Living in LV during the 2008 WSOP - Your tips and pitfalls

[DawnToDusk]

This post may be a bit to early. If it is sorry. Maybe it can serve as an imformative post that can be made a post in the FAQ later. Needless to say though I am making this post because of my friends.

Me and two buddies are interested in living in Vegas during the WSOP. We are big poker players and are just getting out of college so are looking for a way to reward ourself. One is a big game player and the other plays in the middle limits. I myself play in the lower limits.

I decided to take charge of "the project" to get organized for possibly living in Vegas. If I left it in charge of the other two it would never get done as they aren't the most organized and driven of people.

I was curious about what tips you had for finding a place, moving in, etc. down in Vegas. I've had experience house hunting and stuff for living situations for college but am making the assumption that it is going to be slightly different for Vegas, especially during the WSOP.

So I guess I will fire off some questions and see what you guys have to say from your experience.

My first and foremost question is what neighboorhoods should be looked into for housing during the summer and what time frames should we be looking at for getting that house? I'm sure that there will be places available around all of Vegas (just guessing) but I'm sure some would be better to live in due to such things a logistics (getting to cardrooms with ease), safety (wouldn't want a house to get broken into, mugged, etc.) and quality vs. price (not looking for a mansion or anything but would prefer a place without roaches in it, etc.). Also how fast are these places booking? Should I be looking to make my looking to make reservations/bookings/putting down payments March? Sooner? Later?

Can you find places that are furnished? I'm not looking for the whole kit and kaboodle here. It would be nice to have a kitchen table and a bed though.

Transportation Is transportation off the strip farily reliable? I'm talking about the bus system and stuff here. What about biking? Would it be silly of me to bike ot cardrooms?

I got to go lift with my buddy since he just showed up at the gym, but I will post some more questions in two hours after my session.



Thanks for your help!

[BubbleMint]

Biking in 100+ degree heat doesnt seem smart to me. You will sweat like carzy and then be uncomfortable for your sessions. Is there a reason car hire is not possible ?

Rentals run 1500-3000 for a nice house for one month. Obviously more for a totally balla pad. I find mine via craigslist. A couple of the regualr postings on there that might suit would be The Movie House (sw vegas) and the Stripper house, although this is in a less than perfect part of town.
Peoples opinions on safe areas vary wildly and it depends on what kind of neghbourhood you are coming from. However the NE, UNLV area and Northtown are areas to be avoided IMO. Fortunately to be convenient to the Rio, you will not be in these areas anyway.

Southwest Management group have some nice properties if you prefer to deal with a company as opposed to individuals. They have a fully furnished section andmany of the properties are in gated communities.

If you want to be on strip, check craigs and www.vrbo for properties at MGM signature. Many offer 50% discounts for stays of 30 days+, to tie one of these up I would look nowish.

With any of the rentals, the condos/apts generally have community pool, if you want a private house with a pool, this obviously runs a little more. But I think it is well worth it in vegas during the summer.

As I understand all rooms benefit from increased traffic during the WSOP but the Rio obviously is the major action room, at least in the early part, upto and including the main event.

Finally, many home owners in Vegas are facing foreclosure, be very vigilant that you do not give a deposit to somebody who will have to surrender it to the bank, The vacation rental section of craigs has many warning stories, do read them.

[JP OSU]

First of all, you are going to want to either drive out there or rent a car, because public transportation in Vegas is pretty bad...

I think March is a good time to start looking at booking a place...

A good place to look for things like this is craigslist... You will absolutely be able to find a furnished house that is fairly nice... The only caveat is how much you are willing to pay... Do you have a price range in mind?

Areas of Vegas that you'd want to look into are Henderson, Summerlin, and south Vegas...

[DawnToDusk]

Ummm..... Price range. We could probably afford 1500 for each month (minus utilities) alrighty. If there is anything less than that that would be great too. I will look at craigslist now.

Could you go into the areas around Vegas? I've heard of Henderson but aren't familar with the other places. What do you like about them and what don't you like? Maybe an estimation of drive time to the strip?

[Poshua]

This old thread may be of some use to you:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...Number=9426057

[DawnToDusk]

Renting a car isn't a problem. I don't personally have a car and take a bus or wherever my feet can take me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I could see how walking or biking everyday would grow tiresome really fast. As far as renting people don't rent cars down there do they?

As far as checking who is a reliable landlord (who won't have your deposit taken away by the bank) how does one go about and check that stuff?

[JP OSU]

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As far as renting people don't rent cars down there do they?


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[Poshua]

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Renting a car isn't a problem. I don't personally have a car and take a bus or wherever my feet can take me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I could see how walking or biking everyday would grow tiresome really fast. As far as renting people don't rent cars down there do they?

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OP, where do you live? I'm gonna guess not in a city with limited public transit in the middle of the desert.

[DawnToDusk]

Thanks. My searching skills are pretty bad as much as I try.

[DawnToDusk]

Haha. I live in Bellingham, WA. We have terrible traffic problems all around WA. Needless to say Metro Transit isn't that great either.