Hi guys,
I'm going to Vegas in a few weeks with a bucks party and looking for some good recommendation for nightlife entertainment (clubs and bars) as I've heard it can be quite overwhelming if you don't choose well.
We're happy to pay more to go to good places - what's the best way to do it? Do you need to go VIP or are there other alternatives? Are the other ways we can do a great night without totally breaking the bank?
Cheers
Couple more thoughts;
Cheap night out - Fremont St. Dollar drinks everywhere and a great taste of old Vegas. It's 10 minute $10 cab from the Strip. Have the $10 steak and lobster at Fremont Casino, drinking their $1 margaritas or Corona's before an amazing walk up and down the original Strip basking in the street entertainment and cheap food and drink.
Also, where are you staying and have you booked it yet? There's heaps of promos available giving anyone access to promotions they typically target at punters. If you haven't already booked, I can give you some links to promos around that will get you into one of the better casino resorts (Palazzo, Encore, Aria) for little more than a $100 a night per room mid-week, or half that again for a great 4 star place in the middle of the Strip like Paris or Planet Hollywood (very popular for bucks parties - google image search "Planet Hollywood Dealers" to see why) if you're not as concerned about spending much time in your room or home casino.
Buck's party you say? You are going to have a Crazy time Horse-ing around in Vegas!
Hi Kriscafc - I've replied to your PM and re-posted most of it below in the event that anyone else trawling through these threads in future is after a few tips on better destinations and how to save a few bucks in Vegas.
As I said, apart from group bookings at the beach parties, we rarely book anything ahead of time, but rely heavily on the casino concierges (don't just stick with your casino - use the other hotel concierges for info and free line passes as well) and peddlers on every corner on the strip offering free entry tickets, and information about which nights are best at which night clubs. Just remember that getting in anywhere after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights can involve long waits if you don't have bookings. Depending on where you are staying, most will have free front of lines passes to their nightclubs for guests staying at their casino, so plan to use this especially on bigger nights.
If you are likely to be travelling in smaller groups, it may rule out many of the $1,000+ spends required for a private table/booth and included bottle service. Voodoo Lounge and Steakhouse at Rio was one of the more affordable and justifiable expenses on my last trip. Dining at the Steakhouse averages $50 mains - good meals, not particularly cheap, but includes access to the outdoor nightclub above it when you've finished dining. If you haven't been there before, make sure the Voodoo Lounge is on your hit list. They also have some of the cheaper table/bottle service offerings and they are located at the perimeter of the building so you overlook the entire strip.
For food and Bars, Cosmopolitan is the newest mega-Casino on the Strip and has an amazing selection. Head up to the 1st and 2nd floors to find a hundred different restaurants to suit all cuisines, all fantastic quality. On the main floor there's half a dozen pumping bars. The Champagne Bar at the entrance to Cosmo opposite Bellagio is always full of good sorts. Nice place to put away your first drink. If you are looking to get value for money, at Cosmo they were running a free $100 a day promo for people who joined their free Identity rewards program. Not sure if it's still going (been a year since last visit), but sign up at the Promotions desk in five minutes and ask them if the $100 cashback promo is still running. Basically, if you were behind a $100 in your carded play in any calendar day, you could go to the desk and they would put the $100 back on your card as points. You need to gamble the points before you can cash them out, but on 98% return game like single zero roulette or blackjack, you'll get back most of it. And if you win anything in between, it's yours to keep.
Regarding cheap nights and saving a few bucks, Casino Royale on the middle of the Strip has $1 drinks 24/7, as do many places on Fremont St. The outdoor bars at Fremont are a bit more expensive, but their standards serves are freepour double nips in 15oz glasses, so it goes a long way. Obviously, you drink for free if playing machines or on a table at all casinos, so get a group of 3 or 4 on one machine sat near to where the dispense bar station is (watch where all waitresses go back to) and tip big on your first order ($10+) you manage to get their attention to take an order. You'll get plenty of service after that and for $1 tip per drink, can stay there as long as you have a dollar in a machine. Otherwise, Fremont St is very cheap food and drink and be sure to grab the mini magazine in the back of every cab - it has lots of little offers like free entry to nightclubs, 2 for 1 deals and half price offers to the Eiffel tower and other tourist sites.
Try not to have big drinking sessions at the 5 star resort casinos (Aria, Cosmo, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, Encore, and to an extent - most of the newer casinos on the Strip). you can pay upwards of $10 a beer, and much more for spirits. At those prices, make sure you jump on one of their machines and drink for tips money. You'll get much better milegage out of places like Hard Rock Casino and Hooters off strip, and Planet Hollywood and New York on-strip. They are all a bit older, but prices are more reasonable and they are designed for a young male market. At NYNY, the Piano Bar and Coyote Ugly go off on their good nights, and there's another half a dozen bars, as well as cheap pizza and burger joints to eat at.
Dance club wise, I really couldn't say since I'm sure much has changed in a year. I'm generally led by marketing - the best places will have lots of billboards up everywhere and whatever's newest will likely get the biggest crowds. I've had great experiences at Marquee @ Cosmo, Lavo @ Palazzo, Tao @ The Venetian, Hyde and Bank @ Bellagio, XS at Encore, Pure @ Caesars, Hakkasan @ MGM, but again they all have busier and quieter nights so make sure you get advice on the better nights for your preferred picks.
