Intro, Thanks, P.H. Mar 15-18, Couple ofQ's about food,comps

Hello everyone,

Ive been lurking for a while and thought Id join and introduce myself. Name%26#39;s Josh (30) and my wife and I will be staying in at PH Mar 15-18 ($65/night, Hotwire). We are by no means rich, but we are trying to start a tradition and go to LV once a year. Last summer we went and stayed at Bill%26#39;s (thanks to TA), had a great time shopping (her) playing poker (me) and eating at Hugo%26#39;s and Firefly (also thanks to TA).

First a question about food:

My wife and I love love love good food (Mexican, Italian, mostly) but we are not big eaters (portion wise) so we have never really felt that a buffet would be worth it. A lot of times we like to share meals, even at home, just because we dont feel the need to throw away half our plate.

1. We both must eat breakfast, need advice on good but cheap.

2. We have agreed to eat one nice meal a day (either lunch or dinner)?

What do yall (originally from TX) recommend?

Comps:

Ive never used comps or even know how to get them, but from what I understand they have to do with players cards that you can then use while gambling and then apply them to buffets?

Shopping: Wife likes to shop and I was thinking about hitting up Las Vegas factory outlet (not the premium and not the one an hour away) is it worth it?

Poker: I like to play, wife has played a little, what rooms do any of you suggest for newbies just looking to have fun (ie not serious grinders who will call her out on minor broken rules)

Shows/Activities: we have really never had the desire to waste money on a show( I know thats probably going to offend some) but this trip, I was thinking maybe a comedy show (Tropicana?) or the mystery adventure tour that has gotten great reviews on this site. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Josh

Intro, Thanks, P.H. Mar 15-18, Couple ofQ's about food,comps

Hello! Welcome! For poker you should check out

allvegaspoker.com

They have excellent reviews of the poker rooms which will help you a lot.

Hopefully some of these other posters will help you out with the rest of your questions!

Intro, Thanks, P.H. Mar 15-18, Couple ofQ's about food,comps

Hi Josh, welcome to the Forum! As you are well aware of, you will get various different opinions on your questions, but also keep in mind, these are just opinions and everyone has different ones.

If you could give a little bit more about what you are budgeting for a ';nice'; meal, then we could better find out what options are available for you.

I can%26#39;t comment on shopping, since i never shop when i%26#39;m in vegas (too busy boozing it up and eating), but I can give my two cents on food as me and DW are big foodies.

Buchon is a great place for breakfast, also, if you are wanting something in between, %26#39;Wichcraft in the MGM has some amazing sandwiches that go perfectly for a nice breakfast/lunch option. Since you say you guys don%26#39;t eat much in the way of portioning, might i suggest the Carnegie Deli in the Mirage as their sandwiches are huge and can easily be shared with.

Dinner varies wildly, although many others might suggest it, my opinion of Fiamma Trattoria in the MGM is not that great. Il Fornia in the NYNY is a great option for a good italian dinner, as their breads are amazing and so are their pastas.

Hope you have fun!

Oh I forgot to mention comps. First rule of thumb, don%26#39;t go chasing comps, which means do go trying to spend excess money gambling just in the hopes of getting that extra ';free'; buffet, usually you end up spending more gambling than for that ';free'; buffet than you would just buying it.

Always use your players club card in every machine or table you plan on playing as they will accumulate ';points'; or track your dollar amounts (if playing tables), since you say you are playing poker, most poker rooms will give the players between $1-2 per hour in comps. Not much, but its a little something. Don%26#39;t be shy in asking about comps either, as Vegas is based on the philosphy that if you don%26#39;t ask, they won%26#39;t give (actually that works everywhere, so never mind :P)

When you register for your players club, ask to see what promotions they are running, as you could qualify for different options such as freeplay, free buffets and the ilk. Also, if you are interested, specifically ask the people how many points it would take for that ';free'; buffet as you could get a better understanding of the system. hope this helps!

Hi, Josh!! Welcome....

We%26#39;re not big ';foodies'; and we don%26#39;t normally plan exactly where we%26#39;ll eat, unless it is a special occasion that we need reservations for.

We normally make a list of restaurants that fellow TA%26#39;s have recommended. We take the list and location with us to Vegas so that we don%26#39;t forget any of them.

That way, when we%26#39;re ready to grab a bite, if we don%26#39;t remember what restaurants are nearby, we%26#39;ll refer to the list.

It%26#39;s impossible for us to know where on the strip or downtown we%26#39;ll be on any particular day, muchless time of day, so we keep a list (paper or mental) of those restaurants we were interested in trying out.

As far as our ';one nice meal a day'; plan I was thinking about $50-75 for both of us. Im not a big drinker and the wife is preggo so that should cut down on the bill. We really enjoy Mexican and Italian (her mostly). Breakfast is non-negotiable though as we will ripping each other throats out by noon if we dont eat bf.

For breakfast, we usually try to find a coupon for someone having a buffet. Example Harrah%26#39;s buffet with the coupon is about 10.00 each. If you look at any cafe menu, just your coffee and juice will make it worth it. Have a wonderful trip.

Not French or Italian, but Mon ami Gabi has excellent food, a great setting on the patio, and isn%26#39;t outrageously expensive like some of the other fancier restaurants.

I have yet to find any satisfactory Mexican food on the strip. Gonzalez y Gonzalez was terrible. The Mexican joint at TI was average at best.

Not Mexican or Italian, I meant. TA needs to develop a way to edit posts.

La Salsa at PH shops has great Mexican and so does Diablo%26#39;s Catina at Monte Carlo. Both are in your price range and serve lunch and dinner. For higher end Mexican, we really like Isla at TI.

Have fun!

Hi Josh,

a great place in PH for a quick bite is the Earl of Sandwich...great toasted sandwiches at a great price...around $7. also we had lunch at the Spice Market buffet at PH. IMO, great selection of food at a good price. Have fun..Joe