Hey all! New account here, been a lurker for years but now that I'm finally going to the dessert I figured I should make a post.

Landing on the 23rd March, leaving on the 6th April. Staying at the MGM. (Flights from Perth Australia, plus accomodation, resort fees, strip view and a $30 food voucher every day cost me $3500 AUD. Seemed like a great deal and I figured centre strip would be ideal)

Looking to play mainly 1/2, 1/3 and a few lowstakes tourneys. Bankrolled comfortably for 1/3.

I know 13 nights is a long time from what I've read, but I've been planning this trip since 2015 and I can finally do it, so going to make the most of it!

Im travelling solo, so looking at suggestions for places to play in the nearby area that are good 1/2, 1/3 games (Been told Aria, MGM, Ballys, PH?)

Need suggestions on places to eat. Not sure if the $30 food voucher will actually get me far with MGM. Pretty sure it's just for the buffet and not sure if thats even any good? Been lurking the casual dining thread though.

Also, any good bars in the area for someone to comfortably go solo for a drink? Im 27 so something that draws that age group in would be ideal but I'm not too fussed.

Any suggestions for day activities away from the tables?

What's the weather going to be like? Warm enough to still swim?

You'll just miss the first weekend of March Madness!

In America, March is typically the slowest time of the year in the sports calendar, except for the college basketball tournament called March Madness. The 64 best university basketball teams play in a gigantic, single elimination tournament... what it means for us is that there's non stop 12-hour days of intense basketball. The first weekend is March 19-22, which you'll regrettably miss.

I've never been to Vegas during March Madness, but I'm told the sports books are a zoo and the poker games are as good as they'll be all year not counting WSOP time.

The good news is you WILL be in town for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8! The surviving 16 teams will play down to 4 teams March 26-29. The poker games may not be as good as they would have been the first weekend, but they should still be pretty good.

The Final Four is Saturday April 4, and the championship game is the night you leave, Monday April 6th.

To answer your questions... I'm of the opinion that 1/2 and 1/3 is basically the same everywhere, some games are good and some are meh, and if you're sitting in a lame, nitty game, just get up and go across the street for a better game.

If the games are all basically the same, I liked playing in the biggest, nicest rooms. For me that's Wynn/Encore, Aria, Bellagio, and Venetian. MGM has a room and it's... fine, nothing special. If you go to Planet Hollywood, the games might be better during drunky hours, but when I went I found that the loud music was not conducive to a long session.

The poker room at Caesar's Palace (and Bellagio) is right next to the sports book, so there should be a lot of buzz and energy in the place during the games.

For food, if credit is MGM you will prob look to eat when u get up. After that u are going to be too far away to go back and eat at MGM. MGM is T the end of the run, so Aria is the closest room at probably a 15 minute walk back to any restaurants at MGM.

Looking forward to your report

If around Bellagio or Bally’s area and want a simple comfort food. Hit up Dirt Dog out front of Bally’s

Was in Vegas between 24th March and 4th April last year. While you are missing the first week of March Madness, the games were very good during our stay. Especially in the weekends.

You can find good $1/$2 and $1/$3 games at any location at any time, in my opinion. Generally speaking a casino like Aria might have a few more grinder types than a room like.. Flamingo for example, which will have all local older fish. But regardless the games should be easy all over town.

Weather was really nice, between 25-30C all days. A bit windy some days, but definitely warm enough to swim. MGM has some decent pools, plus the 'Lazy River' which is heated up a bit, if I remember correctly.

Thanks for the replies!

Just curious, how hard is it to get from MGM to other poker rooms on the strip? Say I wanted to play at bellagio or PH or Aria? is MGM connected to any of them that makes traversing easy?

And also, for someone who has no interest in clubbing or fine dining, how much should I budget a day for food/transport? I was thinking around $150-$200?

From MGM, walk across bridge to PArk MGM through the back walkway to Aria and room is right there. I would say 20 minutes fro your room. Bellagio is a simple tram or walk, prob 15 min from Aria to the B room. From there 10 minutes to Planet Hollywood, Bally’s, Caesars And 20 to Venetian Again MGM is Pretty much at the Southern end of the strip. Bally’s Bellagio Caesar’s kind of center and Venitian Wynn is at the Northern part.

Most meals are going to be in the $15 for simple comfort or fast food. $20-30 for Buffet or a decent sit down place. Of course a beer or two will add to that cost. Check out the casual or fine dinning thread for better food ideas

With no fine dining $100 will be more than enough, including Starbucks and taxi. With $200 you can add in a fine dining place as well But in all seriousness, food at a non fast food place is on average $25-30.

First, welcome to USA #1 and enjoy your stay.

13 nights is a lot, you might get burned out. Consider taking a day here or there to go out to Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, or one of the other nearby spots for outdoor recreation.

Do the touristy things too: see the fountains at Bellagio, catch a Cirque du Soleil show, etc, etc. Go have a nice meal. Just people watch.

As for food, you're comfortable with that kind of $. YMMV, but I've found that after getting going in the morning and getting some brekky (as you say), I will just eat a late lunch/early dinner and be fine.

