This will not stay in Vegas
January 25, 2011 3:55 PM Subscribe
What are some good gift ideas that are quintessentially "Vegas" that I can bring back home to my wife?
I'm at a conference at Caesar's, so not leaving the hotel complex would be preferred.
I'm at a conference at Caesar's, so not leaving the hotel complex would be preferred.
Vegas shot glass and Vegas gamblers/card visor are pretty classic. I'm not sure if thats what those are actually called - you know, one of these
posted by Fred Wesley at 3:57 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by Fred Wesley at 3:57 PM on January 25, 2011
Ethel's Chocolates would be my first choice. Maybe not quintessential, but more likely to be appreciated than kitsch. I don't think they're in Caesar's, but you can get them at the airport on your way out of town. My husband wooed me with these chocolates a couple of times :)
posted by BlooPen at 4:03 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by BlooPen at 4:03 PM on January 25, 2011
I would want a chip from the casino.
posted by Night_owl at 4:07 PM on January 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 4:07 PM on January 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
Seconding a casino chip or few. I always bring a few back from any casino. I think they also sell decks of cards that have been used at the tables...? They have the corners cut off...? Anything with the classic "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" sign graphic.
posted by zoinks at 4:14 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by zoinks at 4:14 PM on January 25, 2011
A jackpot?
An STD?
More seriously, don't they sell snow globes of the various hotels there?
posted by dfriedman at 4:52 PM on January 25, 2011
An STD?
More seriously, don't they sell snow globes of the various hotels there?
posted by dfriedman at 4:52 PM on January 25, 2011
I have to side with BlooPen on the Ethel M chocolate. I'd purposely schedule a layover at McCarran just to buy some.
posted by mrsshotglass at 4:57 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by mrsshotglass at 4:57 PM on January 25, 2011
Step out onto the Strip and get some of the calling cards that guys pass out to advertise hookers. Then again, if she'd get horribly offended by this, maybe not.
If she's a sports fan, perhaps place a small wager on her favorite team to win (next game, league title, etc).
If the towels at the Caesar's Palace are monogrammed, maybe you could swipe one or two?
Nthing the suggestions for dice or cards that were used in casino play.
posted by AMSBoethius at 4:58 PM on January 25, 2011
If she's a sports fan, perhaps place a small wager on her favorite team to win (next game, league title, etc).
If the towels at the Caesar's Palace are monogrammed, maybe you could swipe one or two?
Nthing the suggestions for dice or cards that were used in casino play.
posted by AMSBoethius at 4:58 PM on January 25, 2011
Professional shuffler card-slider thingy. Showgirl pasties. Sigfried/Roy white tiger (stuffed). Wayne Newton CDs by the truckload. Armbands like the dealers wear.
posted by thinkpiece at 4:58 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by thinkpiece at 4:58 PM on January 25, 2011
Those cards with holes punched in them so you can't try to use them at the casino.
posted by little light-giver at 5:31 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by little light-giver at 5:31 PM on January 25, 2011
I think most casinos will sell sets of chips or decks of cards with their logo on them.
Elvis-themed things are also good, for the kitsch factor.
If there's any iconic "show", some little thing from that show may be fun (one of my favorite "vegas souvenirs" was the little square of glittery Mrs. Grossman white tiger stickers that was left at every seat in the audience when you went to see Sigfried & Roy).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:51 PM on January 25, 2011
Elvis-themed things are also good, for the kitsch factor.
If there's any iconic "show", some little thing from that show may be fun (one of my favorite "vegas souvenirs" was the little square of glittery Mrs. Grossman white tiger stickers that was left at every seat in the audience when you went to see Sigfried & Roy).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:51 PM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: All right. This is going to be long and I'll try to summarize it all at the end. Basically, I'm gonna give you the best advice for Vegas you will hear, ever, because if you follow my advice, you will:
- Always leave Vegas a winner
- Make many people happy
- Come into possession a gift that's worth giving
- Possibly score the biggest jackpot of your life.
Am I making myself clear? This here is GOLD. I'm giving you GOLD. I am hesitant to share it with the internet at large, because I've found that the more people I share it with, the smaller my returns have become.
I recognize that you are in Las Vegas for a conference, and that you are in search of a gift that screams "Vegas" to your wife. Firstly, let me express my condolences for being a Vegas conventioneer. I've been one, and it was painful. You've got ID tags and lanyards, and everyone in the convention congregates and gambles has a good ol' conventioneering time. It's pathetic. Business + Pleasure? This is WRONG. You must first get this out of your head if you are to attain the pinnacle of all gifts. Vegas is business. ALL THE TIME. Got it? BUSINESS.
Wake up. Find your in-room safe. Pick an easy-to-remember code, because you do not want to go through the time or humiliation of having security come up to open it for you, thus revealing its contents to them. You will understand this.
