"2"^^ . . "0"^^ . . . "0"^^ . "How to spend a first-class weekend in Vegas and only pay coach prices:\n\n1. Don't stay at Encore or Wynn, unless you are lucky enough to have received a promo from them...in that case, it's a pretty good deal.\n2. Walgreen's, the ABC store, and Strip Liquor are your friends...find out where they are and use them instead of paying insanely high prices for booze and snacks inside the casino.\n3. If you are a coffee/tea drinker, invest in a hotpot (if you don't feel like packing one from home you can find one for $12 at the aforementioned Walgreen's) instead of paying the, again, insanely high prices in the casino. You can also use said hotpot for oatmeal, cup o' noodles, hot toddies, etc.\n4. Your other friends are the Monorail and your feet...stay away from cabs. Everything you need (i.e. liquor store, Walgreen's, other cool casinos and restaurants) is within walking distance anyway.\n5. Encore will put a $150 per night hold on your credit card...if you're staying 4 nights that's $600 for the non-math-inclined. This makes it tempting to make all sorts of room charges, but unless you are extremely organized and self-disciplined, these room charges are ill-advised. It's just too easy to lose track of how much money you're spending, and it doesn't seem much like \"real money\" if you're not taking something out of your wallet.\n6. Take advantage of the \"free\" stuff that is really cool...the pool area, the fitness center, the slot credit if you're lucky enough to get it, etc.\n7. Eat as many meals as possible elsewhere. While the food here is decent, it is ultra spendy and the service we got was horrible.\n8. Don't gamble unless it's with house money. \n\nHopefully you find these tips useful. Have fun!"^^ . "2011-04-12T00:00:00"^^ . "3"^^ .