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Craptacular! posted:Neither MGM Grand or Treasure Island are close enough to the convention center to skip paying anything for transportation and go walk. You want the Westgate, Encore, or maybe Resorts World for that. Convention Center to Sahara is walkable on foot except at the worst of times, though their rooms last I saw are pretty small and garish and not for everybody. Google Maps says 30 minutes from Treasure Island to walk around Wynn's golf course to the center, is the route not actually pedestrianized or something? I'm not on a super tight budget but $13 a day for a monorail that only goes directly along the strip doesn't sound great, maybe not the end of the world though. Are the buses okay?
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Oct 22, 2021 12:52
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BizarroAzrael posted:Google Maps says 30 minutes from Treasure Island to walk around Wynn's golf course to the center, is the route not actually pedestrianized or something? quote:I'm not on a super tight budget but $13 a day for a monorail that only goes directly along the strip doesn't sound great, maybe not the end of the world though. Are the buses okay? The buses are fine. Use Google Maps for routing/navigation as it often gives the best directions. If you're set on Treasure Island, it's not the hardest hotel to reach but not the easiest because there's no way to reach the Strip from Desert Inn, forcing you to use either Convention Center Drive (which can be pretty rough neighborhood at times) or walk south to Sands Avenue, where there's a bunch of casino employee parking garages and an indoor theatre currently under construction. If you can consider other options, Virgin is on the same bus line as the convention center. Sahara is kind of not to everyone's taste but is walkable. If you can walk to Sahara you can also take the regular Sahara bus which runs at a high frequency and stops at Palace Station on the other side of the freeway. Palace is one of those "locals casinos" where the gambling is very video poker focused, but the place was dramatically renovated the other year. If you're the kind of person that's more interested in your hotel having a cheap buffet and a movie theater inside of it rather than a celebrity chef restaurant, you'd be okay with it.
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Oct 23, 2021 00:49
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Yeah I just had a proper look at Sahara and completely see what you mean. A sharp discount came up on Booking.com with Four Queens for like 40 dollars a night so I've booked that cancel-able, may still look elsewhere as it's not an ideal location and the pool looks blah. I may even change hotels part way through.
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Oct 23, 2021 03:23
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BizarroAzrael posted:Yeah I just had a proper look at Sahara and completely see what you mean. A sharp discount came up on Booking.com with Four Queens for like 40 dollars a night so I've booked that cancel-able, may still look elsewhere as it's not an ideal location and the pool looks blah. I may even change hotels part way through. Four Queens, that fuckin place. Love asking for a room not on Fremont Street, opening the curtains, and there's a huge rear end speaker RIGHT THERE.
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Oct 23, 2021 03:31
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Not to sound like a simp for the place, but I would take Palace Station over Four Queens to go to a convention anyday. 108 Paradise doesn't even reach Fremont, though the BTC is walkable. If you had to take a taxi/Lyft/whatever downtown is further away, too. Stratosphere gets flack for being in a bad neighborhood but the property itself is safe, I've walked to it from Sahara before in the day and I'm pretty fuckin' bougie weak to ghetto rust, just don't leave the hotel on foot in the venings. Another fun Vegas public transit truck on a budget is that the [url= https://rtcws.rtcsnv.com/routepdf/119.pdf]119 bus[/url] runs on Koval behind the east casinos, starting on the Strip across the street from Luxor and going up to the back of Venetian and Wynn by the golf course. If you want to stay at a dive like Excalibur or a neglected almost-dive like Luxor on the cheap and go to a convention, it shouldn’t by any slower than the jam packed Monorail. It also serves Palace Station if you wanted to reach south strip from there. Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Oct 23, 2021 |
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Oct 23, 2021 19:33
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I wouldn't sweat walking to the Strat at all. It's a couple of blocks north of Sahara and if you can't handle walking past an IHOP and tattoo parlor at 2am consider avoiding Las Vegas entirely.
