My buddy Jamie called me about going to Vegas the first weekend in November, so we started researching fares and hotels. Our friend Ed wound up booking our trip on Expedia and we stayed at the Internationally Renowned Imperial Palace. We actually stayed there two years ago, so we were familiar with the hotel and location. The hotel is not one of the eye popping resorts like Bellagio, Caesars Palace, or the Mirage. However, it is a great location - center strip with a monorail stop - and usually one of the cheapest hotels on the strip. Just our kind of place! Standards go down the drain when I roll with these guys. Side note to the married guys, the cheaper you make the trip sound, the easier it is to sell to the wife.

We had a good crew - there were five of us sharing the room. Three of the guys are guys that I went to high school with, so we’ve known each other for quite some time. We had a great time doing Vegas on the cheap! We hit dive bars and casinos on the strip and off. Places like Slots-O-Fun on the Strip and Ellis Island Casino and Brewery located at the Super 8 motel on Koval Lane. They still have the $4.95 steak dinner and it was good! You might ask yourself why go the dive route? Well, free booze doesn’t flow like it used to in Vegas, unless you are at a less than glamorous place. So, if you want to play roulette for $15 minimum and $8 for a Miller Lite, go to Bellagio. If you want to get loaded, and my buddies are professionals at that, go play the nickel video poker or $1 roulette at one of the above mentioned places.