You mentioned bars. All the casinos have multiple bars in addition to the clubs. If you're looking to get away from that for a bit, there is the Stage Door (a dive bar, but full of friendly locals usually). Just behind the Cromwell, across from Bally's.

The weather should be quite nice that time of year. Starting to warm up, but not hot yet.

Good luck. Pics of shoes and roll.

Not really. It's 64 (66?) invited teams, but they are never the 64 best teams.

OP, do a search for a map of the Vegas Strip. You'll see where all the casinos are. There is a monorail with a stop at the rear of several casinos, MGM being one of them. It's cheaper than a cab, but it's a long walk to the back of the casino to get to the monorail stop, and then another long walk at the destination from the stop back up to the main casino.

It's actually 68, but I think we can all just agree to pretend the First Four doesn't really happen.

Is the MGM buffet worth it or should I avoid it? diet wont matter for the 2 weeks I'm there, but I generally try to keep it clean. Calories dont count on holidays though!

Also, out of curiosity, how do I tip a dealer? It doesn't happen here in Australia so I have no clue when/how much?

Does the $20 trick still work? Not sure if I'll get an upgrade because of how long I'm there for but is it worth a crack?

I go every year for the WSOP, usually for ten to fourteen days. I’m also no sort of foodie, and I take between two and four Uber taxis per day. I allow myself $100 per day for food, drink, travel, and almost always manage to operate within that budget.
Entertainment such as golf, rifle range visits and strip clubs are paid for out of a separate allowance.

If you had option to cancel MGM I'd personally favour Vdara for cheaper purely because of its location to Aria (if it's a poker trip). MGM is one of the least central hotel on the strip so whoever told you that was lying. I stayed at MGM on my first trip (7 trips ago) and have stayed more central ever since.
You might get use out of the monorail there though. Also use Uber to get to better hotels for poker. Wynn is as far away as it can get from mgm but defo worth the 10$ to get to for a full day of poker imo

Can't speak to the buffet.

Upon receiving the pot, just slide a dollar chip to the dealer with your cards. Getting a little ahead of yourself though, assuming there will be pots won.

Sure, the $20 trick is worth a shot. Worst is they'll say no. Just ask if there are any complimentary upgrades, and if it works out, give the desk clerk a 20. If not, no harm.

I am qualified to comment on the buffet. I have tried every buffet on the strip, and several elsewhere.
The answer is NO.

Food sits out too long. Wait staff is minimal, and sluggish. Plates are not cleared in orderly or timely fashion. The servings are individualized, and do not look appetizing. The food itself tastes lousy, bland or just not right. They even F-up breakfast, so that is the killer for me. Anyone can do breakfast.

I'd suggest Aria or Bellagio for buffet, and you can do a chargeback to your room at MGM, since they are sister properties.

For other superb buffets, consider Bacchanal at Caesars, or Wicked Spoon at Cosmopolitan.

If you want a free buffet that's so-so, playing 4 hours in the same day at Bally's gets you a free Paris buffet. Dinner is not real good, dunno about lunch, breakfast is pretty good.

With such a LONG visit, you might want to consider staying at two hotels. I did this a couple times and although my friends think I'm crazy, I found it breaks up the trip and exploring another property is interesting.

Definitely do a day trip as previously suggested!
In fact.... with so much time, you might want to consider visiting the Grand Canyon (although that's probably 2 days).

+1 to this

if you are switching hotels - do part of your stay in Downtown Vegas. there's some shows that are good enough to justify their super cheap rates. tons of street performers that are worth watching for a couple minutes each. Some good restaurants and bars. Even if you are mainly into the strip, downtown will still be fun for a few days.

and you may find that you prefer the smaller size, everything closer together.

Rent a car one day and check out valley of fire

I will just sort of crib off/echo some other comments when adding my own:

1. If you can change hotels, change hotels. MGM Grand is too far from everything you’ll want to visit. You will be instantly annoyed with the walk, since it’s like 10 minutes just to leave the damn place just to get to the strip. VDara was an excellent suggestion as each room also has a kitchen. Will likely cost a bit more.

2. Changing hotels at some point mid-trip is also a good idea. Variety is nice.

3. While in general everything will cost more than you thought it would, you should be fine with a $100 or so a day budget. You won’t be using rideshare as much as you think since everything is relatively close (in the sense that even though it will take you 20-30 minutes to get from MGM to Bellagio, walking is still the optimal way to get there).

4. The tram that runs from Park to Bellagio will be semi-useful if going to Bellagio (or points north) but not for anything else. The stop at Park is essentially the Aria stop as well, and walking from Park to Bellagio is not meaningfully slower than taking the tram.

5. The monorail is functionally useless. I would only consider it if you’re going from MGM Grand to anything on the same side of the strip that is Harrahs or further north. As has been mentioned, the walk from the front of each property to the station is the deal-killer so avoid those situations.

6. You’re there for a long time so definitely get the hell off the strip for some stretches. You will feel like you’re in a can of soup, especially at MGM Grand which is the airport of hotels. Get some air. Weather should be great that time of year.