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Las Vegas: Visitor’s guide

Before the first trip to Las Vegas, it seemed like a murder of time, money and mood. Nighttime fun wasn’t about me, and the city looked like an expensive and endless party from the movies. But they were passing by anyway, so it was impossible to ignore it.

In fact, Vegas is a place where escort ladies wear between untidy ludomans, and you want to open a beer, shove twenty bucks in the machine and forget about everything. I haven’t relaxed so much even in Bali: there were fears that now my bike will hit a rock and fly right under the sightseeing bus. And it wasn’t until Vegas that Zen finally happened.

Come on weekdays

Las Vegas: Visitor's guide

Americans don’t travel much, but Las Vegas does. They come here for the weekend by families and big companies, so from Friday to Sunday prices for hotels are higher – cheaper than $200 per night you just can’t find anything. On weekdays, pilgrimages are reduced and hotels throw away super deals – you can easily snatch a near luxury Mandalay Bay for $100 and a simple Excalibur for $50.

Just not in summer

It’s spring or fall to Las Vegas. It’s sunny and warm, with temperatures approaching 30 degrees. The city is fresher in winter, around 15 degrees, but that’s nice too. And there’s nothing worse than Vegas in summer – especially in July. It’ll be 40 degrees in the shade, and the windless desert adds to the hottest sensation. You’ll only have to move through the labyrinths of air-conditioned casinos – otherwise you won’t survive.

How many days does it take

A lot, definitely not. Of course, everything can’t be avoided in a week, but a couple of days at the casino, walks and all sorts of shows like dancing fountains and pirate war on the ship will be enough. If it’s more, first of all, you’ll get bored, secondly, you’ll really go broke. To stay in Las Vegas longer than two days, you need a slightly different program.

Las Vegas: Visitor's guide

Optionally, go to the outlet. Or you could guess the trip so you can get to the Vegas Golden Knights local hockey team’s game.

Yes, there are replicas of all the sights in the world – Eiffel Tower, Venice Canals, King Arthur’s Castle, Egyptian Sphinx, Colosseum and so on.

How to get from the airport

By the way, you won’t be able to fly in for the weekend without any complications and transfers: Aeroflot has direct flights only to New York, Los Angeles and Miami. And it’s unlikely you’ll go to America for one Vegas – it’ll be part of the combination. The easiest way to get out of L.A. is five, six hours by car or an hour by plane. Las Vegas airport is the best place to take Uber. $20 – and you’re on a main street called the Strip. You can, of course, save money and look for shuttles and shuttles, but why bother when you come to relax?

You live on the Strip and you walk

The Las Vegas Strip is the street that the city is made up of. There’s also a downtown, but it’s a little later. The strip is seven kilometers of hotels, casinos, restaurants and shops connected to each other. At first it’s even hard to believe the scale, but in a few hours you get used to the 24-hour traffic, and it all seems like a kind of turned on TV for the background noise.

Basically, it does not matter what point of the Strip to live in, but if you do not want to stomp to the center of the street a few kilometers, then your options Caesar and Venetian – really, it is expensive there. If walking marathons do not scare you, it is better to consider something on the bend.

Have breakfast in the cafeterias

Las Vegas is lured by relatively low hotel prices, but everything else has to be paid for. It takes a lot of effort to get dinner cheaper than $80. Plus, don’t forget the tip: Las Vegas tourists don’t even burn in July like people who don’t leave 20% of their tea bill to an American waiter. That’s the way it is, and you’re not gonna do anything about it.

Las Vegas: Visitor's guide

Fortunately, the food issue is easy to solve – your salvation is the word Buffet. Translated into Russian, it’s the legendary all-inclusive. Breakfast will cost $25-30 per person, Buffet is available in every hotel, and you can pay at the vending machine – an ideal chance to do without a tip, which is sure to ask at the cash desk.