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Oct 23, 2021 19:42
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Yeah the naked city is really to the immediate north and the immediate west. Edit: By the way, if anyone is into zany Vegas history, the story of the Stratosphere and its creator Bob Stupak is one of the zaniest funny yet depressing stories ever. It’s basically one big story of a carnival barker shyster who just friggin’ loves gambling shamelessly scamming his way to success in the clowniest dream-big way possible. The time he challenged Donald Trump to a competition over millions of dollars is particularly good fun. Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Oct 23, 2021 |
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Oct 23, 2021 19:44
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Midjack posted:I wouldn't sweat walking to the Strat at all. It's a couple of blocks north of Sahara and if you can't handle walking past an IHOP and tattoo parlor at 2am consider avoiding Las Vegas entirely. Now, when I was just barely 21 and visiting Vegas with my dad (who was notoriously cheap), he had the bright idea to walk from downtown over to the Strip, just before sunset. "It's only a few miles, we can save on a taxi," he said. Yeah, don't do that.
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Oct 23, 2021 20:48
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Midjack posted:Four Queens, that fuckin place. Love asking for a room not on Fremont Street, opening the curtains, and there's a huge rear end speaker RIGHT THERE. Might spend a couple hundred more on Treasure Island, which is a better location for me and because of stories like that I've found. It's not being made easy for me though, Booking.com doesn't say if the price includes the resort fee, so I booked a cancelable start to see if I could find more messaging them about it and right there in the breakdown it shows that the fee is included. Could have made that easier for both of us guys. Might be able to save a bit more through TI's website as there's an offer for "Optional resort fees" if I don't mind not using the fitness center. Hopefully that let's me earn Radisson points but lol, their site links to the old, original Radisson Rewards sight and not the new Americas one they split off from it for some loving reason. BizarroAzrael fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Oct 25, 2021 |
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Oct 25, 2021 22:17
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BizarroAzrael posted:Might spend a couple hundred more on Treasure Island, which is a better location for me and because of stories like that I've found. It's not being made easy for me though, Booking.com doesn't say if the price includes the resort fee, so I booked a cancelable start to see if I could find more messaging them about it and right there in the breakdown it shows that the fee is included. Could have made that easier for both of us guys. Might be able to save a bit more through TI's website as there's an offer for "Optional resort fees" if I don't mind not using the fitness center. Hopefully that let's me earn Radisson points but lol, their site links to the old, original Radisson Rewards sight and not the new Americas one they split off from it for some loving reason. It was $20 a night at the time and I got what I paid for but basically don't stay on Fremont Street is the moral of the story.
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Oct 26, 2021 01:59
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Midjack posted:It was $20 a night at the time and I got what I paid for but basically don't stay on Fremont Street is the moral of the story. I'll probably save a good portion of the difference not having to travel to the strip. Hopefully Three has a good partner in the US these days as seems I can't use the WiFi without paying the resort fee.
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Oct 26, 2021 21:38
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BizarroAzrael posted:I'll probably save a good portion of the difference not having to travel to the strip. Hopefully Three has a good partner in the US these days as seems I can't use the WiFi without paying the resort fee. While I absolutely respect and admire this mindset, Las Vegas (along with Disney World) is one of the few destinations in the US I wouldn't try to do on a strict budget, especially if it was my first (and only?) visit ever. Stay on the Strip. Eat at a nice restaurant or two. Go see a show, or wrangle tickets to hockey or football. Even the touristy stuff is worthwhile -- check out the Atomic Testing Museum or the Neon Sign Museum. It won't be cheap, but Las Vegas is awesome, and it's worthy of spending some money to make things memorable. There are ways to save money in Vegas, and this thread is a good resource for finding tips, but for a first-timer I'd recommend planning it like it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Or don't listen to me and do your own thing, but also Midjack posted:don't stay on Fremont Street Edit: I re-read this and my post is absolutely oozing with privilege, and I apologize for that. It's just my experience that the "full Vegas experience" (even if you don't go overboard with gambling and boozing and whoring) is anything but cheap. WhiteHowler fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Oct 26, 2021 |
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Oct 26, 2021 22:41
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WhiteHowler posted:I gather from your posts that you seem very concerned with saving money during your trip. Eh, don't want to *waste* money, resort fees sound like some bullshit. I'm pretty happy to pay extra to stay on the strip etc. I really just booked Four Queens when the Booking.com app showed a sharp discount that was cancellable, figured I'd lock that in. If I were super concerned about money I wouldn't be going to the other side of the world to play a card game for ages 13 and up.
