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New Year's Eve in Vegas on a few dimes.

pithy comment — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:30:48 -0800

Where can a young couple go on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas for a nice dinner staying through midnight, while spending less than $300? We are staying at Mandalay Bay and currently have a few reservations for the restaurants there (Aureole and China Grill) but they are for earlier in the night and are pretty expensive!

LASIK in Vegas

alchemist — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:59:19 -0800

Lasik Filter: (asking for a friend) I am traveling to Las Vegas in November and staying for 1 week. LASIK recommendations? I am looking into getting Lasik while I am there because the price would probably be a LOT cheaper (euros vs. dollars). Any recommendations for a good doctor/center? Anyone have any good/bad experiences with this in the LV area? I will be staying in a hotel on the Strip and do not plan on renting a car. Any help would be great. I can do follow ups with my opthalmologist when I get back home.

Las vegas honeymoon film?

stepheno — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:30:11 -0800

Help me find this film: a couple get married in vegas, and spend there honeymoon there. The new wife then gambles away their savings in a (drunk?) craze. I remember watching the start of this movie on TV a good while ago, probably late 90s. I seem to remember Tom Hanks being the husband, but a look through his filmography yields nothing. If I recall correctly, it's a romance/comedy/drama style film. You know the one.

I only saw the first 15-20 minutes, which makes things harder again. Any help is much appreciated.

Vegas for someone who doesn't like casinos much

drjimmy11 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:45:02 -0800

Where can I stay in Vegas next weekend whilst volunteering for Obama? I'm flying into Vegas Fri. night and out Mon. morning to work for the Obama campaign. There is a list of special-rate hotels from the campaign.

But, i really don't want to stay at any of them, unless one is more decent than all available info implies (the ones on the Strip like Bally's dont have a good rate for the weekend I'm going, 24th-27th- its like $180 and I'd really prefer to stay under $100.)

Some of the reviews for the others are just brutal, and just the word "Fremont St." makes me want to run for the hills. I would just to stay somewhere clean, quiet, and affordable. I want to avoid that whole desperate, hooker-y, "gambling away your last $5" milieu if I can. I don't know the location of where I'll be working, but I'll be renting a car i think.

I am also strongly considering airbedandbreakfast.com, which was also recommended by the campaign. Anyone have any experience with them?

Or is there another option I'm not thinking of?

Thanks!

Vegas, baby, yeah!

msali — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:36:14 -0800

Where should we eat dinner in Vegas on New Year's Eve? My husband and I have had a shitty, shitty year, so we have decided to ring out 2008 in a big way. We're off to Vegas! My man has been there before, but I haven't, and we are looking to find the quintessential Vegas experience. As such, I am looking for suggestions for dinner/activities on NYE. We are not looking for cheap and simple, we are looking at big and outrageous.
Bonus question: I have reservations right now at both the Renaissance and the Hilton. I gotta choose between the two. Suggestions?
Thanks, everyone.

Oh the places we'll go!

Gilbert — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:13:15 -0800

Vegas wedding: Many, many questions OK, so me and my SO are going to pull a head-fake on our families, and run off and get hitched in Vegas. We're looking to spend several days there afterwords, generally laying about, eating, and drinking. To this end, I have several questions for the group.

1. Places to stay? We want a little luxury, but don't want to be suckers about it either. Right now, we're looking at package deals at either the Wynn or the Mandalay Bay.

2. Places to actually have a ceremony? There are so many choices here we don't really know where to go. Once again, we'd like this to be special, but not cost us an arm and a leg. We don't care about music, limos, or any religious sorts of things.

3. Places to eat? We're planning at least one fancy meal, and will likely be eating fairly cheaply the rest of the time. Recommendations for either, please. I've read up a little and I understand that many of the buffets on the strip are quite decent. How much would I expect to pay there? For our nice meal, we're considering Thomas Keller's Bouchon. Anyone here been there?

4. Suggestions for nightlife and boozing? We're not big partiers, we're more looking for some place to have a nice quiet evening with some cocktails. As an aside, we'd also like to hit a strip joint. If you can recommend a fun one, that would be another plus.

5. Anything we're missing? We don't know what we don't know, and this is our first try at anything like this.

Thanks

Zion Nat'l Park and other hot photo spots within a day's drive from Las Vegas?

