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BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 12:09 pm
by Eric
End of June

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 3:33 pm
by Dan
Works for me.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 12:09 am
by Jayson
Here is a bunch of crap I came up with

When?
I'm thinking 5 or 6 days including travel. Throwing dates out there:

June 23-29
June 22-27
June 24-30

All of these arrive and leave mid-week. I don't really care either way, give or take, just as long as we are back by July 2.

Getting there
Airplane Tickets seem to be by far the cheapest out of Omaha. Cannot find direct flights though. The train and bus routes I've found take 15+ hours.

Staying there
If three of us go, we could get by with 1 hotel room, any more we would probably need 2.

Just looking online, the lowest priced rooms are running $25 a night.
But $50 a night might be more comfortable.

Estimated Cost
$350-450 Airplane tickets/fees each person
$50-150 Total divided for 5 Nights, 1 motel room
$75-200 Food, depends
$0-? Other stuff
= $500-800 about Total, look for deals

So I guess the main thing right now is posting any ideas for what dates to go. And maybe setting a deadline for tickets. I haven't called Ben yet.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 12:51 am
by grant
Allegiant has direct flights from either Sioux Falls, or Cedar Rapids. You can book flight/hotel packages on their website and the cheapest hotel comes out to around $405 a person for 3 of us. That was for 1 room for 3 adults for 6 nights. Boom deal.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 8:02 pm
by Jayson
Good, good. I'd probably want to fly out of the same airport as you guys unless I get Wade or someone to come with me. Assuming you and Eric go out of Cedar Falls, I'd be willing to drive there the night before flight. I think we would want to order all the tix at the same time to assure we get the same flight. How about we try for tickets by next weekend?

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:31 pm
by grant
Allegiant has packages so the 3 of us would put down ~$1200 and pay someone back. Allegiant flies out of Cedar Rapids or Sioux Falls direct to Vegas.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 9:42 pm
by Dan
Other things to consider: Make sure to get a room on the strip (preferably near the middle, to minimize walking), because otherwise that will not eliminate the need for me to drive around a shitload. Some of the hotels are shit, like Excalibur, Imperial Palace, and especially Circus Circus, but none of them are too terrible. I will probably be staying in the hotel room also because I live about a 15-20 minute drive from the strip....I could probably sleep on the floor if necessary. I don't know if it would save much money but you could stay a day or two at my apartment, although sleeping locations are very limited. I don't know if anyone wants to go to a show, but if so you may want to save some money for that.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:18 am
by Eric
Interesting

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 12:05 pm
by grant
I think the cheapest package was circus circus, which I've heard is bad; I don't really give a shit as long as we have some place to sleep.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 6:29 pm
by Dan
Circus Circus is probably the worst hotel on the strip, but my friend Diane (Eric knows her) and I stayed there when she visited me last summer, and it's perfectly fine as a place to sleep. The only downside is that it is at the far north end of the strip and the best places to go (i.e. cheapest drinks) are near the middle, so we would have to walk a bit more.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 8:53 pm
by grant
There were a lot of choices at the same price, circus circus was the absolute cheapest. We can look for something closer at around the same price.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 10:26 pm
by Eric
I don't mind walking, but if the place seems skeevy (which would be an accomplishment for the Vegas stip in my opinion), I'll bail and sleep on the fuckin streets. I'll look through those options tomorrow.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 10:03 pm
by Jayson
Oops, I meant Cedar Rapids. I'm sure the hotels will have a cot we can use. And we can find a cheap air mattress somewhere. I'll try to get a hold of Ben this weekend and I'll ask Wade and see if he's going. Details later. Potentially 6 people so maybe 2 rooms would be best.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 5:05 pm
by Dan
Obviously I'd hold off on the second room until you know for sure there will be more than the 4 of us. Also, even if there are 6 people, as long as you get a room with 2 beds we should be ok. I've got an air mattress and we could alternate who gets the beds, although Jayson and I will probably want to share a bed ;). Just trying to think economically here, especially since I'm sure I'll be chipping in some for the room(s) and I'd like to limit the amount I pay for lodging in the city I live in.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:56 pm
by grant
Jayson wrote:I'll try to get a hold of Ben this weekend

Good luck, dead men don't have phones or email.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 12:39 pm
by Eric
I looked through those Allegiant options. I'm down for whatever is >$700 and not Imperial Palace, Excalibur, or Circus Circus. I won't gamble more than $50 so I figure 250-300 for food should be good for me. Looks like I'll be working the 8-5 for the next few weeks to save up.

Hijack time: I miss FEAST. I can't decide what to eat for lunch.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:59 pm
by Dan
Yes, there are times when I wish there was a Vegas version of Feast. Also speaking of Excalibur, we should do the Tournament of Kings!

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 3:10 am
by Jayson
Ben is down, Wade is iffy depending on if he gets another job soon.

- I looked at Mirage, which is a little over $1000 for 2 rooms, 5 nights. Weekend rates are double regular rates.
- Planet Hollywood is full according to their website.

book rooms and get tickets by May 27, sound like a good deadline?

We could go the way of dividing up responsibilities, but I don't care how we do it. Once we decide the details I could get 'em then figure out afterwards if it's easier.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 8:29 pm
by grant
Are you saying mirage would be like $200 each, then we each just get our own plane tickets? I would fly out of Sioux Falls anyway since I will probably leave my bitch with my parents.

