Viva, Las Vegas!
Recently, my family and I went back to Vegas, again! Keep reading to find out where we like to stay, our favorite places to get drinks, EAT and what we like to do for fun!
Where to Stay
The last two times I’ve gone in the last 6 months, we stayed in old Las Vegas on Fremont Street, most recently staying at The Golden Nugget! When we were there in July, we played table games (and slots of course🤪) with a Player’s Card at The Golden Nugget and other various casinos downtown. Players cards are free and you can sign up super quick putting your ID in a machine or signing up at the Players Club desk and they print you a card—sometimes you even get a little bit of free play with it depending on the casino. After playing at The Golden Nugget with a player’s card, we got promotional mail from them in the months following for free rooms. So TIP #1 when in Vegas- sign up for a Player’s Card at the casinos you’re playing in because you *could* get a free room in the future!
When we stay on the strip, one of our go-to places to stay is The Flamingo. It is practically right in the middle of everything and very inexpensive with decent rooms. If you’re looking for a great, inexpensive place to stay on the strip and be able to walk everywhere, I’d check out (or check in to🤪) the Flamingo..plus their pool in the summer is always happening🥳
If you’re traveling with kids, (yes I went to Vegas many times as a kid..are you shocked? 😝) there are lots of really cool arcades and attractions for kids and teens at most of the casinos on the strip. We stayed at Excalibur when I was little and it was so fun. Circus Circus is really fun for kids too and also has a free circus act. I think these hotels are now like $13/night but hey it’s worth stopping by these places for the kids entertainment and maybe a blast from the past if you went there a long time ago too😝
Circa
In July, we stayed at downtown at Circa. Personally, Circa is my favorite place to stay out of anywhere both downtown and on the strip. Stadium Swim is on their rooftop which has a sports book and multiple pools and cabanas. It’s open all year as the pools are heated. If you stay at the hotel it is free to get in, and if not, it’s around $20/person on weekdays and I believe $40-60/person on the weekends… and even more if you’re there for a big event like the Super Bowl. If you ask me tho, the experience is totally worth it!
You have to show your ID to enter Circa. You cannot stay here if you are traveling with kids.
Booking & Flights
We usually like to go Sunday - Wednesday. The flights and hotels are always MUCH cheaper if you choose to travel outside of the weekend. I watch and check prices all the time but typically, Tuesday is the best day to book and about six weeks before you plan to go..although I have booked a week before in the past and still landed a good deal.🤪
When we went in July, we booked through Priceline since we hadn’t yet received any promotional emails. I love using Priceline for hotels and flights as I can usually find the best rate. Also, if you create an account through priceline and book through them, you will get better rates and deals when booking in the future!
Lately, going to Vegas we have flown Spirit Airlines which I highly recommend. We found flights for $120 round trip. The downside to Spirit Airlines is that you do have to pay for your bags but in the end, it is still cheaper than booking through other airlines and getting free checked bags! My best advice is to explore and compare all options.
Molly’s “Must Try” Restaurants & Drinks!
Definitely get a Pina Colada from The Golden Nugget to walk around with! That is another thing I love about Vegas — you can walk around with your drink from casino to casino and on the strip. But that pina colada tho… It’ll last you 2-3 hours!! It was DANGEROUSLY good!!
If you want a HUGE breakfast, checkout Hash House breakfast downtown inside The Plaza Hotel and on the strip inside of The Linq. It’s good for a big hearty breakfast.
There’s a small classic breakfast place inside Binion’s Casino on Fremont Street, called Binion’s Cafe. Personally, I thought this breakfast was even better than the Hash House breakfast I had the day before. A true good, old-fashioned breakfast and great service!
If you’re looking for some PIZZA, we went to Giordano's on the strip and it’s as good as the Giordano’s locations we love to go to in Chicago!
8 East is an Asian restaurant with lots of noodles and sauces. We ate there last July when we stayed at Circa and had to go there again this winter! It’s located inside Circa on the second level of the casino.
