Hi everyone, need some advice about going to Vegas to play in the WSOP next year.

I was planning on going in 2020 after I turned 21 but obviously COVID happened and scuppered those plans, and the past 2 years I have gone on family holidays instead but next year I am 100% planning on fulfilling my dream of playing in the WSOP.

I'm not planning of staying the whole series, just for 2 weeks (or 3 if I make it into the 2nd week of the Main) so looking at this year's schedule i'd have arrived say a week before the Main began (25th/26th June) and planned to leave on Day 4/5 of the Main unless I made it that far obv

Tournaments from this year's schedule I would've planned on playing:

26th June - 27th June: $600 deepstack
27th June - 29th June: $500 Salute to Warriors
28th June - 2nd July: $400 Collossus
1st July - 3rd July: $1,000 Tag Team (if I can find someone)
2nd July - 4th July: $1,000 Mini Main Event
3rd July - 4th July: $800 Independence Day Celebration NLH
3rd July - busted: $10,000 Main Event

And If I bust the Main early then maybe 1 or both of these:

$1,000 NLH
$600 Ultrastack

Obviously I might not be able to play all of these depends on how I get on etc but that's what my rough schedule would've looked like, total buyins of $15,900.

So I reckon i'd need roughly $16k for buyins, not sure how much for cash games what are the usual stakes played in Vegas? I'm used to playing £1/£2 at my local casino but let's say I bring an extra $4k for cash games so currently at $20k total.

But what about travel/accomodation/other costs etc? I'd be travelling from the UK and a rough search of flights.com says a round trip would cost about $1,200. No idea about accomodation though, any advice where the best places (BnB/hotels near the Strip) and the cost of these would be much appreciated.

What about travelling whilst in Vegas, is everything pretty much walkable or is it advisable to get a taxi/bus or even rent a car? Not sure if i've missed anything but any advice and help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I'd say my total cost would be around $20,000-$25,000 or so, is that realistic? I know next year's schedule might be different but let's assume it'll be the same as this years to make it easier.

Thanks again!

I’ve been on 5 summer WSOP trips around 2 weeks in length. Check out my trip reports from this year and last year if you want to get an idea what that’s like.

I think Airbnb is the best way to stay that long. You can find a nice, private, safe enough place in the Arts District or downtown for about $100/night. If you’re not playing in the pits high enough to get rooms comped, I think Airbnb is definitely the way to go. You can have a kitchen, and laundry facilities, which is way better than a strip resort for less money.

I never rent a car, and just get around with Uber and cabs. You can get most anywhere you’d ever want to go in Vegas with Uber for $15-$25… unless you’re riding at peak times like from the strip at midnight on a Saturday night, where you might run into surge pricing.

The main reason is that even if you rent a car, you have to deal with the hassle of parking it at casinos you want to go to… some of which you have to pay for anyway. It’s much more convenient to just get dropped off and picked up at valet everywhere. On my 18-day trip this year, I took 41 rides with Uber, plus some cab rides, and spent about $1200.

As for food, Vegas can be an expensive place to eat. Still, Vegas is a fantastic, world-class food city, with some memorable places that can be found on and off strip. Your mileage may vary, but what I ended up doing is eating two larger meals twice a day, rather than three normal-sized meals at appropriate times. Get a big breakfast before you start, then hopefully a nice dinner on dinner break. $100/day for food is a good ballpark to start.

Obviously you can get that number down if you’re prepared to make your own food, or meal prep, or bring sandwiches in backpacks or whatever. But if you’re in and around casinos all day, and eating in restaurants, it’s very hard to get a meal for 1 under $30.

As for the poker, 16k in tourney buyins is an audacious goal. If you’ve never been to Vegas before, absolutely play some WSOP events for the experience and the spectacle. But I’d add that during WSOP, every flagship cardroom in Vegas will be running their own tourney series, and some can be quite good.

Aria/Wynn/Venetian seem to have the market cornered on NL events in the $600-$1500 buyin range. Obviously the fields don’t get as big as the WSOP, but sometimes the structures are better. Places like the Golden Nugget and the Orleans will run some fun, low buyin mixed game events, that you basically can’t find any other time than during WSOP.

As for cash games, there is a clear gradation in skill and toughness between 1/2 or 1/3 and 2/5+. Vegas during the WSOP has the greatest selection of poker games in the year, but not necessarily the softest games. That’s not to say you’ll never find fish at 2/5+, just have a plan for dealing with getting 3bet a lot, and put to the test, often.

Or, maybe I just suck, which is a possibility I’ve considered

Anyway, if you’re playing cash games, I find PLO to be MUCH better action and gamble than equally sized NLH, in 2024 and beyond.

Hope this helps! I’ll definitely be there again next year, I look forward to it every year.

An excellent summary post by TJ.

The only thing I would add is:

It is absolutely F**king Hot here during that timeframe.... think 50+ degrees centigrade during the afternoon.

