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Las Vegas - MGM Grand


kingphil

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I did house of blues in mandalay Bay which was kind of like tgi Friday type food with live music on and that was an awesome night

An Italian place opposite the shark tank in golden nugget which the waiter was crazy interested in talking about Worcestershire sauce with me....

A place outside the front of caesars that did great footlongs

Philly cheesesteaks inside new York new york

The chocolate place inside bellagio with the world's biggest chocolate fountain for some incredible desserts

There's an amazing amount of choice at all kinds of levels, I would say same as everywhere else drinking will send your expenditure up, if you want 2 or 3 beers with your food then you will probably pay more for those than the food costs

Others might say otherwise but personally my only bad dining experience there was a buffet, really disappointed with the size, selection and just general quality of it (it was bland as ****) 

And I found that you can take stuff with you pretty much everywhere, if you buy a coke or a beer in the street (which was a lot cheaper) they don't take it off you at the door of the casino, $ per litre the big novelty beers and cocktails on the street  work out cheaper

 

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Sign up for mlife, you may get access to offers etc. through that. Might be some good offers especially with how phucked the economy is going to be after this viral period. 

Read the latest buffet reviews. The vary from year to year in quality and people's reviews are solid as it's typically a lot of budget conscious folks eating there and loads who get comped.

Spend an evening/night around Freemont. Different vibe.

There are a bunch of bars down near the wheel at Bally's too which are worth hanging out around.

The center bar in NYNY is the place to grab that before bed drink if you are staying down that end of the strip, tends to hang onto a crowd later than other spots.

Walking the strip is well worth doing but hell in the afternoon as it gets boiling hot, so plan accordingly. You can open carry and there are plentiful CVS/liquor stores where you can grab a $3 can to hydrate thy travels and keep your wallet intact.

Look for club/show deals online. That's where the deals are and trying anything on the day/night is very hit and miss depending on crowds etc., and they will fleece you for entry to clubs if you pay at the door.

 

 

 

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Thanks guys for all of your input.

 

It's such a shame that drinking is so expensive, even if it was in the ballpark of London/NY/Paris prices it would be awesome!

 

Obviously like you've touched on you could buy cans/bottles from a store and pre-drink whilst walking the strip but if you go to a club or bar you're obviously going to be visiting the bar a fair bit!

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20 hours ago, wedge said:

Thanks guys for all of your input.

 

It's such a shame that drinking is so expensive, even if it was in the ballpark of London/NY/Paris prices it would be awesome!

 

Obviously like you've touched on you could buy cans/bottles from a store and pre-drink whilst walking the strip but if you go to a club or bar you're obviously going to be visiting the bar a fair bit!

It's not all THAT expensive. There's a beer park that's decent enough, and theres a bunch of outside bars near Bally's that are reasonably priced. There's one called B.A.R. (Born And Raised) opposite Wahlbergers that we spent a bit of time in. Good vibe, outside tables, prices were ok (for Vegas). I think it's actually a "craft Bar".
But there's a few bars around there.
Edit: I think @villakram may have been talking about the same area of bars

It's still expensive but it's not ludicrous. It's the clubs where the drinks are ridiculous.

But what I would say is the drinks are **** strong. So you might be paying $25 for a vodka and coke but it'll be a triple at least :D 

 

Also, if you're gambling in any casino they'll bring you free drinks (just tip the waitress/waiter)

Edited by Stevo985
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@wedge just read your OP properly and wanted to offer you some advice as I went 12 months ago with a group of friends, similar to you, so should be able to tell you a few things.

 

First thing I'd say is stay in a hotel. You might be tempted by an Air BnB but from someone who stayed in an Air BnB, it's not worth it. I mean it was fine, but it's all about the strip and you want to be on it.

If you're interested in the day clubs then it might be worth choosing your hotel based on that. We stayed in the Cosmo on the last night and our room included free entry to the pool day club thing there so you might end up saving some money. 

In terms of other day clubs, the best one we saw was Wet Republic. I think it's at the MGM grand. Tickets were about $50 I think and the usual expensive drinks, but it was good. Other than that have a look at who is playing when you're there and choose appropriately. We went to Drai's for the day club when I was there because Pauly D was on and I love Jersey Shore (don't laugh!)