MarkLark — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:00:29 -0800

How can I get the most out of a day visit to Zion Nat'l Park - or any parks within a ~2 hour's drive from Las Vegas? I'll be arriving Saturday morning for a convention in Vegas next week. That gives me a good chunk of Saturday and all day Sunday to do whatever I want. I recently bought a fancy-schmancy HD camcorder and am itching to get some good footage.

On a previous trip I had visited Zion Nat'l park and chose to do a very strenuous all-day hike on one trail to a destination I ultimately didn't reach (outlook point or whatever it is that's up on top of the cliff). I loved the park and want to go back as I know I probably missed a good chunk of it.

I'm leaning towards Zion because I know I can get there and back in a day, it's picturesque and I would like to go back again someday, but if there are other options I should consider I'm open to suggestions.

I plan on bringing my camcorder and a tripod, so I'm looking for good photo spots I can spend a few minutes at, take some nice pictures (either landscape/vista shots or macro photography/plants/wildlife, etc.) and then move on. Short trails are fine, especially if there's nice things along the way. I'm also a bit overweight and out of shape. While I joined a gym two days ago I think it's a little too late to start training for any kind of strenuous "1 mile uphill switchback" trails.

I also realize that parts of the park are closed to personal vehicles while others aren't - I'm open to both. I could spend a few hours in the 'closed section' taking the bus to destinations X, Y and Z then get back in the car and hit up locations A, B and C - assuming there's a place to pull off and park.

And again, if there are other places besides Zion that would be good photo/video locations, I'm open to ideas. I still have Saturday that I could do something closer to town, if there is anything. My plane lands and noon so by the time I'm ready to go anywhere I'll probably just have a few hours before sunset. (I've been to RedRocks twice - I may go again but I doubt it's changed much.)

And on a mostly unrelated note - anyone know how to get discount show tickets in Vegas? I was thinking about checking out Penn & Teller at the Rio, but $75 seems kind of steep.

Tell me about Xilitla/Las Pozas

headless — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:00:04 -0800

Has anyone ever visited Xilitla, Mexico? I am trying to plan a vacation specifically to enjoy Las Pozas, but I am finding the info on the web a bit scarce. I've pretty much read everything I could find on google including talking to the people at el Castillo, but I am looking for personal accounts and suggestions of how long to plan on staying, what else to do while I'm down there, and answers to questions I haven't thought to ask. I will be coming from Austin if that helps, and right now I am thinking about going round October/November. Thanks.

Las Vegas Real Estate - time to buy?

Kimpossible — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:54:24 -0800

Tell me about buying a house or condo in Las Vegas I like going to Las Vegas and I live close enough in CA to do it often. The real estate prices are kind of obscenely low (although I am waiting for them to go lower still through 2009). But has someone from out of the area actually bought a house or condo there? Do you have advice about the neighborhoods or any real estate agents? Thank You.

The Greatest Bachelor Party in Sin City

ZackTM — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:16:39 -0800

How can I throw my other best friend the greatest bachelor party ever in Las Vegas around Spring Break time? So last year I threw a pretty sweet bachelor party in Myrtle Beach and its going to be really hard to out do it-- but out do it I must. My other best friend has asked me to throw his bachelor party as well! I figure it's about time we make it to Vegas so I need some help. I've never been to Vegas in my life and I really don't know what to expect or how to plan anything at all?

What:
My best friend's bachelor party

When:
Spring Break Season! (I'm assuming Spring Break will bring an influx of young people. Any time between March and April is fine with me though, so recommend a date if you have any suggestions!) We'd be in Vegas from Friday morning until Monday morning of some weekend.

Who:
10-12 guys in their mid twenties (me and the groom are 25). Half are single, half are in committed relationships. Ones um.. ya know.. getting married.

Where:
Las Vegas

One catch:
No hookers :-(
Hey but we can have strippers this time!

Help!
Is there any way to set this up as a cheap package? I imagine everyone can find their own flights to LV since they're pretty cheap. What about getting a suite at a hotel for us all to sleep in? Any suggestions?

What about activities? There are two things I want to have happen. A: We participate in some sort of athletic event (like Whirleyball or Capture the Flag or something), preferably featuring just our group

B: The groom (and the groomsmen?) must wear a different costume every day. Elvis one day, a cowboy the next, etc.

