Save Money in Las Vegas
I stayed at the STRAT again the last time I stayed in Las Vegas and honestly, it’s not that bad. It is dated, but you can’t beat the price. It has a low rate, but does include a $40 resort free making it still a cheaper place to stay.
But…I’ve learned how to navigate to cheaper. If you are a Best Western Rewards Member, its low rate is 5,000 points per night and when you book on points there are no resort fees. Plus you can buy points for $10 per thousand which means 5,000 points is $50. You can’t stay in a Motel 6 for that price and since it’s bonus points, they don’t charge tax on it. So Monday when I checked in all they pulled was a $50 per night security deposit which was back in my account within an hour of checking out so it was an even 5,000 points. Nothing more. Now most times, the front desk clerk will try upselling you “for just $20 since you’re a rewards member.” He didn’t this time but I usually let them and get a strip view. One note, the bottom two rooms are 5,000 points per night so make sure to book the next tier better than the most basic room. It helps to have a fridge and coffee maker in room. I haven’t upgraded enough there yet to know which tier has an in room microwave yet and I’m disappointed it’s not just standard. All told, the Strat isn’t a bad property but it’s not in the best part of town. As I understand it to be, when the place was built, the city was going to “clean up” that part of town and that was going to be part of The Strip. The city fell through on its promise so it can be sketchy after dark and they do have more “aggressive” hookers working the lobby area and elevators, but they don’t want to make a scene and get banned so they take a simple “no thank you.” Be nice to hookers. You don’t want the embarrassment of “crazy hoe” screaming at you in the lobby.
For what you are saving by staying at the Strat, you have to be smart on transportation options. They have a city bus stop right outside the property by the doors to the theater portion of the property. I’m not sure on price, but the city bus in any city is usually cheap and generally offer some sort of day pass so you can do connections and see schedules, prices, and routes. The monorail is nearby—sort of. It’s “two blocks” away. You walk two blocks and then go into the Sahara and then walk through a maze of poker tables and slots with only a couple signs to give general directions to it so you will probably get lost your first time or two. As of this writing, look for the Starbucks kiosk. It’s pretty close to that. Then back outside and up an escalator and over a street and then down an escalator and you’re right there. It’s convenient…ish. Day passes are $13 and last twenty-four hours and it runs around every ten minutes during the day. I’m not sure on overnight frequency. The monorail is scheduled for demolition in 2028 do you have four or five years to use it. It’s not convenient for all places and doesn’t go to the airport so getting to the hotel will require an Uber or a taxi. The monorail seems like a great idea but let’s say you decide to save money on your Uber and just take a rideshare to MGM, which is the southern station of the monorail system and you’re staying at the relatively new Resorts World. You take the monorail north to the Resorts World stop which is at the Convention Center stop, which then has nearly an one mile walk to the lobby of Resorts World…in 100+ degree heat for much of the year. The monorail only runs on the East side of the Strip by roughly one block and the blocks casinos are on are bigger than the block in Anytown, USA. They have massive resorts on them. Resorts World is on the West side of the Strip and I think the front door might actually be on the side away from the Strip too. I walked there from the mall that is right next door and had no luggage one time and thought I was going to die. I was so covered in sweat that I would have kicked me out of the place. There is a Tesla Loop around town that may be a viable option. I’m not suggesting staying at Resorts World because the goal here is to save money. The monorail is good for Strip access and you will get lost. It’s inevitable but that’s part of the fun and the monorail serves as a great way to see the city for a bit.
So where do you eat?
