Is it stupid to drive into Vegas on a Saturday night without a hotel room already booked?|129818

I really don_t feel like booking something ahead of time and will be driving through Vegas on January 16th and stopping for one night. Is it okay if I just wait til I get there to get a room or does everything stay booked up in Vegas?

Not if you mind either paying a lot for a room, or ending up in a dump. But chances are you will get a room. This Sat is not a Holiday or anything _ after New Years. You probably will be fine.

El Cortez Vegas is $79 a night for a tower room with a view of the strip. It_s the oldest casinos in Vegas.
Plaza Hotel above bus stop is $59 a night. It is usually the cheapest hotel casino in Vegas (1000 rooms).
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A Capri room in the _Imperial Palace_ si $165 a night for that night. It is usually the cheapest hotel room on the strip in a principal location.
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The super 8 behind the casinos has a non-refundable rate of $65.69 (includes tax) for that night. That is a savings of $10 for booking non-refundable.

I would say you would be better off to book it ahead of time because
#1 It_s a Saturday night, all hotels in Vegas jack up their prices on weekend nights, even during the recession.

#2 They are not going to allow you to take advantage of any of the great room specials in Vegas. at this point you can get a great hotel at a really decent price if you use their online codes.

It_s easy to book a room online. Just go to
http://smartervegas.com/
find a hotel with a rate that you like, click on the link, and book the room securely through the hotel website.

The cheapest rate I found was $65 for Sat Jan 16 at Excalibur through a special email offer I received from smartervegas.com. If it works, here is the link
https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/booki��

If you_re intent on staying the night, you might as well get one in advance. First, you won_t be at the mercy of the hotels when it comes time to pay up, and second, you_ll probably feel less anxious knowing you have a room waiting for you, instead of having to waste time and energy searching the city for a place to crash last minute.

As easy as booking hotels online is, there_s no reason to wait.

Are you going to Party while there?
Or, are you just looking for a place to crash and continue on your way the next day?

It_s _Off Season_, No problem_s. (Stick on 13 or higher)

PS. Motel 6_s are like $35!
Drove through Reno-Vegas on my way to Phoenix mid Nov. No problems with finding a place to stay just how much I wanted to spend.

Ha ha.. well since you used the word stupid, I will agree with you. On the other hand, if your car is comfortable, you can sleep in it that night. Getting a room will be hard without a reservation and if you do, it will be more expensive than what you would have paid if you booked ahead of time.

http://www.lasvegas-how-to.com/special.p��

You can book when you get there but I would book a room in advance because then you will get a better room price. In addition you can use a promotion code when you are booking online in order to lower the nightly price.
http://www.vegas-hotels-online.com
has the latest codes available.

That is a long weekend. Dr. Martin Luther King holiday. So, it could be hard.
But, you can always get a motel 6 type place.
Just do a web search of a few places to see if there is availability that weekend. If there is risk it. If you are concerned, make a reservation.

Getting a room is easy, so is paying way too much. Unless money does not matter to you, I would book on line where you can shop for price, amenities, location etc.

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Not stupid.. there are so many empty room here they closed or closing whole towers cause of the ecom. is so bad. no problem here at all .

Not with the current economy but you might not find a good deal at a hotel you desire.

With all the hotels there are in Vegas there will be rooms available. Just depends on what you_re willing to spend.

you will be able to find a hotel but don_t be picky at all cause you probably won_t be able to get exactly what you want

How can I create an LA atmosphere in my house?|168291

My Boyfriend is from LA but he goes to college out here in Chicago. He is really missing home, and I thought it would be a great idea to transform my house into _LA_ for a day. Only problem? I have NO idea how to accomplish this. Any suggestions?

Hire a taco truck to sit out front. Or make fish tacos, they are a big thing here, so are burritos. Make some margaritas.

Play some Los Angeles specific music. Snoop Dogg, Social Distortion, Guns N Roses (Welcome to the Jungle), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beach Boys, Suicidal Tendencies, The Pixies, etc. all have songs about Los Angeles and California. Whatever his tastes are.

You could have a race riot.

Spanish style homes are numerous here.

Get some Dodgers gear and mail order some Dodger dogs. If he_s an Angels fan get some of their stuff. Lakers gear would probably also make him happy since I don_t know anybody that cheers for the Clippers. The LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks are our hockey teams. You could also get some USC or UCLA gear if he likes those colleges.

We do have a lot of graffiti and homeless, but he probably doesn_t miss that part of LA.

Buy a small palm tree. They probably sell them as house plants in Chicago. Bird of paradise, ficus trees, bougainvillea and nasturtium are some plants that grow outdoors here.

Tattoos are huge in LA. Everyone is tatted.

That_s impossible, or I really don_t have any idea how you_ll do that. What part of L.A. is he from anyway? You should take him to the South Side of Chicago, that will make him feel back at home.

Go to Hollywood and buy a bunch of souvenirs from the giftshops located near Hollywood _ Highland. Also, visit Target they have a lot of L.A. stuff such as paintings, posters and signs.

Hire some illegal aliens to freeload off you, get a smog machine, dump some trash in the living room, and spray paint the walls with graffiti. That should do it!

west of encino is probablly not even LA native, only watches too much about gangs on tv. modern furnished apartments. Maybe some candles on just before sunset. I dno somethin like that, hop ehelps.

have gang graffiti painted on the walls .. a few abandoned shopping carts would be a nice touch.

go to pottery barn and get modurn decocrations

From Australia: How long does it take to get a US visitor visa?|144717

I do not qualify for the US Visa Waiver program and therefore have to apply for a B1/B2 visitor visa. Can anyone tell me how long the process is from the moment of submitting the online application, to approval?

I_m not sure how up to date this site is, but I do know that the US is having MAJOR backlog issues with any kind of visa or even passport applications.
Hope this link helps.

I_m sure the time varies.

http://www.usavisitorvisa.com/visitorvis��

Do you have a sponsor?

From Sydney - 9 days for a visa interview appointment - 2 days for processing:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/t��

Not long - in Australia you should be able to just make an appointment at the embassy and then quite often you_ll take it with you straight away or it will be mailed to you a couple of days later

40 days and 40 nights

http://aus.us-visaservices.com/Forms/def��

The information you need is here....

depends on when you can schedule the interview. you can do it online i think. available interview dates range from a week to 3 months from the time you booked it.

then you pay the application fee of $100.