To gamble or not to gamble?

Sounds like an insane question but hear me out.

I'm going to Vegas with 3 other lads. We are from England. 2 I know will do very little gambling and the other is a maverick and will do anything and if he wants to gamble he will disappear to a table.

We are going for a week and this is likely to be the only time we come to Vegas, as we aren't that rich. Especially as a group of guys. We are all 30.

My reason I'm agonising whether to gamble or not is this... In taking $4000 for the week roughly if exchange rate is good, rooms and resort fees are already paid. With that I can prey much do everything I want. Helicopter ride, sky jump, clubbing, top restaurant, strip club etc.

I can gamble in the UK. Often with smaller minimums and better odds. Although it's hard to find craps.

Is it worth risking half my 4k and therefore all the stuff I can do with it? Or am i missing out on the real Vegas experience if I don't gamble?

 

At the risk of being unhelpful, that's seriously a question you can only answer for yourself. I'm sort of in the opposite situation as you -- for the most part, the same top nightclubs and restaurants are here in New York, so that doesn't hold quite the same appeal to me. I try to focus on the things I can only do in Vegas, like playing craps, drinking martinis at 5am, and eating at the unique restaurants, like Picasso. If the idea of a helicopter ride appeals to you, or you want to experience a megaclub like Light or Marquee, then I would say, absolutely do that.

Bottom line, you should never feel like you "have" to do anything in Vegas.

 

You won't miss out on anything if you don't gamble, except possibly losing money and getting down about that. Play some craps and get your fix, then be done with it. Take in all the other stuff, more and more Las Vegas is becoming less about the gambling and more about clubs, bars, restaurants, etc.I don't really care for all that other shit, but I'm still pissed off they tore down The New Frontier and The Stardust. Have fun, and enjoy your trip.

 

I would say that a little gambling should be part of the equation. If UK casinos are anything like US casinos outside of Vegas, I think you will find that the atmosphere in Vegas is quite different. Dealers are more fun and friendlier in Vegas, people are in more of a party mood in Vegas…gambling is just more fun in Vegas.

That said, I certainly don’t think you need to allocate half your budget to gambling. Why not find some low stakes games to play (downtown will have many more options for lower stakes than the strip) early on in the trip. Don’t budget a lot of your money – a few hundred dollars or less is plenty on a $5 table or nickel slot for a few hours. If you find you love it, you probably won’t mind using more of your budget than anticipated for gambling. If you don’t care for it, no sweat, you’ve only used a few hundred dollars. Go about the rest of your trip doing what you had intended to do in the first place. Worst case scenario, you’ve bought a few expensive “free” drinks.

Best of luck and have a great time!

 

If it were me i would put a bit away to play craps, maybe a few hundred or so then do all the other things you want to do. I would make a list of the top 3 or top 5 things and try to get them done.

I am a huge planner, i always have to have a plan for each day on vacation, i can go into a panic just thinking about winging it but in vegas i am not planning anything. We are not doing buffets and stuff because we do not want to spend that much time eating, will probably get subway etc. I am not a foodie anyways so can not devote much time to that.

The only time i will have anything planned is for a show, but other than the Michael Jackson one i will just see what is available that day if we decide that is what we want to do.

I think in vegas you can have a rough plan but it seems better to wing it as so much can change in a short period of time due to weather,illness etc.

 

Do what you want. Just don't gamble with money you want or need to use for something else.

 

A few hundred bucks can go a long way at the Casino Royale craps tables.

Where are you staying?

 

I'd say you gotta do what interests you. If gambling isn't your thing and you'll have a great trip without it then why worry about it?

Nobody can really answer your question but you... if you look at what you listed as interests: "Helicopter ride, sky jump, clubbing, top restaurant, strip club etc" I can say I like Vegas and Vegas offers that stuff and lots of people like going to Vegas for that stuff... but none of that interests me, but I wouldn't feel compelled to do one or all of the above just because I was in Vegas and they offer them...

 

It's all about planning and budgeting in Vegas.

Let's define very little gambling using your money. I gamble very little so my number is $150/day x 6 full days there= $900 which means $3100 is left.

$3100 left divided by 6 full days = $516 to spend daily.

If you guys want to hit clubs, pre sale tix let's call it an average $70 per so if you did a club a night, highly unlikely but for my purpose, you are down to $446 per day. No drinks involved.

You will be smart and sign up for free on www.vons.com and arrange for food, snacks and alcohol to be delivered to your hotel for free since it is your first time doing it which will allow you to pre game a little prior to hitting the strip to reduce the constant stops to grab that $7-10 beer or before hitting the clubs. My order for everything for 6 days/5 nights for fiance and I was $130 total. Chips, beer, water, soda, breakfat bars,fruit, vodka and juice. So say $100 total because you go overboard on your order. You now have $429 to spend a day.

If you do a late morning/early afternoon meal and a good dinner, nothing extravagant call it $100/day you have $329/day to spend still.