If you stay at the Strat you have several food options. Door Dash may be cheaper than any of them. I paid $9 for a slice of shitty pizza and a 20 ounce cup of flat Mug root beer. The Strat Café is ok but also is $6 for a flat Mug root beer (including free refills). The center bar is $4 each for fountain Pepsi. That’s right! No free refills on pop. They nickel and dime you after you come in for the low room rates. It costs about the same to DoorDash food “to your room” over eating on site. I put that in quotes because the time I did DoorDash something there, the girl messaged e to come down and get it from her by the back entrance. Don’t worry. You tip upfront with DoorDash so I couldn’t take that lack of service into account when tipping. The pizza dude came to my door when I ordered that though, so I don’t know if it was DoorDash policy or if she was just a lazy bitch. There is a Circle K a block away and a Walgreens across the street and at the far end of the block from the Circle K. Between the two, you should have anything you need for drinks and not resort property prices. One trick I like to do is get those bowl of soup things. I get two per day I’ll be there generally from Walmart before I leave for my trip and stick them in my suitcase. Theirs is why it’s worth it to have a coffee maker in my room especially since the lowest tiers don’t have microwaves in them. With what you save on two meals a day, you can have one good one.
There’s an old adage for traveling that says you don’t eat places you can eat at home. So where do I recommend eating? In no particular order, they are:
- Wahlburgers. I’ve not been there but I hear great things. They just have a kiosk and no sit down area so consider this for DoorDash.
- Marrakech. This is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. Dinner is $50 per person and served family style. They go above and beyond for service and you will feel like a Sultan of old. Take a few $5 bills. They have belly dancers for entertainment and you should tip them. Please don’t embarrass me or yourself by being the person that only puts a single dollar bill in a g-string.
In-N-Out Burger. Good price. I’m not a fan but I’m alone in that. Everyone I know loves them and it’s cheap enough for a lunch stop and two meals out for the day if you find another place with a reasonable price. I know they are a chain place but Las Vegas or Phoenix are probably the farthest East they go. - Fatburger. Not cheap. Expect $20 to $25 per person. They are also not very quick. Then you get the burger and it’s huge! They aren’t fast food burgers. They are a chain place but very limited on locations.
- White Castle. They have three of them in Las Vegas. I went to the one on the Strip inside the Casino Royale and my normal $16 order at the one by my house in Indiana was $26 there, but they also serve beer if you’re so inclined. White Castle is a (mostly) East of the Mississippi place so West Coasters have a treat. The hours are weird but they might not be able to get workers for round the clock there. For me it was weird being at one while the Sun was out. They are more of a 2AM place to those of us who are initiated.
- Blueberry Hill. Great prices! Very competitive for other places of the country for what you pay per meal and HUGE portions. It’s a family restaurant so they just have a large selection of great food. Expect about $25 per person and to waddle out of the place.
- Buffet at the Palms Casino. It’s $64 on lobster day (Wednesdays) and worth it. The biggest drawback is you only have 90 minutes. I went for first seating and it was almost 20 minutes till I got back to my table with my first plate. Don’t dawdle between plates of food. I ate so much I literally thought I might shit myself afterwards and I wasn’t hungry ‘til the next day. It’s well worth it.
- Dona Maria Tamales. I can’t say enough good about this place. The prices are very reasonable and even the drinks are a good price. I had a quart sized margarita and staggered out of the place after dinner. The food is some of the best Mexican I’ve ever had. It may be my favorite Mexican place or at least top three (one in McAllen, Texas and one in Lake Station, Indiana rival it).
- Gordon Ramsay Burger. I spent $45 for a burger, fries, soft drink, and the tip and I was glad I did. I was very full afterwards. The burger was perfection on a bun and the fries were great. They serve chipotle ketchup and curry ketchup with their fries and have a house ketchup for their parmesan fries. I’m not sure which ketchup’s I had but they set it off. Heinz 57 has nothing on them!
- Galpão Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse. Ok. It’s $100 per person including non alcoholic drinks and a tip but I usually spend closer to $120 to $130 at the others and the food at Galpão Gaucho just tastes better and the servers are far less rude than I’ve experienced at the other chain Brazilian steakhouses. I’ve been there a few times now and I love them!
As a dark horse outsider, I suggest Pizza Hut if you want pizza delivered. Ok. Hear me out on this! I live near Chicago and so far, every local pizza place not in the greater Chicago or New York areas has left me disappointed. You know what they have and you know the quality and you know the price. So get Dominos or Papa John’s delivered. I don’t care, but I’ve been hard pressed to find great pizza outside of those two places. From what I’ve experienced in Las Vegas, it’s not looking like a bright future for pizza there either. There is one pizza place I want to try and will report on once do if I like them and it’s called Evil Pie and they are a block away from the Fremont Street Experience. I went there once but just for drinks and I was pretty full when I got there so I couldn’t eat but it smelled great and they had a lot of orders so we will see.
