1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Vegas Budgets

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by oghuman, Sep 14, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    3,328
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    Pay for the flight. Room and food are comped.

    I bring $5-7k (US) for gambling and tips. If I blow through that, I take out some more.

    Not really a budget....
     
  2. bull0120

    bull0120 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2014
    Messages:
    1,574
    Location:
    Virginia
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    34
    Haha I consider my budget what I'm taking to gamble and party on. Rooms are usually free, flights are always free, and it's more fun not to count meals as part of the budget... Until it's time to pay my credit card bill at the end of the month and I forget about all of those "one mores" that inevitably get tacked on every time I sit down at a bar.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
    • Funny Funny x 1
  3. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    8,197
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    21
    I look at the flight cost. Then I consider the room costs (if any) and the food costs (if any). Then I figure the cost of what I want to do (if solo) or what we want to do if going with my wife.

    Then I figure how much money I want to spend on gambling.

    Add it all up, look at it then say OK, lets go......or not.;)
     
  4. Marky147

    Marky147 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2009
    Messages:
    6,056
    Location:
    England
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    14
    My PT is the only one that benefits from that, lol.
     
  5. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2013
    Messages:
    4,840
    Location:
    Boston
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    777
    My budget is the total of my daily, on the ground in Vegas expenses. I don’t include the flights or hotels. That is a different hustle!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  6. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,787
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    We don't really have one. We book a room we like. Take some gambling money. Play golf, spa, see shows and eat as we please.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Love Love x 1
  7. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2014
    Messages:
    8,343
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    50
    $3000K for 2 weeks to cover everything except airfare and rental car (though I count that into the final tally). I do have about $25K available in markers but rarely have to jump into them. Jean Scott would be proud of me.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. 3OfDiamonds

    3OfDiamonds Waiting For “Very Good” Video Poker @ Rio…

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    Messages:
    5,444
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    15
    Considering food/drink/room are comped or heavily discounted, and airfare is maybe $300 round-trip (usually less, and sometimes covered with airline/credit card points), the only thing I really consider my “budget” is gaming *acknowledges massive amount of economic privilege inherent with saying that money spent on flight/tips/transport/snacks/etc. amounts to “eh”* :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
    • Agree Agree x 1
  9. GamblingGolfer

    GamblingGolfer VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2011
    Messages:
    1,707
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    Being a "budget conscious" Canadian (with exchange ranging from a low of about 60 cents to the USD to averaging in the high 70s ... lol), we've done a 4 night trip, all in for less than $1k (including air, hotel, food, fun and gambling). That means the daily 'loss limit' is somewhere around $50, but judicial gambling can make that stretch quite a bit. There are lots of things one can do in Vegas, including (and not limited to) a lot of walking and people watching. On one of my trips, hit more than 19 bars, sat to play VP and rec'd a 'free' drink within minutes (the ony negative was a bar at Paris, fyi).

    GG
     
  10. SMG

    SMG VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2018
    Messages:
    2,066
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    49
    I have a 2 part budget. One part is for travel expenses (airfare, car rental, lodging, food, gas, entertainment) which can vary depending on what comps I have available. The other is strictly for gambling, but since I've been making fewer trips to Vegas, I've bumped up my daily gambling budget to compensate. LOL
     
  11. vegasdev

    vegasdev VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2016
    Messages:
    5,989
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    55
    My budget is pretty much my gambling bankroll.
    My rooms are comped and I have plenty of food comps that I cannot even begin to use up.
    I spend very little money in Vegas on anything else. $2 if I use the city bus 20 to $23 if I take an Uber.
    Tips here and there and things that I buy at the ABC store on Fremont street.
    But all of that stuff is no more than money that I would blow daily at home.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  12. thebeachbum

    thebeachbum High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2015
    Messages:
    733
    Location:
    Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I basically budget for gambling and walking around money. Walking around money varies on when I decide to eat or drink if not gambling. Free food and drink at certain casinos and pay at others or local places I visit infrequently. Rooms are free, most food, and airfare has stayed under $200.
     
    Need a good trip this time
    • Like Like x 1
  13. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2014
    Messages:
    5,373
    Location:
    Where's Ware?
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    same as i answer every time this question is asked.....n o y f b
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Wow! Wow! x 1
    • Funny Funny x 1
  14. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I definitely budget though it is a sizeable one.

    I actually have 2 pages where I note all of my major expenses in about 10 categories, from flight (even if reimbursed), transportation to and from my home airport, transportation/bellman tips, housekeeping tips, cocktail/lounge/restaurant tips, spa tips, non-comped meals at places where I really want to dine (e.g., Milos), host tips, spa treatments and tips, car rental/gas, excursions/museums, etc. I also have a line for hotel rooms, even if comped, and I just put ZERO in the left hand column. I also include things like concert tickets, cabana rentals, etc. even if I'm 99% sure the expenses are likely to be comped on the back end.