Since you'll spend plenty on drinks if you are going out most nights, make sure you save some money during the day by heading over to the food courts at either the Fashion Show Mall, Miracle Mile Shops between Bally/Paris (opposite Wynn) or one of the two Premium Outlets. Actually, the Premium Outlets should be on your list regardless, since with a strong Aussie dollar, you'll never see such cheap clothes, shoes and giftware to bring back home (tell the ones with wives/gf's to visit Victoria Secret for some cheap-costing, expensive-looking lingerie that is always well received). Also advise the guys to stop into one of the many Walgreens general stores/pharmacies on the Strip to load up on Coke, beer, consumables and recovery food for their hotel room. When combined with a $20 1litre bottle of Grey Goose vodka from one of the local liquor stores, you can have your first few rounds very cheaply each night inhouse, although I doubt your friends will want to spend too long holed up in your rooms. That said, the ability to come home (either with company or just your mates) and have some food and beverages at your fingertips, will save you hundreds in room service and late night binge-ing. Similarly, if you're having a late start to the day and people are hungry, the all you can eat buffets at the older casinos on the Strip are a great mix of quality/quantity.
Have you booked accommodation yet? Depending on where you are staying, there may be a few other options I've neglected to mention. As I've typed all this, I've realised how jealous I am. Absolutely love Vegas and you've inspired me to look at another visit in July/August.
How old are you and your mates? There's dozens of great places to check out depending on the vintage. Make sure you check out one of the better Piano Bars on one of the nights. New York New York goes off and drink prices are reasonable. Is a great way to spend your first night in town. Make sure you do one of the 50th+ floor outdoor nightclubs at either Voodoo Lounge @ Rio (my preference) or Ghost Bar at Palms. Amazing views and surreal surreal setting.
Plenty of great nightclubs worth checking out, with or without VIP / table service. I've cut and pasted prior post listing a few of my faves below from my last visit a year ago, but the scene changes rapidly and every 2nd casino on the Strip will have a new headlining nightclub that's opened since I was last there. One tip is to seek out "industry nights" at the nightclubs. Any concierge should be able to tell you which clubs have industry nights on any given night of the week, and they invariably attract big numbers of locals and attractive young lasses.
If you do no other thing, check out one of the recovery beach party's in the day if they are opened yet (only for the warmer months). Beach Club at Encore is the crème de la crème, but you will pay big bucks for a private cabana. Wet republic at MGM is also popular, but Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel every Sunday is hard to top (google the reality program Rehab at HRH). More details below. For $3,000-$4,000 minimum spend you'll get your own cabana, cocktail waitress, and wrangler (guy who brings endless streams of gorgeous women who want to meet the big shots in the cabana and help drink their alcohol rather than queuing and paying for it themselves). Sounds like a lot of coin, but if there's 10-30 of you, it will be some of the best money you can spend and will last cover everything you can eat and drink for 6-8 hours. DO some googling for an eye opener and convince the guys to ante up for an experience you will never forget. I did my bucks on the Saturday night in Vegas and we got a cabana for the Sunday as recovery for the bucks and hens participants (including older relatives) and it was the highlight of the trip.
Plenty of booking agents of Facebook can organise stuff for a fee, but a little research will go a long way and most of the beach and dance clubs will let you reserve tables and cabanas online or in person, though you will find plenty of activities where you will have plenty of fun without going VIP / bottle service. To be honest, apart from the beach party cabana, I wouldn't pre-book anything. At any rate, outside the most popular clubs on their most popular nights, you will have plenty of options to buy table service once you're inside. Budget on about $200 a head for a good table with 2 or 3 included bottles.
A couple come to mind from my last few visits;
Bank @ Bellagio
Not new, but still maintains a hardcore following who give it a red hot
shake. Designed for GenY where the average BPM of 130+ and average track
length of 45 seconds caters to their diminished attention spans, even
older folk will find it difficult not to bask in the sea of hedonism. If
you can put up with the gaggle of pole dancers, the risen booths around
the main dancefloor offer the best viewing and access - and can be had
for $2,000 which includes either 2 or 3 bottles (suspect it was 2 - and
that the 3rd we received was only due to smooth spadework and 25% tip one
of my colleagues afforded our cocktailer). Great vibe
Rehab @ HRH
Critics will tell you that Beach Party @ Encore has stolen the crown of
the daytime recovery party scene, but at $7,500 minimum spend for a 10
person cabana, I had to draw the line somewhere. The $3,500 12
person cabanas at Rehab will still give front row seats to one of the
more surreal experiences you'll ever lay witness to, and a bevy of semi
naked glamours. Unlike previous years, these days they let Rehab die a
natural death each night, so you won't be ushered out at 6pm, and will
instead be able to loiter around until after 8pm, counting the number of
naked, drunk women floating by in the pools, as you guestimate the water
to urine/semen ratios. More fun than it sounds, and the type of thing
everyone should do at least once before dying…
Marquee @ Cosmopolitan
What can I say? It really is like no other nightclub on earth. The size,
the scale, the spend on the fitout, the talent. Oh God, the talent. If
you only get one booth at one nightclub this year, make it Marquee. Not
cheap, and a lack of pre-planning meant all booths were sold by the time
we rocked up at 1am on a Friday night. That said, get over your sexism
(men pay $70 for entry and women pay $30) and pony up the cash to bask
in the most lavish nightclub setting you'll ever see. Notwitstanding the
crowd (5,000-ish?) drinks were easy to come by and the higher cover
seemed to have discouraged a good many of the local knob jockeys from
entry. Don't ponder, just make sure you do it on your next LV visit
If you're doing exotic entertainment, look past the free stretch limos and discounted drinks of Sapphire and other pretenders and insist on the Spearmint Rhino. As the buck, brace yourself for an endless stream of $20 lap dances and more women than you can beat with a stick.
I've been to Vegas too many times in the last ten years, so let me know if you've got more details or specifics in mind and I'll let you know anything I can to help.
Have a blast.