Where do you drink?
If you want to drink socially and be near the action, I suggest the Center Bar at the Casino Royale. Drinks are like $5 each. Everything else on the strip is going to be twice that. Evil Pie and Therapy had reasonable prices and good atmospheres also.
What do you do?
People watching is fun in Vegas. It’s also free. Everything else is $40 plus tax. Ferris wheel…$40. Wax museum…$40. Shitty seats at a show…$40. The Neon Sign Museum…only $28 for the top price with a daytime admission of $20, so not bad. Vegas is like any other city in the country. What do you do when you’re in your home town for fun? You can do that there too. I have heard great things about Area 15. It has several interactive features like VR and a flight simulator plus the very popular Meow Wold Omega Mart. Tickets for individual areas seem to range from $12 to $50 and depend on day and time you will be there. If you stay at the Strat, it’s $12 for the observation pod or $20 if you aren’t and it really is a great view of the entire bowl the Greater Las Vegas Metropolitan area sits in. There is no better view of the city. There is also the Gallery of Fine Art at Bellagio for $18 per person. The Pinball Hall of Fame is actually free but they do take donations and some games are available for play for a quarter or two and it’s across the street from the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, which is also free but there is always a long line of people waiting to get pictures taken there. I did a Google search of “cheap things to do in Vegas” and a page popped up from Vegas dot com with the same title as my search. in the URL it says “under #20 and you will be disappointed because half of the tings listed are more. Vegas isn’t a cheap place so people watching and the fountain show at the Bellagio are free and the Volcano show for as long as it is still there is also an option.
Remember the point of this piece was to help you save money. If you can afford to stay at the Wynn, this wasn’t for you. This was for the average person to maximize their Vegas vacation. I also wrote this from the perspective of a non gambler so Las Vegas kind of hates me for that. I really just don’t get any excitement out of it; there is no rush for me, but I do enjoy watching people play and have a good time.
Viva Las Vegas!
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Picture a young Michael Beebe, fresh out of La Porte High School in ’93, diving headfirst into the world of hospitality with a busboy gig at the old La Porte Holiday Inn. That hustle led him to an Associate of Science from Purdue-North Central in ’95 and a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from Purdue-Calumet in ’97 (those schools are now merged into Purdue-Northwest, by the way). Michael’s early career was a whirlwind—running a 140-room hotel in Indianapolis, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry but realized it wasn’t his true calling. What did spark his passion? Teaching. He found himself thriving in front of students at Ivy Tech Community College and Lake Michigan College, sharing the art and science of hospitality management. Oh, and he also moonlighted at WIMS radio in Michigan City, juggling both on-air and behind-the-scenes roles with his signature high energy.
Politics? That’s been Michael’s sidekick since he was 18, registering to vote with a fire in his belly to make a difference. He threw his hat in the ring for La Porte County Council in 2010, where he got a crash course in the power of social media marketing. Undeterred by not winning, he campaigned for Indiana’s General Assembly in 2012 and took another shot at the County Council in 2014 and 2016. Though he hasn’t clinched a seat yet, Michael’s relentless drive to serve shines through. Lately, he’s been pouring that energy into helping other candidates who champion personal liberty, amplifying their voices with his knack for strategy.
Here’s a twist: Michael once co-owned a tattoo shop, despite having no ink himself. As the business manager and marketing guru, he leaned hard into low-cost, social media-driven campaigns to put the shop on the map. That experience fueled his love for digital marketing, and now he spends his free time crafting websites and boosting businesses online—a true labor of love.
These days, Michael’s living the dream as an independent contracted transporter, crisscrossing the country while getting paid to soak up new places and cultures. When he’s not exploring, he’s parked somewhere scenic, laptop open, building his digital consulting company, Spark Plug Strategies, or penning his thoughts. He even wrote a few books.