For a small amount of money you get a buffet and the opportunity to eat as not in yourself. This is the wisest money investment in Las Vegas that exists. You can have lunch and dinner in the cafeterias. Really, it would cost $10 more than breakfast, and you’d have to pay extra for endless alcohol. So in case of lunch or dinner you can go to a restaurant, and if you want to save money – go to supermarkets and fast food.

How do you get out of the casino?

Las Vegas is the only place in the world where I played casino. There’s nowhere else to go, and there’s a special atmosphere and it’s impossible to pass by. It’s very simple – you put the bill in the machine and you play. If it’s a lot of bills, try poker. I allocated no more than $100 for the game each time, so I didn’t even pry into the cards – there was enough one-armed gangster. Something to win in the big machines, where a lot of lines and any combinations. Especially good went to Buffalo – in the first trip flew 200 $, in the second – 100 $.

How it works is not clear: just at some point you tear down a successful combination, the chair starts shaking, and the winnings grow on the screen. You don’t know the exact sum and just get high from increasing numbers – experiencing these emotions, you even understand why there are so many ludomans in the world.

Except the defeat disorder is more devastating than the joy of victory. So do not try to play back and leak all the cache you brought on vacation.

And once again: play only machines with many lines and combinations. In simple with three sevens I could not win a dollar.

Fly over the Grand Canyon

Las Vegas: Visitor's guide

It’s a little out of line with the idea of not spending millions, but one of Las Vegas’ main attractions is a trip to neighboring Arizona’s Grand Canyon. There are four options for excursions: just take the bus and see this beauty ($100), take the bus and fly in the canyon by helicopter ($300), fly to the canyon in a small plane and break in by helicopter ($450) or go all the way by helicopter (about $700).

Yes, flight prices seem daunting, but it’s a lifelong impression. The helicopter flies so steeply into the canyon that you feel like you’re the hero of those very American movies about the Vietnam War, that right now you’ll be dropped off with a sniper rifle and given a mission. The feeling of flying inside the canyon can’t be compared to anything at all! Not to mention the canyon itself – this miracle of nature must be seen. Excursions usually involve a transfer from the hotel and back, and take you to the western part of the canyon – the Indian reservation. It’s atmospheric, too.

Forgotten Las Vegas

Everyone associates Vegas with the Strip, but it started somewhere else, on Fremont Street (this neighborhood is called downtown). It’s twice as cheap and trash-cheap – a wide pedestrian street full of tourists, animators, and freaks, and it’s a big country party.

In the mood it’s no worse than on the Strip, and in some places even brighter and more fun. On Fremont, you can live in peace on the night from Saturday to Sunday for less than $100, and on weekdays – probably almost for free. There are also endless casinos, and beer in the bars is priced like in the shops. Of course, you shouldn’t limit yourself to Fremont, but you can definitely spend one night here.

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Story Blog

Las Vegas Night Life

Las Vegas has chronic insomnia, because as it gets dark, the city just starts to wake up and show its true face. The nightlife in Las Vegas is enchanting and grand, with people from all over America and part of the world coming here in search of unbridled fun. So if you don’t have a lot of time to spare, but choose between sightseeing and entertainment, don’t be a nuisance for at least 2 days: forget your plans and go to the nearest supermarket for a cold belly or a rose. Let the champagne flow by the river because this is Las Vegas, baby! And don’t forget, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

Nightclubs

Nightclubs

Encore at Wynn. It’s a bit far from the Strip, but it’s still got everything you need. Here’s the best club in Las Vegas (according to vegas.com) XS club that we went to after dinner is on the ground floor of our hotel complex. Entrance is paid, like all nightclubs in Las Vegas – I paid $50 for two. There’s face control and dress code.

clubs in las vegas

ClubXS

When you get inside, you realize that a lot of millions of dollars have been invested in this place. The interior is delightful. The creators say they were inspired by the sexual curves of the female body. Gold, expensive jewelry, armchairs with expensive upholstery – this luxury attracts those who like to rest beautifully in their arms. Everything is arranged at a very high level: advanced sound technologies, chic furniture, design, lasers, LEDs, pyrotechnic devices and of course DJs who perform here. That night Afrojack played, who left no chance to be indifferent to what he was doing at the remote control. The huge dance floor was filled with excited people moving in tune with the first-class sound, and through the overheated characters cooled their fervor in the open air pool. It was fucking cool and fun, all soaked in the atmosphere of the holiday!