Barry’s Downtown Prime - Now, this is a splurge but my family and I went here for my parent’s anniversary. Ironically, the steaks are from a farm in Arkansas City, Kansas! I love that. The design is like the vibe of old school Las Vegas in the 50s and 60s. It is very pricey, but it is worth it as a treat-yourself type of restaurant or if you’re celebrating a special occasion! It is located in the bottom level of Circa..if you see Vegas Vickie (the iconic neon), take the escalators down to Barry’s. Along with any other steakhouse in Vegas, you’ll want to make sure you make reservations here!
Another Las Vegas favorite - Battista's Hole in the Wall. Battista’s is an authentic Italian restaurant. It is located behind the Cromwell right off of the Vegas strip (close to Giordano’s too). All dinners include free house wine (they bring red and white to your table!!!) along with cappuccino. They have all you can eat bread, delicious salad and an older iconic gentleman that walks around playing an accordian. He played us the Rock Chalk chant when we were there on my 21st birthday! Wear your stretchy pants, you’ll have way too much to eat! It’s a great experience and oh yeah, be careful with that wine😉
Entertainment!
Old Las Vegas is where it’s at! You can walk out of your hotel downtown, there are no cars, it’s all covered! There are different bands on stage playing cover music and people dancing and singing along. There are a variety of genres they play. We had so much fun just grabbing drinks and visiting to music. It’s a great place to people watch (or stare😂), too!
Circa Sports Book
The Circa Sports Book is where we watched the KU game and placed bets on it. It made it even more fun to watch because we had money on it! If you watched my stories on Instagram, you know how that ended up🤪 We also watched a lady place a million dollars on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl, I think she probably had a worse day than us😬
Inside Circa on the second level of the casino there is a really cute boutique with lots of cute tops, dresses and resort/swimwear. We also really liked the coffee shop called Jackpots. Delicious coffee and some really good bakery items.
Walking in and out of the all the different casinos is always one of our favorite things to do along with people watching. It’s pretty cool to see the older casinos too— the style, decor and vibe makes you feel, as my dad would say, “like you’re walking back in time.” The El Cortez is right off Fremont Street…a great place to go during the day to play cheap tables and drink cheap beer. Did I mention cheap??
The Beatles LOVE
We used Vegas.com to find tickets for The Beatles LOVE show by Cirque du Soleil. We got our tickets for $116 each which was the best price compared to other ticket sites we had looked at. It was SUCH a good show. Get there on time because it starts right at the start time!! I highly recommend it..I actually want to go again. The show was incredible. My dad didn’t really care whether he went or not and and now he wants to go again, it was THAT good!
If it’s your first time traveling to Vegas, you absolutely have to walk down the strip to see the Bellagio Fountain show. It’s every 30 minutes from 3-7, and every 15 minutes from 7 to midnight. On weekends the fountains start at noon.
Tips & Tricks
If you’re going to gamble you need to sign up for a free card so they send you their promotions, like a free room.
While you’re not gambling and maybe just enjoying walking around during the day, walk into convenience stores on Fremont street and buy beer or liquor there. It’s cheaper than buying in the casino. However, you do get free drinks while you gamble.
If you are new to gambling or if gambling in Vegas stresses you out but you want to experience it, go to Old Vegas. My dad first took me for my 21st. Places like The Grand Downtown have great tables and it’s not as fussy or pretentious. They have a $1 blackjack tables and $1 beers. SO great!
Main Street Station is a hidden gem. Their description on their website explains it, “Possibly the best-kept secret in all of Las Vegas, set in the splendor of the Victorian era, with dozens of rare antiques and curiosities, award-winning restaurants – and even a slab of the Berlin Wall – Main Street Station offers a unique experience you won’t want to miss.” Another great place to try your hand at blackjack or my favorite, craps!
I’m looking forward to going back, but I’m going to try to stay on the strip next time just to mix it up! Keep checking back for that experience! :)
Follow my adventures on Instagram @mollykuplen
Subscribe to www.mollykuplen.com
