First thing to know, Las Vegas is not cheap. If you are a moderate drinker and you like to have decent food, you had better allocate between $80 and $100 just for that. Yes, you can do it for cheaper but I am trying to ballpark it here.

Gambling. Do you gamble? If so you already know your own budget and I won’t bother with you. If you are new to gambling and think that you might like to try your luck, what I recommend is allocating about $100 a day for play money. That may seem like a lot if you don’t play, but if you are a seasoned gambler you will know that this is a drop in the bucket.

If you are planning on going to a show, than you will want to do some research first. We have an entire category for shows that you are welcome to peruse. I have done quite a few shows in Las Vegas and the prices are all over the place. I have paid as much as $200 for one show and as little as $29. Another great resource is Tix4Tonight as they offer mainstream shows for a fraction of the cost, the catch is that you usually have to use them that day.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority released a report that shows what the average expenditures. I have collected some of the highlights here

– Hotel rooms not booked as part of a package cost on average $75.78 per day in 2009, down from $101.68 in 2008 — and down from between about $107 and $109 when the economy was booming in 2006 and 2007. The actual cost for hotel rooms booked by all means averaged $92.93 in 2009, down from $119.19 in 2008, the LVCVA has reported separately.

– Average spending on food and drink per trip in 2009 was $250.32, down from $273.39 in 2008.

– Average spending on shopping per trip to Las Vegas in 2009 was $101.97, down from $121.90 in 2008.

– Eighty-three percent of visitors gambled in 2009, a five-year low and down from 85 percent in 2008. Of those gambling, they had an average gambling budget of $481.57, down from $531.98 in 2008 and well off the recent peak of $651.94 in 2006.

– Sixty-four percent of visitors attended shows in 2009, down from 72 percent in 2008. On a per-trip basis, visitors spent on average $39.87 for shows, down from $51.64 in 2008.

Las Vegas Sun

So if you my recommendation are at all close the average amount for one person for a 3 day weekend in Las Vegas who also attends one show should be around $600. Let me know what you think.

Here is my disclaimer though, I usually do not use these services simply because I don`t like watching the clock in Las Vegas.

So, as you may have guessed the most popular way of getting around Las Vegas is taxi or monorail. But, there is another network that is completely free to use as long as you have the time, patience and organizational skills needed to use it effectively. It is known as the Free Shuttle network.

Here is a list of most of the shuttles around town:

Visit the Harrah’s properties, Caesars Palace, Bally’s, Paris and Harrah’s Las Vegas on the Strip by using their free shuttle service.

Pick up locations
Rio: Carnival World Buffet entrance
Bally’s/Paris: Limousine entrance
Caesars Palace: Augusta Tower valet entrance
Harrah’s Las Vegas: Shuttle/Bus/Trolley drop off

Shuttle Schedule
Mon-Wed:10am-1am
Thurs-Sun: 10am-4am

Pick-up times are approximately every 30 minutes from each location.

 Barbary Coast, Gold Coast, Orleans shuttle
Shuttle bus runs every 20-25 minutes to each of the above mentioned casinos between 9:30a.m. and Midnight. Catch the Barbary shuttle at the side entrance on Flamingo Road.   Use the Barbary Coast to the Gold Coast shuttle and you can walk to the Rio which is located beside the Gold Coast.

Hard Rock shuttle
The Hard Rock shuttle picks up passengers about once per hour between 10 a.m. and 7p.m. Shuttle stops at the Forum Shops at 10 past the hour, Fashion show Mall at 15 minutes past the hour and the Stardust at 20 minutes past the hour.  The friendly Hard Rock drivers will stop and pick you up if you flag them down between stops.

Visit Sam`s Town by riding their free shuttle. It leaves from the following locations roughly every 1.5 hours starting around 9am and going til about 11pm

Bill`s Gambling Hall
Tropicana
Fremont
Harrah`s
The Riviera

Shuttle from the Palms to the Fashion Show Mall

Shuttle leaves the Palms for the Fashion Show Mall at 10 am, 11:30 am, 2 pm, 3:30 pm and 5 pm, and leaves the Fashion Show Mall for the Forum Shops at 10:15 am, 11:45 am, 2:15 pm, 3:45 pm, and 5:15 pm. The shuttle leaves the Forum Shops at 10:30 am, 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm, and 5:30 pm and returns to the Palms.

Shuttle from the Gold Coast- Orleans-Bill`s Gamblin` Hall

Shuttle buses run between these three properties from 9:30 am until midnight. The buses pick up new passengers ever 20-30 minutes.

Shuttle from the Suncoast to Bill`s Gamblin` Hall

Shuttle buses make seven roundtrips a day between these two properties. The first leaves the Suncoast at 10 am and departs Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall at 11:00 am. The last leaves the Suncoast at midnight and departs Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall at 1:00 am.

Shuttle from the Palace Station – Tropicana – Fashion Show Mall
Shuttle leaves Palace Station every hour from 9:00 am through 11:00 pm, and departs the Tropicana 20 minutes later, with the exception of 12:20 pm and 7:20 pm, when no stop is made, and departs the Fashion Show Mall at :35 past the hour, except at 12:20 pm, and 7:20 pm instead of 12:35 pm and 7:35 pm. Click here to View Full Schedule

 Shuttles at Red Rock

Red Rock has a whole schedule full of shuttles. Click here to View Full Schedule

This is just a smattering of what is out there. If you are staying a little further out from the Strip your hotel should have a shuttle service. If in doubt ask the concierge upon check in or give your hotel a call before you arrive.