When I do a WSOP trip of double digit days, the first day I am in Vegas I go to a nearby Vons super market and buy food supplies for breakfast and lunch each day. That alone will save you a ton of money. For this to work you will want lodging that has a refrigerator. Even better, if the refrigerator has a small freezer area you can freeze small ice packs and put them in a thermal/lunch pouch each day to keep your lunch cool in your backpack.

Some hotels have refrigerators, and obviously if you go the airbnb route you can make sure to pick a place with a fridge.

If you stay in a hotel, make sure you factor in resort fees.

Depending on how much action you have given on past trips there are free hotel days to be found, but I am not a good bargain hunter. There have been some threads in LVL in which the OP does a good job of going into detail about price savings hunting.

Make sure where you stay has a safe in your room if you are going to have a lot of cash for the trip. If you do not want to carry your entire bankroll with you on the flight to Las Vegas, consider looking into whether your hometown bank has a branch in Las Vegas.

If you want to find out what non-WSOP tournaments are happening at the same time as the WSOP, Kenny Hallaert on X posts the schedules every year.

The WSOP is not consistent in terms of the date it releases its schedule from one year to the next, so you will want to monitor since you probably won't want to reserve lodging until you see the schedule. Typically, they initially provide the dates the WSOP will start and end along with the Main Event dates, but they don't do the full roll out of tournaments until a later date. And even when they do the full roll out, they don't release structure info until even a later date.

Rebuying is an option in each tournament if you get knocked out prior to a certain level, so you will need to factor in whether that is a consideration in your budget (unless you a single bullet a tourney player).

As for your question about whether everything is walkable on the strip, the distance between strip hotels is a lot longer that it appears on a map. Add in the blazing heat and walking between venues is not a great idea in my opinion. I stayed at the Signature in 2024 and it was a $9 cab ride to the ParisShoe for the WSOP. If you rent a car, you have to factor in parking costs since the ParisShoe does not have the free parking that was in abundance when the WSOP was at the RIO.

The lines for buying in to tournaments at the cage were much shorter than was the case when the WSOP was at the RIO. Part of the reason is a lot of people took care of their buy-ins at kiosks (which I did not do so I can't be of help on how to get that set up). If you are going to go the cage route for buying in to tournaments, late at night has much shorter lines than during the day.

Keep your buy-in receipts of every tourney even if you don't cash. That way if you do bink a nice score you can lessen the tax hit by offsetting the big payout with the receipts of the tourneys you made no money.

Thanks for the replies

I'll definitely check out the trip reports!

I had a quick look on hotels.com for comparison etc and in late June/early July it's $128 a night at the Horseshoe where the WSOP is held, that seems decent although I assume the price will be much higher nearer the time? I'm not too bothered about kitchen/laundry etc facilities but an AirBnB would definitely be my 2nd choice if $128-$150 a night at the Horsehoe is too good to be true.

Yeah i'll probably just get ubers/taxis, seems much more convenient.

I see that there is a thread dedicated to places to eat etc so I will check that out, I am a terrible cook so will be planning on eating out most nights

$16k for poker buy-ins is just a rough estimate if I went this year looking at the WSOP schedule, i'll definitely have a look at other non WSOP stuff nearer the time and plan a rough schedule once the 2025 WSOP schedule is out for cash games i'd just be playing for fun with a few drinks fully expecting to lose my 3-4k roll, i'm definitely more of a tournament player. I will probably end up playing some PLO for fun even though I suck at it lol.

A couple of things I forgot to ask/mention:

1. How easy is it to extend your stay if I need to stay longer? Planning on staying until Day 4/5 of the Main and obviously if I make it that far i'd need somewhere to sleep lol (i'd have made the money by then so I guess cost won't be an issue here)
2. I can only take up to $10,000 in cash with me, anything over and I have to report it to Customs, correct? How dodgy would it be to carry around say around $25,000 in cash? Is it possible to buy into tournaments using a UK based debit card and/or PayPal? If so then I might just bring $5k or so in cash and use my card for everything else.

This is just a once in a lifetime thing for me, well unless I win big of course then i'd probably do it all over again

Thanks again!

Thanks for the reply

What are resort fees exactly? Don't think I saw anything about those on hotels.com, all it said was $128 a night (screenshot below)



I'm from the UK, if I win anything I don't have to pay tax do I? Gambling winnings are tax free over here (lucky for us)

Resort fees are sort of like another kind of tax that hotels hit you with. My guess is they don't show up until you get to the stage where you are about to book and all of a sudden $120/night turns into $160/night because of taxes and resort fees.

Here is an article: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/t...el-resort-fees

Check to see if any UK banks have branches in Las Vegas. I think Bank of America has branches in the UK as well as Las Vegas.

You can buy in to WSOP tournaments with your credit card but I am pretty sure they add a fee. 3-4% I believe. Read: https://www.wsop.com/registration/

If you bink a large score in a tournament, you will need an ITTN, or they will withhold US taxes if you don't have one. Click the link below. It starts in 2022, so read the whole thread. I would suggest you apply for one now so you will have it by next year.

