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Vegas. - Questions answers and suggestions thread.
pompeynic
Member Posts: 2,834
in Poker Chat
Hi all,
At the recent SPT I mentioned to Tikay that I wanted to ask him a few questions about going to and playing in Las Vegas for the first time.
Ever since I started playing the SPT’s, live poker is, in my opinion, the best thing and going to Las Vegas a bit of a dream.
Tony suggested putting the topic up for all to interact with, so if you have questions of your own, answers or suggestions please feel free to contribute.
I should say that I am mainly looking to play tournaments, I have never been any good at cash, NLHE, but also some PLO and PLO8. I would like to take a crack at some WSOP events whilst out there, there seems to be a few at reasonable buy ins this year.
I will be asking quite a lot of questions that may seem obvious,odd or down right silly, but I am not a seasoned traveller, nor am I a technology whizz so please bear with me. So in no particular order and be warned I have a lot of questions, here goes.
Where to stay? Is it better to use hotels or maybe look at Airbnb?
Which hotels and why?
Roughly how much will a two to three week stay cost?
Where to find out about booking Flights and accommodations?
I have seen the WSOP schedule but is there somewhere to find other casino schedules?
Are there any tournaments you would recommend playing?
I am not keen on driving, never driven abroad, is it easy enough to get around on foot?
Having never used Uber, I have no idea how safe or how you would go about contacting them, or would taxis be better?
Does anyone know rough prices for Uber or taxis in Vegas?
Any recommendations for places to eat?
How much to budget for food and drink for a two to three week stay?
Any suggestions for things other than poker to do or see in Vegas?
Any suggestions for things or places to avoid in Vegas?
Is there any documentation you need to get prior to going?
Where would you get that from?
Is it best to take cash or travellers cheques?
I have some old travellers cheques from the only time I have been to the USA back in the 90’s, are they still valid? If so where to change them?
Can you take a bag into casinos there?
What is the etiquette on tipping, do you do it?
In your experience , is there much difference between tournaments in Vegas and an SPT at home?
Is the standard of player that much higher?
If you got lucky, maybe got a really nice cash in a tournament and the opportunity to play the main event came up, how easy is it to extend your stay and rearrange flights?
Do you have to pay tax on winnings? ( not suggesting I will win anything but you never know)
I am thinking about going out to Vegas from the 23 of June, anyone else out there at this time?
So as I said, lots of questions if I think of any more I will add them later.
Any help with answers and suggestions is much appreciated and please feel free to contribute your own questions and thoughts.
Nick
At the recent SPT I mentioned to Tikay that I wanted to ask him a few questions about going to and playing in Las Vegas for the first time.
Ever since I started playing the SPT’s, live poker is, in my opinion, the best thing and going to Las Vegas a bit of a dream.
Tony suggested putting the topic up for all to interact with, so if you have questions of your own, answers or suggestions please feel free to contribute.
I should say that I am mainly looking to play tournaments, I have never been any good at cash, NLHE, but also some PLO and PLO8. I would like to take a crack at some WSOP events whilst out there, there seems to be a few at reasonable buy ins this year.
I will be asking quite a lot of questions that may seem obvious,odd or down right silly, but I am not a seasoned traveller, nor am I a technology whizz so please bear with me. So in no particular order and be warned I have a lot of questions, here goes.
Where to stay? Is it better to use hotels or maybe look at Airbnb?
Which hotels and why?
Roughly how much will a two to three week stay cost?
Where to find out about booking Flights and accommodations?
I have seen the WSOP schedule but is there somewhere to find other casino schedules?
Are there any tournaments you would recommend playing?
I am not keen on driving, never driven abroad, is it easy enough to get around on foot?
Having never used Uber, I have no idea how safe or how you would go about contacting them, or would taxis be better?
Does anyone know rough prices for Uber or taxis in Vegas?
Any recommendations for places to eat?
How much to budget for food and drink for a two to three week stay?
Any suggestions for things other than poker to do or see in Vegas?
Any suggestions for things or places to avoid in Vegas?
Is there any documentation you need to get prior to going?
Where would you get that from?
Is it best to take cash or travellers cheques?
I have some old travellers cheques from the only time I have been to the USA back in the 90’s, are they still valid? If so where to change them?
Can you take a bag into casinos there?
What is the etiquette on tipping, do you do it?
In your experience , is there much difference between tournaments in Vegas and an SPT at home?
Is the standard of player that much higher?
If you got lucky, maybe got a really nice cash in a tournament and the opportunity to play the main event came up, how easy is it to extend your stay and rearrange flights?
Do you have to pay tax on winnings? ( not suggesting I will win anything but you never know)
I am thinking about going out to Vegas from the 23 of June, anyone else out there at this time?
So as I said, lots of questions if I think of any more I will add them later.
