Being (slightly) responsible in Sin City

So if you didn’t know (and if you don’t, obviously you haven’t been reading- ha!), Mister and I light out for Vegas this afternoon. On a related note, I was talking with a good friend of mine about the last time she went to Vegas. She mentioned that last time she was there, she’d spent absolutely all her money in Vegas and ended up scrounging $1.50 for the bus to get home from the airport, because she couldn’t afford the shuttle or a cab.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken the bus to and from the airport, and I LOVE the fact that it only costs $1.50 to take a 45-60 minute bus ride – though it would be much quicker in a cab or through the shuttle service. The part that got me was “we’d spent absolutely ALL our money“. It seems like sometimes, that’s the horror story you hear about going down to Sin City – your friend gets there with a fat bankroll, loses it all on dice or a bad hand of blackjack and resorts to eating Barbary Coast hot dogs (or is it Buffalo Bill’s now? I dunno) so they have enough to catch a cab from the strip to the airport to catch their flight. They come back saying “Yeah, Vegas took all my money, but MAN was it fun!”

A smart Vegas traveler takes a set bankroll - a certain amount per day, and leaves their cards at home, and their emergency stash in the hotel room safe (most Vegas rooms come with a safe) or in their bank account. I am personally taking out *some* cash before hand, because when you get down there, ATM fees can be as much as $7-8 a pop and that’s JUST on the casino side. If your bank charges you foreign ATM withdrawal fees, you might be paying $10 just to get your money out. I’d suggest keeping half your bankroll and an emergency stash in a Well-Known-Bank-Fun-Money-Account because there’s a higher chance you’ll be able to find the right ATM to not get charged $10. The smart Vegas traveler will plan accordingly for this, by taking out larger chunks at a time, or budgeting for ATM fees.

A smart Vegas vacationer knows their limit, knows when to play and when to say stop, and knows not to play blackjack while overly inebriated. Mister and I definitely work in pairs – if he’s drinking at the moment, I’m holding the bankroll and vice versa. I also prefer to not take a whole load of personal effects with me when cruising the strip, and on a whole, I don’t pack anything I wouldn’t want to lose. I love to take photos, but you can be damned sure I’m not carting my Canon around the strip. Since you can’t take photos in most gaming facilities anyhow, it’s a moot point, but Vegas pictures are fun and I definitely recommend disposable cameras, or something on the cheap side. They develop looking like party photos anyhow, and in my opinion, that’s an excellent combo. Of course, Mister said, as a gift, we could get ourselves a Lomo – which we’ve earned by not eating out all the time. I’m excited to take it, because they’re MUCH less expensive to replace should anything happen. (The Lomo Mister bought this afternoon is the fish-eye model – $20 bucks on sale!)

This is what I’m carrying – and I found it for $19 on the sale rack at Urban Outfitters. It’s about the size of my hand with my fingers spread wide. It’s ultra 20′s-flapper-deco but still demure.

My advice about personal effects (and not losing them) also rings true for the bag you’re probably going to tote around (if you’re a lady like me!). I have a small, hand-sized cross body bag with an opening that closes firmly, that I’m bringing for this occasion. You want something small that you’re going to put your lip gloss/stick, money clip or small wallet with your cash, and your ID, your disposable camera and whatever small personal effects you absolutely need. I, personally, don’t think it’s a great idea to take your newest (or newly purchased second hand) designer bag to Vegas to show off your bling. I’d be afraid of setting it down somewhere and not remembering to pick it up, or setting it down and having someone else (maybe accidentally?) pick it up for me. You don’t know that it’ll happen, but you also can’t be sure it won’t.

In short, plan to minimize your losses. I don’t like losing money (“but you’re going to VEGAS,” you say), so I set table limits, set bankroll amounts and take a minimum of personal effects with me. Mister and I have also been planning this trip for a few months, so we’ve been setting aside fun money just for this. I’d suggest you do this on your next Vegas trip so you don’t come back with empty pockets, or worse – an empty bank account. Oh, and don’t eat the hot dogs from the cart at the Barbary Coast (or Bills, or whatever it is now… dammit!).

This concludes our Responsible Vegas Travel lecture. Miss Bird, signing out!