The XS Club pool party

If luxury seemed to be little, you can order one of the most iconic cocktails in Las Vegas – The Ono, worth $10,000! The name of the drink is given in honor of the Polynesian god Oro, who, according to legend, brought the black pearl to Princess Bora Bora. The drink is made of expensive Champagne Charlie 1981 and exclusive Louis XIII de Remy Martin Black Pearl cognac. After finishing your cocktail, you’ll enjoy a bonus set of silver Montblanc cufflinks and an 18-carat gold necklace with black pearls and a diamond, which can be taken with you as a reminder of the XS Club and the shining lights of Vegas.

ONO cocktail

An alternative to the unrestrained fun is Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub, located on the roof of The Cosmopolitan. In the same club we were in New York, but here, unlike his glamorous brother, do not create a specially artificial queue, because people come here to have fun and spend money. The entrance is $40 for men and $20 for girls. The club is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. The main Marquee dance floor is a classic club that Vegas can only boast. It is the place where the night begins and the place where everything can end, where you feel the drive and want to dance. But it’s only the main dance floor, every club has one, that’s what makes them clubs. But Marquee is much more. Multi-level space, a lounge disguised as a library, huge LED screens surrounding the dance floor and constant deliveries of famous DJs turn this club rather into an ultra-modern and cosmopolitan nightclub.

Marquee Nightclub

When you move to another plane, you get to a very warm and conceptual room called a library. The shades and atmosphere make you look like you’re a night-time burner and an interesting conversationalist. But do not be confused: this is not a lounge where you come when you are tired and want to relax, this is the place where you can relax from the dance floor and have a chance to talk to a pleasant interlocutor, sitting by the fireplace in a soft chair, sipping some single malt whiskey.

If you want something medium, the most correct decision is to go to the Boombox, which, by the way, not everyone is allowed. It is such a separate room, where there is very little dancing space, and a lot of people, but by this time everyone is already so drunk that all rhythmically move at each other’s feet. There is also a panoramic bar and VIP tables, with the farthest ones having a steep view of the Strip if the curtains are open. And those who did not have enough for the VIP, can admire the view on the balcony, though it comes out only Harmon Avenue, but still not bad, in the middle of the night, fresh air can be very useful.

Group of people watching a show

Marquee is also famous for its daytime pool parties, one of which I had the chance to attend on my first visit to Las Vegas. People come here to have fun both day and night, so when someone makes good music at the choppers, you’re full of energy and strength, and you have a refreshing cocktail in your hand, you start dancing at 2-3 pm. It’s optimal if you want to hang out, but at the same time sleep at night. But again, things change when it’s nighttime in Vegas.

Marquee pool party

Another famous nightclub in Las Vegas, TAO, is located in Hotel Venetian. It’s open Thursday through Saturday. Entrance for men is $30, for women $20. The club has Asian themes: a huge Buddha statue, a temple-like lounge, a dance floor with the pathos name “Dance Floor of the Emperors”. Not far from the entrance there are models painting different patterns of henna, and passing a little further you can see naked beauties bathing in a bath with petals of roses. Beautiful, pompous, there are also worthy arrivals.

TAO Las Vegas club

Among the famous clubs of Las Vegas was the PURE club in Caesars Palace. It was a cool club with good sound, own DJs, an excellent VIP area and helpful staff. In 2015, it was bought by Hakkasan and rebranded, opening a new Omnia club, which has already reached the top 100 according to djmag magazine. What is here now, I hope, will be learned soon. If anyone was, write a comment.

About hookers

There are no prostitutes on the streets of Las Vegas as such, but literally at every step a huge number of Hispanics hand out business cards with photo cards and phones is confusing. By the end of our stay, we had a pretty good collection.

