You don’t have to be a high roller to love Las Vegas. Sin City offers dozens of cheap-and even absolutely free-activities that will get you out of your hotel and enjoying yourself along the Strip.
Although Las Vegas is internationally known for the excessive atmosphere, many visitors stick to their budgets without depriving themselves of the action. One of the key points to consider when booking your holiday to Las Vegas is the time of year you will travel. Low- and off-season travel will usually result in good deals for hotels on the Strip. Research for your city break with a website like Expedia.
Free Spectacles
Las Vegas venues offer performances by some of the most famous and most talented artists in the world. It would be a shame to come to the city and miss out on some live entertainment-and luckily, some locations offer absolutely free entertainment. Along the Strip, many of the mega casinos offer free, live entertainment spectacles to passers-by.(image by Songquan Deng)
The fountains at the Bellagio hotel and casino are particularly famous. The fountain features jets of water that stream into the air synchronized with rays of light and music every half hour on afternoons and about every quarter hour after dark. You can find the schedule here.
Down the strip, the volcano at the Mirage also blows its top along to music for spectators right on schedule. Because it involves balls of fire, this show may be cancelled if there are particularly high winds or other weather conditions that might be risky. The performance usually occurs hourly between 6 and 11 p.m.
Many of the other casinos also offer periodic spectacles for the entertainment of passers-by and guests. For example, performers dressed as garden statues sometimes grace the Palazzo, and the Grand Canal in the Venetian regularly sees costumed performers.
If you’re traveling with children, the free shows at the Circus Circus hotel and casino are well worth checking out. These might include acts with clowns, gymnasts, magicians and other circus-style performers. Circus Circus combines adults-only gambling (the legal age to be on the casino floor in Nevada is 21) with entertainment for all ages, styled after midway shows and games you’d usually find in a fair or amusement park. Watching people play these carnival games is also a cheap form of fun-as is trying your own hand at it.
Free Souvenirs and Perks
Whether you’re planning to gamble in Las Vegas or not, it’s worthwhile to visit a few of the casinos and see if they are offering any incentives for new members of their membership programs. By signing up for a membership card, you may get a small souvenir to take home, or your name entered in a drawing for the chance to win a bigger prize-like a return holiday to Las Vegas.(image by Manfred Lentz).
Additionally, these membership programs may come with other perks, for example discounts at restaurants and shops owned by that same casino or chain. You may receive coupons for free drinks, free entrees or other useful cost savings.
Free Music
If music is your passion, Las Vegas has plenty of places where you can see live music of many genres. Though cover charges may be requested at some of the more popular clubs, even these may have special no-cover events or offer coupons for two-for-one entry for some acts. Many of the casino bars put on live performances to entertain gamblers-you need only sit at a slot machine or order a drink at the bar to enjoy them.
Of this last category, the PianoBar at Harrah’s gets good reviews. It offers a musical revue, an Elvis impersonator, and your own chance to be a star: karaoke. The Piano Bar sometimes asks for a cover charge, but not always.
And, off the Strip, the Hofbrauhaus restaurant offers an Oktoberfest experience for the reasonable price of its entrees and drinks. Styled to look like a Munich beer hall, there are often free performances of oompah bands and occasional dance demonstrations.
These are only a few of the free options available to you in Las Vegas. For more ideas, ask your hotel concierge.
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