Similarly for the nightclubs. The prices are insane so choose carefully. I've put it in here before but Omnia on our last night to see Calvin Harris was $160 to get in on the night. So have a look if anyone is playing that you really want to see. If not then my suggestion would be to do just one night at a club to experience it. Hakasan, Omnia and VS seem to be the most popular. I didn't go to VS and Hakasan was my favourite, but again that's because Steve Aoki was on and he was great so it kind of depends who is there.

 

Bars I gave advice in my last post. 

Food I can't really help, we didn't' do much eating :D 
Only place I remember eating was Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace. Which was great to be fair.

Shows definitely look before you go. We went to Absynthe at Caesar's Palace which was brilliant. It's quite a small show in comparison. It happens in like a circus tent and is basically a combination of stand up comedy (very very offensive!), acrobatics and dancing. It was brilliant and a bit different from the usual vegas shows (apparently). i think tickets were about $90

 

In terms of money, it's really hard to say. As @lapal_fan said you can make it what you want. What I'd say though is I agree with your first post, you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll spend a lot. if you spend the whole time pinching pennies I think you won't enjoy it as much. Make sure you save enough or budget enough to make it worthwhile.

For a night, I'd say for entrance fee and a couple of drinks you'll need $200 if you go to a club. Similarly if you went to a casino you'd probably want $100 to gamble plus some money for drinks before and after. But again you might win! Or there's penny slots and all sorts if you only want to gamble a bit of money.

As a rough budget I'd say maybe look at $300 a day. For a couple of meals, and a night out you'll be looking around that. But again you could spend half that or you could spend double that depending on how you handle it.

Edited by Stevo985
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I've been to a cheesecake factory in LA, agree they're pretty good, definitely one of the better national chains I've been to in the states

was about $30 each for some decent food which was American portion size, refillable drink and a slice of cheesecake, I wasn't hungry after that's for sure

I spent £1000 there in a week with no clubbing, nothing crazy drinking or gambling, just looking round soaking it all up and doing the grand canyon, the clubbing scene to me really isn't my thing, I'm not in to that music, disappointing thing was rokk nightclub at nyny was a **** hip hop nightclub with guitar posters everywhere! So I just got battered in nine fine irishman next door instead, that's a decent night with live music on, was £18 I think for a rum and coke and a Guinness 

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4 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

@wedge just read your OP properly and wanted to offer you some advice as I went 12 months ago with a group of friends, similar to you, so should be able to tell you a few things.

 

First thing I'd say is stay in a hotel. You might be tempted by an Air BnB but from someone who stayed in an Air BnB, it's not worth it. I mean it was fine, but it's all about the strip and you want to be on it.

If you're interested in the day clubs then it might be worth choosing your hotel based on that. We stayed in the Cosmo on the last night and our room included free entry to the pool day club thing there so you might end up saving some money. 

In terms of other day clubs, the best one we saw was Wet Republic. I think it's at the MGM grand. Tickets were about $50 I think and the usual expensive drinks, but it was good. Other than that have a look at who is playing when you're there and choose appropriately. We went to Drai's for the day club when I was there because Pauly D was on and I love Jersey Shore (don't laugh!)

Similarly for the nightclubs. The prices are insane so choose carefully. I've put it in here before but Omnia on our last night to see Calvin Harris was $160 to get in on the night. So have a look if anyone is playing that you really want to see. If not then my suggestion would be to do just one night at a club to experience it. Hakasan, Omnia and VS seem to be the most popular. I didn't go to VS and Hakasan was my favourite, but again that's because Steve Aoki was on and he was great so it kind of depends who is there.

 

Bars I gave advice in my last post. 

Food I can't really help, we didn't' do much eating :D 
Only place I remember eating was Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace. Which was great to be fair.

Shows definitely look before you go. We went to Absynthe at Caesar's Palace which was brilliant. It's quite a small show in comparison. It happens in like a circus tent and is basically a combination of stand up comedy (very very offensive!), acrobatics and dancing. It was brilliant and a bit different from the usual vegas shows (apparently). i think tickets were about $90

 

In terms of money, it's really hard to say. As @lapal_fan said you can make it what you want. What I'd say though is I agree with your first post, you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll spend a lot. if you spend the whole time pinching pennies I think you won't enjoy it as much. Make sure you save enough or budget enough to make it worthwhile.

For a night, I'd say for entrance fee and a couple of drinks you'll need $200 if you go to a club. Similarly if you went to a casino you'd probably want $100 to gamble plus some money for drinks before and after. But again you might win! Or there's penny slots and all sorts if you only want to gamble a bit of money.

