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An Insider's Guide for Visiting Las Vegas

7/23/2015

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The Las Vegas strip over Las vegas Boulevard.
At night, the Las Vegas Strip explodes with a symphony of light.
By John Roberts  

I've been to Las Vegas more than a dozen times -- and enjoyed it in many ways.  

I've done the frugal guys trip with five in a room in a worn-down budget hotel casino called San Remo, which no longer exists.  

I've gotten engaged in Las Vegas while on a trip with my girlfriend and two other friends after a night of massive beer consumption.  

Yes, we both stuck with the engagement despite our altered states that evening on The Strip, and we have been married for 10 years.  

In fact, we got married in Las Vegas -- surrounded by friends and family who made the trip for the destination nuptials and celebration -- and spent the night at a posh wedding suite at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino.  

In between, we have stayed at all other types of resorts and evolved in how we like to spend our time, now leaning more toward outdoors activities, shows and fine meals and away from the gambling and drinking (well, heavy drinking at least).  

But two things have always been the same about our trips to Las Vegas: We go to relax in the sun and aim to save a little money along the way.  

Over the years, after sifting through multiple properties and trying out all sorts of casinos and restaurants, we've discovered some of our favorite places to eat, drink, gamble and stay that won't break the bank.  

Try some of these tips and tricks on your trip to Las Vegas, and you can have a bit of fun, too, without stressing out about busting your travel budget. Because, while you'll spot plenty of high rollers and wannabe high rollers in Las Vegas, you can still uncover money-saving deals in this pricey city.  

Airport shuttle: We used the Airline Shuttle service, available at the taxi stand area at McCarron Airport. Go to the counter outside the baggage claim area and pay $15 per person to get a stamped coupon book that serves as your roundtrip ticket to your hotel. Call the night before you depart to let Airport Shuttle know when you need to be picked up to return to your hotel. This will save up to $10 or more per person off your total roundtrip cost. In fact, on one stay, I discovered an easy Las Vegas Airport walking route that you might love if you like to get in a little exercise. It doesn't get any more frugal than a free way to get from the airport to the Strip.

Stay Mid-Strip: You will be at the heart of the action and able to walk to almost everything if you stay in the Mid-Strip area of Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Strip encompasses roughly the Stratosphere Hotel at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard to Mandalay Bay at the south end about four miles away. Mid-Strip is located approximately around the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road and is where you can find the Bellagio, Mirage, Harrah's, Bally's, Planet Hollywood, Wynn, the Venetian and other popular casinos as well as tons of fine restaurants options at all price points.  

We have stayed at the Flamingo Hotel Casino a few times, including this latest trip (we get wonderful deals booking early through price-monitoring website Tingo, FYI). The resort traces its heritage to 1948 as the first luxury hotel on the main Strip and was once run by Bugsy Siegel and mobsters from the notorious Murder Inc. outfit.  

While some of the rooms are definitely run down, the location is ideal, right across from the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace. The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas has other prime attractions, too. These include all-day $5 blackjack tables at the Margaritaville Casino (right next to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant), the fantastic swimming pool that features waterfalls and the nature habitat on the property. The 3-acre habitat is a fantastic place to sit outside in the sun, stroll around or find a spot of shade to read and enjoy an adult beverage, all in lush surroundings that include ponds with koi, catfish and sturgeon, ducks, resident flamingos, pelicans, macaws and other varieties of birds. If your room is just where you sleep at night and not an important factor in your vacation enjoyment, this type of hotel is ideal.   

Overall, it's hard to find $5 blackjack tables or other low-roller gaming options unless you go to Downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street, which is an older, quainter area that is worth a visit, too. We usually schedule one day to spend on Fremont Street during our trips (if we aren't staying at a hotel down there to begin with).  
The glorious pool at the Flamingo Las Vegas resort is popular spot on weekends.
The glorious pool at the Flamingo Las Vegas resort is popular spot on weekends.
The flamingos run the show at the Flamingo Casino and Hotel Wildlife Habitat. in Las Vegas.
The flamingos run the show at the Flamingo Casino and Hotel Wildlife Habitat.
The Murano glass sculpture on the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is a chandelier called Fiori di Como by Dale Chihuly.
The stunning Murano glass sculpture on the ceiling of the Bellagio is a chandelier called Fiori di Como by Dale Chihuly. It's 2,000 hand-blown glass flower blossoms.
Cool free stuff: We put in plenty of miles just strolling the Las Vegas Strip, whether doing a casino crawl to explore the vast properties and their cool attractions or out and about trying to find a new place to enjoy lunch. Pick one day to go north and another to go south. You'll run into all sorts of interesting things to see, other than people (though trust me: people watching in Vegas is a recreational activity on its own). Among the top Vegas attractions are the fountains at Bellagio. The water show goes off at least every 30 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes after dark and features an impressive display of fountains dancing in time with music. The show is always popular and crowds pack the sidewalk on Las Vegas Boulevard.  

