Las Vegas: How To Save Money On Your Next Trip

If you are considering a trip to Las Vegas, travel experts agree it is best to allocate a pre-determined amount of money for gambling. When the money is gone, it is gone. This is good advice. However, even if you do not gamble, there is no shortage of ways to spend money in Las Vegas. Here are some tips that can help you save hundreds of dollars next time you visit Sam’s Town.

Travel Mid-Week: It is well known that hotel rates increase on weekends (often doubling or tripling in price) but so does the price for virtually everything else – shows, clubs, table minimums and drink prices. Airfare is also more expensive if you fly into Vegas on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday and return on a Sunday or Monday.

Check Out Free Shows: There are a number of free shows in Las Vegas that are worth checking out. The most popular by far is Sirens, the risqué pirate ship battle which takes place in front of Treasure Island twice a day, 7 days a week. Another popular show is the fountains at the Bellagio.

Buy Half-Price Show Tickets: The ticket booths at the Fashion Show Mall (adjacent to Wynn Hotel and Treasure Island) sells tickets to many shows for up to half off if you are purchasing tickets the day of the show. Although the popular shows are not usually half price, they are sometimes discounted 20 or 30 percent. The popular shows sell out early so it is best to arrive at the ticket booths before noon. There are actually 2 ticket booths at the Fashion Show Mall – one on the ground level and the other on the top floor of the mall near the food court. The booths are not affiliated with each other and have different tickets and shows available. If the show you wanted is sold out at one of the ticket booths, try the other booth.

Get Into Clubs For Free: Many nightclubs in Las Vegas have guest lists. You not only get to bypass the line but you often get a discount on the cover charge or, better, get in for free. The best way to get on a guest list is to contact the club directly or visit their website.

Reserve Your Hotel on Hotwire or Priceline: By far, the best Las Vegas hotel deals are on Hotwire and Priceline. Hotels with excess capacity sell their rooms to a consolidator (Hotwire and Priceline), who in turn resell the rooms without revealing the hotel name until after you purchase. This allows the hotel to offer a huge discount on excess capacity without diluting its brand. 5-Star hotels on the Las Vegas Strip frequently sell for less than $100 per night.

Novice Hotwire and Priceline users should visit HotelDealsRevealed.com, a website offering helpful Priceline and Hotwire tips, hotel lists, and a forum where website members post their Priceline winning bid prices.

Take the Deuce: The Deuce is a double-decker bus that runs north and south along the Strip and goes as far north as Fremont Street. Although slower than a cab because of the number of tourists getting on and off at each stops, it is popular with the tourists for a reason – it is cheap. Grab a 24-hour pass and hop on and off as often as you wish for under $10. Buses are frequent so you usually do not have to wait longer than 10 minutes before the next Deuce comes along.