Several hundred, you could push a grand if you’re trying. We went to a Greek seafood place where they flew in fish every day from the Mediterranean. Drinks, food and dessert for five was $2800, and I was being frugal and split an $80/lb fish with the company owner and had a glass of bougie white wine.
I will say that after my conference in March, I stayed with a buddy of mine who lives there and we went to some local places and the pricing was more affordable. Other than food, we played board games and went to the pinball hall of fame and I spent $20 over 8 hours. Sodas were a buck and they had cheap snacks too. Most fun I’ve ever had in Vegas.We went and checked out Red Rocks on the way to the airport. It can be affordable but not as a destination and if you stay out of the tourist traps.
Used to go with some regularity when I lived in the SW. Last time I went back was shocked at the parking and resort fees. Screw that. Don't plan on ever going back.
Wife and I are not big gamblers. We had a nice system when we went to Vegas. Get $20 in one dollar bills each Find a couple of REAL penny slot machines Play one penny at a time while looking for cocktail waitress Be very nice and respectful to waitress and tip $1 per drink She will make it a point to stop by every 10 minutes or so After a while, move on to next casino and repeat steps 2-5 This used to work all day long and we would get a ton of drinks for like $20 total. We weren't ripping anybody off because we were tipping and playing slots. Now, the penny slots aren't really even penny slots. They say $0.01 but the minimum bet is 25 pennies. And even if you do find a real one, it's in the back corner of the casino so good luck finding a waitress. If you do happen to see one, they walk by so fast it's almost like they're trying to avoid you. Freemont casinos were a little better but last time we went it was the same as the strip. We ended up going on a brewery tour and having more fun doing that than at the casinos. But we can go to a brewery in Houston (there are a million of them here) so why go to Vegas?
Another super annoying thing about Vegas - the hotels don't have coffee makers in the rooms. They say fire hazard yet they still allow smoking in the hotels. It's not that I'm too cheap to buy coffee downstairs - though spending $30 for 2 cups of bean water seems excessive - but there is a 45 minute wait in line TO ORDER. Are you kidding? You want me to start my day standing in line for 45 minutes to order a cup of coffee??? We brought our own pot and coffee because hey we get good coffee without the enormous inconvenience. And to be honest most hotel coffee is pure trash anyway but you need to shorten the line or allow for online ordering with text pickup. The same people that spend money for Vegas entertainment are the same people who spend money for Red Lobster seafood. You can have a way better experience somewhere else
Just bite the bullet and go to Starbucks (which you can order ahead of time). Pretty sure every popular casino now has one in the vicinity. They're all getting coffee from the same place... and the prices are egregious no matter what.
I remember my first time in Vegas in the 90's. They were literally giving buffets away as comps for sitting at a table for an hour. My parents literally wen at least once a month. They had a 99 dollar round trip on southwest Airlines. Out Friday afternoon back on Sunday. Smelling like stale smokes, old booze, with a slight waft of regret.
It was a Starbucks downstairs. Unfortunately my wife and I don’t like Starbucks because it’s too bitter. And since we aren’t Starbucks fans we didn’t know about online ordering.
Did the KISS pinball machine make it to the Hall of Fame. That and The Addams Family were my favorites.
They were there. At least two versions of each. Highly recommended place to go. I would go to Vegas just for that place, getting a break from the H-Town humidity and hiking in the mountains.
Man...I haven't been back in 20 years and I don't remember having any of these terrible experiences. Certainly not putting it on my travel list if what y'all are saying is true. No coffee makers? Charging to unplug something? WTF? Almost took my wife earlier this year because she wanted to see Janet Jackson during her residency but we didn't go. I'm not much of a gambler...I'll enjoy some roulette and some slots but I'm looking for the low dollar stuff. Sounds like they've overplayed their hand, so to speak...and now people stopped coming. I'll be curious to see how they pivot if this continues.
And grandma got burgers for a nickel back in the day. I think your technique would work with $50-100 for tips, $5 per drink rotation for two drinks. Inflation, bro, people gotta eat. Still underscores the expense of Vegas. Bring a $50 drip coffee maker with stainless carafe and two stainless mugs in your checked luggage. Swipe the creamer and sweetener from the coffee stand.
Here's the table list: https://pinballmuseum.org/games/games.php Here's the Rush they have. Looks like it's the Regular edition: I could spend a month there learning the tables. If I lived there, I would be a regular. Amazing place. I was blown away by the Stern Connected system. I played the new D&D table and seriously considered buying one for $7k. Still am. Super fun.
When I was a kid, the funnest thing back in way simpler times was walking to the local 7-Eleven to play pinball. It was only pinball in the beginning before the other fancier game machines started showing up. But, one of the ones that came out during that time that they had was the "Playboy" pinball machine. I had this one experience playing this game at 7-Eleven and I was playing pretty well. And, this well-endowed chick with a thin t-shirt on saw me playing and was standing to the left watching me play while jumping up-and-down. It was the most hilarious thing.
I watch for deals on these types of tables. Still don't have one. They're in high demand. I don't remember pinballs in 7/11s, but that kind of story makes you wish for cell phone cams.
