Aussie Vegas Virgin, accom advice

[Granite]

I was hoping to get some vegas accom/card room advice.

A few things to base the advice on.
* Will be travelling with the wifey, her parents may be joining us there so older crowd, would be easy to all stay at the same place. Wifey doesn't gamble and her parents aren't big gamblers
* Don't want to stay anywhere too expensive, but then again want to be close to the action
* I am a limit player will play 10/20 or 20/40. I have heard you can get poker room rates, but maybe I shouldn't restrict myself to spending too much time at one place
* Staying 6 nights

I appreciate any help. I figure it's a question that gets asked alot. If I had the cash and wasn't such a cheap bastage I would stay at Bellagio or Venetian.

Cheers

[uber pea]

Flamingo is pretty cheap, recently renovated, and right across the street from Caesars and Bellagio. (still a decent walk though)

[bav]

Your desire to play middling limits will greatly curtail your game selection. Mirage does 10/20 and 20/40. Bellagio and Wynn offer 15/30 and 30/60. That's about it for your choices of where you can find games. Get a Strip map and look at what's near those (and realize things are WAY WAY farther apart than they look on the maps... Tropicana to Flamingo is 1 mile). Wynn is kinda isolated up north and has fewer of these games than Bellagio. Mirage 10/20 is sorta hit-n-miss. Safest bet is Bellagio for 15/30.

I wouldn't want to fiddle with a poker rate. You have to play typically 6 or 8 hours a day in that specific room to get it. Few tourists, especially with a wife and/or inlaws in tow, can do 8 hours a day of poker at all, let alone in a single room.

Visit hotels.com, travelocity, expedia, or whatever other sites and enter your stay dates. Cross off Bellagio, Venetian, Caesars, and Wynn--you apparently can't (won't) afford them. Though you could consider it since I imagine the added room cost won't be outrageous compared to the total cost of your vacation. And if you happen to be coming during a slack time, like shortly before Christmas, they can actually be surprisingly affordable.

Down a notch but still high quality and near(ish) the right poker rooms: Mirage, TI, Paris. Mirage is close to Mirage. TI is close to Mirage and Wynn. Paris is close to Bellagio.

Down another notch, but perfectly fine: Ballys (great for getting to Bellagio), Harrahs (across from Mirage), Flamingo (kinda midway between Bellagio and Mirage), PlanetHollywood (near Bellagio), and as a wildcard Bill's Gamblin' Hall (which sounds awful, and it is kinda old but folks claim the rooms are very nice).

And that's about it in the "acceptable to bring wife and inlaws to" range that's going to put you near one of Wynn, Mirage, or Bellagio. You could toss in Monte Carlo...it's not an outrageous walk up to Bellagio, but folks have claimed the construction going on for Project City Center can often be heard in the rooms.

All of these places 'cept Bill's have poker rooms but barring Wynn, Bellagio, and Mirage you'll likely be stuck with 2/4, 3/6, or 4/8 limit and NL1/2.

Guess I'd tend to aim for Bally's because of it's nearly ideal location across the walkway from Bellagio and nearly perfect mid-strip location making it easy to walk most anywhere.

[cc4sc]

Sounds like you want nice, but nothing too extravagant and would like to get some poker playing in? Since you're there 6 nights, I would recommend 2 different hotels, that way you get to see and experience more. It would also allow you to stay at a nicer place during the middle of the week and move to another more budget-minded place for the weekend. Plus, you've got wife and parents coming all the way from half way around the world, so shell out the bucks for at least 2 nights at a 5-star hotel!

Depending on time of year, when you book etc., you could get lucky and find mid-week rooms at Venetian, Bellagio, possibly even Wynn for $200/night or less. Won't be easy, but possible. Then go down a notch or 2 and try any of these:

Cesars Palace (still pretty pricey), MGM Grand, Mirage, TI, Flamingo, Planet Hollywood, Bally's or Monte Carlo. All of the listed hotels are on the Strip and are in the middle of the 'action'. Plus most, if not all, have poker rooms.

[Granite]

Thanks for the excellent advice. It gives me heaps to go.

Yeah 8 hours to get a poker rate is way to much with wife in tow. Sounds like the timing of my trip (mid Dec) I should get a bit more bang for my buck.

Cheers, much appreciated

[pig4bill]

Don't forget that's winter here. Bring a jacket or sweater.

[Granite]

LOL yeah I was checking out some of the hotels with nice pools and was like doh! Northern hemisphere. I will be leaving from the tropics 100 plus weather too.

Would I be right to leave my hotel reservation to the last minute to get the cheap December rates?

[pig4bill]

As has been suggested here before, reserve now and keep checking prices. Be sure to reserve directly with the hotel because most will let you cancel up till 3 days or so before your scheduled arrival (ask their policy when you reserve). If prices drop, call and get the better price.