What are the most frugal things you do in Vegas?

A few times I've made ridiculous walking treks just to save a few dollars on a taxi fare. The first time was justifiable...many years ago at the IP, my monorail pass was still good the day I left, so I took it to MGM and cabbed from there. More recently I walked from MC with my luggage to MB to do the same thing. When I crunched the numbers afterwards, it might've saved 2-3 dollars, at best. I'll never do that again.

I always do lunch buffets instead of dinner....the selection is close enough for my satisfaction. I take a shuttle from the airport when I arrive, since I'm not on a set schedule. I never seem to wait more than 10 minutes for the bus to fill up. I hit up any CVS or Walgreens closest to my hotel to stock up on drinks, etc. Pretty standard stuff, but it adds up nicely. My budget isn't tight, but paying unnecessarily for certain things annoys the hell out of me.

 

@ Viva Las Vegas
I have to disagree with this one:

"Staying
1. Concentrating gambling at either the place you are staying on a comp, or a place where you would like to stay in the future."

I get comped at CET hotels that i don't or hardly play at. Like Bally's, i get comped most of the time there (including this June for 5 nights, and added one more for a very low price), but i play at Paris, never at Bally's. I hardly play at Caesars but they gave me a comped week. So i gambled at Caesars when i stayed there, but never heard from them since. I hardly play at Rio, but Rio gives me comped rooms most of the year. When i stayed at Rio, i hardly played there, yet i still get comped at Rio. CET gave me 2 weeks comped in 2014 at PHO, August/November, but for 2015, PH is super expensive even during the week.
I never play at Harrah's but i'm comped from Sun-Fri. most of the year.

The main place i gamble at is Paris, that is where most of my bankroll goes to, backed up with my TR acct...........yet it has been many years since i had even one day comped, in fact Paris is even more expensive than it's ever been, at least for me. The last time i stayed at Paris was on a comp, when the "Freedom Fries" BS came out. If Paris rewarded me with comped rooms like they used to, it would be my home base instead of Bally's.
Since Cromwell opened, i have used my bankroll the 2nd most there after Paris, but Cromwell is now on the same scale as Paris and Caesars, really expensive with nowhere near comped rooms.
I never gamble at Bally's or Harrah's, but those 2 hotels give me the most comped rooms.

 

We are in agreement. CET is considered "one property" in terms of earning comps at any CET property regardless of where one is staying. Your concentration of play across different CET properties is credited comprehensively within the CET system.

Where people spread their play and potential comps thin is when they play 60% at CET properties, 20% at MILFe properties and say 20% at Wynn or Cosmo. You can set up a good future "teaser offer" if you have a solid one or two sessions at a property. I always focus on the current offer, if I am staying comped (sometimes I don't play much within certain CET trips since), and or a new casino or casino conglomerate to keep various comp offers and options open.

 

I normally do the brunch/lunch buffet. I will skimp on a proper breakfast if I know I am hitting up the buffet for brunch/lunch. I do the usual CVS visit to get water, bottle of bourbon and a tall boy. If I'm at a bartop playing VP I try to get a fresh drink before cashing out.

 

I tend to walk to save a few bucks unless I am downtown I will get a weekly bus pass. My longest trips have been luxor to hard rock, and encore to 4 queens. There was another night I do not count because all I remember was walking out of XS nightclub when it was pitch black out and then I found myself walking around aimlessly at some point early in the morning asking for directions for a bus stop. I dont know how I got lost or how long I was walking for but I puked my brains out that afternoon and felt like death

 

A true Seattlite, I must maintain a caffeine level every day! I refuse to
spend upwards of $20 bucks for a lukewarm pot of room service coffee.
I don't interact with anyone until I've had my two cups to start with.
Little Mr Coffee to the rescue! I paid $16 for a four cup drip maker, pack some filters
buy coffee and small sugar and portable creamers from Von's grocery.
I also buy water, fruit and yogurt and request a small frig. I drink a lot
of water when in Vegas to avoid dehydrating. Also if hungover Pedialite
powder packets are a godsend! Also have small collapsible cooler for outings.

 

I feel like it has all been said before, including by me, but what the heck.

Rental car: typically low cost in Vegas, and I always get the best rate via my Costco membership. This upcoming May, however, prices look to be higher than I'm use to paying. I know they should drop at some point, but when they're double what I expect to pay, I'm skeptical they'll drop as much as I'd like. Right now the best deal is not on a small car, it's on a minivan. I expect that to change, but at this point I'm willing to rent a minivan for two people.

If you're the type that needs to be able to drink a lot at night and bounce around Vegas, rental cars are a bad idea. If you enjoy in moderation, as I do, and tend to park the car near the home base at the end of the evening, it's a nonissue. I like to access places that I can't get to quickly or easily by bus, and I also like to take a road trip during each visit, so the rental car pays dividends. It also allows me to change hotels during my stay, and do so rather efficiently. That helps me be frugal on my hotel stays. Hotel hopping (I'll only do it once during a one-week stay) costs money, whether by cab or by rental car (and yes, you can do it cheap by the bus if that's a worthwhile use of your time), but the rental car is a better use of my transportation dollars and gives me the freedom to do things I'd otherwise forgo if limited to buses and cabs.