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Oct 27, 2021 01:03
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BizarroAzrael posted:Eh, don't want to *waste* money, resort fees sound like some bullshit. I'm pretty happy to pay extra to stay on the strip etc. I really just booked Four Queens when the Booking.com app showed a sharp discount that was cancellable, figured I'd lock that in. If I were super concerned about money I wouldn't be going to the other side of the world to play a card game for ages 13 and up. Fair enough. Resort fees are bullshit, but it's just part of the game there. Just mentally add them to the room rate and pretend that's the "real" rate. Well, plus the exorbitant taxes on hotels in the US, but that's universal here. No avoiding it.
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Oct 27, 2021 02:05
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Just booked four days in Vegas next spring, not been in eight years. Looking forward to it though obviously who knows how we will all be with regards to COVID etc. Will be reading through this thread for any tips and tricks. Immediately, however, if anyone can recommend dive/locals bars so I can google them and get excited, that'd be appreciated.
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Nov 16, 2021 21:06
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Minty Swagger posted:Meow wolf was pretty cool but not as cool as I thought it would be. Lotus of Siam's Khao Soi is still delicious, and the valley of fire state park is beautiful, even when it was so dang hot out. So what happened with Ellis Island? Still alive? Craving some of that sweet housemade beer and $5 craps basically on the Strip. Last time I was there we got out of the cab to what looked like a domestic dispute and someone peeling out in a lovely minivan from the hotel entrance. Fuckin' love Ellis Island.
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Nov 17, 2021 21:26
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I actually didn't stop by this go around but drove past it, it's still popping and their beer garden area is all finished. Still an A+ and I didn't even go in. 
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Nov 17, 2021 23:14
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Just to update; I'm having a great time here. TI seems to have been the right choice, and walking to the convention centre takes me past Bagelmania. Do the players club cards rig early grabbed in your favour? I signed up to TI's, used my free plays on a machine and won $81 without knowing what I did. Selection is wild too, what was the thought process into making these 8K machines based on The Mask and Linda Carter Wonder Woman?
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Nov 22, 2021 05:28
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BizarroAzrael posted:Just to update; I'm having a great time here. TI seems to have been the right choice, and walking to the convention centre takes me past Bagelmania. No players cards don't influence the outcome. The latter is probably who has the cheapest licensing fees that will attract the most people.
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Nov 22, 2021 18:34
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heading to Vegas with no specific plans this weekend with some friends. area 15 looks awesome. is there anything in particular there that will sell out i should get a reservation for? planning on hitting up the pinball place too. will also probably try to take down a poker tournament. been watching YouTube on how to count cards in blackjack as well so I am expecting the trip to be pretty cheap after all of my profits.
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Jan 26, 2022 02:38
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Ghislaine of YOSPOS posted:heading to Vegas with no specific plans this weekend with some friends. area 15 looks awesome. is there anything in particular there that will sell out i should get a reservation for? planning on hitting up the pinball place too. will also probably try to take down a poker tournament. been watching YouTube on how to count cards in blackjack as well so I am expecting the trip to be pretty cheap after all of my profits. Meow wolf is crowded as poo poo. Go early. I enjoyed the lost spirits tour even if the booze tasted terrible.
