College Students Do Las Vegas on a Budget: Save Your Money for Books Already!

The budget-minded tourist comes in a few different packages to Las Vegas, one of the most common of which is the undergrad, coming to Las Vegas for a weekend or school break of debauchery on a shoe-string budget. This list of money-saving tips will help any college student survive the tourist traps and get out with their budget intact!

THE HOTEL

It's likely that you drove in with your pals from, say, California. So you have a car. Use it: get a hotel off the Strip. The Wild West Hotel, any downtown hotel, The Orleans or Sam's Town will be spades cheaper than anything on the Strip. Use caution, though: cheaper does mean less safe in Las Vegas. Stay together, and don't linger in the hotel lobby or casino. These places aren't scary; but better safe than sorry. If you don't have a car, try the older - albeit less glamorous - budget-priced hotels on the Strip like Ballys, Barbary Coast, Imperial Palace or the Sahara. Sure, the rooms aren't luxurious but you'll want to save your money for drinks, nightclubs and gambling, trust me. DO make reservations - even if it's the same day. You never know what kooky convention is in town, taking up room availability!

DRINKS

This one's easy. Don't be a fool and pay $9 for a rum and Coke at the bar. Your drink budget should be counted in one-dollar bills: play it cool and lounge around the slot machines for a bit and get them for free, plus tip. You have to have money in the machine to get a free drink; this doesn't mean you're not allowed to cash it out after the drink is brought. And don't forget to tip the cocktail waitress - a dollar a drink is standard. Also, the old prefunking trick is alive and well in Las Vegas: before going to a club, hang out in your hotel room with a 2-liter of soda or juice, a bottle of your favorite alcoholic beverage, and have a little pre-fun. Don't be a drunk-driving tourist cliche; make sure you have a designated driver or, drink in the parking garage or lot AFTER you drive to your party destination.

WATER

While we're on the subject of drinks, don't pass out. No matter what type of tourist you are in Las Vegas, you're susceptible to dehydration. The tap water in Las Vegas stinks (literally), so please, stock up your hotel room with about a gallon of water per person per day, from a gas station, pharmacy or grocery store off The Strip. Sounds excessive; but keep in mind that you're visiting a desert with intense dry heat, not to mention all the alcohol you're likely consuming and the physical excursion (walking, at least) you're likely doing as a true Las Vegas tourist. Stay hydrated! Fill up smaller water bottles with water from the gallons before you leave for the day - you'll be making huge savings from paying $5 a bottle at any gift shop!

FOOD

Easy - budget travelers have it SO easy in Las Vegas eateries. Eat downtown. Eat at a buffet. Eat at the cafes in the hotels. Get a players card at a few casinos and see what the free sign-up gets you in 2-for-1 coupons. Or, at the check-in counter, see about coupon books. Check your room for coupons in the 'literature' on your desk or coffee table. There's so much cheap food to be had in Las Vegas you'll feel like you're living at home again. If you're a breakfast person, buy some breakfast bars, bagels or cereal to have in your hotel room before you head out.

ENTERTAINMENT

You'd probably like it if your entertainment consisted of clubs and gambling. These are all costly affairs; it will be important that you (or at least one of you) remain sober if you don't want to blow more than you intended to. If you don't know the rules of a game you want to play, sit down at a low-limit table or a downtown casino; these will be where you earn your chops. As for clubs, the best I can advise is that you do your drinking before entering. If you want to see a show, check out one of the few afternoon shows that are cheap and will give a welcome respite to the heat.

SHOPPING:

Just don't do it! If you must, spend $10 on a Las Vegas souvenir T-shirt to prove you were there, but spend no more than $10. Stock up on any hangover supplies you might need - aspirin, crackers, etc. - BEFORE you hunker in at your hotel. You'll be glad to be saved that $20+ visit to the dreaded Las Vegas hotel gift shop. If you promised people keychains or something, buy them for a 2-for-1 or 5-for-$5 price at the same hokey place you got the T-shirt: a strip mall gift shop sandwiched between the major casinos. By all means do not enter a hotel gift shop - they are the definition of a tourist trap!

These tips, while garnered for the visiting college student tourist demographic, can be used for anyone on a budget!