Of prostitutes in Las Vegas

How to get to the club.

  •  If you have a large group of men, then be prepared that you will be offered to buy a deposit table. The cheapest in the same XS costs $ 1500, and it is located far away on the street; normal tables will cost about $3000-4000. If it seemed to you that it is expensive, they can offer an alternative – to pay for a deposit table service. What is bottle service in Las Vegas? It’s when you buy a bottle of whiskey or vodka for 600 bucks! But it’s no problem for you to go through a big company.
  • If you don’t want to pay ten times the price of a bottle, find lonely girls and break up your men’s group, then your chances of getting in together are skyrocketing. In return, treat the girls with a cocktail or pay for their entrance.
  • Buy tickets in advance. Tickets for all events can usually be purchased from the club’s official website. If you have a ticket, in most cases you will have a separate entrance. Of course, no one guarantees that there will be no queue, and this does not mean that you can come in adikas or in an inadequate condition – the club reserves the right to refuse admission even with a pre-paid ticket.
  • When booking a hotel in Las Vegas, be sure to ask if they offer additional bonuses in the form of free night club invitations or discount coupons for any show. Hotels are happy to offer various bonuses as long as the customer becomes a guest.
  • Hotels have their own agreements with many clubs, so in the lobby you can find racks with flyers or promoters themselves. Their task is to attract a certain public to the club, so they often offer a discounted ticket price.
  • You can also find interesting offers from different club companies. For example, a night tour of the clubs in a limousine, which includes: transportation between the clubs with music and free drinks inside the car, guaranteed passage through the VIP area to several clubs without waiting in line, welcome drinks and much more. There are different combinations, it all depends on your taste and wallet – you can even order a personal bodyguard who will push everyone around just to make you feel comfortable. I think that’s very relevant to Vegas.
  •  Dress code. Forget about shorts, slates, wrestlers and other beachwear. Also leave sneakers in your wardrobe, even if they’re cool, no sports shoes.
  • Ladies, be careful. By choosing beautiful, but uncomfortable clothes, you will have an advantage in the aisle, but at the same time create problems for yourself. 10cm heels can be and look cute for 2-3 minutes, but do not look cute barefoot dancing around your bag and shoes. Same with the dress, it may look cool on a mannequin, but if you’re not comfortable wearing it, then get ready to join the bartender all night.

How do you get to the Las Vegas Club

About life in Las Vegas

Man playing dj mixer

Vegas is cool, I’ll be back here the next time I pass. But for more than three or four days, there’s no point in stopping. I have friends who lived and worked here. They had good wages, cool paid hotel rooms, endless fun and more, but they all worked here for no more than a year. Everyone said in one voice that at the beginning it was cool, yes, every day is a holiday, fun, parties, often on weekends friends and relatives came, but you get tired of all this very quickly, and after six months you are sick of these casinos, parties and the eternal drunken eel that reigns around you. Fun is exhausting.

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Tips

How to hand out cards in poker

Poker is a popular card game that has several varieties. The dealer hands out cards to the players and watches their actions at the poker table. To become a good dealer in poker, you need to develop special skills and characteristics. They will help you both when playing poker with friends and when finding a job as a professional poker dealer. The dealer must be able to hand out cards correctly, have special skills and know the intricacies of several types of game.

Cards in poker

Handing out Cards

Drag the deck. Masking causes the cards to be mixed to get the most unpredictable distribution of cards in the deck. Without shuffling cards, some players may be able to predict the exact appearance of cards, giving them an unacceptable advantage. There are several shuffling techniques. Shuffling of cards in poker usually consists of a fluted shuffle, boxing and a shuffle cut.

