las vegas Archives - Lazy Man and Money

How To Save Money In Vegas

June 5, 2013 by Kosmo 6 Comments

I recently returned from a trip to Sin City. The weather was great and the people were friendly, but wow can it be expensive. Lucky for you, I have some ways you can save money on the Vegas strip. I was a Vegas virgin (so to speak), so these are the low hanging fruit – the hard core Vegas visitors will likely have more money saving tips. [Editor’s Note: This post is supplements my previous post Don’t Lose Your Shirt in Las Vegas.]

Get someone else to pay for the trip

I went to Vegas for a conference, so my employer picked up the bulk of the cost. Airfare out and back, a suite at the Venetian, and even meals (including a fantastic steak dinner at Bouchon). Sounds like the perfect gig, right? Well, sort of. In exchange for picking up the tab, my employer expected me to actually attend the conference sessions and also make an effort to keep up on my regular work. This meant some mandatory night activities and a couple of 7 AM conference calls, along with doing some testing during breaks in the conference sessions.

Downgrade your room

The suite at the Venetian was great, and it was convenient to have a roomy desk area to get actual work done. However, many travelers to Vegas are rarely in their room. If you’re never in your room, why spend a lot of money on it? Check over lower-priced options, including hotels off the strip (use TripAdvisor to make sure the place isn’t a complete dump).

Limit your gambling

Multibillion dollar casinos pop up on the strip every couple of years. Older casinos that are in good shape, are imploded to make room for the new ones. The casinos must have a solid business plan get someone to finance such incredible costs. Yep – they have a business model that ensures a profit. Over time, the casino will win at every single game or machine. You can use skill to improve your odds at some of the table games, but inevitably gambler’s ruin will run its course. If you’re on a losing streak, you might think you are “due” for a hot streak – but this is a logical fallacy.

Set amounts your are willing to lose during your entire trip and during each specific session – and stick to it. My plan was to put $20 on the Colorado Rockies to win the World Series and to lose no more than $50 on the slots, with a per-session limit of $5. How well did I stick to this? I lost a total of $13 to the one armed bandits (most of which no longer have arms). Most people are probably going to gamble more than me – it’s not particularly entertaining to me.

Keep your winnings

You should also set a ceiling for each session. Once you are up $5, $10, $100 – whatever the amount is – just walk away from the table and lock in the profit. Sure, you could turn that money into ten times that amount – but it’s more likely that you’ll gamble it away to nothing.

If you do win, keep the money. The stores on the strip are just as overpriced after a winning streak as they are after a losing streak. If you win $500 and immediately give it back by buying a bunch of overpriced crap in the hotel mall, did you really come out ahead? My boss made the comment that a t-shirt comparable to what he’d see at T.J. Maxx could be found for about $100, but a shirt he could actually want to buy went for about $500 in one of the shops. So the question is whether that $500 shirt will be worth $500 to you when you arrive home, or whether the Vegas value will fade away on the flight home.

[Editor’s Note: I can’t imagine what a $500 shirt looks like. I also can’t imagine T.J. Maxx having an article of clothing that costs $100.]

Lower cost food options

There are cheaper food option off the strip, but you can keep prices down even on the strip. I expensed two meals from McDonalds, and there’s also a Denny’s on the strip, as well as a variety of food courts squirreled away in the hotels (intentionally hidden in an effort to get you to eat at a higher priced place). A Big Mac will cost you more on the strip, but it will still be inexpensive.

There are also a large number of buffets to take advantage of. I particularly enjoyed the buffet at Mirage, but I also hit some others. The Treasure Island buffet has cotton candy. Price can change by several dollars during the shift from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner. You can take advantage of this by getting there in time for the tail end of the breakfast hours and taking advantage of lunch when they reset the buffet a few minutes later.

Walk

Public transportation is easily accessible. Bus, monorail, taxi, limo – you name it, you can get it. However, if you’re in decent shape, the strip is pretty walkable. You can save a few bucks and also burn off a few buffet calories at the same time – all while soaking in the sights and sounds. Other than a shuttle to and from the airport ($7), I spent $0 on transportation. I got a good workout, walking from Venetian to Excalibur in 30 minutes one night. I also took the stairs whenever possible, even when escalators were in plain site. I’m too lazy to go out of my way for exercise, but if you put the opportunity right in front of me, I’ll take it.

Walgreens

There are a couple of Walgreens stores on the strip. You can buy everything from liquor and soft drinks to Vegas souvenirs. Pricier than your local Walgreens, but setting up a bar in your own room will cost you a tiny fraction of the cost of the same booze at a casino bar. I bought a couple two liter bottles of pop, pretzels, and french onion dip. Yep. I’m a wild man.