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...tizen-1807959/

There is no limit to how much cash you can bring into the US:

"If you are traveling with an excess of $10,000, you must report it to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer when you enter or exit the U.S. But there is no limit to the amount of money you can travel with. "

https://www.usa.gov/travel-money

I think you might consider sending a wire to the casino cage where you will be gambling however.

Alternatively, arrange with your home bank for an ATM card with a high limit on daily use.

You have time to plan

WRT playing cash games, lines to get a seat can be very long, EXCEPT for the WSOP cash game area. Each casino poker room is relatively small, but the WSOP seems to be able to add tables easily.

Don't get into the habit of booking hotels through a third party website; instead do it directly through the hotel's website. If you want to book at Horseshoe (which I recommend, as their rooms are very decent), just book at:

https://www.caesars.com/

I assume the price you are quoted on whatever site you are using, is the prize before resort fees. At Horseshoe, the resort fee is $45.30 USD per night, which is the fee you pay for getting internet access, access to the pool, gym etc. Basically a fee for amenities.

There exists hotels in Las Vegas where you can opt out of resort fees, or don't have to pay one. Casino Royale, Treasure Island and 4 Queens (downtown) are those that come to mind from memory. But for a long stay during the summer I would definitely like to have access to things like the pool and gym.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Does anyone know if the price for booking at Horseshoe get more expensive the longer you wait to book? Not sure whether to book once I know the Main Event dates (December usually?) or when the full schedule is released a couple months later.

I'm assuming the place won't be fully booked before the full schedule comes out lol

I book two weeks before my flight a room at Tuscany Suites or Ellis Island. It‘s a ten minutes walk, and normally much cheaper then Horseshoe.

Generally, it does get more expensive. Every time someone reserves a room, it reduces the supply. That makes any unreserved room more valuable and more expensive.

Book rooms through Caesars directly. Put in your rewards number and that can often reduce price even more. On top of that not sure if you have rewards through different casinos but if you can tier match up to diamond status then resort fees are waived which makes rooms very cheap.

Book it once you know and monitor the prices after. You can always cancel and rebook.

Tuscany Suites was a good alternative when there was 3 of us sharing a room. Nice pool area and a doable walk to Horseshoe.
We had a small version of a kitchen in our room - but if you suck at cooking, that doesn't matter

Find a friend, share a room. The cost for a room is not the double if you are 2 in it. That saves some money.

Book directly on the hotel web page, as mentioned above.


And regarding travel when you are based in the UK.

You have direct flights from London (both Gatwick and Heathrow) to Las Vegas.
I think that you also can go from Manchester directly to Las Vegas.

Look at British Airways and Virgin.

Go direct without connections, you will arrive more rested.

The easy way for me to calculate trips to Las Vegas is $1k per day. That's for room, food, beverage, and incidentals then bring your tourny buy ins and whatever the buy ins for cash games. Just did Bellagio in June and that was about right, but we drove so had fuel but no airline costs.

There’s nothing like Vegas your first time.
To add my 2c:

You can stay off strip in an airbnb or something to save on accommodation but then you’ll need a car and parking can be a hassle and extra cost. If you don’t go the car route figure out how much the Uber’s will be.

Make sure you take into account taxes and resort fees when looking at hotels. You probably won’t find anything for less than $100 per night average all-in.

You can pay for tournament entries at the WSOP on bravopokerlive with credit card. You can set up an account in advance. (You will also need to set up a Caesar’s total rewards account)
There’s a small surcharge but it means you won’t have to carry all those buy-ins in cash.

If you do take more than $10k cash make sure you declare it. It isn’t a problem.

Gambling winnings are tax free for a UK citizen but you will need an ITIN number. The Paris helped me with this this year but you can always apply for one in advance yourself.

Good luck and remember to write a trip report


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Thanks for the replies everyone much appreciated got a few months yet until the ME dates come out so plenty of time to sort everything out

This is crucial!!!!!!

you can sign up to Caesars Rewards and then you'll get emails from them when they do their semi regular promotions. I have booked an 11 day stay for next June already just under $100 per day (including resort fees) and that includes two weekends, which are by far the most expensive days. That is at Planet Hollywood but the same promo covered horseshoe, paris etc etc. They are all refundable so you can amend up until a few days out, or cancel and re-book if a better deal emerges

and re. food....it is definitely very expensive in and around the casinos. all Caesars hotel rooms have fridges, which helps. What I do generally is buy a pre prepared salad at one of the Walgreens, CVS near my hotel and then also buy a load of deli meat, fruit and protein bars. which can stored in the room fridge. And then I take them in my backpack consume them while I'm playing and then have one splurge meal per day...either at dinner break, or after I've busted in horrific fashion.

re taxes....good to be prepared but they only deduct tax/you will only need the ITIN after the win gets beyond $5k/5.5k?