While at the Bellagio Hotel, go inside to the lobby and look up at the Murano glass sculpture works adorning the ceiling. Just amazing! Also, head back to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens beyond the lobby area to check out the latest installation; this horticultural display rotates throughout the year.  
At the Mirage, wander the atrium to see the palms, lagoons, flowers and waterfalls. You can also gaze into the 20,000-gallon aquarium on display at the hotel's front desk. The saltwater aquarium is home to 450 fish of 85 species and displays puffer, tangs, angelfish and other exotics. The Mirage also has a big volcano out front that erupts at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and (on Friday and Saturdays) 10 p.m. 

Head north from the Mid-Strip area and drop by Circus Circus to watch free circus acts performing throughout the day under the Big Top.  

These are just a few of the most popular spots we have picked out as favorites to check out when we visit or when we are showing the city to a Vegas virgin. You'll find more to check out while you're on your casino crawl looking for a bite to eat or the hot craps table. 

Cheap eats: Make sure you grab those coupon books you'll see all over town. People hand them out on the streets, and you'll see racks with them at your hotel lobby and probably a book or two in your room. They are loaded with 2-for-1 deals and other discounts worth considering -- depending on what type of meal you have a hankering for and what part of the city you might be in when it's meal time. (I certainly wouldn't alter my itinerary for some of these random hot dog or shrimp cocktail deals, but carry along a coupon book because you never know when it might come in handy where you happen to be.) 

Our absolute undisputed favorite meal deal is the "Special Steak Dinner" at Ellis Island Casino on Koval Lane near Flamingo Road. It's less than a mile off the Strip, and the secret is out about this one. A 10-ounce top sirloin steak, baked potato (or mashed or fries) with a fresh veggie and a side salad, as well as a 20-ounce beer from the casino's own selection of on-site microbrews for $9.99. You have to sign up for the player's club (it takes two minutes with a driver's license) and print out a voucher. If you play $5 at the slots, you get the deal for $7.99. We paid $40 for a dinner for four people at Ellis Island. Compare this for a drink order we made at the Bellagio after we went to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O" (which was awesome, by the way, and worth our one splurge of the trip). Two beers and a forgettable margarita at Bellagio tallied a ridiculous $37.  

Ellis Island also has a separate barbecue restaurant and offers amazing prices for succulent ribs and chicken dinners with a player's club voucher.  

Cheap drinks: At Planet Hollywood, check out the Sunday brunch at Spice Market Buffet. For $18, you can get a massive range of delicious breakfast and lunch items as well as all-you-can-drink mimosas or Champagne. Another favorite of ours -- and many others -- is the $1 Michelob beer bottle offer at Casino Royale, just down the Strip to the north and on the same side as the Flamingo Hotel. This little casino also offers $1 Michelob Light bottles and $0.75 Coors Light drafts as an enticement to play there. You really can't beat those prices, and it's worth the stroll down for a couple cold ones and a spin or two of the roulette wheel. 

Cheap tables: Casino Royale also offers $1 roulette, $3 craps and $5 blackjack tables, making it popular for low rollers like us. Be careful not to down too many $1 bottles of Michelob before sitting down to gamble, though, or you might start making unwise decisions with your chips. Trust me, you can get caught up in the fun pretty easy there! 

You'll find lower table limits and fun atmosphere, as well as cheaper meals in downtown Las Vegas. The casinos down on Fremont Street in Las Vegas run deals all the time to entice tourists to come down off the main strip for visit. The Fremont Street Experience is the enclosed 1,500-foot-long pedestrian mall lined with shops, casinos and eateries. You'll see street performers and live musics acts, and at night, the video screen on the ceiling of the enclosed mall dazzles with a spectacular music and light show.

