How to party and drink in Vegas without going bankrupt?

[elf11]

Hi everybody,

I'm going to Vegas next week and I'm looking for some info about nightclubs. This will be our first time and Vegas and since I'm the only American I have to play tour guide .

Since we all live in Germany and we're all practiced partygoers and drinkes (thx Oktoberfest) I'm looking for something with a hosted bar. I'm scared that we don't have enough money to fly back home otherwise I did find a thread about a hosted bar at Rain. Could it be that they changed the all-night hosted bar to 10pm-1am?

Are there any other clubs that offer hosted bars that are worth going to?

I also read that you often get on the guestlist when you write emails to the posted addresses on the nightclub websites. Is that true? That'd be a good way to actually see more than 1 or 2 clubs.

Are there any clubs that you guys can recommend? I read that Pure and Tao should be pretty good. But I doubt that my friends would be willing to do bottle service...

Is there a way to drink and party without losing a fortune?

by the way we'll be 2 guys and 2 girls (don't know if the info helps)

thx in advance!

[Drew]

Hosted bar at Rain stops at 1 am correct. Still seems to be a good idea IMO.

I suggest drinking mostly outside of the clubs if you want to stay on budget (either buying from a liquor store, or even casino bars have cheaper drinks).

You can contact the hosts and see what you can do about getting on guestlists or paying your way in without bottle service. If you do want to do bottle service without losing an arm or leg then you can try one of the smaller lounge/club places like Vbar. I think you can get a bottle for 200 bucks there (don't forget to add tax/tip). That shouldn't be too much for 4 people.

[NoCo81]

Spyonvegas.com has hosted bars, might be a good pregame deal, check their website for info. Maybe Carnival at Harrah's one of your nights. As far as spending money in the larger clubs it's going to happen one way or another. +1 on the Palms deal.

[dp08]

definitely preparty in the room and you may want to consider investing in a concealable flask to bring in the clubs. drinks are also free if you or your friends gamble, just remember to tip your cocktail waitress.

[elf11]

thx for the advice!

[Cisco419]

Man I love these newb's.... their stepping up with tons of useful advice!

elf11, these guys have given you some pretty solid advice. Another piece I'll add is if you wanna drink but not pay a ton get yourself some sort of flask. I used disposable ones that way if I had to throw em away it was no big deal. Here's the site for them: http://www.disposableflasks.com/ since you have chics with you you can have them put a few in their purses that way you can sneak em into the clubs and refill your drinks!

[Guest]

wait is this Deja Vu again... whats up with people thinking you go bankrupt by going to Vegas.

1. Don't gamble
2. Read up on JC's website how to club
3. Just don't bring a lot of cash ( use CC / debit etc)

[nyc2vegas]

wait is this Deja Vu again... whats up with people thinking you go bankrupt by going to Vegas.

1. Don't gamble
2. Read up on JC's website how to club
3. Just don't bring a lot of cash ( use CC / debit etc)

go to vegas, go to lees liquors, dont leave the room and youll be fine

[Guest]

go to vegas, go to lees liquors, dont leave the room and youll be fine

lol Lee's.. what about ABC asian grocery store? Thats my spot!

[elf11]

Gambling won't be a problem.

But once we start partying things sometimes get out of control and nobody cares anymore. Then you wake up and see the hole in your pocket.

I don't mind spending some cash (otherwise I wouldn't be going to Vegas), but having a game plan never seems to be a bad idea.

[nyc2vegas]

try to go out with X amount of money and once its gone you go to sleep! is there enough self control to accomplish this?

[elf11]

sure, didn't plan on doing it otherwise

[dp08]

definitely only go out with a set amount of cash and try and leave the atm/credit cards back in the room. buying rounds of $15 shots seems so easy with the magic little plastic card. the next morning i always crap my pants when i end up finding all of the various credit card receipts in my jeans.

oh and cheap drinks can also be found at bills gambling hall. if you go to drais, always hang out at the casino bar for awhile first. oshea's and casino royale also offer $1-$2 beer specials.

[Drew]

Oh and since you have 2 girls... they can easily drink for free by going table to table of random guys who will more than happily provide them with drinks.

[tschwicht]

Ahh.. the old "ballin on a budget" question. I just looked at my first original thread from awhile back on this. I might have to write a sticky for this exact problem.

Buy your return tickets in advance for one. Pregaming is a must. I don't think i've ever left my room for the day sober (yes, this includes going to the pool at 10am). It's much easier when you're not concerned with things like eating or shopping or sightseeing.

Video poker bars are a good way to get some good drinks in. Throw a $20 in, play max bets but very slowly, and tip the bartender on every drink. My last trip I had about 8-9 vodka/monster drinks in about my first 15 minutes at my hotel doing exactly that. The bartender didn't care as long as I was tipping.

There are cheap jagerbombs at Rockhouse. Like $5 a piece right on the strip. Have a contest with your friends who can take the most without puking in the quickest amount of time. That will get you set for a night full of adventure.

The biggest thing I think guys spend money on in Vegas though is drinks for others and if you're trying to do it on a budget, this will kill you. Sorry ladies (don't worry there will be plenty of bottles out there for you, i'm usually paying for some of them myself!), but unless those girls are drinking beer you're going to get them wasted and your wallet emptied pretty quickly. Don't worry, they will be drunk at the end of the night whether you're buying their drinks or not.

The last thing is as some people said, only bring a certain amount out with you. You'll budget yourself, because you have to. No one wants to take a cab all the way across the strip to go into their room safe while their at a club that's going wild just to grab a few extra bucks.

Whatever you're doing though, make sure you find a balance between budgeting yourself and having fun. Don't put too much emphasis on your money spending it will ruin your trip, but don't just throw money away either.

Be creative. Get girls to buy your drinks. Tell them that you're trying to balance everything out for all the guys who buy women drinks, and that they are way behind so they better get moving. I've literally told a girl that asked me to buy her a drink something to that effect (in all my drunken stupidity) and it actually worked because she thought it was funny.

Hope this helps. If I can think of any more wisdom (or idiocy) i'll post it later. Good luck!