Deezl's IPL4 Guide to Las Vegas

So as a preamble and disclaimer, I just live here. I don't party it up 24/7, and I don't go to clubs often, or really ever. I'm a nerd like everyone else here on TL, and if there's drinking to be had I usually don't do it at the places that are vastly overpriced (everywhere on the strip). I do, however, know badass places to get things like All You Can Eat Sushi and how to get around on the transit system.

Regarding Hookers and Blow
This is going to come up, so I'll cover it here. So you want to know where to find hookers and blow? Well, hookers are suprisingly few and far between in Vegas, because they're illegal. There are some floating around about 2 hours out in the desert and if the rumors are true, they are 100% busted and skag-like.

As far as the blow goes, bring your own. That's not the point of this guide.

Ok, so I'll divide this into three sections, but first, IPL is offering booking at the Cosmo for dirt cheap. The Cosmo is not just the event location, it's one of the best hotels to stay in. Visit their site for details.

On the Strip - Main Part
There's no particular rating system, as the hotels in Vegas are really high quality and the rooms and service are all great, even the cheaper ones. So instead of listing every hotel, I'll list the exceptions.

* Imperial Palace is in the middle of everything but aside from the casino area, it's quite dumpy.
* The M Resort is not on the strip, it is way the fuck out in the desert. Great hotel, but don't stay here for IPL.
* The Bellagio, City Center Hotels, The Venitian, and the Wynn are very upscale and great quality, but will cost you much more money.

I personally recommend the Luxor because it's a fucking pyramid (also a good price), but yeah, anything on the strip is going to run similar quality rooms and be in reasonable proximity to the event. MGM, Treasure Island and New York New York are great too and usually have good budget deals.

North Las Vegas Strip
Anything North of the Stratosphere is considered part of old Las Vegas. These are the old hotels, most are very outdated but the service and beds are still quite nice. More locals go here than the other hotels, and they have good proximity to Fremont Street, which is a neat tourist attraction. The only hotels I'd recommend personally though are the Sahara and the Stratosphere, but most of them should be fine.

Off the Strip
Ok so there's a lot of hotels that aren't directly on the main boulevard. Make sure if you're booking at these hotels you rent a car and take a good look at the map and figure out how to get to the event. Also, I've made a quick list of hotels that I don't consider to be sketchy.

* The Rio, the Palms, Gold Coast, South Point and The Orleans are the top five off-the-strip hotels. You should be able to find cheaper rooms here than elsewhere and still be able to get to the event just fine, and they're all in the same neighborhood, about three blocks west of the strip.
* Green Valley Ranch is one of the few 4 diamond hotels off the strip that offers what the major hotels offer. It's far from the event, however.
* Station Casinos are all out in BFE and are pretty decent, but not great.
* There are a few generic hotel chains like Best Western and others that are fine.

Everything else is probably really shitty, but feel free to shoot me a message if you have questions about a particular hotel.

Welcome to Las Vegas!
Ok, so you've just arrived in Las Vegas with your buddies. Most likely you've come in via McCarran Intl. Airport and booked a hotel on or near the strip. The two are not directly connected. Here's a map:



We'll return to this map later. For now, here's quick directions on how to get to your hotel from the airport so you don't get heartburn.

Option 1: Shuttle
Best option. Call your hotel's front desk and ask if they have a free airport shuttle and at what times it picks up and departs the airport. I believe most do, but I haven't used the service so I'm not 100%.

Option 2: Taxi
There are 8 bazzillion Taxis lined up at the airport, just find the taxi stand near the baggage claim. This will cost you an average of $20 + a tip. Paying with credit comes with a ridiculous sircharge, I recommend cash.

Option 3: Da Bus
Public transit to the major hotels is very well established, with an express bus leaving every 20 minutes. You can catch the 109 South to the transfer terminal downstairs at the airport, for $2 per person, there you can buy a downtown pass of various lengths. Catch the SDX (Strip and Downtown Express) which stops every 3 hotels or so, and then check the route. This service is CASH ONLY and requires EXACT CHANGE. Also, please do not board the 109 North. This is a common and yet silly mistake.

If you have google maps on your smartphone, then you can check local bus schedules and stops using the bus feature on the google maps application. This is super accurate, I have used it myself many times and it will get you where you're going. I HIGHLY recommend you use it. Regardless, the express bus runs every 20 minutes or so on the strip until midnight and is convenient enough that you don't really need to rent a car or take a taxi.

Okay, so now you're at your hotel. Go in the front door of your hotel. Try your best to avoid the side doors and alternate routes because these hotels are built to be confusing. Really, they are. If you walk in the front door there should be a front desk where you can check in. If not, ASK! All the staff at the hotels are super nice and love to help, and they'll point you in the right direction. Congratulations, you made it! I might recommend a shower at this point.

