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Exchange rates are keeping me home in Canada. Anyone else?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by westcanguy, Jul 11, 2015.

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  1. westcanguy

    westcanguy High-Roller

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    Was in Las Vegas last month and had a good time. Took advantage of free tickets from CET to see Reba along with Brooks and Dunn. We have another trip booked for the beginning of August to build up some points for the great gift wrap up but have decided to cancel that trip. The exchange is really bugging me. It will cost me 2600.00 CDN to get 2k USD. A 600.00 premium to play the same machines they have in Canada. I'm thinking the extra 600.00 would get me more gifts than what I could get from the gift wrap up promo. I'm still kinda ticked that I still haven't got my tax refund from the IRS.

    Are there any other Canadians that feel the same? We love Vegas but even with comped rooms, that exchange rate is a real downer.
     
  2. megamoose

    megamoose Tourist

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    I'm in the same boat. Just can't seem to justify going when you have to lose almost 30% of your bankroll in exchange rate before you even leave for your trip. Then if you happen to defy all odds and get a hand pay you get raped for another 30%. Sure you can apply to get the tax back but it takes forever even if you do get it back. Was looking to book for Oct but have put those plans on hold. With the price of oil and everything else happening in the world right now I don't see the Canadian dollar gaining much for quite awhile. Royally sucks when you love Vegas.
     
  3. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    Meh, Vegas is still cheaper than a lot of other destinations.

    Plus you say it is playing the same machine, but if you were to win the same premium would apply there.
     
  4. LinLV

    LinLV High-Roller

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    The euro-usd rate is a real downer too...
    Last year we got 2600 usd for 2000 euro's, now it's 2200... a loss of 400 dollars. It sucks, I can relate.
     
  5. tcocona

    tcocona Low-Roller

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    Lin ; Your still getting a premium.When I was in Europe in April I was getting hit with a discount.Such it is with exchange rates.Thanks for your TR efforts.:beer:
     
  6. LinLV

    LinLV High-Roller

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    Yeah, I'm glad I bought some dollars a month ago, saved me $50, haha ;)
    You're very welcome! More to come in 1.5 weeks!
     
  7. BCMike

    BCMike VIP Whale

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    I managed to sell someone my left over euros about a year ago for 1.35usd.. Turned out to be a great decision. I'm back in Canada in a few weeks and will be adding some USD to my Canadian account. Take advantage of the weaker dollar.

    I still remember my first trip to Vegas in 2001 when I was still living in Canada. It was$1.68 cad for $1 USD...
     
  8. Wistful Walt

    Wistful Walt Tourist

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    No Canadian can ever like having to pay this current premium to exchange our Can.$ to American. BUT, it is still nowhere as bad as a few years back when the rate was hovering around the 50% mark for quite some time. And we did have a respite in between when our buck was actually worth more than the US one.
    But, to answer the original question, NO--the current situation will not enter into our fall plans to go to Vegas. We know we will get the benefit from cheaper accomodation in Vegas compared to similar quality accomodation in Canada. Same applies for meals. We are also confident our gambling dollar will still go farther in Vegas even after factoring in the current exchange situation.
     
  9. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    No...

    Obviously it sucks to have to pay extra for US dollars, but I think part of it is how old you are and what you remember: for pretty much the whole 80s and early 90s the exchange rate between CAD and USD was about 10-15 cents worse than it is now (your $2600 CAD would have gotten you about $1750-1800 USD) and in the late 1990s the exchange rate peaked around 50-60% (your $2600 CAD would have gotten you around $1550-1600 USD)

    I'd love it if the dollar was closer to parity again, but as it is right now I can still say I've seen worse.
     
  10. westcanguy

    westcanguy High-Roller

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    Nevyn,

    I'm Canadian so no exchange rates to deal with. Like I say, I pay a premium of an extra 600.00 to take 2k down to Vegas. Taxes are not collected on gambling winning in Canada either. The atmosphere is no comparison but I'm not sure it's worth 600.00 for the atmosphere.
     
  11. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

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    There are many ways to look at this.

    Come home with less....sucks but visiting anywhere costs money.

    Come home with more...awesome.

    Have a fun time in Vegas....priceless!!!!
     
  12. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    It's gambling.