Based in La Porte County, Indiana, Michael’s embraced a “decentralized laptop lifestyle,” blending work, travel, and passion projects into a life that’s as dynamic as he is.
Recently, on a trip to New Orleans, I popped up the map on my phone and found directions to 
People always say how expensive New York City is and I can’t deny it. If you are totally ill prepared, New York will suck and you will leave broke. I will break this up into multiple segments for ease of reading by topic and make things easier. I am assuming a five day, four night stay in New York. The goal here is a full vacation under $1,000 and you’ll have fun doing it.
“The floors of bus stations are the same all over the country, always covered with butts and spit and they give a feeling of sadness that only bus stations have.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
I’m writing this in the Dallas Greyhound Bus Terminal in downtown Dallas. My bus out of Abilene was two hours late so I missed my connection to Oklahoma City and subsequently, to Chicago, so my one-hour layover turned into eleven hours. This is my own personal Hell. I was assured by the guy at the counter at the bus station (an outside seating area under a canopy with a ticket counter inside a 7-11 Convenance Store) in Abilene. He straight up lied to my face. I was the fourth person in line to get on the bus. I got on and started walking to the back. The guy in front of me said there were no more seats. I turned around and the driver pointed out two seats at the front. I was asked to take the front seat and he was asked to take the seat behind me. Bus seats are doubles so both seats already had occupants. The woman occupying the seat behind mine grumbled because her bag saw next to her and she didn’t want to move it. The guy offered to move it for her but she grabbed it and put the bag on her lap (where it belonged). My seat mate was about six foot six and sitting with his legs on my side. Though they have an handicapped logo on them, the seats are for anything but. I had to sit side-saddle to accommodate his long legs with the seatbelt receptacle in my hip the whole time and I had to get up every ten minutes of the two hour drive to the next stop so Nate (his name was Nate) could stretch his legs…because they weren’t stretched enough with them being on my side. When we got to the next stop, the guy directly behind me got off. Great! I can take his seat…or not. I went to sit down there and had to ask her to move her bag and she said “no.” Her legs hurt. Finally someone who realized we were at his stop got off and I got his towards the back of the bus. Upon arrival in Dallas, I was told I could not get on the 8:45 bus to Oklahoma City, but I can do the 6:45 AM bus. Mine you, I had a three or four hour layover scheduled in Oklahoma City and I could make my OKC to Chicago bus by ten minutes if the bus from Dallas would be on time. So the question is, where do I want to be homeless for the night? I guess Dallas. With as many homeless people as there are, it must be a good place to do it. I’ve said before, with my job, sometimes there’s a thin line between us what I do and being homeless. Today I may have crossed that line again.
A tribute to the American way of life is our, at times, boredom. The two largest balls of twine in the world aren’t in Saudi Arabia, Japan, or Mexico. They are right here! Today I will focus on what is technically the second largest, but I believe it to be the de facto largest and I will also explain why.
The twine ball was rolled by Francis A. Johnson, a life-long Meeker County resident and son of U.S. Senator Magnus Johnson. Most likely an outlet for an obsessive compulsive disorder, Johnson would roll twine in his basement for hours starting back in or around 1950. Eventually the twine ball was moved outside while he was still able to get it out of his basement and it was placed on his front lawn. To make sure it stayed round (it is a ball after all), he used railroad jacks to secure the ball from all sides. Finally in 1979 Johnson retired from the project after 29 years of his love labor. A circular building was built to protect his time investment. Johnson died shortly thereafter from emphysema, assumedly from breathing twine dust for 29 years.
