Locals offer tips on proper Vegas visitor decorum

Psst. Hey, buddy. Over here.

Hear you’re planning to visit Las Vegas this summer. Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna be hot, but don’t let that scare you off. Summer vacation in Las Vegas is classic, whattya call, Americana, right?

And, we like you. So, we asked a few locals for some of their favorite Las Vegas vacation tips. You know, about what to bring, and where to go, and how to not make us locals mad.

Ha! Just kiddin’, pal. But, seriously, here are a few random locals’ tips that can help you make the most of your Las Vegas vacation.

Preparing for Las Vegas

Sure, it’s 115-OMG degrees out there, but Karen Jaramillo of Las Vegas knows how both natural and man-made weather works around here.

“Do carry a jacket with you even if it’s 100 degrees outside,” she writes. That way, you have something to climb into when the air conditioning in a casino makes it feel like December.

Sometimes, Jaramillo adds, “it’s so cold you can freeze your ...”

Well, you catch her drift.

Smart packing is key to any trip, particularly these days, when airline luggage charges require taking out payday loans. But Rosemary Denis of Las Vegas knows a few items you could leave at home.

“Don’t bring your children to Las Vegas,” she writes. And if you do, “remind them not to spit out their smelly sticky gum on the sidewalks, especially in 100-degree-plus weather.”

Hey, it’s advice. Take it or leave it. But Mary L. Deza of Las Vegas agrees.

“Leave the baby at home,” Deza writes. “Vegas is a place to make a baby, not stroll one around. Las Vegas Strip venues are best experienced sans baby.”

When looking for hotel reservations, T.C. O’Connell of Binghamton, N.Y. — “I visit Las Vegas four or five times a year, so I feel qualified to offer my suggestions,” he explains — suggests skipping those all-purpose travel websites.

“The best rates are on the hotels’ website,” O’Connell says. “Join the casinos to get emails of the specials.”

Staying healthy and safe

Gretchen Papez, director of public relations and media relations for the Valley Health System, notes that hospital emergency rooms treat tourists for medical issues ranging from heart attack to stroke to dehydration.

So, she suggests, pack a bag or folder that contains vital health and personal info, including: driver’s licenses; proof of medical insurance and an insurance contact number; copies of living wills or advance directives; a list of the names and dosages of medications you’re taking; information about current or chronic health problems; and phone numbers (with area codes) of family doctors, local pharmacies and medical specialists, and also of family members and friends who should be contacted in an emergency.

Carry a driver’s license during your stay. Mary Knowles of Henderson also suggests carrying a room key or something similar that can save emergency responders time if something happens and you’re unable to speak.

Deza cautions that if you’re visiting here in June, July or August, “do not be walking on the Strip between the hours of 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. unless you want to experience heatstroke.”

This is the Mojave Desert, she says. “Better to be sipping a long, tall, cool one plopped next to a slot machine or lounging poolside during the heat of the day.”

Getting around

First, don’t jaywalk.

“Always, always walk the extra distance to a designated crosswalk,” Knowles writes. “Never cross the street in the middle of the block or try to beat the traffic.”

There is a lot of traffic on the Strip, she says. “It moves at a fairly fast pace. Many drivers are here in this traffic for the first time and they are gawking, looking for where they want to be, they are distracted by others in the car, and they will not notice you until they hit you.”

When crossing at a light, pay attention to the countdown timer, writes Diane Lemon of Las Vegas. “It is a very good estimate of how much time you have to make it safely across. If it’s reading 3 or less, you’re not going to make it across. Please stay put.”

In the meantime, “be patient, watch the fancy cars go by and most importantly, stay out of the way of the taxi drivers. Time is money for them. You will get your turn.”

Speaking of taxis, “don’t try to flag down a taxi from the sidewalk,” writes Ramee Marbut of Henderson. “This isn’t New York and they won’t stop for you.”

Instead, Marbut says, “walk up to the taxi stand at any casino to get a taxi.”

If you decide to stroll the Strip, take along water and wear comfortable shoes, Marbut says. Casino entrances typically are set back from the Strip, “so even though they look close, they’re not.”

Distances in general can be deceptive along the Strip, and what looks to be a brief walk can be longer than you’d imagine. Similarly, O’Connell says, “don’t try to walk from the airport to the Strip. It looks closer than it is.”

Walking from McCarran International Airport to the Strip “can be done, but it takes a long time in the hot sun. Spend the $20 on a taxi.”

By the way, Knowles writes, “if you plan to drink and party, take a cab from one destination to another.”

And, it should seem to go without saying, but “never stop a car in the midst of traffic on the Strip and jump out to take a picture,” Knowles says. “Buy postcards. They can be found everywhere.”

Dining out

Tourists — and, we’d bet, a few locals — should know that “there are still a few dining establishments that have a dress code,” writes Annette Gudson of Henderson.

Gudson learned that firsthand when a man in her party who once wore shorts to a nice Strip restaurant had to change into slacks to enter. So call ahead to see what attire is and isn’t acceptable.

Buffet fans can work buffet schedules to their advantage. For instance, according to O’Connell, dining at Bellagio’s buffet at 3 p.m. will save $11 off the dinner price. But, he says, “at 3:30 they bring out the crab legs and the other dinner food, and you are already there.”

He does note, however, that “they request that you limit your dining experience to two hours.”

And even if you’re on a budget, “do have dinner in one fabulous place,” O’Connell says.

Doing stuff

Remember: Thrifty is good. Cheap is rude.

“Don’t be cheap,” O’Connell writes. “Tip the cabdriver and housekeeper a lot. If you don’t buy drinks with dinner, leave a larger tip. At bars, be a big spender. They will be surprised and you will feel good.”

Arrive at shows on time, lest you annoy more punctual seat mates.

“Almost everyone in Las Vegas has a tiny computer in their pocket with the correct local time,” Lemon says. “You pay way too much for show tickets to miss the beginning. I paid way too much for my show tickets to have you interrupt me after the show has started to get to your center-of-the-row seat.

“Add some disaster time to your expected arrival time. Plan for a long taxi line, slow dinner service or having trouble finding the theater once you get to the location.”

O’Connell suggests checking out lounge shows, many of which are free. “There is so much talent in Las Vegas,” he says.

In fact, O’Connell says, “do every free thing there is.”

But “don’t buy water from street vendors,” O’Connell adds. “It is not legal and you don’t know where that water came from.”

David LaVigne of Henderson writes that, “as a pit boss, I recommend to table games patrons to never ask the pit boss to call the drink girl. She’s busy and will make her way to your table.”

And a final piece of advice ...

We love tourists, really we do. Some of us even make our living taking care of tourists and making sure that they have a great time while they’re here.

So be nice.

“Remember, we live here,” Marbut writes. “We’re happy to have tourists, but that doesn’t make it OK to be rude or disgusting or to otherwise act like a jerk.”

Contact reporter John Przybys at
jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.