A couple of months ago I was asking the same questions as its was going to be my first time to Las Vegas.
I was debating whether to stay at another hotel or at the Riviera where they jack up a $29 room to $79. My roommate, who works in the hotel industry, was offered a master suite upgrade and thought it was a bargain. For $150 a night, we ended up gigantic suite big enough to put a diamond bar box. For poolplayers, closest analog is spotting a Southwest for sale under $2000
1. Like the warnings in the car side mirror, hotels on the strip are farther than they appear. Must be that desert mirage effect, but hotels are pretty far from each other, at least a good 15 minute walk from each other. Here is a picture I took of the nearest hotel from my balcony. I tried walking during daylight hours. My slurpee didn't last long enough for me to make it. If you're going to tour the strip, which takes 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours, do it at night.
2. I'm from New York City, and people jaywalk all the time. If you're from New York, you'll noticed that Queens blvd has more traffic and much wider than US 91, aka the Vegas strip. Don't jaywalk, there is probably a cop standing nearby and waiting to give you a ticket.
3. If you're trying to stay within a budget, you'll like end up with a daily routine of Denny's, the Ross Outlet, 7-11, and dinner at the Peppermill.
Wake up, go to Denny's to have their $2 and $4 value breakfasts. While having my $2 sausage gravy over biscuits, Bustamante was having breakfast in the stall next to mine. So, Denny's is the breakfast of champions.
Afterwards go shopping at Ross Outlet to buy collared shirts, and full length pants to meet the dress code. Then buy a frozen slurpee at 7-11, you'll need it for the walk back to the Riv. After staying up all night, end up meeting your friends at 3am in the morning to have dinner/breakfast the Peppermill.
4. Airport
Its a $16 taxi ride to the Riv from the airport. If you're arriving by yourself, you can take a shuttle bus for $8. If you're with 2 or more people, then splitting a taxi is probably cheaper.
5. Luggage
I ended up buying one of these rolling duffel bags, and lock it with a TSA approved lock. If they open a TSA lock, you'll see a red indicator and they're suppose to put a note inside. This bag from Victorinox is just slightly over the 62" limit. I was concern about the size limit, as it turns out the airline only cares if you're over 50 pounds or not. Smaller bags help you stay within the weight limit.
I packed a full week of clothes, my cue case, an aero-bed and came in under 40 pounds.
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Lu...P0/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1338895287&sr=8-16