Freebies and two for ones

If you sign up for a player’s club card, you can get freebies – from a free buffet for the low rollers to free rooms for the high rollers. This does, of course, mean that the casino will be tracking your habits. The more money you lose, the better the benefits. You’ll still end up in the hole if you lose money, but at least you’ll get some consolation prizes. I knew I wouldn’t be gambling very much, and also wanted to hop around a lot in the limited free time I had, so I didn’t sign up for a card.

There are also a lot of two for one coupons – for buffets and for various attractions on the trip. My wife wasn’t with me on this trip, and I have a tendency to be a bit of a loner. I wanted to wander on my own without being tied to my co-workers, so I didn’t take advantage of two for one coupons.

Scrooge McDuck

As I often mention in my articles, the key is moderation. You don’t want to go the Vegas and spend all your time in your 0.5 star hotel room because you refuse to spend money. There’s a difference between spending a few bucks and going completely overboard. On my last night in Vegas, I splurged and went to see David Copperfield. This was not cheap – $70. However, it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. The money I saved by being frugal in other areas freed up some cash for Copperfield. Ten or twenty years from now, which memory would I get more enjoyment from – losing $70 at blackjack or spending time watching one of the great showmen of our time?

Don’t Lose Your Shirt in Las Vegas

August 1, 2011 by Lazy Man 12 Comments

If you were wondering why I haven’t posted very much this week, it’s because I spent the weekend in Las Vegas. It was my first trip there in about ten years. It’s a little hard to say which changed more, Vegas or me. It’s probably pretty close.

We went for a friends’ military promotion ceremony, but it certainly didn’t hurt that it was Vegas. As usual, we didn’t want to break the bank, so we looked for ways to get by on the cheap. Here are just my early impressions on the short amount of time we were there.

Best Las Vegas Hotel Value

I’m going to give this a tie to two hotels, even though we only stayed at one. I did look at the Trip Advisor reviews of the second and it looks like the place we’d choose next time. I’m giving this award with great attention to “cheap” rather typical “value.” The reason for that is because in Las Vegas, most people are typically only looking for a place to crash for a few hours anyway.

Super 8 – We stayed at the Super 8 a little off the strip. While that may sound like a bad location, when we get to best value casino it earns a lot of points. It was around $42 a night including taxes. This isn’t a place to impress the ladies. While there may have been a drug deal going down and some ladies likely “practicing the oldest profession”, my theory is that it just adds to the flavor. Little known fact: At over 300 rooms, it’s the largest Super 8 in the world.
Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon – We stopped here briefly because we had a little time to kill before dinner one night and this was the only place we found with a craps table open. I was also curious of the food specials posted outside (more on that later). It’s got a better location than the Super 8 as it’s on the strip across from the Bally’s. I’m told you can view the famous Bellagio water show from time to time there. It seems like the pricing is competitive with the Super 8, so it’s worth considering.

Best Las Vegas Housing Value

It’s not a hotel, so I couldn’t include it above, but some friends of friends decided to rent a house. We stopped by a couple of times and it was an amazing place. It had to be about 4000 square feet. It had a two pools… one for swimming (with a hot tub) and one better known as billiards. The place was in great condition with exceptional appliances, flooring, counters, etc. It’s five bedrooms easily could sleep ten (and you could stretch that if you put people on couches. All this for $269 a night. If you have 4 or 5 couples, you could live in the lap of luxury for around $30 a night per person. You’d even save more on groceries as you have a full kitchen. The downside is that the strip and airport was about a 10 minute car ride away, so some of that savings is going to go to a rental car or cab.

Best Las Vegas Casino Value

The Ellis Island Casino & Brewery wins hands down in this category. While there are other casinos with all the bling, this is my kind of place. This was right next to us at the Super 8 (one of the reasons we stayed at the Super 8.) It has a $5 craps table… I can play twice as long to lose on the increasingly standard $10 minimum craps tables in most casinos. (Yes, I think of it in terms of how much I can play before losing. I think that’s fair to set the expectations low when the house has an advantage on you.) That’s enough for a good casino, but it’s the extra’s that make Ellis Island my favorite. Cocktail waitresses come by quite often and when you ask for a beer, they bring 20 ounces from their own brewery. In life you usually get to choose two out of three of the following: free, quality, and quantity. While I’m stretching the “free” here (as I was gambling), you can fork over $1.50 in cash for the same beer if you aren’t gambling. Beyond that Ellis Island has Metro Pizza, voted 4 years in a row the best pizza in Vegas (I concur with the decision) and the best food special you’ll find (more on that later).

While on the topic of craps, I should mention two things. 1) I’m extremely conservative so the house typically has less than a 3% advantage on me. I left Las Vegas with about $75 in total winnings. Know when to talk walk away, right?