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Jan 26, 2022 02:51
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Ghislaine of YOSPOS posted:heading to Vegas with no specific plans this weekend with some friends. area 15 looks awesome. is there anything in particular there that will sell out i should get a reservation for? planning on hitting up the pinball place too. will also probably try to take down a poker tournament. been watching YouTube on how to count cards in blackjack as well so I am expecting the trip to be pretty cheap after all of my profits. lmao
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Jan 26, 2022 02:57
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Ghislaine of YOSPOS posted:been watching YouTube on how to count cards in blackjack as well so I am expecting the trip to be pretty cheap after all of my profits. Are you being serious? If so, let me save you the trouble and possibly a lot of money- don't count cards. I used to play advantage blackjack back in the late aughts and even back then card counting was going the way of the dinosaur. I gave it up because the juice wasn't worth the squeeze- I spent a lot of money and time and over the course of a little less than 4 years I ended up with a little over $1200 profit. If you add up all the hours I spent practicing, playing and traveling to and from the casinos my hourly rate was probably less than $5 per hour. It's still possible to count cards and profit, sure, but the rules have gotten really bad and casino personnel are quite savvy to advantage players. If all you've done is watch some youtube videos on card counting then you're going to get fleeced faster than a sheep during a wool shortage. (if you have archives enabled, you can read some of my posts from my card counting heyday back in early '09. The reality is that card counting takes a lot of practice, a fairly large bankroll and a good amount of luck. If you're really serious about counting cards, do this first- get yourself 10 decks of cards and shuffle them all up together. Then spend at least 1 hour every day simulating a blackjack table dealing out 5 hands and a dealer's hand. Play basic strategy and keep count of all the cards. Don't even think about trying to count cards at a casino until you can do this for at least 2 hours without mentally fatiguing. Then go to your nearest casino and spend a few shoes just simply counting. Don't get any ideas and increase your bet- just count. Once you see just how much luck is involved and how rare it is that the shoe will tip far enough into the positive count to make risking massive $100 bets worthwhile, hopefully you'll be discouraged and stick to flat betting with basic strategy. If you're still not convinced and have fantasies of walking away $85 grand richer like the Rainmain, then set aside at least $5000 and go for it. Once that massive $300 bet loses in spite of the count being +15 you'll be brought down to earth pretty quick and realize that you'd have been better off taking that $300 and betting it all on black at the roulette wheel. Seriously, the days of card counting are pretty much done. Are there people that still do it and profit from it- sure. But it takes a huge amount of time and money and the games just aren't what they used to be anymore. And you sure as hell won't be able to pull it off just from watching youtube.
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Jan 31, 2022 00:28
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Vinny the Shark posted:realize that you'd have been better off taking that $300 and betting it all on black at the roulette wheel. Ehh you don't have to go crazy intense with all the illustrious 18 in order to get the odds close enough that it can pay for your trip with comps. You honestly prolly have me beat in hourly, but I haven't paid for a room or many meals in Vegas for awhile. Wizard of blackjack has a pretty simple count system btw, although variance is a lot higher. I've got a post in pitr talking about advantage blackjack. I agree with practicing by dealing out hands. Just flipping over two cards at a time as fast as you can through 8 decks, and being sure you end up at 0 at the end is good too.
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Jan 31, 2022 01:48
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See you in April, you beautiful debauched city. Probably going to ride the Deuce for the first time in my history of going to Vegas, from Downtown all the way to the Pinball Hall of Fame and it's just off the bus route... But will it really take a loving hour??
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Feb 23, 2022 21:56
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Depending on the time of day, yes, an hour is possible. Traffic on the strip can be bonkers, especially right now in the North end since it's having repairs done.
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Feb 28, 2022 05:53
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Ally McBeal Wiki posted:See you in April, you beautiful debauched city. I'm going in April, too. See you there. I know google is always your best bet for this, but can anyone recommend any of their favourite/lesser known dive bars in LV? We're Venetian, but will be going all over the city, hopefully. EDIT: any favourite brewery/tap rooms also appreciated Also, not played poker in an age, so I might have to find the lowest cost entry tournament. Google is telling me its the $40 one at Sahara. Does that sound right?
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Mar 4, 2022 12:30
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Mr. Wiggles posted:Depending on the time of day, yes, an hour is possible. Traffic on the strip can be bonkers, especially right now in the North end since it's having repairs done. Guess I'd better get good and loaded for the ride then. Also, thanks for the tip about the daily Sahara tourney. Might sign up for that for the hell of it.
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Mar 4, 2022 13:21
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britishbornandbread posted:I'm going in April, too. See you there. Ellis Island kinda covers almost all of these including the cheap gaming part. It's lovely and great, I love it. Their bbq is pretty decent too. If you go to any true breweries please report back as I've not done that yet on my trips to Vegas and I really want to!
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Mar 4, 2022 16:37
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britishbornandbread posted:Also, not played poker in an age, so I might have to find the lowest cost entry tournament. Google is telling me its the $40 one at Sahara. Does that sound right? I used to run daily tournaments all the time, so I don't know which is the best at that low (<$75) price point anymore. But if you want the actual cheapest, I think the Westgate still has something in the $30 or $35 range. Check Poker Atlas (either on the web or app) for the best info.
