Buddy and I returned to one of our favorite cities last week – Las Vegas.
I had read and heard how expensive Las Vegas is now and how tourism has greatly declined. We wanted to see for ourselves and let you know.
We’ve been to Vegas numerous times, both for conferences and for vacation. It’s an amazing city with so much to see, experience and eat. Last time we were in Vegas was 2 years ago so it was time for a visit.
When to Visit
We decided to visit mid-week when hotel prices were a lot cheaper with fewer crowds. We departed on Tuesday evening with a return Friday night. 
Our flight was at 7:30pm so we arrived at the Delta check-in counter at 6pm. We thought the Louisville airport would be busy then so we budgeted plenty of time.
To our surprise and shock, the airport was practically empty. There was no one in the Clear and TSA pre-check lines, and only one or two people in the regular security lines. We’ve never seen it that empty. It took us 10 minutes to check-in and get through security, leaving plenty of time at the gate. As you know, I would rather be sitting at the gate wishing I had arrived a little later so we weren’t waiting so long, rather than missing our flight and wishing we had arrived earlier. I reduce the stress in traveling as much as I can.
Flight to Minneapolis
We had a CRJ-900 and the flight crew were very friendly. We love Delta pilots. 
With a less than full plane everyone was seated quickly and we pushed back from the gate a few minutes early. So far our trip was as stress-free as possible so naturally I was suspicious. 😏
As usual, when we arrived Minneapolis, our next gate was as far of a walk as possible in G concourse. We specifically budgeted 1¼ hours for our layover. Arriving 15 minutes early left us even more time.
The nice thing about our gate being G18, was it was right next to the G concourse Delta lounge. That is our favorite lounge at MSP. At 9pm, the lounge was sparsely populated, which we always like. A quick bite to eat and a glass of wine, plus charging my phone, and we were ready to head to our gate.
Flight to Vegas
We boarded our A321, with another awesome flight crew. They loved Buddy. 
An on-time pushback at 9:55pm and an enjoyable 3½ hour flight to Vegas. The screens on the A321 are quite nice. As a medallion member, you can personalize your seat. If you were watching a movie on an earlier flight but could not finish it, on your personalized screen Delta remembers where your last movie stopped and will start it from that point on your current flight. Convenient, yes, but also a little unnerving from a personal information security standpoint.
Arriving at 11:30pm, almost everything was closed and there were no crowds. We walked to the tram to get to the main terminal for our luggage.
When you get off your plane and start walking down your terminal, all the slot machines manifest you are in Vegas. Getting off the tram in the main terminal, the neon sign above the escalators to baggage claim truly announced where you are. Baggage claim is a sea of gambling and neon lights. We never tire of seeing that upon arrival.
Our Hotel
Taking an Uber to our hotel was quite simple. Since we were in Terminal 1, we went up to the second floor of the parking garage to the designated ride-share point. A quick 13 minute ride and we were at the Horseshoe Hotel & Casino. The Uber cost was $24.98, which was reasonable for me at midnight.
We did an extensive search on hotels.com, Trivago and also Delta Stays. As a Delta Medallion member, we went through Delta Stays on their website and got a good deal at the Horseshoe for $150 for four nights, or $37.50 per night. We paid that in advance. However, that is NOT the final price. I discovered one of the reasons Vegas is so expensive – their deceptive resort fees for all hotels on the strip 😯 Every hotel added a $50 to $60 per night resort fee💵 You need to read all of the fine print when making a hotel reservation as your “good deal” could turn into a bad deal if you’re not careful.
We will take about the final bill and checkout in our next post about our return trip home. We posted a video of our trip on our YouTube channel – Travel with Buddy and Jordan, and we have a destination page for Las Vegas on this site. Our destination page gives you an overview of Las Vegas from a 64-year old retiree with a little bit of a mobility issue.
Stay tuned for our return trip back home.
Buddy and Jordan
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