Going to Vegas for the first time? I hope some of our Las Vegas tips and tricks to save you money help you have a good time. 

Been to Vegas? Tell us about some of your favorite spots and Vegas hacks in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading. 

Travel happy! 

JR
The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas is a four-block long pedestrian mall lined with casinos, shops and restaurants.
The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas is a four-block-long pedestrian mall lined with casinos, shops and restaurants. A 1,500-foot-long video screen encloses the street. Gaze up for nightly light shows.
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The Mad Mad World of Big Running Races. I Signed Up For This?!

7/14/2015

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Start line at the Boilermaker 15K road race in Utica, New York
By John Roberts 

Around mile 7, I started to question my sanity. At least I had the comfort of knowing I wasn't alone in my madness. I was amid a mass of at least 14,000 others. 

We all descended upon a small Central New York city to run in sun on a hot and humid mid-summer day. The Boilermaker 15K road race in Utica, New York, has seen a steady growth in popularity over its 38 years. It started in 1978 as a small race of 800 entrants. Now, more than 14,000 run, and participation is capped, or even more would choose to take part. The festivities also include an offshoot 5K race with 4,000 runners. 

We all shell out money for running events in the form of entrance fees, travel costs and accommodations to partake in what turns out to be torture for many runners thumping along the pavement up and down hills for 9.3 miles.  

I was struck with several thoughts in my final few miles of this most recent 15K race Sunday, July 12, at the Utica Boilermaker: Why am I doing this? What am I trying to prove? 

This was my fifth Boilermaker, overall, and fourth year in a row that I have run it. Each time, I have been able to get a little bit faster as I get another year older (48 now). Running is not my favorite thing, but I enjoy the challenge of pushing myself to see what I can do racing against myself and no one else. My time of 1 hour and 26 minutes in the Boilermaker is a personal record but absolutely pales compared with some of the stunningly fast times people are able to run.  

The Boilermaker 15K is the longest race I have run. I might try a half marathon someday. 

Walt Disney World Marathon events are popular destination races, as are runs like the Bolder Boulder 10K in Colorado (50,000 plus each Memorial Day) and the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta (60,000).  

It seems like more and more people are challenging themselves with road races and other mass-participation events. Many people have placed completing a marathon as life goal. Mud runs and obstacle course races like the Spartan Race, BattleFrog and Tough Mudder are surging in popularity. Many friends of mine love the Ragnar Relay Series, in which a group of runners each take multiple turns running a total of 200 miles during two days and one night. 

So, why do people invest so much time, energy and money into the Walt Disney World Marathons, Bolder Boulder, Spartan Race, Ragnar Relay Series, Tough Mudder and other types of grueling challenges? 

Everyone has his or her own motivations, I suppose. But generally, it really feels good to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone and push your physical limits. That's how you really can feel alive. 

I enjoy having something to look forward to, and this keeps me on track to train and stay active and work toward a goal. The day of the event is but a small piece of the overall experience. It's the best payoff, for sure, but your training and daily routine can help give you more energy and deliver wonderful health benefits, too. I feel best when I wake up each day with a sense of purpose and a plan to attack. 

While looking forward to participating in the race, training for that challenge and setting goals such as new PRs, we also pick out races at specific destinations we like to visit -- and usually spots where our friends or family live -- so we get the added bonus of making the whole experience a mini-vacation. This is a fun reason to travel.   

The camaraderie at these types of races is cool, too. People get so energized and work to cheer each other on. This extends to the communities and organizers who put on the events. Racing through Utica in the Boilermaker 15K, you're awash in a sea of smiles, from the runners to the spectators. The streets are lined with observers who deliver everything from claps and cheers to popsicles to passing runners along the entire course as it snakes through dozens of neighborhoods. Bands and other musicians, along with DJs, are present at nearly every turn to help pump us up as we chug along.  

So, all of these reasons help explain why we take on these types of things. But they can be of little consolation when you start to doubt what you are doing, your legs feel dead and you're still more than two miles from the finish line.  

