Hi all,

Me and a friend are planning to come to Vegas at the end of February mainly to grind cash and find any decent tournaments to play in.

We don't have a need for a Strip hotel or anything expensive, what we're looking for is a really solid budget option, as we'll be playing 10 hours mainly, sleeping 8 to 10, and having a normal life the other 4/6.

Do you guys know of any clean Motels, or similar that you could suggest for us, that ideally has easy access to the strip? We'll mainly be eating out as well, so we don't need a kitchen option.

We are open to anything really, doesn't have to be a Motel, to be honest I don't even understand the terminology, I just know they are cheaper, and maybe smaller - but all suggestions welcome please?

LOL. A motel is lodging where you drive up to your door or close to your door and use outside stairs.

We stayed at Tuscany Suites once. Really cheap. Was fine for me and I'm a middle-aged woman. Clean enough and not too far from the strip. Might be better off at a cheap strip hotel, though, like Harrah's or Flamingo.

Do a search: lots of similar posts.

Or...off strip at Orleans. Great 24/7 cash games and MTTs schedule. Possible to get a poker rate, which it sounds like you would easily comply with. But, to start with, the hotel IS easy on the budget.

That would be the Mardi Gras Motel on Paradise, I've stayed there in the past but there was a cricket somewhere in the closet that kept me up at night.

TBH just use hotels.com or one of those sites to find something on the strip like Excalibur which is usually cheap.

I hope it was a lucky cricket (despite the lack of sleep)!

Stayed at hooters just off the stripe was relatively cheap & had some nice scenery

This is interesting, do they spread 2/5 regularly?

no 2/5.......they tend to have 4-6 1/3 500 max BI tables going each night plus a bunch of promos.....download the Bravo app

Yup, motel is short for MOtor hoTEL.

OP, you've factored in transport costs to the poker rooms? That could easily eat up all your savings.

Vegas is the only city where the price gap between hotels and motels can be insignificant.

Yes I've thought about it, which is why I'm ideally looking for something with easy access to the strip, any further recommendations are very welcome!

I'd highly recommend you try The Orleans or even Luxor for easy strip access. Both of these properties will be on the lower-end of the pricing spectrum and both offer their own poker advantages. Orleans has a great room and poker atmosphere of it's own and Luxor is 5 mins away from all of the most popular poker rooms.

Download the BRAVO poker app and probs the Lyft/Uber app.

Just got back from LV. I live on the east coast but go to LV 2-3 time a year
The Orleans is a solid choice.

Positives:
The poker room is always busy with lots of action. Plenty of loose locals and tourists.
Two good daily tournaments per day. Approximately at noon and 7:30 PM.
I prefer Hi/Lo games and they are always spreading 4/8 or 8/16 limit O/8.
There are also plenty of 1-3 NLH and limit 2/4, 4/8, 8/16 holdem
Fabulous daily promotions like hourly high hand, Aces cracked, splashed pots and so on. I won a $500 pot on a $1-$3 table when the floor splashed the pot with $50 during a promo and two people went all in ahead of me. I had pocket QQs that held up!

Room staff is friendly and accommodating - even to non regs.

Good food court across from the poker room as well as better restaurants near by in the hotel.

Cocktail waitress comes around regularly.

Negatives
It is slightly off the beaten path. About $10 Uber/Lyft ride from the strip - side note: use Uber or Lyft all the time. Cabs in LV are a rip off, especially from the airport to your hotel

Chips are dirty. Look like they haven't been washed this decade.

Beware that the Bravo app includes call-ins in their app for this room so many lists look much longer than they are. I went to play O/8 and Bravo showed 14 on the list. Got there and 12 were call ins. Waited less than 15 minutes before getting on the table.

Even if you don't stay here (and I never have), would recommend going at least once during your trip

Good luck

They have a free shuttle that runs from the High Roller and Gold Coast. You can also take a free CET shuttle to the Rio and go across the street to the Gold Coast.

There is no longer a CET shuttle from Harrah’s to Rio. Discontinued recently.

The dirty chips thing is enough for me not to want to play at Orleans. I am sure they aren't any worse than another strip casino but still....

Flamingo or Bally's and you are at the center of action....staying in Vegas and not on the strip is just a pain in the arse.

There are plenty of hotels on the strip where on most nights you can get a room for under $100.....

I understand strip hotels can be cheap, especially Sun-Fri, but do motels have resort fees? OP be aware hotels have $29-$39 resort fees in addition to room rate. When you find a $50 rate it's really $80-$90 before taxes.

I wouldn't expect hotels to have this but not sure.

There's literally 0 reason to rent a motel when you can rent a Hotel room for an equal price and 1000% more security. Don't jip yourself

My husband and I don't like to spend a lot on the hotel either because we spend so much time at the tables. Tried various properties off and on strip, but found we like the LINQ. Very reasonable and in the center of the strip so it's pretty easy to get to a variety of casinos on foot. Right across the street from the Caesar's whose poker room I personally like.

It has been at least a year since I played at the Orleans. However, when I was there if you are on the waiting list you get pushed back if a sapphire or higher joins the wait as well. So they seat sapphire and emerald sooner. I'm not sure if it is an ongoing practice, but one more thing to consider.

They do the same at CET rooms for Diamond, who in turn get pushed back for Seven Stars. Wouldn't be surprised if MGM rooms do something similar.

I've never experienced it at an MGM property. I play regularly in Tunica and have not noticed this phenomenon at the Horseshoe there.