If you have any that you would like to share please add them to the comments

Last week I wrote an article on Las Vegas coupons and coupon books. One of the topics that I failed to address is where all the good FREE coupons are.

If you have ever been to Las Vegas, you know that it is not necessary to pay full price for just about anything. Coupons abound at just about every corner. Most of them are free, but also most of them are junk.

Here is a list of place you might find coupons that are actually worth something.

At any Casinos Players Club

- when you sign up for the first time or when you return for a visit, you will receive a booklet from the Players Club. Most of these coupons are junk but, look closely because sometimes there are a diamond or two hiding in them.

 In the back of your Cab 

- Las Vegas taxis are driving advertisements. Most of them look like some type of moving billboard, but the outside is only the tip of the iceberg. Inside you will find an entire book store worth of coupon books. Take the time to read through and you will probably save enough to make your cab ride practically free.

There are a few online resources that you can look through at home. Here is a list that I put together:

Las Vegas Leisure Guide
Vegas4locals.com
Vegas Coupons
Las Vegas Insider Coupons
Las Vegas Fun Book

This should be enough to get you started. Free coupons do have some value but, you will have to be willing to spend the time to look through them. Some to keep an eye out for are 24-7, Las Vegas Advisor, What’s On and Vegas Values.

So, after a weekend trip filled with a bunch of “I remember whens” I decided to chronicle some of the biggest changes I have seen in a post.

So here is my list of the 10 biggest changes that I can remember.

1. The Paris opens. When I first started going to Las Vegas, it was all about Bally’s for me. I loved staying there (and I still do) the rooms were huge, the buffet is great and it is located in a perfect spot. But…. compared to the big boys on the Strip it was a little less “impressive”. Then they opened the Paris and all that has changed. Although Bally’s itself is reasonably unchanged, the casino is now directly connected to the Paris and it’s fantastic French themed stores, restaurants and casino.
2. The Wynn opens. A few years ago when they broke ground on the Wynn they were literally the only casino way down on that end of the Strip. Now, they are joined by the Palazzo.
3. No monorail. Well, that is not exactly true. There was a monorail it was just smaller and FREE. The original monorail used to run only form the MGM to Ballys and that’s right it was completely free.
4. Aladdin is imploded and rebuilt. I guess I can add to this, the Aladdin goes almost bankrupt than is sold to Planet Hollywood.
5. You could eat for cheap. I mean really cheap. You could find a buffet under $5 at almost every hotel. Sure, some of the hours were a little restrictive but; at least you could find good deals. Now the average burger is $14.
6. Every hotel was for itself. What I mean is every hotel had their own unaffiliated players club. And boy, do I miss them. Yes, it was a pain to have 15 cards in your pockets but, it was way easier to get comps and the comps were a really good. Now, it seems like there are only 2-3 big corporations that own all the casinos, the players club card work in every second casino.
7. Only 2 Cirques. Now, there are 5 Cirque du Soleils and soon to be 6, with the Criss Angel rendition set to premier later this year.
8. Siegfried and Roy ruled. The crowned kings of the Las Vegas Strip have sadly faded into the background since there tragic accident. Their secret garden is still worth the admission though.
9. Slot machines took and paid in coins. They still do on most of Fremont Street but, sadly nothing but paper in or out of the Strip’s one armed bandits.
10. You couldn’t find a poker game to save your soul. I know that it is hard to believe, but it has only been about 5 years since poker took over the world. Back in the day, games still existed but they were hardly main stream.

Now that I really think about it I could probably make this list a lot longer. If you have any that I missed, add them to the comments and I will revisit this topic in a week or so.

With the x-rated word (recession) being bandied around these days, it is interesting to see how this effects the “recession-proof” gambling industry.

Pundits that have always claimed that gambling is not be affected by a slowdown in the economy are getting their beliefs put to the test these days. Las Vegas has had a tough year. Tied with Miami for the biggest year-over-year drop in housing prices, at a unbelievable 19.3 percent, add to that near record highs in gas prices and you get… well a bit of a slowdown.

According, to the stats (if you can really believe them) Las Vegas was down about 5 percent in January over January a year ago. My recent trip to Sin City would confirm this. I saw less crowds and way less machines and table games being played.

So what does this all mean to you, the casual traveler? Deals baby, deals. Let’s face it Las Vegas isn’t about to go belly up anytime soon. Even though the profits for January were down, they still clear over a billion dollars. But…. the casinos like their money and one thing they do in Las Vegas better than anywhere else in the world is give things away.

The upside to all of this is that casinos are taking the initiative to corner customers. Gone are the days when every casino had their own comp card. Instead they have grouped together to make a few “super cards”. The great thing is now instead of winning a medallion or a coffee cup from your player points now you are rewarded with your hotel room being comped.

You can also expect to see some great deals on travel in the near future. Here is a link to the latest and greatest from Travelocity , use these as a benchmark before booking your next trip. Also you could try this coupon