Now shower or bathe, whichever you prefer. Use ONE bar of soap. The other soap? Put in the room safe. Leave a small, simple note: "I NEED SOAP," or "SOAP, POR FAVOR," or "LOTS OF SOAP" work. Place a fiver next to it, and draw an arrow.
On your way out, you will invariably run into housekeeping staff. Ask them for soap. Give them your room number. Give them a couple of bucks.
Go conference and stuff. Let the excitement build up! What will you return to? One bar? Two bars? You'll likely only come back to your room and peek around the corner into the bathroom to discover your fiver and note gone, and a measly couple of bars of soap. This is ok. Put the soap in your in-room safe.
Make another note. Place another fiver next to it. Ask for more soap.
Do this every day. Housekeeping staff appreciate tips. They have a lot of soap. They would like you to be clean. They will think that you are strange. They will think you are a thief. It doesn't matter. Vegas is business. Business is money. And I guarantee you that by the end of your visit, you will have amassed a safe full of soap.
But why is soap so special? Well, I'm not sure about Caesers, but some of the properties have totally rad and fancy soaps. Mandalay Bay has these glycerine soaps, and they charge twelve bones for them in the gift shop! What a crock! Soap is awesome because it's soap. Soap becomes more awesome when you have a lot of soap. Because then you don't need to buy soap. And also, every time you run out of soap, instead of feeling deflated and leaving the tub or shower to find another bar, you grab a bar of soap from Vegas, and the smell will become intertwined with all memories of Vegas.
Quantity trumps quality, sometimes. If you get a lot of soap, you've obviated a Life Concern. That's one less thing you will ever have to worry about. It's like toilet paper. Buy four rolls at a time, and it's a pain in the ass. Buy four thousand rolls from CostCo, and that part of the brain that has a counter which decrements with every used roll, ultimately triggering stress and anxiety when it gets to zero, well, that part of the brain can now be used to do other things. Great things, even.
I consider myself a low-mid-high-roller. I place big bets. I've won a ton of dough betting one number in craps, because the shooter looked like Philip Seymour Hoffman. But the best jackpot I've ever come across was returning to my hotel room after a long walk, some baccarat coffee, and going to the bathroom. In place of the note and cash I had left for the housekeeping staff was more than fifty bars of soap. Fifty. I had soap crammed into every corner of my bag, and god knows what it must've looked like to airport security, under their scanners.
Fifty damn bars of soap. Add this to the dozens of soaps from the other properties from other visits, and, well. Let's put it this way: I haven't had to buy soap in a long time. And every time I reach for a new bar, I think: "Aaah, this smells like WIN!"
So focus on getting soap. Lots of soap. It's a gamble, cause you might get a few bars, or you might get a bunch. You'll make the housekeeping staff happy, and everyone comes out a winner, except for the casino. Tough shit for the casino, though. But business is business.
SHORT VERSION:
- Leave note: "MORE SOAP PLEASE" and $5 bill in bathroom
- Tip housekeeping staff, ask "MORE SOAP PLEASE, ROOM #xxxxxx"
- Store soap in in-room safe
- Be persistent
- 100 bars of Vegas soap, scored in Vegas fashion, makes for a great gift. Two bars? Meh.
NEXT LESSON: How to score casino robes and slippers for free.
posted by herrdoktor at 6:53 PM on January 25, 2011 [767 favorites]
- Always leave Vegas a winner
- Make many people happy
- Come into possession a gift that's worth giving
- Possibly score the biggest jackpot of your life.
Am I making myself clear? This here is GOLD. I'm giving you GOLD. I am hesitant to share it with the internet at large, because I've found that the more people I share it with, the smaller my returns have become.
I recognize that you are in Las Vegas for a conference, and that you are in search of a gift that screams "Vegas" to your wife. Firstly, let me express my condolences for being a Vegas conventioneer. I've been one, and it was painful. You've got ID tags and lanyards, and everyone in the convention congregates and gambles has a good ol' conventioneering time. It's pathetic. Business + Pleasure? This is WRONG. You must first get this out of your head if you are to attain the pinnacle of all gifts. Vegas is business. ALL THE TIME. Got it? BUSINESS.
Wake up. Find your in-room safe. Pick an easy-to-remember code, because you do not want to go through the time or humiliation of having security come up to open it for you, thus revealing its contents to them. You will understand this.
Now shower or bathe, whichever you prefer. Use ONE bar of soap. The other soap? Put in the room safe. Leave a small, simple note: "I NEED SOAP," or "SOAP, POR FAVOR," or "LOTS OF SOAP" work. Place a fiver next to it, and draw an arrow.
On your way out, you will invariably run into housekeeping staff. Ask them for soap. Give them your room number. Give them a couple of bucks.
Go conference and stuff. Let the excitement build up! What will you return to? One bar? Two bars? You'll likely only come back to your room and peek around the corner into the bathroom to discover your fiver and note gone, and a measly couple of bars of soap. This is ok. Put the soap in your in-room safe.
