Scams to Avoid, Las Vegas

Do not entertain or speak to the ones who are giving out the porn cards. They will try and thrust them into your hands regardless of you being with your partner.

Unique Suggestions: Best course of action is to walk by and not acknowledge them.

The new store at the M Shopping Mall is great. It is great for shopping, dining and all that. There is an Indian Jewelry store over there and they sell a lot of jewelries. They also sell jewelries on installment.

Make sure to keep your records if you do installment plan at this store otherwise you will end up forgetting what you paid for!!!

Unique Suggestions: Make sure to buy only those intricate Indian jewelries and get original certification that it is an original art!

In some of the hotels, people might approach you to offer bargains on show tickets. Typically, they'll ask how long you're in Las Vegas for and will then drag you over to their counter to explain how it works. That's when you find out they actually work for companies that sell time shares: they want to sign you up for a presentation at a new place they're building some distance away from the Strip and as a thank you for the time you've spent there, you'll get a discount on show tickets. They can be pretty persistent but you shouldn't feel bad about turning them down, they'll just move on to the next people.

Fun Alternatives: Wasting an afternoon to get some ridiculous discount doesn't seem like my idea of having a good time in Las Vegas. If you're looking for cheap show tickets, you can get them hassle-free at Tix4Tonight (see my shopping tip).

I would not let my own family go there! A couple of blocks with lot's of lights, Drunks, some homeless, con people are watching you from the sides of the casinos and buildings. Be careful if you park there. Smells (blaaaa)

Fun Alternatives: Stay on Las Vegas Blvd from Mandalay Bay Hotel until Wynn Hotel. You can tell by all the shady areas. Plus it's nicer and safer.

Have you ever been approached by someone who wants to offer you free tickets to a expensive show in Vegas? Well, you can guess they are trying to get your attention so maybe you will be willing to view one of whatever timeshare they are trying to sell you. Some places are pretty good, while others are just wrong. Yet, it depends on the customer. Yet, I hate having to deal with the hawkers and sellers who are all trying to get you to step into the palor. Kind of like the spider to the fly. Just be aware!

Timeshare Traps Article

After a long trip to Vegas and waiting in a cab line, we finally checked into our hotel and on our way to the room, were greeted by a lovely lady welcoming us to the hotel and asking how long we were staying. We thought she was from the hotel and she ushered us to a table with the offer of free shows etc for staying in the hotel (i know, we should have smelt a rat).
Anyway, after picking our free show and dinner deal, we were then informaed that we had to go to a time share meeting in the morning at 9 to get the free stuff AND had to cough up $40 to pay the Tax on the show.
We knew that these guys were on the streets but did not realise they will get you in the hotel. At the end of the day, $40 and half day of your time may be cheap for a show and dinner, but it is not for me!!

Fun Alternatives: In an effort to be left alone, we found that if we didn;t walk together past these guys, they left us alone as they seem to only target couples.

The Golden Nugget Hotel charges $11.95/day for internet access which seems a bit of a rip off, considering many roadside motels provide this free to their guests.

Fun Alternatives: Hit a nearby coffee house for free internet if you are on a budget.

The Mini bars at hotels like Paris use electronic monitoring methods that will charge your bill if you move an item from its slot to either read the label, see it better, or to make room for something else. :) It does not matter if the item is immediately returned; your bill will be charged.

Fun Alternatives: If you have inadvertently disturbed an item in the bar, be sure to notify the front desk to correct your bill.

We can't believe we got caught in this trap. Every single hotel you walk through has a booth where people ask if you want free tickets to shows. Long story short, it is a lead in for a trip to hear about time shares. We went because we were interested, thinking it was for condos and that it would only take 2 hours out of our morning. It took 4 1/2 hours and we were bused to a location way off the strip and had to stay til the end. One bus load of very angry people headed back to town. For sure we will never make this mistake again.

If you appear married, these are some folks you need to watch out for! They are camped out at all the mid-range hotels, I found them at the Flamingo. I think they are actually called "vacation specialists". They are dressed in black suits and they want to offer you some "free" gifts. They holler out anything from "free gifts, free shows, free rooms", anything to get you to stop and talk to them. They are in your face when you step off the elevator wanting you to stop and talk, EVERYTIME! The only way to get to your room is up that elevator and they harass you EVERYTIME! In exchange for the "free" gifts, you get to take a trip on a shuttle and view time share properties. Of course, they want you to buy. They say it's no pressure, but the victims I talked to said there is plenty of pressure. And, they say it's just a 2 and half hour tour, I've heard it's more like 4-5 with drive time. The key to avoid major harrassment is; don't walk by them with your significant other. If you are about to approach them, have your "other" walk way behind you or in front of you until you are well passed them. If you aren't married, they don't want to talk to you.

The latest gimmick in Vegas are people urging you to come in and for no charge, be given up to $500 in gambling money, dinners, shows and future stays at hotels. All you have to do is give up 2 hours (which in all reality is more like 6 hours), to hear a spiel about the new fastest growing condo developments going on in Vegas. We saw at one of these hawker stands in every hotel we went into, and some outside the entrance to the hotels. They are as annoying as the card clickers hawking naked women. I have to admit we didn't get rooked into this ploy - but saw several people falling for it.

Unique Suggestions: Tell all those who ask that you're leaving THAT night, then they don't even start their spiels.

Fun Alternatives: Walk fast and act like you didn't hear them.

Beware of people trying to get you to go see time-shares. They were in front of and inside almost every casino. They will promise to give you show tickets or free prizes if you see the time shares. I thought this was a huge waste of time.

If you have the time and the courage to say NO, then do it. You will get a free meal and show and sometimes a free stay at a hotel.

Unique Suggestions: Make sure they do not intimidate you to the point of buying into the time share, Remember You can say NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Nearly every day, there is a large Convention populating most of the major (4-star & 5-star) hotels on the Strip.

Two of the largest are the annual Comdex and CES Conventions.

There will be competition for lunch at 12 noon and dinner at 6 p.m. where ever you are in Vegas.

Here's the "solution":

For lunch, get a table before or after the lunch crowd. Avoid high noon.

For dinner, make reservations days in advance, especially if you have show tickets. Find a restaurant nearby and allow yourself at least 2 hours to eat a leisurely dinner. I also like to bring a bottle of champagne from home with a couple of glasses; I chill it in an ice bucket in my room and have a 'pop' before going out on the town at night.

If you're attempting to avoid the crowds and visit Vegas during the slow season, it ma be difficult.
Vegas is a hot vacation spot year-round.However, I can tell you that from about 2am. to 7am. is perhaps the slowest time, particalarly during the week.
Early morning hours are probably the perfect time to step up to a craps table and learn how to play without the pressure of other players glaring at you.