trips, 7 of them solo. Just got back from the last one on 12/4, went for 6 days, had planned on going 4 maybe stretching to 5. Best time ever, 2 days at the plaza, 4 days at mss. did most of my playing during the day, hanging out at the casino bars in the evening. I've made friends with many of the bartenders over the yrs, who in turn have introduced me to many of their regulars. I consider myself a low roller, maybe towards the higher end of low, but certainly not a High Roller. this trip never more that .50 VP, only $5 min. BJ, though I have been known to play $25 min. from time to time. full comp at plaza, just discounted rate at mss, however fellow vmb'er David gave me coupon that confused the hell out of the woman at desk. it was suppose to entitle me to free night after booking two, but since I get a discounted rate, yada, yada, it ended up being only 16 or 18 that i saved (and I greatly appreciated it). Bottom line, be friendly with the staff, remember to tip them well and you will have the time of your life.

 

Just over a year ago I had a spur of the moment trip to LV which I extended over the prior weekend for the heck of it. ElCo was one of the better priced options for the two weekend nights so I went for it and asked for one of the vintage rooms for old times sake, as that was where I stayed on my first ever LV trip back in the 1970s.

LOL, I don't remember that stairway being that steep or that tall! Thank {diety} I still am able to carry my bag up those stairs, but honestly I would have preferred an elevator! I'm most definitely not as fit as I was as a 20-something!

The room was very "OK" but was smaller than I remember. It was perfectly fine for one person over the weekend, and about the same quality as a Super-8 motel. The TV and air worked fine, and the bathroom was again smaller than I remember but recently remodeled with about as large of a vanity in there as they could fit.

 

I stay downtown a lot; either solo or a small group of guys. Everything here is good info. My personal take.

Mermaids and LeBayou. Drink service to kill. Seriously after about 45 minutes at Mermaids I have to leave because I worry about alcohol poisoning. Drinks will be lining up for days.
Golden Gate has the best environment in my opinion. Good music, dancing dealers, good drink service. Usually $5 minimums sometimes $10 mins at craps and BJ. Mostly autoshufflers if you care about that sort of thing but all 3/2.
I like the Plaza myself for Craps and some VP and I had a double diamond jackpot hit there once. Drink service can be hit or miss.
Fremont is great to grind out video poker and pound some cold Colorado Coolaids (Coors Light).
Excellent recommendation to hit MSS to wind down. Microbrew, lots of good VP, great craps odds but be careful these people here are passionate about their craps. I prefer Golden Date and Plaza to hoot and holler and I don't have the cash for 20x odds anyways.

MSS buffet for breakfast is a great value. Manny will make you a loaded omelet to die for and call you a movie star.

Take a Uber/Lyft or the SDX bus to the strip and hit casino royale. I also like the Stage Door for some low key cheap ass drinks and food. Block down is Ellis Island also a good low rolling time with good microbrews.

 

This is bascially me x4 a year. I prefer mid-week Vegas. I always stay at the GG. The suites are just large rooms with a sectional sofa but they're clean, have a fridge and a decent shower. I think for the most part all of DT is cheap when compared to the strip.

Below are a few things that come to mind:

Cheap brews at MST or CHI brewing company
$3 beers at most casino bars
All places have some type of breakfast or dnner special.
If you sign up for player cards at most places you'll get some type of small freeplay and food coupon
$5 table games everywhere
Boobs at the D and GG after 7pm {might even be 6pm??}
Cheap poker tourneys at both the Nugget and Binions {Both under $100 mid week i believe}
Hawaiian place between MST and the Cal for food.
Sigma Derby in the D for cheap gambling and drinks
Plaza has a decent sports book if thats your thing
Container park for a change of scenery

There are tons more.

 

This is good advice. Heading to the D myself with a friend and we also have the same budget and beer consumption rates. Is there a store with beer close by: just the tall boys one?

 

Not sure if you are aware but the best way to get to the El Cortez vintage rooms if you have a bag is to take the elevator to the parking garage (elevator located near the old café), get off on the 2nd floor and then take the stairway exit down to the floor with the vintage rooms. I think there is probably 8 or so stair steps to get down to that vintage level so it isn't as bad as taking the stairs by the crap tables which is much steeper and a lot more steps. There is a corridor with the exit door mostly propped open so you can look into the hallway. Sometimes someone closes the exit door but the door it is unlocked so just open it to get to the hallway.

I know, the first time I stayed in the vintage rooms I had to lug my suitcase up that staircase by the crap tables. It is pretty steep and can be back breaking if your suitcase is heavy. Walking to my room I found the "secret" entrance and have used it ever since.

Previously the El Cortez would offer some of the best nightly rates downtown but lately with the added resort fee they don't always have the best rates. Since I play mostly at MSS (and Cal) I find the Cal and MSS to have comparable rates (with no resort fees) when you add in all taxes and fees.

Most of the vintage rooms are sufficient for 1 person, tight for 2 people (but not impossible). If you ask you may be able to get the bigger vintage rooms. There are 2 rooms that are near the staircase that are HUGE (by downtown standards), complete with a L shaped couch, fridge, 2 closets, an entry area that is like a study and a lot of cabinet space. There is also a starway to an upper floor which also contains 2 or 3 rooms that are larger than the standard room. Some of the vintage rooms facing west are also larger, one room even had a walk in closet.