The rest is wide open, so I need suggestions!

Priorities:
1. Having lots of fun!
2. Not spending more than $400 on the whole trip not counting gambling (preferably less!)
3. Bonding activities

Familiar with the Las Vegas airport?

tonci — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:06:49 -0800

Familiar with the Las Vegas airport? I need some practical advice for choosing my flight/airline. I'm flying to Phoenix from New York in a few weeks but I rerouted my flight out there to go through Vegas to see friends who are celebrating a bachelor party. I still need to get to Phoenix that same night for a rehearsal dinner. Time is of the essence since I arrive in Vegas at 9:50am. I can fly to Phoenix with either US Air or Southwest and would like your opinion on (1) whether it will take me less time to get to the gate with one or the other (2) how much time is enough for arriving at the airport (officially they say 2 hours which seems like an awful lot) and (3) whether you'd guess one of the airlines is more reliable than the other or (4) if you can think of anything else relevant to the decision. US Air takes off at 4:11 and arrives at 6:35 whereas Southwest leaves at 4 and arrives at 6:10pm. They cost the same. I've ruled out later flights as too late. THANKS!

Affordable accommodations in Vegas?

chinese_fashion — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:56:45 -0800

Can any of you recommend a cool, affordable hotel in Las Vegas? My girlfriend and I are going to a wedding in Vegas, staying 3/21 and 3/22. The wedding has booked rooms at the Bellagio -- because it will be at the Bellagio -- but we're wondering if we can't find something cheaper that's walkable.

We're interested in seedy older vintage Vegas, love rockabilly/Nashville/authentically cool kitschy Americana. We don't need ultimate luxury, but would like to avoid roaches and semen stains.

Can any of you MeFites recommend something walkable to the Bellagio that beats $299 a night?

And while you're at it, recommend anything "can't miss" that's under the radar and really, really cool? Like cool dives, live rock bands, etc.?

We need an updated MeFi "What to do in Vegas" for couples!

liquado — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:16:40 -0800

My partner and I are celebrating 10 years with a quick four-day trip, sans kids, to Vegas. We're already lined up to see Cirque's Love, Lucky Chang's Drag Show and Madam Tussaud's, but I'd love to here what MeFiers have as suggestions -- not just for us -- for cool, unique stuff to see in Vegas.

NSA Surveillance in Las Vegas for Extortion

destro — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:20:13 -0800

Was there a story a year or two back about Patriot Act/NSA/FBI surveillance in Las Vegas being used for extortion against a casino? I distinctly remember something about it but can't find anything.

Arizona, Las Vegas & Utah Sightseen

WizKid — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:25:30 -0800

Road trip Kansas -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas -> Utah -> Colorado -> Kansas (May 21'st - 27'th). We need recommendation and advice with accommodation, attractions, any things else. Thank you everyone for your input to my earlier post. As per your suggestions we have decided to drop LA from our itinerary. Anyway I compiled this post to be a complete post (including details from my last post), so you don't have to go back and see it)

Four International college students (over 21) from Kansas plans to go on a road trip Kansas -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas -> Utah -> Colorado -> Kansas (May 21'st - 27'th). We need recommendation and advice with accommodation, attractions, any things else.

What we have
- Mazda prodigy 1993
- 2 Drivers
- GPS Unit
- AAA membership
- Sprint Mobile Phone
- 2 or more Digital Cameras
- Laptop

itinerary
- Leaving Kansas on 21'st (5AM) and arriving in Grand Canyon around (4PM)
- Spending 22'nd sight seen in Grand Canyon (and Arizona)
- Leaving Grand Canyon on 23'rd (around 7AM) and arrive at Las Vegas around 2PM
- Spend the 23'rd night at Las Vegas
- Leaving Las Vegas on 24'th (around 8AM) and arriving at Utah around 1PM and look around
- Spend the 25'th and 26'th in Utah
- Leaving Utah on 26'th (around 1PM) and arriving at Denver, Colorado around 11PM
- Leave Colorado on 27'th (around 7AM) and head back to Kansas

1) Please give your comments about the itinerary. It's adjustable as long as the max is 7 days.

2) we are on a budget. so we need to find cheap accommodation.