IPL4 is located at the Cosmopolitan hotel, one of four very tall buildings that make up the brand new City Center complex in the center of the Las Vegas Strip. These buildings are brand new, very tall, very shiny, and very obvious. They are located in between the Bellagio (which has a giant cool fountain thing, useful as a landmark) and the Monte Carlo. The Cosmopolitain is the fourth in the series and is closest to the Bellagio on the north side. For another landmark, look for expensive shops jutting out over the Strip in a crystalline structure. That's the shopping center for City Center. The Cosmopolitan Hotel is the hotel one north of those shops.

For Parking, turn off of the strip onto City Center Place and follow the signs to the garage. In advance I'll warn you that it's a bit like trying to navigate your way through a bowl of spaghetti, so follow the signs. I'm not sure if the Cosmo has it's own parking off of Harmon Avenue, but you should be fine to find your way from the main garage.

If you're taking the bus, the southbound Strip/Downtown Express stops directly at City Center, and from there it's a short walk north to the Cosmo. The northbound edition of the same bus stops at Bally's (purple glowing hotel), which is across the street from the Bellagio (big fountain thingy), so it's a bit more of a walk.

Inside the hotel, the very first thing you should do is ask a hotel staffer on site where you should be going. I live out here and I do this, because these hotels are designed to keep you inside and gambling. I'm not coordinating this guide with IPL but I assume there will be signs and in any case, the hotel staff will be very familiar with the event halls. Ask for "video game thingy" and you should be all set.

There's a lot to do in Vegas, like, a LOT. I'll go over a few of the regular touristy things to do first, then recommend my favorite spots.

The Las Vegas Sign
Everyone wants a picture in front of the sign. It's located at the entrance to the corridor of hotels, just south of Mandalay Bay. Downside? It's kind of a pain in the butt to get to if you don't have a car, because there is no street crossing that leads to it. You don't want to chance it, we have a running death toll of idiots that try (not joking). I recommend a taxi from a nearby hotel.

See the Sights
All of the sights are located on Las Vegas Boulevard, the main bloodline of the strip that runs through the city north to south. You'll probably want to poke around City Center and The Bellagio, as they are really two of the nicest and best designed buildings in this half of the world. There's a shark reef at Mandalay Bay, the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor is really badass, Madame Tussauds Wax Museam is also really badass, and there's some tigers kicking around somewhere. But why do any of that when you could be watching video games?

Another cool sight to see is Red Rock, which is located west of the city out towards the mountains, and has natural red stone cliffs that you can drive through, climb over or hike around. It's neat if you like that kind of thing.

Gambling
Gambling is available at every major hotel on and about the strip with the exception of the residences at city center. Higher end hotels will have higher minimum bets, so if you're on a budget, stick to the pop-culture locations like Planet Hollywood or the Tropicana. On a related note, slot machines are a complete joke and a waste of money.

Can You Recommend Some Clubs?
Why sure I can! They're all the same, and as this is the weekend, will all feature long lines and massively overpriced drinks. Avoid HAZE (Aria) and LAX (Luxor) like the plauge. They are always overcrowded to an extreme that is not even comfortable. I've heard good things about Pure, Jet, and a few others. If you like that kind of thing, Gilley's is one of those country bars where the girls get up on the bar and dance for you. If you want to blow all your money, The Bank at the Bellagio is perfect for that. It's very unfortunate that Studio 54 recently closed, as they were reasonably priced and had a huge dance floor and always had plenty of patrons.

As a side note, there are going to be about 100 people trying to hand you VIP cards and VIP entry. Everybody is a VIP, and you can only get in faster if you order $200 of bottle service and get a reserved table. Still, take the cards if they wave the entry fee.

Places to Drink?
Literally everywhere has a bar of some kind, including outside. While gambling at a reasonable pace (penny and nickel slots are excluded), you will regularly recieve complimentary drinks at every major hotel. Please tip your cocktail waitress, $1 a drink is fine. If you play good poker, I can say that a few hours at the poker table playing fairly tight is a decent way to get a buzz rolling, as the cocktail waitress come around every 15 minutes or so.

You'll quickly notice that it's expensive to drink in Las Vegas. Everything is marked up to about double the normal price that you would find at a bar elsewhere. Solution? There is a Lee's Discount Liquor very far south on Las Vegas Boulevard where you can stock up on booze for the normal price or less. Their beer selection is great and they have a ton of products and specials. It's located about 2-3 blocks south of the Las Vegas Premium Outlets South and I can strongly recommend a run there to save money and get more krunk, if that's your plan. It's also right near a CVS (pharmacy type place) and Food 4 Less (groceries), and a bunch of fast food, but again, you'll need some sort of transportation to get there.

Places to Eat
Wow, this is a tough one. Outside of New York, I don't think there is a city in the U.S. that has more high end restaurants than Las Vegas. The local cuisine is also fuggin' excellent, but tough to get to without a rental. Here's my top 5 for you guys, based on what's accessible and good and meets the needs of the gamer.

