Author Topic: vegas  (Read 117869 times)

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Offline DaBigTrain

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1200 on: December 13, 2018, 10:12:59 PM »
Those kiosks give you the absolute worst room of whatever room type you booked....

In what way? I mean when you get in before 9AM on a Friday, and normal check in time is 3PM, are you really gonna be that picky. I know you’re an airport dork, do you just stay there? I want to lay my luggage down, who gaf if you are 5 floors higher
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Offline j rake

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1201 on: December 13, 2018, 10:17:52 PM »
Ok Vegas pros: pregnant wife, celebrating anniversary, but cheap room and overall cheap appearance probably. How do I maximize the check in experience? $20? $40? Fake contractions?

slip $40 to the person checking you in, be overly nice, and keep letting them know what they can't do.

"i know you probably can't, but..."

if you strike the right tone, and if they like you, they'll try to make your day. they deal with enough miserable complainers who don't give them anything, you'll be a refreshing change of pace.

Offline Spracne

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1202 on: December 13, 2018, 10:26:20 PM »
"I know you probably can't help my pregnant wife and I on our anniversary, but..."

^winning formula

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Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1203 on: December 14, 2018, 07:07:35 AM »
Those kiosks give you the absolute worst room of whatever room type you booked....

In what way? I mean when you get in before 9AM on a Friday, and normal check in time is 3PM, are you really gonna be that picky. I know you’re an airport dork, do you just stay there? I want to lay my luggage down, who gaf if you are 5 floors higher

Rooms vary (accessible, close to ice machine, crap view) even within the same room type. The human check in staff will move you away from those rooms during checkin...even moreso if you tip them apparently.

I have used them and I don't really care about my room but the last three pages has been about paying 20 bucks to get a "better" room so thought it was relevant to let the "I want the best room ever" dudes know that the kiosk route will do the opposite.

Offline Mikeyis4dcats

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1204 on: December 26, 2018, 09:35:47 AM »
Now those are some hot tips!

Is there like no chance of getting a seat at Cesar’s without a reservation? Ideally I’d like to take in a little bit of the atmosphere but mostly just place a few bets and monitor the games while doing other stuff (with the ability to peak in if something gets exciting). I don’t necessarily want to be glued to the TV unless the Chiefs are in the AFC championship game.

a bunch of us went for a CFB saturday about six weeks ago, we paid $144 per seat, which reserves your spot for the day. virtually every seat was reserved and there wasn't much for the general public until much later in the day, when there were just a handful of games left.

you can see the reservation prices here, it looks like NFL playoffs is priced similarly: https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/casino/race-and-sports-book#.XBKEjZNKjR0

honestly, between the long sportsbook lines, the good-not-great service, and the lack of food options (you have to walk to the food court about 250 yards away), i'd put the caesars experience solidly behind a few of the others on the list.

we went to westgate the next day for NFL sunday. we got a VIP booth for i want to say $700, but the entire cost of the box goes toward food and beverage. we had seven of us, stuffed our face with food from 10am to 4pm, drank from beginning to end, and still didn't use up the allotment. service was great, seating was great, views were great, atmosphere was great. but again, a box isn't necessary to enjoy westgate; you'll find good enough seating on your own.

here's a decent overview of various books on the strip: https://vegashax.com/2018/09/10/best-sportsbooks-for-football/

the books that i personally like to support in town are south point and westgate. both have top-notch staffs who focus on customer service and aren't trying to nickel-and-dime their guests to death. i understand why many books (not just caesars) are going the reserve-a-seat route (caesars, for example, can profit roughly 50k per football weekend on reserved seats if they sell out), but like most decisions casinos in town are making, these are short-sighted moves that are turning people away.

there are lots of guys (and gals potentially!), similar to myself, who go to vegas primarily to bet sports and watch games - particularly if it's a big sports weekend. but between paying (constantly rising) resort fees, paying for WiFi, paying for daily parking, paying for a seat in the sportsbook, paying for drinks (small bets used to get you a handful of drinks; now at many properties $200 gets you one drink ticket), many people are deciding they'd rather just go to a bar.

they'll still get my money because i'm a sicko, but just pointing out the error of their ways.

yeah, Caesars seems to be toeing the line of figuring out just how far they can push people.   When I was there last January they were rolling out the lights on the machines that dictate when you've spent enough to get a free drink.