Also I am willing to drive, if 3 of us went in my car it would be about $150 each or $100 if 4 of us did it and that is round trip at about $4 a gallon.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 11:45 pm
by Jayson
Like one of us gets the plane tickets, one of us books the room, another looks into what shows there are or something.

I'd prefer flying just because of the length of the drive, but I see how driving would save quite a bit of money. I won't mind either way.

----
I'm doing searches for the nights of June 23-June 29, any objections to those dates?


Hotels on strip:
http://www.vegas.com/lounge/map.html

Luxar, Bally's, Rio (a little off the strip), Flamingo, Harrah's, Mirage, and Trump look like feasible options. Average $120-$200 a night per room.

Note that for each person over 2 per room, they charge. We could still go with 1 room and sneak someone in a duffel bag.

---
Things to see: Tournament of Kings, Pawn Stars

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 6:15 am
by Eric
Jayson wrote:I'd prefer flying just because of the length of the drive, but I see how driving would save quite a bit of money. I won't mind either way.
I think Grant meant, driving from Tiffin/Iowa City to Sioux Falls (SC on the way).

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:48 pm
by grant
No I meant road trip, I actually hate flying airlines, but driving only comes out cheaper if we have at least 3 in the car. Maybe with 2. I don't care either way, but if I could get hotel plus transportation for $350 I'd be pretty happy with that.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 1:22 am
by Jayson
After doing a little homework, this is what I estimate each of us would spend traveling...

ALL OF US FLYING OUT OF SIOUX FALLS- ROUNDTRIP $295-390 each
~$50 Iowa City to Sioux City to Sioux Falls and back, after being split 3 ways
$10 parking fee, after being split 3 ways http://www.sfairport.com/trans.php
$235-260 total ticket and security fees, on cheapest flight days
June 23 depart - June 29 return (6:00 AM flight). This is assuming we go those days, returning on Thursday would add $25/ticket
$0-70 checked baggage fee, To and From segments http://www.allegiantair.com/aaRes/aaRes ... Policy.htm
Does Dan have laundry soap? :shock: By golly I sure hope so!

2 PEOPLE DRIVING - ROUNDTRIP $245-325 each
$225 Iowa City to Vegas and back
Roughly 42 hours driving, might take a day 1/2 each way
$20-50 meals/snacks
Fewer stops = less money spent
$0-50 if we make one or two motel stops, split total
We can also sleep in car/try campground

3 PEOPLE DRIVING - ROUNDTRIP $170-250 each
$150 Iowa City to Vegas and back
$20-50 meals/snacks
$0-50 if we make one or two motel stops, split total

4 PEOPLE DRIVING - ROUNDTRIP $135-215 each
$115 Iowa City to Sioux City to Vegas and back
$20-50 meals/snacks
$0-50 if we make one or two motel stops, split total

I might have missed some details. I'd drive to save a hundred dollars. Either way, we best get choosin'. Eric, any preference?

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 3:02 am
by Dan
Haha holy shit the 4 Queens downtown is an average of $35 a night....that's cheaper than your average Motel 6. All those hotels you mentioned are good, but the Rio would be a little bit of a hassle since it's not directly on the strip. I like Harrah's, Bally's, and Flamingo the best because they are all on or close to Flamingo Road, which is sorta the middle of the strip. As for the room price increasing based on the number of people, I doubt they will have any idea if we have 2 or 20 people in the room. No need to incur any baggage charges either, I have a washer/dryer thing in my apartment.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 9:48 am
by Eric
For the sake of ease (and since I'm going to lose internet for the next 9 days) just assume I will go with whatever you (Jayson/Grant) choose. I'm a be in Florida (camping) for the next week or so starting today so hatch a plan, kill a hobo, and then leave it on the board so I can check it when I get back.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 2:59 pm
by Ben Stewart
I may be starting a job in early June, but that's iffy. Even if I do get the job, I'll at least be there for a good portion of it at the minimum. It's all a little up in the air right now. Looking forward to it!

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 7:04 pm
by grant
Glad to see you got your account working Ben! Obviously you wouldn't be travelling with us and if you do go you can just stay in a room as long as we have one.

I'd love a road trip to save some money too, despite being a pilot I hate airline travel. If we were able to rent a plane for 5 days it would be about $600 per person for me to fly us there. Just to let you know.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 10:56 pm
by Jayson
Yeah, I say let's drive. We can bring more of what we want and I can bring one or two air mattresses that way. I've got a couple vehicles here (minus the fuel efficiency) we could use if you don't want to put the miles on the Cube. I signed up for the 23-30 off work so any days in there should work for me. 1.5 days driving there, 5 days there, 1.5 days back? Maybe do all driving in one shot? And if anyone needs different days or fewer days or anything I'm sure I could switch it around a bit. Let me know what you think.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:26 pm
by grant
ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!! I don't mind taking my car, it was built in June 09 and it has over 40,000 miles on it already.

Re: BEH!!! (Vegas Trip Discussion)

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:16 pm
by Jayson
Okay cool, that much is settled. Now we just need to think of some dates to make reservations. I think the nights of the 24-28 will do. Sound good, boys?! After we decide dates I can start calling around to the hotels and get some 1-800 rates and compare them to the online prices.