Make another note. Place another fiver next to it. Ask for more soap.
Do this every day. Housekeeping staff appreciate tips. They have a lot of soap. They would like you to be clean. They will think that you are strange. They will think you are a thief. It doesn't matter. Vegas is business. Business is money. And I guarantee you that by the end of your visit, you will have amassed a safe full of soap.
But why is soap so special? Well, I'm not sure about Caesers, but some of the properties have totally rad and fancy soaps. Mandalay Bay has these glycerine soaps, and they charge twelve bones for them in the gift shop! What a crock! Soap is awesome because it's soap. Soap becomes more awesome when you have a lot of soap. Because then you don't need to buy soap. And also, every time you run out of soap, instead of feeling deflated and leaving the tub or shower to find another bar, you grab a bar of soap from Vegas, and the smell will become intertwined with all memories of Vegas.
Quantity trumps quality, sometimes. If you get a lot of soap, you've obviated a Life Concern. That's one less thing you will ever have to worry about. It's like toilet paper. Buy four rolls at a time, and it's a pain in the ass. Buy four thousand rolls from CostCo, and that part of the brain that has a counter which decrements with every used roll, ultimately triggering stress and anxiety when it gets to zero, well, that part of the brain can now be used to do other things. Great things, even.
I consider myself a low-mid-high-roller. I place big bets. I've won a ton of dough betting one number in craps, because the shooter looked like Philip Seymour Hoffman. But the best jackpot I've ever come across was returning to my hotel room after a long walk, some baccarat coffee, and going to the bathroom. In place of the note and cash I had left for the housekeeping staff was more than fifty bars of soap. Fifty. I had soap crammed into every corner of my bag, and god knows what it must've looked like to airport security, under their scanners.
Fifty damn bars of soap. Add this to the dozens of soaps from the other properties from other visits, and, well. Let's put it this way: I haven't had to buy soap in a long time. And every time I reach for a new bar, I think: "Aaah, this smells like WIN!"
So focus on getting soap. Lots of soap. It's a gamble, cause you might get a few bars, or you might get a bunch. You'll make the housekeeping staff happy, and everyone comes out a winner, except for the casino. Tough shit for the casino, though. But business is business.
SHORT VERSION:
- Leave note: "MORE SOAP PLEASE" and $5 bill in bathroom
- Tip housekeeping staff, ask "MORE SOAP PLEASE, ROOM #xxxxxx"
- Store soap in in-room safe
- Be persistent
- 100 bars of Vegas soap, scored in Vegas fashion, makes for a great gift. Two bars? Meh.
NEXT LESSON: How to score casino robes and slippers for free.
posted by herrdoktor at 6:53 PM on January 25, 2011 [767 favorites]
Well I was going to suggest shot glasses from every casino you visit, but herrdoktor has really sold me on the soap.
posted by lilac girl at 7:20 PM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by lilac girl at 7:20 PM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Collect enough porn-slapper cards to play Go Fish with.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:44 PM on January 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 8:44 PM on January 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Herrdoktor: it is I don't know what time in Vegas, but I'm convinced you've increased my wolfpack of one (though I've had impure thoughts about coworkers since posting.)
You are my hero.
posted by po822000 at 12:47 AM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
You are my hero.
posted by po822000 at 12:47 AM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you have any room left in your suitcase after packing in all the soaps, there is a Max Brenner chocolate shop in the Forum Shops.
*sniffs hands freshly washed with recently acquired Aria soaps*
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:41 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
*sniffs hands freshly washed with recently acquired Aria soaps*
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:41 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Well, IANYW, but don't even bring me cheap hotel soap, let alone 50 bars of it.
posted by thinkpiece at 5:17 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thinkpiece at 5:17 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Depends on the hotel. Some places have cheap stinky perfumed generic soap, but I've also stayed in rooms where they stock Aveda products. And that's pretty nice stuff. An additional five bucks a night for all the soap you can carry would be cheaper than buying from a hypothetical discountavedahotelsoapsonline.com.
posted by ardgedee at 5:51 AM on January 27, 2011
posted by ardgedee at 5:51 AM on January 27, 2011
So wait, how is tipping $5 so housekeeping will bring you soap not buying soap?
posted by kindall at 8:08 AM on January 27, 2011
posted by kindall at 8:08 AM on January 27, 2011
A hundred bars of good soap for a total $15 or $20 outlay is a fantastic bargain, even if they're hotel giveaway size.
posted by ardgedee at 8:51 AM on January 27, 2011
posted by ardgedee at 8:51 AM on January 27, 2011
It's buying soap, just at a huge discount based on herrdoktor's research into the gift shop.
posted by rhizome at 9:15 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 9:15 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Update on the soap hoarding, please!
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:39 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:39 PM on January 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:57 PM on January 25, 2011