As a rough budget I'd say maybe look at $300 a day. For a couple of meals, and a night out you'll be looking around that. But again you could spend half that or you could spend double that depending on how you handle it.

Stevo - thank you for taking the time to go to that trouble for me, it's hugely helpful. I was aiming for (after flights and hotel) $500 a day spending money so you've reassured me that I won't be stood at the bar at Wet Republic with my pockets inside out getting laughed at!

 

Those club prices seem insane, one of my mates went to Vegas for a wedding last year and the girls got let in for free and they had to pay about $80 each!!!

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1 hour ago, wedge said:

Stevo - thank you for taking the time to go to that trouble for me, it's hugely helpful. I was aiming for (after flights and hotel) $500 a day spending money so you've reassured me that I won't be stood at the bar at Wet Republic with my pockets inside out getting laughed at!

 

Those club prices seem insane, one of my mates went to Vegas for a wedding last year and the girls got let in for free and they had to pay about $80 each!!!

I think if you can budget $500 a day just for spending money you’ll be fine. That will be fairly comfortable. And maybe try to have a couple of cheap days at the start and then you can really relax for the last 2 or 3 days and not worry about that extra round of drinks.

yeah it’s annoying that girls get in free so many places, but to be fair it’s an absolute sausage fest in the clubs. So many more blokes than women. So I get why they do it. 
 

You’ll have a blast mate. Just make sure you get that money set aside so you can really enjoy it. 

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Great post @Stevo985 

I especially agree about AirBnB. Forget it unless you get one on the strip. I can’t say this enough....make sure you stay on the strip.

I know the Jockey Club (very old hotel but with privately owned condos), which is behind the Cosmo, and next to the Bellagio, has rooms available through AirBnB and they’re reasonably priced, so that IS an AirBnB option. But...STAY. ON. THE. STRIP 😆

We made the mistake of not doing so on my second trip and it was a massive, massive mistake. 

As for Omnia, I’m thinking the price for Calvin Harris was $160 because that was paid on the night (@Stevo985 did I understand that part correctly mate?). I’d prebooked tickets for us to see Tiesto for next Friday, but I noticed Calvin was due to play the week after and it was $125, but part of that was bar tab and VIP/expedited entrance. Basically, pre book all your club tickets.

I’ve went to Wet Republic on my first trip. Recommended, but Vegas is fickle and I’m not sure whether WR has been surpassed by other pool parties as I went to WR seven years ago. They have one at Encore that apparently is amazing. 

I’d also echo Stevo’s thoughts on the Beer Park. Definitely worth a visit or two and it’s not all that expensive. If you eat cheaply in the day, then I’d say you can get away with under $75-100. This would mean not doing much aside from a bit of chilling by the pool, general bumbling around the strip and eating breakfast at somewhere like Egg Slut (Cosmo), lunch at somewhere like the Earl of Sandwich in Planet Hollywood (<$15 for a meaty sandwich and drink iirc) and having a cheap bite in the evening at somewhere like the Beer Park.

You could get away with $300-$400 per night. But you can easily, very easily, spend much more, but if you stay away from the top tier clubs, and more pricey bars, then you can spend a lot less. 

 

Edited by Morley_crosses_to_Withe
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Yes the Calvin Harris prices were because we just turned up on the night. 
And I will point out that was easily the most expensive club we went to. We turned up to all of the other clubs we visited and they were all between 50 and 80 dollars I think. 
 

And yeah stay on the strip. Our Air BnB looked like it was really close. But there’s a huge freeway that runs parallel to the strip and our air bnb was the other side of that. So we had to get an Uber every time. 
 

That’s another point, you can Uber and taxi everywhere. You’ll find yourself doing it from bar to casino to club even though it’s not far. But use Uber or a pre booked taxi. The cars that turn up and just pick you up are crazy expensive. We got caught by one and paid 60 dollars for literally a 5 minute drive, most of which we sat in traffic!

Egg slut is amazing! But the queues are mad so expect to wait

Edited by Stevo985
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Agree again. Omnia is probably the most expensive as it’s the newest club (fun fact: they opened a massive, brand spanking new one called KAOS @ The Palms, but it only lasted six months before closing down again due to massive losses. Some LV commentators think the night life scene is changing and people don’t want those types of venues any more). 