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1205 on: December 26, 2018, 02:53:24 PM »
Almost all the bar slot machines have that in every casino I hear....indont play slots though so not positive

Offline Mikeyis4dcats

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1206 on: December 27, 2018, 11:04:22 AM »
Almost all the bar slot machines have that in every casino I hear....indont play slots though so not positive

yeah, we were playing the automated roulette.   But they were expanding it across all games.

Offline Kat Kid

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1207 on: December 27, 2018, 11:11:45 AM »
The sports betting/drink tickets and poker comps are pretty bad now too.  Sad.

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1208 on: December 27, 2018, 11:35:47 AM »
The sports betting/drink tickets and poker comps are pretty bad now too.  Sad.

Yeah for sportsbooks Westgate was the last one close to the strip that did free drinks....went to tickets a few years ago. 

Can usually get 2-3 if you bet at least $50 on games at a time and throw the ticket writers a tip.  Real shame.

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1209 on: December 27, 2018, 11:36:54 AM »
Almost all the bar slot machines have that in every casino I hear....indont play slots though so not positive

yeah, we were playing the automated roulette.   But they were expanding it across all games.

my point was that it's not just Caesars...which is how I read your post.

Offline Mikeyis4dcats

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1210 on: December 27, 2018, 12:20:07 PM »
Almost all the bar slot machines have that in every casino I hear....indont play slots though so not positive

yeah, we were playing the automated roulette.   But they were expanding it across all games.

my point was that it's not just Caesars...which is how I read your post.


ah.  Gotcha.    We didn't hit many casinos when we were there (it was a convention trip) but Caesars at the time was the most obvious.

Offline j rake

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1211 on: December 27, 2018, 02:11:40 PM »
The sports betting/drink tickets and poker comps are pretty bad now too.  Sad.

Yeah for sportsbooks Westgate was the last one close to the strip that did free drinks....went to tickets a few years ago. 

Can usually get 2-3 if you bet at least $50 on games at a time and throw the ticket writers a tip.  Real shame.

easiest way to get drink tickets, if you are so inclined, is to:

a) bet horses (lay a big favorite in a small field for a couple of bucks). most places will accommodate, and you'll have a chance of getting your money back and then some on the bet.

b) bet a smallish amount on a sports game, tip the ticket writer a couple of bucks, and then ask: "hey, do you guys still do drink tickets?" they'll probably throw one or two your way (they're stuck in a tough position if they don't.)

c) sit next to someone in the book who has a bunch of drink tickets on the arm rest of their chair. these people very likely made big bets, or many bets, to accumulate that many tickets. they'll give away the unused ones before they leave (i give mine away all the time), as they are only good on the same day.

an even better way is to line shop at two different books for the best prices on the same game and bet a lot on both sides. for example, let's say there's a Yankees-Athletics game. Caesars has Yankees -120 and MGM (next door) has Athletics +121. This sort of arbitrage - or something close to it - is not uncommon, especially on marquee games or if there's a big recent line move offshore.

So you can lay $1200 to win $1000 on Yankees at Caesars - and collect all your drink tickets; and you can lay $1000 to win $1210 at MGM on the A's - and collect all your drink tickets. Now you've got a handful of free drinks and you'll either break even (if the Yanks win) or win $10 (if the A's win). You can also do this with sides or totals in football and hoops, or basically any other point-spread sport, but you'll want to a) leave open the possibility of a push/middle (likely just a 5% proposition, admittedly) and b) lay the lowest possible vig you can and perhaps gamble to one side over the other.

or, you can skip all of the above and just buy drinks like a regular person, which isn't so bad.

Offline Trim

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1212 on: December 27, 2018, 02:19:12 PM »
You can still mix yourself a giant STV&W or buy a bunch of beer and carry it around, right?