    Then I have a list of what I'm expecting to get comped and the value I assign to it; literally what I would be willing to pay for it, and that way I have what for me is a "true" comp value, so I'll have ZERO next to my Encore hotel bill line entry but then on my comp list I'll put a comp number next to 16 comped nights. That list would also show $1200 in Free Play, for example, that I get as a credit against my airfare, which for this trip will be about $1500 RT (Jet Blue Mint). Expected comped spa treatments, shows, etc. go on this list.

    Another list has free play and things like food credit at V/P where I am not full RFB.

    Because I go to Vegas for long trips, laying everything out helps me manage my money better. I also have on my master planning document, which has a rough itinerary for each day, how much I'm going to budget for a bankroll that day. On days where I have lots of activity planned, I will budget X amount if I think I might be playing say just 4 or 5 hours, which is not a lot for me. For days where I purposefully have NOTHING planned, other than breakfast and dinner, I might budget 2 to 4 times X, knowing I might be playing 8 or 10 hours over the course of a day and evening, and sometimes much longer.

    At the bottom of the two pages I have a number that reflects total budgeted cash/CC outlay, with the vast majority of it being my bankroll. If I return with one penny over that amount, that's a massively winning trip as I would have had a deluxe 2 week vacation at truly ZERO cost, including tips, which for a two week trip is easily a four figure number, not including handpay tips.

    But frankly, if I bring back even a decent chunk of the total budgeted cash outlay, I view that as a winning trip.

    If I bring back MORE than my cash/CC outlay, which is a rare event but it has happened, I have a list in advance of a few ways as to how I'll use those funds, typically split among the following: bringing myself a treat back (e.g., a neat clothing or accessory splurge from a luxury shop or something for my apartment), savings, investing, adding to the BR or vacation fund for a future trip, and treating my mother to something nice. For very "successful" trips gambling-wise (have had just a handful of those over 30 years), I have also donated a significant amount to my church. I also note in advance, in case the trip is THAT successful, where I'll make my donation.

    This is all part of my obsessive trip planning.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
    • Like Like x 2
    • Love Love x 2
    • Wow! Wow! x 2
    • Informative Informative x 1
  15. crm1310

    crm1310 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2016
    Messages:
    325
    Location:
    Denton Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    11
    I consider my budget all bankroll. I eat the same as I would at home at fast casual places and only do shows if I get a comp in some manor.

    Based on days I divide my bankroll budget into separate envelopes and only spend what is in each day’s envelope. Winnings carry over to next days envelope. There are times when I never needed to open a 2nd envelope but never have I opened an envelope early or hit an ATM. I am strict on my budget this why I have one!

    Rooms are comp and pay resort fee with My Total Reward credit card credits. I’m thankful DFW to LAS always seems to have relatively cheep rates if you shop around so I just book a trip when I find them on sale then the planning starts!
     
  16. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I still don't have the discipline to stick 100% to my envelop system but I do put an amount in an envelop and it does HELP me to be disciplined
     
    • Like Like x 1
  17. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2012
    Messages:
    10,689
    Location:
    USA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    180
    I like it @Flowers!! I’m like you in that when I’m planning a trip I’m also budgeting for my next two trips. I always assume the worst scenario possible - e.g. lose my entire BR and charge way more meals, drinks and treats than normal. I also decide ahead of time, like you, what I’ll do with any winnings. Usually, if I make a decent score at the beginning of my trip I’ll go to the Wells Fargo branch and get a certified check and mail it to my home. That way I won’t have the cash on me and it won’t be available in my bank account while I’m in Vegas. Ive always felt that having a solid game plan, at least as far as expenditures are concerned, relieves so much pressure, and maybe even a little bit of guilt, and really allows me to relax leading up to the trip and definitely during my vacation.

    :peace: :beer:
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
    • Like Like x 2
  18. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I feel EXACTLY the same way @MikeOPensacola. I plan obsessively, including for my budget, pre-trip but once I get in a car to head to the airport, I literally don't have to think or plan to make any decisions of significance other than a typical one like "I'm winning/enjoying the pool/want to walk the strip more/sleep in the spa longer/etc. so I think I will cancel the restaurant reservation I made 3 weeks ago and have a Wynncore grill cheese and tomato soup instead." I do all of my thinking in advance, which helps make for close to a stress free trip while also allowing plenty of opportunities to be completely spontaneous.

    I love the idea of mailing the check home. I've never done that but I should. I HAVE made deposits at the bank and don't bring an ATM card to Vegas so if I do want to get more cash, I have to go all the way back to the bank to do so, which is somewhat (though not completely) a deterrent. LOL.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  19. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    8,197
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    21
    Ken explained it better than I did. But I do it similar.
     
  20. puttputtfc

    puttputtfc High-Roller

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2003
    Messages:
    889
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    999
    I don't have a budget but I'm far more miserly when I am booking hotel/air/car than what I spend once I get there.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.