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March madness/Vegas newbie

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Gdicke13, Dec 11, 2013.

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  1. Gdicke13

    Gdicke13 Low-Roller

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    So here goes, I'm taking my lifelong best friend(guys trip) to Vegas for his first time(it'll be my 6th in the last 15 months alone, can you say degenerate?) we are going for the first weekend of march madness..never been in Vegas for that..anyone have march madness experience(crowds, atmosphere etc) not sure where we are staying yet as I'm waiting for better CET,venetian, wynn offers after my January trip. For a Vegas virgin like my friend, what do you think priorities should be as I show him around? He gambles, likes to eat, not really a clubber. Thank for any advice and info!
     
  2. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Get up early on Thursday and make sure you all are in or near the sportsbook for the tipoff of the first game. The energy at that moment is palpable and is something you can only experience during MM!
     
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  3. vegasvette

    vegasvette High-Roller

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    One more thing, if you want a seat in any sportsbook, get your butt in a seat very, very early. And if you want to place a wager on a game, don't wait until the last half hour before tip off. You'll likely be shut out.

    Have fun though, the atmosphere is awesome, no matter who you cheer for.
     
  4. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    It is such an awesome time to be in a Sportsbook! Don't wait too long to book your rooms. Once you've done March Madness in Vegas, it will become an annual trip!
     
  5. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Agree with this. To the OP, unless you play big, don't wait until your next trip to try and build comps or a better rate for MM. those prices re only going up.

    Kelly, as MM approaches, let me know where you all are staying this year. Looks like I will have a large group with me this year. We will probably stay somewhere center strip
     
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  6. kitson

    kitson VIP Whale

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    the sports bettors are a different breed, and the casinos like them. unless you are a big player, i am guessing that you might get yourself shocked by the room rates...get on it.

    first time i was there, during that time period, was because it was also spring break after my daughter turned 21, so i spent a lot more on the 2 rooms than i had planned.

    so, while we were there, it was spring break, a cabbie told us that as mexico had turned dangerous, a few college kids had come the year before, and this year they had told their friends!

    the ncaa bettors were in, wednesday of that week was st. patricks day.
     
  7. BTSyndrome

    BTSyndrome Low-Roller

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    I have only been to Vegas during March Madness.
    But everything will be packed full of people. Gets very busy.

    We jumped on our flights and room back in Oct. The prices have done nothing but gone up a lot since then!

    When you have a group of people a Man Cave at PHO for a day is a good time.
    You get a private betting station, open bar, and buffet.
    Our area involved a.... Pop-a-Shot, shooting pool, Beer Pong-or for the
    few of us that don't care for beer....Driver Pong (goose & OJ):drunk:

    With all the people the table min. will be higher then normal.
    I never saw a table at PHO less then $25 along with many other casinos.
    I'm a $5-10 player, so most of my strip gambling was in the morning (8-11am) Then heading downtown in the evening.

    It's always a great time. It's Vegas!!
     
  8. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    Our group (two couples) will be at Mandalay Bay again this year. Same Sportsbook seating as last year :).
    Happy Holidays to you and yours, Allen. March will be here before we know it!
     
  9. booshie73

    booshie73 Low-Roller

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    Been to MM for the last few years but unfortunately I have a convention on April 5th in Vegas so there is no way I can do Vegas trips two weeks apart.

    We actually fell in love with Extra Bar at PH for the last few years. If you can get a table it is great because they have 4 TV's set up on their stage and the seats are cushioned. We would go on beer runs to the ABC store in Miracle Mile since no waitress bothered to come around take our order. We saved a ton on drinks.

    You will have a great time. It is unlike any other Vegas trip you have been on!
     
  10. vegas_or_bust

    vegas_or_bust High-Roller

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    I strongly urge you to book your rooms now, as they prices will continue to rise (and they are already very high). If you get a better offer after your upcoming trip you can always grab it and cancel your original booking.

    MM is a great time in Vegas, but the crowds can be a shock if you are not prepared. If there are any restaurants or shows that you definitely want to experience, then I would book your reservations/tickets now.

    Couldn't really tell from your original post if you are a sports bettor. If you are, I recommend getting the majority of your bets in the night before each game when the sportsbook has no lines....or get there at least an hour before the game you want to bet on starts, as the lines can be insane.

    We are going out on a guy's trip for the second year in row. It's an absolute blast. Have fun!
     
  11. flailing

    flailing Tourist

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    For my first trip to Las vegas in 5 years, I ended up being in town for the first couple of days of MM. I booked the Venetian for a decent rate those days at the last minute (20 minutes before driving out of Los Angeles), but the Palazzo was full. Might not be a bad idea to look into one of those hotels as they are all mini suites so that you can watch some games in the room if need be plus it is centrally located. If you organize your betting the night before the lines aren't very long at the sportsbook at that time or maybe it was mid-morning after all the games were under way. Not really sure as it is a bit cloudy. Anyways, it was a solo trip for me but there were a lot groups of friends there having a great time. Enjoy.
     
  12. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    Over several years we have been in LV for different weekends of the tourney. The opening games beginning on Thursday certainly generated the biggest crowds and it was necessary to get to the sportsbook early. The other weekends - including the finals had smaller crowds and some that were just basketball or sports fans, not necessarily fans of the teams playing. (maybe had nice size bets placed on the games) This past March, we were there for the final weekend and found the crowd at Bally's sportsbook to be great.....I think a lot of people had bet on our team....UL so it was full and the folks got rowdy! We had a great time!! Had been at the sportsbook at Rio for another game and the crowd just didn't seem to be into the action as much. Next year we are going back for the final week again and will certainly park ourselves in Bally's.....

    Hope you have a great time.
     
  13. revante

    revante Tourist

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    MM in Vegas is the best. I have really only been in Vegas for opening weekend and its a blast. Best trip of the year, every year. You really can't go wrong anywhere you go. Advise is to get up super early on thurs and friday to secure a spot in front of any tv. Sportsbooks are awesome to watch games but I tend to get a little distracted because they are so open and big and I personally just get tired of looking at the lines. We have a tradition of hitting up The Sporting House at NYNY, it is the old ESPN Zone. I like this place for the first 2 games because you get the sportsbar feeling and the sportsbook is literally right outside the entrance to the bar. We usually have to be in line at around 6 am to get a decent spot when they open up the bar.
    Friday we usually pick any spot to watch games, its important that you get your bets in at night for friday games or have one of your friends that likes to get up early to put in the bets. Its usually pretty difficult to get up on friday after going hard all day and night on thursday. Saturday is usually a pretty good day to hit the pools since they open up that weekend or the week before. Weekend crowd usually contains more women too...so more to look at.
     
  14. Bigcasino

    Bigcasino Low-Roller

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    Booked

    Took the advice and booked early. Got a 6 day comp deal for MM. Yea. All set.
    Hotel reservations told me I was lucky to get the deal since rooms are going so quickly. So yes book now it won't get cheaper if you wait and may get sold out . :beer:
     
    Vegas!
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