  • During a corrugated shuffle, the dealer divides the deck in half, takes each half in one hand and mixes it by placing the card corners of each half against each other and then letting go of the cards to mix them.
  • Boxing – the dealer takes the top quarter of the deck and puts it on the table. Then he takes the next quarter and puts it on top of the first one, and then repeats the same thing with the remaining deck.
  • Trimming shuffle – the dealer puts the deck on the table and asks another player to divide it into two parts. Then the lower part of the deck is placed on the upper one.
  • Watch the shuffle tutorial videos on YouTube if you want to learn different shuffle techniques. Some types of shuffling, like Indian and fluted shuffling on the table, are known to look more elegant than others.

People playing poker together

Give cards to players. There are two main styles of handing: American and European. Change your style depending on the mood or types of players.

  • In American Style, the dealer holds the deck with one hand, pressing the front right corner of the card with his thumb and index finger, then swinging the cards to the players.
  • In European style, the dealer only touches the top card and shifts it to the left, then resets the card to the player, sometimes twisting it.

“Burn” and flip the card. If you play a type of poker such as Texas Hold’em, where players have open cards, the top cards must be “burned” or dropped. The dealer must also flip the fourth of the five cards he has given to the players. Players can then use this card to form their ready hand (a “hand” is a combination of cards of the player).

Keep an eye on the pot. The dealer monitors the size of the player’s bets and rakes, as well as the size of the side banks. Use a special online calculator such as PokerListings to keep track of the size of the side banks. Read out your players’ hands and at the end move the winning pot to the winner.

Dealer characteristics development

Practice a lot. Stuffing a deck, handing out cards to players and monitoring the size of the pot are skills that can be developed by constantly performing them. Practise at home before playing with a deck of cards to improve your accuracy and dexterity.

Be a professional. Players want to have a good time. For the dealer, this means keeping a positive mood, exercising restraint and keeping quiet throughout the game. He must also answer players’ questions and solve problems. The dealer must have good communication and customer service skills (with the players). A good dealer must be able to communicate with players as well as with casino staff.

Familiarize yourself with the varieties of poker. There are many different ways to play poker, so check out the rules of each of them. The most popular varieties of poker are Texas Hold’em, five and seven card stacks and five card drops. Read and watch the tutorial videos on various websites (TruePokerDealer) to learn how to play this or that variety of poker.

Card Distribution in Texas Hold’em

Playing cards with poker chips

Give each player two shirt top cards. The player on the Small Blind should get the first card. This will be the player to your left. He must bet half of the full bet for this round.

Keep an eye out for bets made on the preflop. Watch how each player makes a Raise (will raise a large blind or more), Call (will confirm the current bet) or Fold (will save and reset cards). Players take action in a clockwise direction. Bets will continue until each player resets his cards, chips or levels his bet against other players’ bets.

Hand out the Flop. After each player has paid a blind or ante as required by the rules you are playing, give three cards with your shirt down. These cards will be shared by all players. After that the second stage of the bidding will begin.

Give away one general map. In Texas Hold’em, combinations are made of hidden cards in the hands of the players and shared open cards. The first three cards are flop cards, and the next one is called a tern card. The third round of bidding will begin. Players will place their bets in a clockwise direction.

Give out the last common card. It’s called a “river”. After that, the fourth round of bidding will begin and the cards will be opened.

Tell the players to open their cards. The winner will be determined by the best hand of five cards: two of the player’s cards and five on the table.

Five-card hand

Ace card game cards casino

Give each player five cards. Distribute one card each with your shirt on top, starting on the left. Give one card each until all players have five cards.

  • In this game each player is given a full hand, which remains hidden throughout the game. Players can improve cards by replacing them.

Place the remaining cards in the centre of the table. Put a chip or some other item on top of them so that they can be distinguished from other cards.

Get started with the bidding. At this stage players must be very careful not to show their cards to others.

Allow players to replace and discard cards. Each player can drop as many cards as he wants, and replace them with the same number of cards from the deck in the centre of the table. In the end, each player will have five cards.

Resume the bidding. If you have placed blinds (bets that only two players have paid before handing out their cards), the bets must start from the player on your left.

Tell the players to reveal their cards. This part is called a “showdown”. The player with the best five cards wins the pot.

Tip: Try not to reveal your cards while you are stirring them up.