Finding something cheap in Vegas is hard. Finding something free-- that's impossible, right? Well, thanks to Yelp, we found both "free" and "cheap"... and delicious, too.
Here's what you need to know. You can pay about $20 a head to ride the elevator to the top of the Stratosphere. Or you can ride for free... in the VIP line. All you have to do is tell the concierge for the (expensive) Top of the World restaurant that you want to go to the Level 107 Lounge. You'll be put in a waiting room very briefly, and then you'll ride to the top. For free. Instantly.
Make sure to arrive when the lounge opens (at 4pm as of this writing) so that you can get a seat with a view of the Strip and the occasional bungee jumper.
The other thing you need to know is that Happy Hour runs from 4-7pm, and during it, you can get buy-one-get-one-free cocktails (do note that they have to be the same variety). Our cocktails were fine, and stronger than the ones we had at much more expensive bars. Also important to note is that the appetizers are half off during Happy Hour. We had awesome smoky tomato fondue.
When you're done eating, you can ride to the inside observation deck, and then ride still higher to the outside observation deck. All for free. Awesome.