I’m planning a trip to Las Vegas for 16 days starting Monday, so I’m putting together a plan of what I want to accomplish in preparation for a longer trip in May with the ultimate goal of spending October to April in Las Vegas next winter.
I already have a number of advantage plays in my repertoire, which in combination provide me with at least $50 per day of EV. That’s enough to live in Las Vegas without any restrictions. Since I’m Canadian, a couple of bucks per day is spent on health insurance. Luckily, food in Vegas is almost free, with a cost well under $10 per day (which allows for a visit to In-and-Out Burger occasionally). Hotel rooms were almost free for this trip, although I got stuck for the March 13/14 weekend. I had to cash-in a Hotels.com coupon and book the Motel 6 beside Boulder Station. Not an ideal situation. On the downside, there are a lot of drug users/addicts and prostitutes hanging around the corner of Boulder and DI, but on the flip-side, Boulder Station is right next door.
My goals for this trip are to “clock” my scouting routes, log progressive jackpot data, and get a companion website functioning. Basically, I want to run the process I’ve devised for a Vegas vacation so that I can scale it with a partner in May. Our May trip will also serve as a warm up for a multi-month trip next autumn.
For anyone who wonders what I do when I go to Vegas, the post below will answer your questions (it’s not very glamorous).
I arrive at 10:30pm (Vegas time) on Monday evening. In the days leading up to the trip, I’ll have to shift my sleeping schedule slightly later (sleep-in and go to bed later in the days leading up to the trip, aiming for a 4am bedtime). The modified sleeping schedule is required in order to complete the first challenge of the trip, which will be to exit McCarran terminal 3 on foot the night of my arrival. Exiting the airport on foot will mean I’ll arrive at my hotel at about 1am Vegas time.
After exiting the airport on foot, I’ll walk to Walmart on Eastern Ave to buy a bike. The walk takes 15 minutes. According to Walmart’s website, there are several models in-stock at this location under $100. This Walmart is open 24/7, and hopefully there will be someone available to assist me in making sure the bike is in working condition when I leave with it (pump the tires, etc). The bike ride downtown will take about an hour. I will stay the next four nights at the Golden Gate.
Golden Gate has wifi in its rooms, so I can work from my room each morning to complete a normal series of tasks including clearing my e-mail inbox, reviewing my investment portfolio(s), making blog posts, and reviewing the sports book prices. These are the daily tasks that I complete each day (regardless if I’m in Vegas or not). I refer to these tasks as a “morning routine”. The morning routine usually takes a couple of hours depending on the day’s events. I’ll then eat breakfast and go to the gym, but Golden Gate doesn’t have a gym, so I’ll run outside instead. Its 15km round trip to Fiesta Rancho if I use Lake Mead Drive most of the way. This works out well since there’s a Walmart next door to Fiesta Rancho where I can buy fruit, greens, and nuts.
On the first day (Tuesday) there is a bonus point promotion at Sam’s Town, so I’m going to run the Boulder scouting route from downtown on the first day. I’m interested to see how long the Boulder scouting route takes as I’ve never clocked this route on a bike. It will likely take 4 to 6 hours to complete, which means I’ll arrive back at my hotel Tuesday evening, with plans to respond to e-mails and log the day’s data.
The second day (Wednesday) will be spent doing the downtown to Strip scouting route, and I am very unclear how long this will take. Basically I need to get to the Westgate, and I’m not sure about the best route to bike from downtown to the Strip. Getting to Charleston should be easy using a side street, but crossing Charleston at LVB might be necessary in order to get a regular light. Google maps suggests taking Main Street all the way, and when it crosses LVB, take Paradise road. It might take 20 minutes to get to the Westgate from downtown.
I’m going to run the same scouting route on Thursday¸ but then on Friday, I’m moving to Eastside Cannery on the Boulder Strip so I’ll run the Boulder scouting route that day. If I can find a play at Sam’s Town then I’ll play there on the weekend while I’m at Eastside Cannery (which has a gym and pool). On Sunday, I move to Arizona Charlie’s on Boulder. Its dirt cheap, but without wifi, so I’ll have to use Boulder Station for internet access each morning. Boulder Station actually has really good wifi and I can either setup in a study carrel in the sports book or in the bar near the high limit room if I need more desk space.
I’m going to run the same daily routine for the next seven days while at Arizona Charlies. Morning routine at Boulder Station, a running route down Viking road, Boulder scouting route, probably some video poker at Sam’s Town when I find a high meter.
After seven days on the Boulder Strip, I’m back downtown at the El Cortez for three nights. The Elco is a great hotel value, as weekdays are usually under $30 and it comes with wifi and the gym at the cabana suites. Each day I’m downtown, I’ll run the Downtown to Strip scouting route. The last day of the trip I’m flying home on the Air Canada red eye, which leaves at 11:30pm Vegas time, so I used a Hotels.com coupon for a room at the Howard Johnson near the airport, that way I can take a nap in the early evening and have somewhere to crash before the flight.