3) Please let us know things to see in Grand Canyon, Utah (Specially in Utah we would like to see a Dinosaurs Cave or a museum) and Las Vegas (what are the place in Las Vegas we should see)

4) Tips about the attractions? (I read a review about the sky walk been a total rip-off) Any more tips like this? Where can I find coupons for attractions, meals and hotels?

5) In Utah what National Parks and where in it should we visit?

6) What are the scenic drives and en routes that we should take?

7) Places to eat?

8) We will be traveling in a Mazda prodigy 1993. Any car care tips for a long trip? what should we take with us?

10) Any general tips and trick that will be useful for us.

Thanks you all for reading this long post

How can I find out what celebrities will be in Las Vegas?

nitsuj — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:55:29 -0800

Is there an easy way to find out what celebrities will be in Las Vegas on a particular date? I know that current technology doesn't allow complete access to a person's every move, so what I'm looking to do is see what celebrities (if any) will be making scheduled appearances in Las Vegas on a particular weekend -- at conferences or conventions or what have you.

I know how to find musicians (concert search), but that's about it. A website dedicated to this would be great, though I doubt it really exists... so what are some clever ways of searching this information out?

Fake dive bar in Las Vegas?

andrewzipp — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 07:02:07 -0800

Fake dive bar in Las Vegas? It's my brother's bachelor party... It's my brother's bachelor party, and after the Spearmint Rhino, nine of us would like to end up at a dark, smoky bar with young clientele. Preferably with punk rock or outlaw country on the jukebox. Pretty, tattooed bartenderettes are a plus. Most of these guys live in New York, and I've hung out with them at The Library and Doc Holidays when I've visited and had a great time, at other bars, less so. Any suggestions? Mostly we'd like to find a place to hang out and drink beer that isn't too sportsbar / sad old man / chic club / or frat boy-ish.

Vegas Weddings Sans-Drive-Thru?

plexiwatt — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 11:51:58 -0800

WeddingsFilter! Recommend elegant (read:non-Elvis), beautiful places in which to have a wedding ceremony in Las Vegas. Sound oxymoronic? So my SO and I are tying the knot, and due to a desire for fun and central location, Las Vegas seems to be the spot. We are interested in either a place which has ceremony and reception packages, or for recommendations on single-use facilities. We've checked out the Strip's hotels, and none seem to be as free of tourists or as intimate as we'd like.

Details:
We're expecting 75-85 people.
We'd like to spend $50-75/person max on the reception.
Not too far from the strip itself, if possible, since we plan on partying there afterwards.
Wedding would take place around June/July.
Bonus points for places which allow outside photographers, as most locations have a contract with their own company.

What say ye, married MeFites?

Gastronomical Vegas?

trbrts — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 11:21:54 -0800

Cool restaurants in Vegas that are moderately priced? My wife and I had our 4th Anniversary yesterday, this weekend we're going to Vegas to stay with some friends and catch a show. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good restuarant in Vegas that isn't too expensive? On or Off the strip is fine. Thanks in advance.

I'm thinking of moving to Las Vegas...[more inside]

elquien — Mon, 23 May 2005 12:51:05 -0800

I'm a 25 year old recent law school graduate (female) who is thinking of moving to Las Vegas.... I've lived in a medium-sized Midwestern city my entire life, but want to get out. I'm single, so I'm wondering what the singles scene is like in Vegas. I'm pretty laid back, like to drink and dance, and have no interest whatsoever in gambling. I'm very into outdoors activities and I love live music. Do you know anyone who has moved to Vegas? What is it like for outsiders? Is it easy to meet people? What is the city really like (apart from the Strip)?

What should I do in Las Vegas?

werty — Mon, 22 Dec 2003 06:48:53 -0800

What should I do in Las Vegas? I'm going to Vegas tomorrow for a three-night stay. I'm meeting my wife, who's there on business; neither she nor I have been there in a decade, so the whole America's Playground thing is new to both of us.

We have plans to explore some of the big name hotels and hit choice restaurants. We'd like to see the Cirque du Soleil "O" show but it's sold out (suggestions on how to get tickets without paying triple the face value are welcome).

What other don't-miss locations or events do you suggest? And while we're at it, do any hotels have abundant low-stakes tables or nonsmoking areas? (I want my gambling to occur slowly and in clean air.)