Very nice view of not just the fountain, but the surrounding area.

As someone who has stayed in more than a basic room, it is so the wife and I were more comfortable than we would be in that basic room. Yes, we don't spend any more time than we normally would, but the time spent is much more enjoyable.

Here is an alternative to the $20 trick.

Tell them it is your [insert special occasion here]. On our most recent anniversary, we went on a trip and I told the desk clerk the occasion. We were upgraded to a deluxe suite.

Another thing is to sign up for a hotel chain's rewards program as many will give you a chance at an upgrade for less than the difference between the class of room you booked and the class of room they are offering the upgrade.

While I think the first should work in Vegas, I have never had a site for a Vegas hotel give me a chance at an upgrade.

At the Bellagio in May 2019 I told the clerk that there is a $100 tip in it for her if she could swing a free upgrade to a suite. She did some checking for a bit (or at least acted like it) and said "Sorry, there is nothing I can do".
I said "that's fine, I was just checking" and we got our normal room.
It was on a Saturday so maybe that is why.

It's called the $20 trick; not the $100. If you only offered $20, you for sure would have been upgraded to a suite.

Jk; like you said; it was a Saturday so they may not have had any suites available; or perhaps that particular clerk was a stickler,

No, you missed the mechanics of this.

You pay in advance, you don't "tell the clerk" some BS about some "if, come" $100.

Cash on the barrelhead, son. Flash the bill, hand it over discretely when you make your request, then trust them to do the right thing ...

But, if they don't help you out and try to keep the money anyway, tell them you want to apply the cash you just handed them to a credit on the room for incidentals.

(Personally, I think calling this a "trick" is stupid.)