5. Social House
Location: Treasure Island Hotel
Price Point: $50+ Per Person
If you're looking for a classy somewhere that will blow your mind with delciousness, this is the place to go, bar none. It's really comfortable despite being upscale, and I'd dress up a little and make a reservation owing to that it's a weekend. Downside? You're nerds on a budget and this place is _expensive_.

4. Pho Kim Long
Location: Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown
Price Point: $8-9 Per Person
I love Pho and I know I'm not the only one. Pho Kim Long is a traditional vietnamese restaurant that isn't dumpy like some places and is easy to find from the strip, and can easily be reached by public transit or by car. It's also located in our little Chinatown next to Chinatown Mall, which has a bunch of restaurants, Boba, and some neat shops that you don't usually find that have things like Anime figurines.

3. Bachi Burger
Location: Windmill Ave. in South Las Vegas
Price Point: $15-20 per person.
Bar none this is the best local restaurant in the city, and wouldn've stolen the #1 rating if it wasn't so goddamn far from everything. It's worth it. This place defies description of how good it is. To describe, Bachi Burger serves heavenly concoctions in burger form, brilliantly inspired by asian cuisine, supplemented by sweet potato fries which also come with delicious sauce and an array of fantastic appetizers. The food resembles traditional diner-style meals but by replacing all of the crap ingredients in diner food with top-quality ingredients like Kobe Beef and Foie Gras and sprinking their plates with what can only be described as heavenly nectar, they make cuisine of the finest quality that is only gently disguised by its casual presentation.

Seriously, if you can make it to Bachi Burger you won't regret it. It's easy to combo with some shopping at the south premium outlets. Located behind the Subway (literally behind it, you'll know when you see it).

1 & 2. In n' Out Burger
Price Point: $5-6 per person
Location: One Block West of the Strip, Tropicana Avenue (Behind New York New York, right after you pass the I-15 freeway)
Map
The most famous fast food in the world will be your sustenance, as it's the only fast food within range of the boulevard that doens't suck and isn't blatantly overpriced. Super. Good.

Just a heads up, this place actually famous, and is always packed. Expect to wait about 15 minutes for your food. It's also a bit of a further walk than it looks.

There's a couple of other honorable mentions, like Tacos El Gordo on Charleston (best authentic pork tacos in Vegas), and Sushi Factory (best all you can eat sushi experience). Anime Ramen is a unique spot where the waitresses dress up like Anime girls, also in Chinatown but a touch more tucked away. We also have a thriving food truck community, and in that community Fukuburger is really good, you can look up where they'll be online. But for the purposes of the top 5 I discriminated heavily against places that are hard to reach without transportation, but if you're looking for a spot for a group to gather that's not too expensive and is deliciousest the most, PM me (Deezl) and I'll throw you some recommendations.

Ok, so this is A map of the main part of Las Vegas, which is centered around a single north-south road named Las Vegas Boulevard, aka The Strip. My amazing photoshop skills have highlighted places of importance for you to visit, but the main thing for you touristy types to know is that EVERYTHING IS ON THIS MAIN ROAD and THERE IS NO REASON TO VENTURE MORE THAN 1 BLOCK OFF THIS MAIN ROAD UNLESS YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

It astounds me how many people can't grasp this relatively simple concept and go adventuring off into the wilderness and get lost. Also, the north part of Las Vegas can get really ghetto at times, so if you're based north of the Stratosphere, stay on the main part of the boulevard.

Second thing to note is that walking is overrated. The hotels in Vegas are very big and it can take several hours to walk the length of the strip. I highly recommend the public transit, which I detailed earlier, but allow me to get into more detail now.

There are two major busses that serve the Las Vegas Strip - there's the Strip Downtown Express or SDX, which looks like a torpedo or subway train, and tears ass in both directions north and south, but skips a lot of hotels. Then there is the double decker bus called The Deuce, which stops at every hotel but takes forever to go anywhere. In all cases it is much faster to take the SDX and walk where you want to go, as the Deuce parks at every hotel and tends to sit around alot trying to weave its way into traffic.

Tickets are for sale for these busses at all bus stops that line the strip in little kiosks. A day pass is $7 and a one way pass that lasts 3 hours is $5 - get the day pass, you'll use it. The passes work for both the double decker bus and the express bus.

Secondly, every major east/west cross street for the strip has a corresponding bus route that goes across it. It's pretty simple. There's one main north/south road with all the hotels. All of the major streets that cross it have an east/west bus that leads off into the city. Navigating isn't hard - just get on the bus going one way, and get on the same bus going back the other way when you're done.

Without fail, you should use google maps to plan your public transit if you plan on leaving the strip. The day passes you purchase for the SDX and Deuce also apply to these routes, because it's all the same company.

I'll reiterate this for those that missed it: You should use google transit to plan your bus routes and trips whenever you are leaving the strip via public transit. I use google whenever I use public transit, and I do it from my phone on the fly. It's very accurate and will get you where you need to go. Not all buses run every thirty minutes or better, and you can easily get stranded for an hour if you miss them. Use. Google. Maps.