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I like the El Cortez Cabana suites last time, so I booked early for November using booking.com. Oct 30-nov 9, ten nights. This brought my average expense for the first 10 days of the trip to $34 (tax included) a night, and it puts me my first 10 days in the same spot (probably the same room as they generally will rebook us if we have back to back reservations.
At the same time, if in the latter part of the planning, I get freebies, I can just cancel this last three night reservation and still have my hard-to-book weekend covered with the first reservation.
My most expensive nights yet to be booked are the weekend 11-12, and I am hoping that the 4 Queens will give me those nights and then I'll just stay downtown for that second entire week, using the ACG coupon for El Cortez pavillion (unless they let me keep the Cabana) and then booking another night at EC or at 4Q, so I am in the same area for the first two weeks.
But if Sam's or Eastside Cannery offer me a deal on Boulder I may go there for my second week.
Or if Harrah's offers me some freebies, I might go close to the strip,
By November13, IP has rooms for me for $20 that could be patched into a couple free night offers I usually see.
Or if the Gold Coast actually has a heated open pool in November or Super 8 (another heated pool) comes down on prices, I might go there.
Here are some things I have learned:
El Cortez is still doing the book-a-room-and-get-the-value-back-in-freeplay-and-food deal, but not on any of the November nights when I am there. They have the dates settled into December, so if you are planning a trip, you might like locking up a section, even if you cancel later. Just click into their website and the ad pops up.
About 85% of the machines were included in the freeplay, almost all slots and all but the truly full pay video poker. If you just run the money through one time, you are bound to get some of it back. Last trip I cashed at $102, so I managed a $32 profit on my $70.
My solo issue with that deal, even if it worked for my days, is I don't want to go to Flame more than once (I tip there more than the cost of my entire bill at the Cafe) nor do I want to eat three meals a day at the Cafe for ten days.
Actually, I eat in Vegas on an average of less than $10 a day, so $25 a day adds $15 a day to my food budget. The math is counterintuitive, but it is what it is.
The first weekend in November (and days around it) are expensive in Vegas due I suppose to the Aftermarket Automotive Convention which attracts the huge crowd of 120,000 people. The second week still looks a bit higher and then the prices drop. That being said, I remember booking at the same time last year, and then once the Aftermarket folks were all settled in, the casinos offered rooms at a huge discount from what they had been.
I read fewer folks attended than expected. For whatever reason, booking early to get insurance and watching late to rebook sales seems a good strategy, as many of you have said.
It is also very early to get any November rates. B connected rates have not dropped to the card advantage level. Some places don't even list November rates yet.
If you get interested in the Booking.com deal for Cabana rooms (or other EC rooms,) then play with your dates on their site. Booking two nights increased the per night price. Booking more than 7 was not possible without going to two reservations.
A good early booking strategy is to book more than one reservation as long as the price stays the same. Especially book the weekends separately. Then these bits and pieces can be cancelled in bits and pieces as you fill in freebies closer to the time while the reservations act as insurance against finding price increases.
Book Southwest ahead. I recently read that they are now only sort of a discount airline. They discount tickets at the beginning of the booking time and then raise the price, even above competitors, at the end.
It used to be I could just follow the seats available for a Rapid Rewards ticket and wait for a break in the black out days to rebook, but now what we earn in points will fluctuate in value, so booking far ahead is even more important, even if booking for free. You can rebook without penalty if the fares go on sale, but reading their new pricing strategy that seems less and less likely.
The new Plaza is exciting unless you were hoping for deals. At least for the opening months, the old deal rates are gone. Guess for those we need to keep watching the Vegas Club. I was sort of thinking I might like going there, but I guess it is really out of my league now.
The biggest issue for the Fitzgerald's good deals (some with breakfast) is the bed issue. The best strategy is to go check the bed and then ask for a room change.
Palms has a new high resort fee. $12 plus tax. They give you $20 in bar bill credit. So if you ignore the fact that you get free drinks while gambling there, that is an $8 coupon. Nothing like another free amenity passed off as a savings. I used up my points and stopped gambling there two trips ago, and this just cinches the deal. I'm not playing places anymore, full pay or not, where they don't give me something in free rooms. Then at least if I have a losing session, I get benefits on the next trip.
Lots of Laughlin deals. One night in the $20's and the next free. Tempting. Warmer in November. Still there is the need for a car, gas money, or RiverCity bus money and while they do have the best poker bonus system, they also have a pretty substantial cadre of regular locals who are hard to beat. Sometimes a fish like me might surprise them; more often they just feign surprise and laugh all the way to desert trailer.