Best Las Vegas Food & Drink Specials

Ellis Island Casino & Brewery – The $6.99 steak special is one of the best deals you’ll find anywhere. It is a 10 ounce filet cut that would easily sell out at $20 any other restaurant. I’ve paid more than $30 for a steak that wasn’t as good. With potatoes and green beans it is a full meal. It’s available 24 hours a day, and it’s worth going out of your way for. I’ve already mentioned the beer special above, so for less than $9 you could really be celebrating in style (if you forget that it is a hole-in-the-wall casino.)
Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon – Yep, I’m going back here. They get an honorable mention for a steak (rib-eye) and eggs special for $5.99 available from midnight to 6AM. Sadly due to the timing of that special, we didn’t partake. I also noticed that they had $5 pitchers of Miller Lite, which is up there with the Ellis Island beer special.

I think that covers most of the deals that we found in Vegas. As for the rest, it wasn’t a deal going to ESPN Zone for the USA-Canada hockey game, but it was fun. It wasn’t a deal (and not particularly fun) going to the new hotel Aria for drinks. We were slightly positive at RumJungle in Mandalay Bay (I remember it being a lot better 10 years ago).

I would like to try to spend a week in Vegas spending as little as possible. You could stay at Super 8 for about $300 (weekend is more expensive) and eat for around $150 ($20 a day). Our flight from Northern California was around $100 round trip (Virgin America, which I highly recommend). So two people (sharing a room) could plan a whole week for about $800. If you join all the casino’s players clubs and used the free money they give out, you might even break even for the week.

Then again, a week of the Vegas lifestyle may just kill you. The weekend alone was quite a bit for me.

Two Years of Lazy Man and Money

October 5, 2018 by Lazy Man 17 Comments

Earlier this month, while you weren’t looking, Lazy Man and Money celebrated it’s two year birthday.

The Good and The Bad

The other day, I looked at some of my first posts and I laughed and cried about the roller coaster of good and bad ideas I’ve had when starting out. Two years ago, I was seriously considering buying a condo hotel in Las Vegas. Good thing I didn’t because a year later the W in Las Vegas was canceled. I rationalized my decision this way:

In the end, I feel that it’s probably pure speculation. Something that you buy to flip in the first year or so. I believe it would work out to be a gain, but giving the size of the risk (10% down would be around 1/3 of my net worth), it’s not something that I can get into.

When I read that recently, I wanted to set my nose-hairs on fire for even considering it. Looking back on it, the condo hotel example is precisely why I started this blog. I wanted to share ideas to sort out which are good and and which are not so good. I hoped that people would help me by keeping me grounded from bad ideas. Along the same lines, I wanted to help others where I can as well.

Every single night the same arrangement, I go out and write and write

Recently, I’ve been feeling that Lazy Man and Money has run it’s course. The battle’s done and we kind of won. What started out as cookie dough had indeed become cookies… and much more cooking would have made them ashes. Three thoughts are leading down this path:

Can I really write about personal finance indefinitely and keep it interesting? I never want to write a post about 72t distributions and I’m hoping to you don’t to Lazy Man and Money to read about them.
Are we still learning on Lazy Man and Money? I can only speak for myself on this one, and I have to say that I’m learning less and less. This isn’t unexpected. Everyone always learns more in the beginning and, as they become more proficient, learning slows.
Am I really needed? – When I started Lazy Man and Money, I thought it was only me and three or four other sites writing about personal finance… I didn’t even know that the term “personal finance” existed. For the first 3-6 months, I was convinced that I was dispensing knowledge that couldn’t be gained elsewhere. Then I stumbled on the personal finance community and found out that many other people were writing about the same thing. Now when ING Direct changes it’s rates, you have 25 bloggers writing articles about it. Is there really a loss if it goes to 24?

I Will Walk Through The Fire

Given the above, you might be surprised by my decision to move forward and continue writing. I almost convinced myself there… In the end, I’ve come up with a couple of very good reasons to continue writing:

I am unique… as is every personal finance blogger. We each bring our own thoughts and experiences into the mix. The hope is that you find someone you can identify with. It seems that for some subset of you, I’m that person. It would hurt me if you stopped reading about personal finance all together because I stopped writing.
Perhaps I am needed – I’ve noticed that my article about the MonaVie scam is something that some Google search come across. Now I don’t know if MonaVie really is a scam or not (and the comments from both sides were really vocal), but hopefully someone looking into it will find my article and, if they decide it’s right for them, proceed with caution.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Personal finance education has never been more important. Between gas and food prices soaring and the sub-prime mess making credit more costly for the average individual, your wallet is facing one hell of a demon to slay. It’s time to make the tough financial choices… change our destiny. Are you ready to be strong?

Behind this post: Much of this post has been inspired by Buffy Musical – an hour of television so powerful that it’s been running seven years later in movie theaters and sell out across the nation at $10 a pop. It is my favorite piece of writing in any format (book, web, movie, or television) and, quite honestly, nothing else comes close. Other parts of this post were inspired by other episodes of Buffy.