Offline 8manpick

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1213 on: December 27, 2018, 02:55:25 PM »

or, you can skip all of the above and just buy drinks like a regular person, which isn't so bad.
:adios:

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1214 on: December 27, 2018, 02:58:15 PM »
The sports betting/drink tickets and poker comps are pretty bad now too.  Sad.

Yeah for sportsbooks Westgate was the last one close to the strip that did free drinks....went to tickets a few years ago. 

Can usually get 2-3 if you bet at least $50 on games at a time and throw the ticket writers a tip.  Real shame.

easiest way to get drink tickets, if you are so inclined, is to:

a) bet horses (lay a big favorite in a small field for a couple of bucks). most places will accommodate, and you'll have a chance of getting your money back and then some on the bet.

b) bet a smallish amount on a sports game, tip the ticket writer a couple of bucks, and then ask: "hey, do you guys still do drink tickets?" they'll probably throw one or two your way (they're stuck in a tough position if they don't.)

c) sit next to someone in the book who has a bunch of drink tickets on the arm rest of their chair. these people very likely made big bets, or many bets, to accumulate that many tickets. they'll give away the unused ones before they leave (i give mine away all the time), as they are only good on the same day.

an even better way is to line shop at two different books for the best prices on the same game and bet a lot on both sides. for example, let's say there's a Yankees-Athletics game. Caesars has Yankees -120 and MGM (next door) has Athletics +121. This sort of arbitrage - or something close to it - is not uncommon, especially on marquee games or if there's a big recent line move offshore.

So you can lay $1200 to win $1000 on Yankees at Caesars - and collect all your drink tickets; and you can lay $1000 to win $1210 at MGM on the A's - and collect all your drink tickets. Now you've got a handful of free drinks and you'll either break even (if the Yanks win) or win $10 (if the A's win). You can also do this with sides or totals in football and hoops, or basically any other point-spread sport, but you'll want to a) leave open the possibility of a push/middle (likely just a 5% proposition, admittedly) and b) lay the lowest possible vig you can and perhaps gamble to one side over the other.

or, you can skip all of the above and just buy drinks like a regular person, which isn't so bad.

that was a lot of words to say what I said...but yeah I agree, just buy a drink.

Online mocat

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1215 on: December 28, 2018, 10:32:28 AM »
Phil do you think you could ever make a post without an ellipsis?

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1216 on: December 28, 2018, 10:53:51 AM »
I...doubt it.

Offline DaBigTrain

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1217 on: December 28, 2018, 12:28:53 PM »
I noticed that too mocat, it’s been a little...

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Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1218 on: December 28, 2018, 12:30:07 PM »
Believe me....I've noticed it to but I can't make myself stop and now that I know other people notice...I'm developing a complex...Merry Christmas to me.

Offline Phil Titola

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1219 on: March 10, 2019, 03:45:07 PM »
I know @KCFDcat has been to vegas for conference tournament week.  Anybody else?  I'm going this year (missing a couple days of the Phillips in KC  :Crybaby: ). 

Do they have organized watch parties like NCAA first round weekend?

Offline 8manpick

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1220 on: July 06, 2019, 11:31:12 AM »
Had the tasting menu at Momofuku Vegas last night and was one of the top 5 meals of my life.
:adios:

Offline DaBigTrain

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vegas
« Reply #1221 on: July 27, 2019, 09:27:32 PM »
Is it bad when I watch newer movies about Vegas and I know exactly the casino just by the casino floor? Have I REALLY made it?
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"

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Offline DaBigTrain

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1222 on: July 27, 2019, 09:28:21 PM »
Also, I should probably go again sometime soon
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"

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Offline nicname

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1223 on: July 27, 2019, 10:28:42 PM »
Is it bad when I watch newer movies about Vegas and I know exactly the casino just by the casino floor? Have I REALLY made it?

No, it’s great. I watch about every movie set in Vegas.
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Offline DaBigTrain

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Re: vegas
« Reply #1224 on: February 13, 2021, 11:56:15 AM »
Looking at going in either June or July or both.  Looking at flights and rooms during the week and man there are some good deals.  Assuming by then enough people will have gotten chipped and maybe I will have too.  Need some vegas action soon
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