Continuous glances at my Garmin GPS running watch reveal that my pace is not what I had hoped. Also, why did my mile indicator go off a full 200 meters before I hit the next official mile marker. Oh crap, I have been slowly but surely adding dozens and dozens of steps along the way as I wind around slower runners and some who decide to take walk breaks -- coming to a full stop right in the middle of others who are then forced to dodge them or stop or crash into them (please don't do this; instead, ease your way over to the "off ramp").  

Maybe I should just slow it down a bit and bring it on home at a comfortable pace. "But what if you miss your PR by only a few seconds. You'll be so mad," I said to myself. Plus, I am still on pace to be about a minute or so under my previous best time. I won't get the time I had hoped, but I can still PR, I noted. 

OK, let's toughen up and gut it out and see what happens. The final stretch helps, as the crowds thicken and cheers more loudly toward the finish line. Bands blaring, bleachers full of spectators yelling and the public-address announcer trumpeting finishing runners by name as they cross helps boost the energy measurably. Plus, the final half-mile or so starts sloping a bit downhill. Runners all flow toward the line at an improved gallop, me among them. 

The 2015 Boilermaker15K in Utica, New York
There I am. Grinding toward the finish line.
I make it once again. Another year, another Boilermaker 15K in the books. A new PR.  

I almost immediately feel refreshed. It happens this way every year. Begging for the race to be over, and 20 minutes later looking forward to next year. 

Oh, I recall one more reason we all get together for this seeming madness. 

The post-race party! 

Post-race party at the Saranac Brewery at the Boilermaker 15K road race in Utica, New York
Thanks for reading, 

JR 

Travel fit! Travel happy! 
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How the Greece Financial Crisis Might Affect Your Trip

7/2/2015

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Picture
Picture
By John Roberts 

I'm going to Santorini, Greece, in a month. I'm naturally concerned, of course, about what I should be prepared for in light of the ongoing financial turmoil in Greece.  

So, I reached out to a friend on the ground there to ask a few questions to get answers for what travelers should expect. Sandra Schmitt is owner of Mar-A-Mar Travel, which is in its first season operating sailing trips on a yacht in the Greek Cyclades islands, running routes from Santorini and visiting ports such as Mykonos, Naxos, Ios, Milos, Domousa and many more. I will be joining Mar-A-Mar on a sailing in the first week of September to tell you all about sailing trips through Greece, but I thought it important to get some details ASAP to help travelers know what to expect when going to the country. 

Greece has defaulted on an enormous debt payment ($1.8 billion) owed to the International Monetary Fund. Upheaval in the economy and questions about whether the nation will be leaving the European Union and euro currency understandably raise questions about what will happen to tourism. Greek residents are limited to 60 euro withdrawals at ATMs, and banks are closed this week ahead of a referendum July 5 for citizens to say "yes" or "no" to terms of a bailout set forth by a trio of Greece's creditors: the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission. Holders of foreign bank accounts face no withdrawal limits. 

I asked Schmitt about what she is seeing as she conducts her sailing business and hosts travelers on her boat. 
PictureSandra Schmitt, Mar-A-Mar Travel
Here is her email response from Greece: 

This week I tried about five ATMs and was able to get 1600 euros from two accounts at one machine, so my worries have subsided. I would recommend that travelers bring euros to Greece when they come so that they don't have to try the machines. 

Needless to say, it seems tourists are not deterred from planning a vacation in Greece because we are getting about three to four inquiries per day.  

Other tour operators have not mentioned any concerns, so I don't have any update for you on that front.


Note that it is early in the process, and things are likely to be changing as the weeks pass. The referendum July 5 could help clarify which direction Greece is headed, but the banking system could remain frozen for a while, and people might begin to find more ATMs out of currency. 

You see that Schmitt had to try five ATMs to get her money, and that was in the very early hours after the banks closed their doors after the missed payment by Greece triggered this crisis.  

Widespread reports also note that many places of business are not accepting credit cards. 

So, if you are traveling to Greece, keep a watch on any advisories sent out for tourists, and plans to get your euros at your home bank before heading to Greece. Also, consider how you will keep your money safe and secure as you travel (maybe a travel safe; I've posted a type of safe you might consider below). I fear that travelers could become targets for crime as unscrupulous or desperate people realize that tourists probably are carrying more cash than usual. 

If you have any information about the situation in Greece and advice for fellow travelers, please share it here. 

Thanks for reading, 
JR


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