I'm just giving my take based on your numbers. You will be able to add and subtract accordingly based on your preferences for food, etc and whether or not you take a day off to recover and chill. Also remember I'm not even projecting any winnings. Winnings always changes things.

 

I would say that where you gamble would be more likely to affect your budget than if. I'd save gambling for a trip downtown and a night on Fremont street. If you play poker maybe enter one of the weekday daily tournaments at Bellagio, Aria or the Venetian. In the end you are the one who will decide what are the once in a lifetime fun things that only Las Vegas offers.

Also remember that some of the most fun you can have in Vegas is relatively cheap: Pinball Hall of Fame, People watching with a pint in hand. drunken recaps of the nights events with your buddys and a 5 dollar breakfast special at 430 in the morning.

You can skydive anywhere (Vegas does have it indoors though) Have you ever shot a handgun or AK47? that's something you can do in Vegas that is much harder to do in the UK.

As a man who has been to strip clubs worldwide I would say that while the women at the top clubs are among the highest quality in the world the cost is also the highest I've experienced. You can spend 1/8th of your total budget in less than an hour if you don't watch your spending.

Enjoy your trip

 

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'll have to pay some craps just to experience it. Especially in Vegas. I usually play blackjack in UK but the idea of either going upto 25 bucks a hand or play 6/5 on the strip means any blackjack will be in Fremont I think. Though I told myself when I booked it that I'd bring back a casino chip from Bellagio as a souvenir! And not from the gift shop!

I'm staying at NYNY. Will probably spend half the trip just walking the strip, seeing all the properties and casually drinking.

Machine guns is absolutely on the list! MGV looks good.

Strip club will likely be Vince Niels place as we are rockers and love inked ladies! Hoping it's not so expensive there.

Only gonna do the club thing once I think. Music is generally poor but some of the clubs look awesome.

Thanks again for your comments. I'll be on here until the day I go to get as much info as possible!

 

I was going to suggest that you do a pub/casino crawl down fremont.

start at Main street station with the microbrews and work down to the el cortez.
for plenty of drinks hit mermaids - 5c machines and fast service....

you'll gamble - but the minimums are low...

by the time you hit ELCO then its onto the $1 blackjack!!!

 

You are going to have fun wherever you go. Strip clubs are going to take your money and that's fine if that's what you want.Try Hoggs and Heifers downtown, Its awesome and there is no cover charge or drink limit.

 

At the risk of sounding niave. How am i gonna spend so much in a strip club? I'll have one lap dance off the girl I like the most and then just have a few beers? Obviously it will be expensive cover at girls girls girls isn't huge. Surely?

 

Sounds like you're not much of a gambler so it's not worth it to you. It's a no brainer for me.

 

You can still find some decent $10 & $15 shoes/CSMs on the strip. Two-deck? Nope - you're looking at $25+ minimums.
If you go downtown for blackjack, just remember that the only two-deck games that offer DAS are:
El Cortez: two-deck shoe, 75% penetration, $3 minimum.
Plaza & LVC: Two-deck shoe, about 55% penetration, $10 minimum.
Golden Gate & 'theD': Two-deck pitch game, $50 minimum.

There are plenty of other two-deck pitch games downtown at $5 & $10 minimums... but they are all No DAS.
But, if you don't mind that too much, MSS is probably the most fun environment... really great dealers & a micro-brewery on-site - with those beers available at the tables!

Now, if it were me, I'd budget half of my money, (divided equally, daily), for gambling...and the other half for everything else.
Your winnings (when they occur) will give you 'splurge' money for lap-dances, high-end clubs, expensive drinks & pricey dining.
If you don't win, you'll still have plenty of cash for non-gambling entertainment.
Just remember - most of the 'non-gambling' stuff you will likely only do once while you're out there.
Divide your activities over the course of your trip & I think you'll find that gambling fills in the rest of the time quite nicely.
Good luck and have a great time...report back to us when it's all over, ok?

 

I'll do a trip report. But until then I'll bombard the board with questions lol

 

Don't forget you drink for free whilst gambling. I hate spending $7 for a beer while steps away they are "free."

See what I did there? I said "whilst" to make you feel at home.

 

That's what Vegas-Buddy & I call "the $100 free beer"!

 

True. And beer always tastes better when it's free!

I don't think it's a case of not being a big gambler. I can happily take the equivalent of $100 (£60-£70) to a local casino and play blackjack for hours. But in Vegas is gonna be more like $500 on the strip and that could be better spent on a helicopter over the strip and boobs in my face. Lol

Am I right in thinking craps generally has lower minimums and less decisions per hour? Therefore a smaller theoretical loss over the same period of time?

It's not necessarily the gambling I like while gambling. It's the banter with dealers and other players. Hence why I'm very unlikely to touch slots and might just stick a $20 in a quarter VP in the hope I a get a royal lol.