Any help with answers and suggestions is much appreciated and please feel free to contribute your own questions and thoughts.
Nick
Comments
Where to stay? You name it, it's there. Mahoosive hotels, with thousands of rooms, half of the biggest ones in the World. Mix and match prob best, as some are pricy. Best (IMO) are Palazzo, followed by Winn.
Cost? All depends on hotel and time of year. Look out for hidden charges like Resort fees.
Flights? 2 options here. Either keep it simple-Virgin or BA direct. Or ask HHY, who will save you loads in return for a more complex journey.
Schedules? Are apps that will tell you.There is loads of choice.
Tournaments? Start with a low buy-in one, at TI or MGM Grand. Then prob WSOP/Aria/a Seniors Event (poss Phamous series)
On foot? As little as poss. It is norm about 100 degrees. Everything looks closer than it is cos the hotel windows mislead you. And you don't know where to avoid.
Not up to date on taxi/uber, but ask drivers to use the Strip, or you will go a long way round to everywhere
Places to go? There will be some great shows. Grand Canyon. But people watching is best.
Documentation. Passport. ESTA.
Difference in Tournaments? People will ask you if you are Australian. Seriously. Remember to speak clearly-your accent will be strange to the dealer
To extend stay/flights. Easy, and depends on airline
Standard of player? Way weaker. £200 UK is prob about same as $1,000 MTT in Vegas, tho varies from place to place (Venetian is quite hard)
Tax on winnings? Not for UK players-some sort of agreement in place. Have to declare at Airport if leaving with more than $30,000, he said, smugly.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck
Flights Gatwick to LA via Norwegian then a hire drive to LV or google flights works well
Freemont Street is a must see when in Vegas some good poker rooms down there also.
This link has a list of Vegas tourneys for the summer
https://vegas-poker-schedule.com/list-view/
Download the Uber app. Some of the hotel pick up points are slightly harder to find, but you will save yourself around 40% on cab fares, and, unlike the Vegas cabs, they will usually take you the quickest route.
You can take bags into the casinos.
Download the Poker Atlas app. It has a pretty accurate tournament schedule, and details all of the cash games available in each casino.
$1/$2, or $1/$3 cash games are the lowest in town.
Although the rake on mtt's in Vegas is massive, quite often 20-30%.
As Phil said, don't walk anywhere as it is so hot there.
With hotels people get funny about paying resort fees. Look at the total cost, who cares if it is hotel cost or resort fee just look at the total you are paying.
Food portions are massive over there, there are loads of good places to eat.
With tournaments there are so many on you can easily find something that suits your budget/day you want to play. I would pick your bigger ones that you want to play and then have others you have as potential ones to play. It is easy to feel like you have played too much poker/want an easier game so you can easily change last minute. With WSOP ones I would register the day before so you avoid being in a long queue immediately before playing. It is a great experience to play in a WSOP event however be aware that the structures in some of them isn't great.
Tipping is the done thing over there. When you play you will get drinks brought over to you and the generally accepted practice is you tip $1 whether it is a bottle of water or a beer. I think people tip a bit more if it is a cocktail. If you get served a drink at a bar again it is generally accepted that you tip. If you get a taxi then again it is customary to tip (bit like the UK in that regard).
Regarding extending your stay I would check about changing flights when you book your flights. It is easy to find a room when you are out there.
You can take bags in most casinos I have been in.
Spending money just work out how much you can afford to lose daily, you can literally do anything. Foodwise $50-100 should be plenty , if anything maybe over-estimate the expense side as its always best to have more, any trips you want to have separate fund.
I cant comment on WSOP events, but there are lots of tourneys running at various buy ins, i usually go around $80-$150, i quite like planet hollywood and look out for guarantees at like 10pm as sometimes there will be some good overlay.
In the past i allowed for $300 a day which was for anything, done well first couple of days so went up to $600. The important thing is do have an eye on your budget (what you can afford to lose).
We have booked expedia in the past, but check deals with Virgin/ BA as sometimes they work out better, sometimes its better to not go direct if its worth it. We are direct there, but on the way back go via LA.
Location is key for hotel, if you know you will be spending most of your time around a certain area it makes alot of sense to be near in the hotel. minimize costs, i personally dont find walking around Vegas that bad but usually go through casinos so its not too hot as plenty of aircon.
Have fun!
Last year, just before Day 2 at the M235 SPT, bumped into Andy Hills on the way to the casino. We both had bags, and were prevented from entering. The young girl on the desk initially claimed we could not enter, and had no place to store our bags.
We grinned, and said "yes, you do", knowing the Casino was never going to risk ruining an SPT. She said only if she searched our bags first.
Just as she is delving into Andy's bag, he said:
"Wish I'd left my sex toys at home, now". The wind-up merchant. Happy days