At the same time, if in the latter part of the planning, I get freebies, I can just cancel this last three night reservation and still have my hard-to-book weekend covered with the first reservation.
My most expensive nights yet to be booked are the weekend 11-12, and I am hoping that the 4 Queens will give me those nights and then I'll just stay downtown for that second entire week, using the ACG coupon for El Cortez pavillion (unless they let me keep the Cabana) and then booking another night at EC or at 4Q, so I am in the same area for the first two weeks.
But if Sam's or Eastside Cannery offer me a deal on Boulder I may go there for my second week.
Or if Harrah's offers me some freebies, I might go close to the strip,
By November13, IP has rooms for me for $20 that could be patched into a couple free night offers I usually see.
Or if the Gold Coast actually has a heated open pool in November or Super 8 (another heated pool) comes down on prices, I might go there.
Here are some things I have learned:
El Cortez is still doing the book-a-room-and-get-the-value-back-in-freeplay-and-food deal, but not on any of the November nights when I am there. They have the dates settled into December, so if you are planning a trip, you might like locking up a section, even if you cancel later. Just click into their website and the ad pops up.
About 85% of the machines were included in the freeplay, almost all slots and all but the truly full pay video poker. If you just run the money through one time, you are bound to get some of it back. Last trip I cashed at $102, so I managed a $32 profit on my $70.
My solo issue with that deal, even if it worked for my days, is I don't want to go to Flame more than once (I tip there more than the cost of my entire bill at the Cafe) nor do I want to eat three meals a day at the Cafe for ten days.
Actually, I eat in Vegas on an average of less than $10 a day, so $25 a day adds $15 a day to my food budget. The math is counterintuitive, but it is what it is.
The first weekend in November (and days around it) are expensive in Vegas due I suppose to the Aftermarket Automotive Convention which attracts the huge crowd of 120,000 people. The second week still looks a bit higher and then the prices drop. That being said, I remember booking at the same time last year, and then once the Aftermarket folks were all settled in, the casinos offered rooms at a huge discount from what they had been.
I read fewer folks attended than expected. For whatever reason, booking early to get insurance and watching late to rebook sales seems a good strategy, as many of you have said.
It is also very early to get any November rates. B connected rates have not dropped to the card advantage level. Some places don't even list November rates yet.
If you get interested in the Booking.com deal for Cabana rooms (or other EC rooms,) then play with your dates on their site. Booking two nights increased the per night price. Booking more than 7 was not possible without going to two reservations.
A good early booking strategy is to book more than one reservation as long as the price stays the same. Especially book the weekends separately. Then these bits and pieces can be cancelled in bits and pieces as you fill in freebies closer to the time while the reservations act as insurance against finding price increases.
Book Southwest ahead. I recently read that they are now only sort of a discount airline. They discount tickets at the beginning of the booking time and then raise the price, even above competitors, at the end.
It used to be I could just follow the seats available for a Rapid Rewards ticket and wait for a break in the black out days to rebook, but now what we earn in points will fluctuate in value, so booking far ahead is even more important, even if booking for free. You can rebook without penalty if the fares go on sale, but reading their new pricing strategy that seems less and less likely.
The new Plaza is exciting unless you were hoping for deals. At least for the opening months, the old deal rates are gone. Guess for those we need to keep watching the Vegas Club. I was sort of thinking I might like going there, but I guess it is really out of my league now.
The biggest issue for the Fitzgerald's good deals (some with breakfast) is the bed issue. The best strategy is to go check the bed and then ask for a room change.
Palms has a new high resort fee. $12 plus tax. They give you $20 in bar bill credit. So if you ignore the fact that you get free drinks while gambling there, that is an $8 coupon. Nothing like another free amenity passed off as a savings. I used up my points and stopped gambling there two trips ago, and this just cinches the deal. I'm not playing places anymore, full pay or not, where they don't give me something in free rooms. Then at least if I have a losing session, I get benefits on the next trip.
Lots of Laughlin deals. One night in the $20's and the next free. Tempting. Warmer in November. Still there is the need for a car, gas money, or RiverCity bus money and while they do have the best poker bonus system, they also have a pretty substantial cadre of regular locals who are hard to beat. Sometimes a fish like me might surprise them; more often they just feign surprise and laugh all the way to desert trailer.
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