Woe, for the death of Value Vegas. We’re in a time when negative posts on social media attract more impressions than positive ones. Some of the algorithms reward this kind of content with more exposure so you may have noticed an uptick in this kind of post lately. 

In mid-November, Mr. TravelZork commented on a travel blogger’s tweet that said nothing in Las Vegas is affordable. It’s a fact, that everything is more expensive than it used to be. 

Increased prices are not a Las Vegas thing. That’s how time works.

Nothing costs what it used to. I remember when a slice of pizza and a cup of coffee and a bagel were $1. Get off my lawn! When I first moved to Las Vegas a decent beer on the Vegas Strip was $5 and a cup of coffee was around $2. Value Vegas was a thing. That was about 12 years ago. Things change.

According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, $1 in 2000 is $1.87 today. That might be a little low for some things but that’s another story. It’s probably a good time to remember that cheap, or inexpensive, isn’t always a value. A $3 beer at Casino Royale is both inexpensive and a value for the area. That same beer next door at Harrah’s or The Venetian is at least $8.

A prix fixe meal at a fine dining restaurant may not be cheap but it can be a value for the venue. My favorite expensive value meal used to be the “Cut Of The Day” at Charlie Palmers at Four Seasons/Mandalay Bay. 

The multi-course steak dinner included all the wine you can drink for under $100. A similar meal might normally cost 25% more plus booze. While not cheap this was a great deal. 

Finding Values And Cheap Experiences In Las Vegas 

When it comes to Las Vegas, there are still plenty of inexpensive or value options. Ironically, many of these can be found in the same places as in 2000.

We recently looked at some underrated Las Vegas bargain hotels. This is really just the beginning because there are so many hotel rooms in Las Vegas

In September there were 151,999 hotel rooms available in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. That will increase when Durango and Fontainebleau open in December. 

With the exception of a few holidays and conventions, there are ample hotel rooms available in Las Vegas. Even when citywide hotel occupancy is high, there are still more rooms available than in some popular vacation destinations around the country. 

In addition to hotel room prices, there are casinos for cheap gambling, dining, drinking, and other activities. Visitors just have to be open to the properties.

While “everyone is traveling like a VIP” there are plenty who visit Las Vegas on a budget. These situations are in conflict with one another. This is where some may lose sight of the options available in Las Vegas. 

Las Vegas has something for everyone. There’s always been a divide between the “VIP” traveler and the leisure traveler in Las Vegas. 

Not everyone has the means to vacation like a high roller. In fact, the vast majority of visitors in Las Vegas don’t spend like a VIP once or at all during a trip.

It’s time for story time about my Las Vegas life that started with very humble beginnings. Apologies if you’ve heard some of this before but it’s still relevant.

Started From The Bottom Now We’re Here

I never imagined that I’d be channeling Drake for anything but here we are.

When I first started visiting Las Vegas, the trips were modest. We stayed at cheap hotels because that’s all we could afford. That changed over the years but let’s start at the beginning.

I wax nostalgic about the Gold Coast often because that’s where I cut my teeth in Las Vegas. You know what, the casino is still inexpensive and a value compared to others around town.

Gold Coast hotel rooms, dining, and gambling are cheap compared to most Vegas Strip casinos. The prices are higher than when I first started visiting Las Vegas but nothing costs the same. 

This casino, and many others still offer value – it’s just not what you see on social media. I still make an annual pilgrimage to Ping Pang Pong. It’s hysterical that a meal for six costs almost the same as a great steakhouse on the Vegas Strip for one person.

Gold Coast isn’t the only property with these kinds of offerings. A hotel is only a home base for a Vegas vacation. Not everything has to happen at the casino where the hotel is located.

Since we couldn’t afford a “VIP” experience for the entire trip when I first started visiting Las Vegas, we’d take one night to live above our means to see how the other half lived. This meant a great steak dinner, a night at a club, and plenty more. 

Most of my early vacations were spent in casinos with low limits along with cheap food and drink. Being able to step up for part of the trip was a compliment to the Las Vegas we could afford.

Between visiting during slow periods, recessions, and getting older my priorities and preferences changed. My bank account did too. 

Today, I prefer that VIP life and enjoy it when I can. At the same time, I still look for bargains because that allows me to afford the nicer things. I can’t forget my roots and I don’t want to. 

The bottom line is that there are plenty of inexpensive places to eat, drink, and gamble in Las Vegas. Some of those cheap places also provide value for the experience.