Same...we had to Uber it every time to the strip; it’s just a massive ball ache! (Did I mention, you should stay on the strip!?) 

Yep - expect queues at Egg Slut but it’s relatively cheap and worth it at least once. 

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23 minutes ago, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

Agree again. Omnia is probably the most expensive as it’s the newest club (fun fact: they opened a massive, brand spanking new one called KAOS @ The Palms, but it only lasted six months before closing down again due to massive losses. Some LV commentators think the night life scene is changing and people don’t want those types of venues any more). 

Same...we had to Uber it every time to the strip; it’s just a massive ball ache! (Did I mention, you should stay on the strip!?) 

Yep - expect queues at Egg Slut but it’s relatively cheap and worth it at least once. 

The Palms is just too far off the strip (you should have mentioned to stay on the strip ;) )

We went there on our first night because it was close to our air BNB. But never even crossed our minds to go back once we'd been to the actual strip.

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26! oh to be 26 and planning my vegas trip.

Ive been about 20 times, anything specific just give us a shout, but all the info posted so far is spot on...........God i miss Vegas, I was in fact due to fly from Guadalajara to Vegas today :(

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4 hours ago, wedge said:

Again, many thanks to you all.

 

Has anyone braved the Heart Attack Grill? 🤣

A mate of mine did it, he loves grub, and said it was awesome. They got photos of being spanked my the midget!

 

Check out La Comida its right round the corner, great mexican food, its ace! also do mob museum, and drink in the speakeasy, also go the cocktail bar at the container park.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/04/2020 at 11:00, Stevo985 said:

@wedge just read your OP properly and wanted to offer you some advice as I went 12 months ago with a group of friends, similar to you, so should be able to tell you a few things.

 

First thing I'd say is stay in a hotel. You might be tempted by an Air BnB but from someone who stayed in an Air BnB, it's not worth it. I mean it was fine, but it's all about the strip and you want to be on it.

If you're interested in the day clubs then it might be worth choosing your hotel based on that. We stayed in the Cosmo on the last night and our room included free entry to the pool day club thing there so you might end up saving some money. 

In terms of other day clubs, the best one we saw was Wet Republic. I think it's at the MGM grand. Tickets were about $50 I think and the usual expensive drinks, but it was good. Other than that have a look at who is playing when you're there and choose appropriately. We went to Drai's for the day club when I was there because Pauly D was on and I love Jersey Shore (don't laugh!)

Similarly for the nightclubs. The prices are insane so choose carefully. I've put it in here before but Omnia on our last night to see Calvin Harris was $160 to get in on the night. So have a look if anyone is playing that you really want to see. If not then my suggestion would be to do just one night at a club to experience it. Hakasan, Omnia and VS seem to be the most popular. I didn't go to VS and Hakasan was my favourite, but again that's because Steve Aoki was on and he was great so it kind of depends who is there.

 

Bars I gave advice in my last post. 

Food I can't really help, we didn't' do much eating :D 
Only place I remember eating was Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace. Which was great to be fair.

Shows definitely look before you go. We went to Absynthe at Caesar's Palace which was brilliant. It's quite a small show in comparison. It happens in like a circus tent and is basically a combination of stand up comedy (very very offensive!), acrobatics and dancing. It was brilliant and a bit different from the usual vegas shows (apparently). i think tickets were about $90

 

In terms of money, it's really hard to say. As @lapal_fan said you can make it what you want. What I'd say though is I agree with your first post, you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll spend a lot. if you spend the whole time pinching pennies I think you won't enjoy it as much. Make sure you save enough or budget enough to make it worthwhile.

For a night, I'd say for entrance fee and a couple of drinks you'll need $200 if you go to a club. Similarly if you went to a casino you'd probably want $100 to gamble plus some money for drinks before and after. But again you might win! Or there's penny slots and all sorts if you only want to gamble a bit of money.

As a rough budget I'd say maybe look at $300 a day. For a couple of meals, and a night out you'll be looking around that. But again you could spend half that or you could spend double that depending on how you handle it.

Ive lost all respect for you after you said you liked jersey shore. I 😂

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  • 1 month later...
16 hours ago, Dom_Wren said:

Its open boys! nothing like it was before, but its a start, one of my mates staying at Ceasers palace as we speak!

Heading back down the weekend after the 4th. Looking fwd to it. Something approaching normality is so desperately needed.

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