    Whether you're risking USD or CAD or widgets, you're winning or losing the same currency.

    So it's not costing you more to gamble in Vegas....
     
  13. newmans

    newmans VIP Whale

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    For those that are not fully comped, all their costs are 30% more. The $100 lunch is now $130 Cdn.
    You're right, you are winning and losing in the same currency.
    I'm Canadian and I'm still making Vegas trips, but I can understand the hesitation for others.
     
  14. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    Think you misunderstood.

    I'm Canadian too.

    My point is if you gamble $2000 CDN and finish up $500, you have $2500 CDN

    If you gamble 2000 US, you need to put in 2600 CDN. But if you win 500, you have $3250 CDN (minus any gap in the exchange rates you get).

    The tax thing on jackpots and such certainly sucks. But then again it still sucked when we were briefly at par.

    I play lower limit table games so tax has never been an issue.

    Yes and no. Generally speaking Canadian stuff tends to be way overpriced, so a lot of things in the states are still cheaper with a bad exchange, and feel like stealing when rates are good.

    But that is tough to compare when it comes to travel / luxury items that really don't have an equivalent. Still, even without comps you can generally get Vegas rooms WAY cheaper than you would in another vacation market.
     
  15. BCMike

    BCMike VIP Whale

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    For me, when I was in Canada, it was still well worth the exchange rate. Most I was ever comped in Vancouver was a coffee. Vegas, the sky can be the limit.
     
  16. Bommen

    Bommen High-Roller

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    This is the only response that make sense in this tread. I can understand if people on a tight budget will budge since its now more expensive to pay for hotels, meals, drinks, shopping etc but it really doesn't apply to gambling at all. All you have to do is to decrease your average bet to the amount you are used to betting (if the dollar went up 20% adjust accordingly and bet lower) or if you are a sloth player just play a lower denomination.
     
  17. MoneyToBurn

    MoneyToBurn Low-Roller

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    It won't keep me home, but it will reduce the days I spend in Vegas. I expect to lose when I go, so the exchange rate does factor into the amount I will lose if I maintain my level of play. I was looking at that Joy of Sake thing at Caesar's in September, but when I started adding up all the projected losses, I decided on a few days at San Diego restaurant week, and then a couple at Harrah's in New Orleans.

    It will mean about the same for CET, but places like ElCo, Cosmo, and MGM will miss out on a buck or two.
     
  18. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    I keep a US bank account so haven't been affected by the exchange rate yet. I had a bad losing trip in May, so very little went back into the account. There's enough there to fund my September trip so here's hoping it is a winner. As mentioned previously, the exchange has been much worse in the past and it didn't keep me from Vegas and I don't anticipate it will now. If the anticipated tax on winnings over $600 is introduced, that will likely see me cutting back Vegas trips and putting that play in at home.
     
  19. Angiemac

    Angiemac Tourist

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    I'm not loving our current exchange rate but vividly remember shopping and gambling when our dollar was way worse.

    My gambling bankroll will not change but it's my shopping bankroll that will get hit and no quick weekends to the closest US Indian casino for a shopping and gambling trip

    Eliminating Vegas? Nope, not a chance! Our comps are at such a level that we could go for our trip and the only out of pocket expenses would be gambling and tips and the cost of air fare.....that would Never happen in any of the Canadian casinos I go too
     
  20. westcanguy

    westcanguy High-Roller

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    That's very interesting. So, if you and your spouse spend 2k each in Vegas on gambling, you've spent an extra 1200.00 because you're using American funds. I'm thinking you're paying for your hotel and meals, just in a different way. Don't get me wrong, my visits are pretty much all comped as well as I'm a Diamond asperation1 player but I'm actually considering trying Windsor. CET has a property there so my hotel and food would be comped anyways... and no 30% exchange.
    Thanks for your input.

    - - - Updated - - -

    That's very interesting. So, if you and your spouse spend 2k each in Vegas on gambling, you've spent an extra 1200.00 because you're using American funds. I'm thinking you're paying for your hotel and meals, just in a different way. Don't get me wrong, my visits are pretty much all comped as well as I'm a Diamond asperation1 player but I'm actually considering trying Windsor. CET has a property there so my hotel and food would be comped anyways... and no 30% exchange.
    Thanks for your input.
     
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