It sucks not being price sensitive. It’s not that I don’t care about high prices. I just know how and where to spend my money to get the best value.
It doesn’t take much research or planning but it does take some time to know how and when to get the best bang for your buck. All of this is to say that I don’t get to partake in the whining about prices on social media like so many people. Sad face. It seems like so much fun to complain about something in Las Vegas that I can change just by going to a different casino, restaurant, or bar.
My Backstory
I’m going to get a little personal here just to share my journey in casino life. Everyone has a different story to tell with a different point of view.
These stories can often help others and we all know that sharing is caring. Hopefully, someone will see how I’ve gotten the most out of my time in casinos and implement tactics that work for themselves. We all have different wants and needs. I’ve loved money for as long as I can remember but have never been rich. Since graduating college money hasn’t been an issue but I’ve never been rolling in dough.
My parents taught me how to stretch a dollar when I was young and I still live that way. I’m currently sitting in their house and we have very different ways of stretching the dollar and are all happy with our specific results. Growing up in New York City taught me about economic diversity in my hometown. Making short trips to hundreds of East Coast cities within driving distance showed me how people outside of the city lived.
The differences were vast and living near one of the biggest tourist areas in the world taught me a lot. Currently, I’m amazed that prices in Amish Country are similar to my current hometown near Summerlin but that’s probably a bigger economic issue.
Times Square And The Vegas Strip
As a New Yorker, I’ve lived by this comparison – Times Square is to New York City as the Vegas Strip is to Las Vegas.
Both areas have higher prices than any other parts of their respective cities. Those prices decrease the farther you get away from the busy tourist areas.
I learned this in grade school.
Beyond the tourist areas, Manhattan is a large busy city that charges for things that are free elsewhere. For example, before living in Las Vegas I paid to park for every business meeting or dinner since street parking wasn’t always available.
Fun fact: One hour of parking in Manhattan 15 years ago cost more than a full day of parking in Las Vegas today. It’s difficult for me to get too worked up about paid parking. This is just a little background as to why I’m less price-sensitive than most who visit Las Vegas.
Stretching The Dollar In A Casino And Finding Great Rewards
I started visiting casinos shortly after turning 21 and never stopped. While I preferred table games, my main gambling friend only played video poker. We’d meet for meals and drinks at the video poker bars for some hang time.
Our gambling budgets were similar but he got slightly better offers because he was older and had a history with the casinos. I started to notice this as my budget increased and he was still getting better offers. I decided to allocate some of my budget to video poker so I could get similar offers. It worked but the “work” was just beginning.
I honed my blackjack and video poker skills by practicing on apps so I could get the most bang for the buck. When I was at my gambling peak, I was nearly perfect at both games and was able to gamble more than others on a similar budget. The rewards were improving but I still wanted more. Adding one session of high-limit slots did the trick. The rewards system loooooooooooves slot players.
By this point, two mid-rollers had comp rooms, food, and drink any weekday we wanted, and some weekends too. It was fantastic but there was one more major decision that helped teach us both how to get the very best rewards in Atlantic City. Being the big fish in a small pond was the best move we ever made.
Our budgets in Atlantic City’s nicest casinos – Borgata and Caesars Palace – gave us almost no rewards. The same amount of money gave us almost anything we wanted at the less spectacular Bally’s, Harrah’s, and especially Showboat. The comps I earned at Showboat have never been matched even as my budgets have increased over the years.
Sure we’d rather play at the nicer casinos but our money went much farther at the others and we both have great memories. We would dip into the nice places for a treat or to hang but the bulk of our budgets were spent where we were rewarded best.
This was all happening on the East Coast while I was first learning about how great Las Vegas could be.
Enjoying The High Roller Life In Las Vegas On A Budget
I like to reference my initial stays at Gold Coast when explaining how I learned to maximize my dollar in Las Vegas. I still visit the casino to relive those days – and dine at Ping Pang Pong. This was a time of my life when we were stacking as many people into a room as we had to just to afford to be in Las Vegas and it was worth it!
The Vegas Strip has always been the most expensive part of Las Vegas and we all wanted to be there. Unfortunately, our finances dictated otherwise, so we stayed, played, drank, and ate mostly off-strip.
We just wanted just a taste of the good life so we would always plan for one night on the Vegas Strip. These nights we’d have a delicious steak, check out a nightclub, and only gamble a little since the limits were higher.
Even after my budget allowed me to stay on the Vegas Strip, I’d spend as little as possible on most days just to have that one big night out. This is how I was raised to stretch a dollar. We’d live on a modest budget most of the time but every now and then we would treat yo self.
Sure I wanted the best all the time but the amount of money in my bank wasn’t allowing it. I still live this way. I spend money when I want to but live a modest life otherwise.
Maximizing Fun And Budgets In Las Vegas
It’s really not difficult to manage money or find value in Las Vegas. There’s plenty of it.
You might have to adjust where you stay, play, wine, and dine. As I’m writing this I noticed Hurdy Gurdy Justin posted an article about great values on his recent visit to Las Vegas. My Vegas life has transformed from being very budget-oriented to living in Las Vegas and finding local values at all stops. In between I always found a way to have the Vegas experience that I wanted.
Finding value doesn’t always involve casino rewards. It can be as simple as staying at a cheaper or comp casino and visiting the nicer places. However, rewards are still a great way to get the best bang for the buck. How they’re doled out continues to change. So we have to change tactics to extract the most value.
It’s annoying but not difficult and can be very rewarding in the end (pun intended).
Staying and playing on the Vegas Strip is fun but it’s not a right. I love the Vegas Strip and visit often to eat and drink with friends. Gambling is usually the last thing on my mind at these casinos.
The TravelZork community is a great place to learn and share tips on how to get the most out of Las Vegas.
