Wonderfully Awful: Cheap-ah Las Vegas!

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a blogumn by Robin Rosenzweig

Las Vegas is a city known for separating its visitors from every bit of money they brought with them. However, after my most recent trip, I learned that it’s not just possible to enjoy Vegas on the cheap…it’s fun! And now I’d like to share a few tips to help you enjoy Sin City without spending a pretty penny.

Last week I had the chance to enjoy three free days at the Bellagio courtesy of my sister, or more specifically, my sister’s membership in Bellagio’s Player’s Club.

For those who unfamiliar, using a Player’s Club card when gambling helps a casino track how much you gamble in their establishment, and they offer perks depending on how much you drop. And usually you have to play quite a bit of money to earn real perks like a comp stay. But Vegas is currently suffering due to the economy, and they seem to have lowered their standards. Right now it doesn’t take much to be offered a comp stay in a nice joint like the Bellagio. So if you find yourself in Vegas and have a penchant for gambling, get signed up on some Player’s Clubs. You never know what you’ll get for free.

Just because we were at the Bellagio didn’t mean that we were going to spend money like we belonged there. The first thing we did when we got into town was stop at a grocery store to stock what we would lovingly call our “In-Room Buffet”. The more food and drinks we had in the room, the less we spent outside of the room. Plus, since we drove, we were able to bring a full cooler.

Speaking of, it may not feel very classy to have the bellman at the Bellagio cart a full cooler plus a 30-pack of light beer (in cans) up to the room. And it feels even less classy to bring said cooler to the ice machine and fill it up one bucket at a time. But ultimately, it’s totally worth it. Drinks in Vegas are expensive, unless you find yourself somewhere that sells 99 cent margaritas (in which case, double fist-em and drink up!).

Another tip: bring along a water bottle for the pool. There’s no rule against bringing your own beer down to the pool, but I had to draw the line at sullying the Bellagio’s sparkling, pristine pool area with a view of me drinking beer out of a can. I somehow felt much better about drinking said beer from a tinted sports bottle.

Of course, Vegas is all about gambling, buffets and entertainment, and those cost money. However, half price ticket booths – located in casinos up and down the strip – can be big money savers. We were able to eat a hearty lunch at the Harrah’s buffet for a mere $10 and see an amazing Russian pet circus (!) for half price. Plus some same-day tickets for even the big ticket shows like Cirque du Soleil can go for up to 75% off. And if you love to gamble but don’t have the scratch to support it, stick to the penny slots, where it’s easy to pass a lot of time on a little bit of moolah. Plus…free drinks!

So remember, as long as you’re willing to relinquish a tiny bit of your dignity and trade “classy” for “klassy”, you can live the high life in Vegas without any financial woes. And by high life, I do mean the Miller High Life that you’re sipping from a water bottle at the pool. Viva Las Vegas!