Coupons: The books aren't for everyone. If you like your action on the strip, the coupon books don't do much for you. Since I stay at the Orleans, enjoy the simple low-rolling fun at Ellis Island and also spend a few nights downtown, the coupon books are worth the trouble. I get real value out of the LVA dining coupons, and the book often pays for itself with the gambling comps. I've never believed you have to save $460 to make a $40 investment worthwhile. I wind up ahead on the $56 I pay for the two books, and to me that's winning, and I do so without going out of my way to do so.

No longer viable: In the glory days of air travel I'd bring several cans of my favorite diet cola in my carry on bag and keep one chilled in my room at all times. That doesn't work these days, but with the proliferation of major pharmacy chains on the strip, I could accomplish something similar if I still stayed on the strip. Since I rent a car I obviously have no problem stopping somewhere to pick up a few cans, although for the last 15 months I've really tried to cut back on soda consumption, and after Vegas I'm going to see if I can cut it down to less than 12 cans per week. There was a time when I drank 21-28 cans per week and didn't think much of it. I'll miss them, but those days are over.

 

A Canadian site I participate on has a travel section. IMO, this was pretty cheap, not frugal. They didn't want to waste money for restaurant food.

They took their own rice cooker and pre-packaged meals to eat in the room for all four nights. They brought along some other snacks and purchased some food for their other meals which is reasonable. The room didn't have a fridge or microwave.

Some of the meals were quite odiferous. I wouldn't want to be the maid cleaning the room or the next person staying there.

 

Wow, that's taking it too far. Cooking in a hotel room should not be allowed.

 

Visit Wallmart to buy water.

Water on the strip $2 a bottle

Water at Wallmart $6 for 48 bottles.

As we spend 3 weeks at a time in Vegas, stocking up on cheap water saves us at least $200 a trip

 

There are some legitimate reasons to do this, such as if they adhere to dietary constraints (kosher, halal, vegetarian, etc) and cannot eat in restaurants. That said, someone who does this may want to stay someplace with a kitchen, even if the kitchen is not properly prepped for their requirements. I am certain a regular hotel room wouldn't be either.

 

The month before I go to Vegas, I buy a $100 gift card at Von's so I will get a $0.20 discount per gallon at Chevron.

 

We put a lot of research into different deals to get a great price before we go....

But once there, we have purchased groceries and had them delivered to hotel so that we can have one meal, usually breakfast cheap. We plan our days roughly around the hotel we are staying at (keeping taxis down).

 

holyshit?! is there a bus that goes to a walmart? I get water at walgreens and I think its like 6 or 8$ for a 12 pack? I forget but it sure isnt that cheap!

 

When I'm on vacation or even on business, I want someone ELSE to do the cooking for me!

 

Took a bus to Red Rock and then there shuttle back to the strip. Would of taken the shuttle there but wasn't really sure where to pick it up and not clear if we would get on since we weren't staying there.
Took a bus to South Point and then decided to wait for someone else going back to the strip to share the cost of a cab.
When we don't have a car but are out with friends stop off for water and cash at ATM away from the strip.
Take the WAX from the airport to downtown, then next morning went to the transit center to pick up a 5 day pass and a sr pass. This year I can pick up a Sr bus pass, plan on going back to the transit center to do so.
At 4 Queens they offer no maid service and in return you can get anything you need at the checkin area and for doing so get a $15 dollar credit a day. Worked out great used it for breakfast at the coffee shop each morning.
Have a list of happy hours, they offer discounts apps and/or drinks, makes a fun and reasonable dinner.

 

I use players card every time I play--everywhere. Practically never pay for a room at CET properties, mostly.
I play MyVegas. Have gotten $1200+ in free shows, food & rooms. With the latest restrictions, the value is nearly zero for us. Good while it lastest.
Take a cab to the resort (cheapest for 2+ people, nearly always much faster than shuttle); take WAX bus downtown & back.
Use SWA credit card & companion pass to book air. (earn points=free flights)
Use Total Rewards credit card at TR properties. (earn points=comps)
Log into Social Rewards daily--3 tweets/posts/day for free CET comps.
Bring breakfast bars for breakfast.
Eat late lunch as our biggest (often only) meal. Hit happy hours to tide us over.
Ask for a water bottle with each drink ordered from a waitress when gambling.
Use coupon books--sometimes. DH hates them; DM loves them--she & I will each get LVA & ACG and hit downtown/off strip for major freeplay/matchplay ($150 each DT)
Check groupon, living social, travelzoo for meal or entertainment options. (and other sites)
Buy Keurig cups at home if our room is going to have a Keuirg (actually I grab some at MILs--I don't have a keurig at home)
Play games with higher rate of return (well--I study!)--mostly poker & video poker.
Just got Founders Card for $395 annually. It gives me Diamond status at CET which waives resort fees, gets you 2 show tickets/calender month, $100 dining credit, VIP & diamond lounge access (free drinks & snacks), free spa access, free nightclub accesss.
I don't know if FRUGAL describes me--but I work my @$$ off to pay as little as possible for the things I am looking for--and stretch every penny out of every $ I make!

 

That's an interesting idea...will they let you order this and just stock up? Like, every beer you order, you get a water, will they let you just pack that in a backpack or anything? I'd love to stock up while playing to fight the hangover later without drinking their awful tap water...

 

It's a mini water bottle.. Maybe 6 ounces? And there is no top for it..