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Mar 6, 2022 08:44
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britishbornandbread posted:I know google is always your best bet for this, but can anyone recommend any of their favourite/lesser known dive bars in LV? We're Venetian, but will be going all over the city, hopefully. My buds and i just got back from Vegas tonight, and one of them took us to The Golden Tiki. Fun tiki bar, have video poker and were quite generous with comped drinks. Also seconding Ellis Island, though I wouldn't categorize it as a dive or lovely.
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Mar 9, 2022 04:35
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TipTow posted:My buds and i just got back from Vegas tonight, and one of them took us to The Golden Tiki. Fun tiki bar, have video poker and were quite generous with comped drinks. Were you able to get any tiki drinks comped or just well stuff? I've never been to a casino so I dont know how that works.
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Mar 9, 2022 05:33
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goodness posted:Were you able to get any tiki drinks comped or just well stuff? I've never been to a casino so I dont know how that works. Yeah they comped tiki drinks. I only got beer because I don't like sweet stuff, but my friends each got one comped. It's different from place/casino to place (and from bartender to bartender to be totally honest) but they comped me a beer pretty much as soon as I put money in the machine and started playing.
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Mar 9, 2022 19:49
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Should be in Las Vegas in ten days time, just praying my wife can shake this COVID before our mandatory PCR tests on Wednesday.... Anyway, keeping our fingers crossed, my wife is a huge Manchester City supporter and they're facing Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday 27th April, 12pm kick off Las Vegas time. I've googled Sports Bars, but there's just so many, can anyone recommend a place that will definitely/very likely be showing the soccer? Thank you
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Apr 14, 2022 08:29
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Any sports bar should be able & willing to change at least one television over to a Champions League game if they aren't showing it already. Sports books will likely have it on at least one of their dozens of screens. I can't recommend a bar in particular so maybe just go with whichever ones you researched that looks best for you otherwise.
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Apr 14, 2022 13:37
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Thank you for the response. If you use the sports book, do you have to gamble as you watch or can you enjoy a beer and just watch the game? (EDIT: I checked this thread by chance and replied to you one minute after you posted. I promise I am not sat here F5ing the thread.....)
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Apr 14, 2022 13:38
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britishbornandbread posted:Thank you for the response. Lol I am F5ing my control panel at work, so no alibi needed No, you don't need to be gambling at a book to watch sports. Most books have bars in or very near them so you can just bring a drink from wherever into it. Books always have some amount of seating but it varies pretty greatly from book to book. Depending on what sports are going on at the time they get reserved and/or just fill up quickly, so you may wind up standing. If you get to Vegas any number of days before the game I suggest scoping out a few books and asking bookies or nearby bartenders if they have any inkling as to how it'll be during match time for Man City.
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Apr 14, 2022 13:46
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Doubleposting because this thread is a ghosttown, you said it's a noon kickoff on a Wednesday, I can't speak to the popularity of watching a Champions League game in Vegas (very well may be a big draw) but there won't be poo poo going on other sports-wise so that'll be in y'alls favor.
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Apr 14, 2022 13:48
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Thank you again. Always found the books really fascinating to look at, but as someone who does not have an interest in American sports, I've not properly used them. Would be a good chance to do that this time. It's my wife's birthday that day too. Here's hoping Benzema and friends don't ruin it at the very beginning! To move the thread on to a more general discussion, it's my wife's first time in Vegas, though I have been about three/four times, and I need to make sure we see what you NEED to see. I'm thinking the usual up and down on the Strip, taking in many of the themed casinos, the 'Welcome...' sign, possibly South outlet mall (I prefer the North one, but South fits in better) and Fremont Street one evening. We're both foodies and drinkers, so if anyone can recommend any decent vegan/vegetarian friendly restaurants they have enjoyed that'd be welcomed. As soon as our bags touch the hotel bedroom floor, straight to Walgreens to stock up on bottled water!
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Apr 14, 2022 14:08
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I don't have any food recommendations based on those criteria but you may want to check out the other Vegas tourism thread, it seems to get a little more traffic than this one.
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Apr 14, 2022 14:19
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