This was really one of the coolest experiences of my life. First, it says loads about America and our greatness because the rest of the world doesn’t have time to just sit and roll twine. It also says a lot about small town America and the pride we have in the most iniquitous things. Beyond the twine ball you see America on all sides. Flags, a youth baseball field in a park, a quaint little library lending box on the street corner, and white picket fences. Though it may seem boring to many and frankly it is, it’s a way of life free from box stores next door and everybody knows everybody else. This Twine Ball represents the anthesis of my piece title 
Since I started this job I’ve learned just how much I love New York City. I was there once before years back and it was a fantastic sight to behold, but at the time I wasn’t able to truly appreciate the city. There was so much I hadn’t seen or experienced on that one single trip. This piece is based on my most recent trip that I ended up there on a Saturday night and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
The art is just the start of it though. Beyond that, there is materialism in excess to the point of shear beauty. At one or two in the morning, mall type stores are open everywhere there. There are classy stores and shops in New York. Those are not in Times Square. Times Square is more like Mall of America or an outdoor outlet mall with all the same stores and they are packed because sometimes you just need to buy a pair of Raybans and Sunglass Hut at midnight. Between mall stores and souvenir shops capitalizing on the NYC name, city stays alive.
While adding the blog piece 
There! I said it! But what if I really don’t hate Texas? I’ve taken more than a few trips through Texas but always down Interstate 40 through Amarillo, but I haven’t seen the whole state really. Maybe there’s more to see than a desert and stockyard. Statewide Texas is a strange mix of churches and strip clubs; adult toy superstores and stores just named “guns.”
Finally I hit McAllen after sixteen days of driving through Texas (it may not have actually been that long) and I fell in love with “The Valley.” Edinburg and McAllen are awesome! I loved McAllen so much I requested another trip down there in a couple weeks for my birthday so I can cross into Mexico for my first time. It has most of the things I love about Los Angeles except the ocean and the cost of living is manageable. Like El Paso, it has a huge Mexican population and a vibrant downtown area because of it. My Uber driver dropped me off at the bus station and told me there was a Subway inside. I had three hours till my bus and I smelled good food. I walked into a little place and seated myself. I ordered some tacos and a Coke. The owner asked if I wanted a Mexican Coke or a regular Coke. Please! I would have just eaten at Subway if I wanted “regular Coke.” The place was called 
The bus from McAllen dropped me off in Dallas. I walked to the McDonald’s and ate. It was 1am and that’s all that was open. While there I asked the security guard if I should take an Uber to the airport or wait on the train (the real underlying question was if this area was a shithole at night that I should avoid walking around in). He suggested I Uber and I heeded his advice.
With my job, I have visited a lot of states. Coupled with family vacations, I’m so close to seeing the Lower 48. I had two to go and now there’s just one. I drove through North Dakota last week…and it sucked.
I drive. I drive a lot. I drive box delivery trucks from the builder (actually a terminal about thirty miles from where they are built) to the (mostly) end user. My normal run consists of me waking up, driving an hour to my job, then talking with the people in the office for a few minutes. After that is all done, I go to the truck assigned to me and throw some license plates on, placards (the thing that has the company I contract for’s DOT number) in the windows, and check under the hood to make sure all the fluids are where they should be and the caps are all tight, then I inspect the tuck for physical damage. After all that, I go to a gas station and fill it up. This all takes about thirty minutes or so. Now the real fun starts. I punch in my GPS where I am going and…I’m off.
We are required to follow the same DOT regulations as truck drivers; no more than eleven hours of actual drive time, fourteen hours of on-duty time (which includes breaks, fuel, and other reasons to stop and do things), and a thirty-minute break within any eight-hour stint. Oh yeah, we also have to log all of this stuff as we do it on our phones or tablets. After the first week, none of this stuff is even a question; you just do it automatically. Where do the problems come in? Each driver has different flaws. I hate bad weather and mountains, but I excel at city driving. Fog mesmerizes me. After a couple hours of foggy driving, I am ready for bed. That bed is rather uncomfortable at times since it’s just a hammock slung from the support posts in the truck. It’s seldom a comfortable temperature to sleep in with either being too hot or too cold. Several cold nights I slept up front with a blanket wrapped around me, the heat on, while seated upright in the driver’s seat. The DOT also requires ten hours of continuous off-time daily, so under rather adverse conditions, you just want to get on them road in hopes of getting somewhere warmer or cooler just to get more comfortable. Exhaustion becomes a constant. Urine is the body’s natural radiator. When I get to a truck stop, I go relieve myself before I go to sleep. On cold nights, almost exactly two hours after I fall asleep, I have to take a leak and I’m not talking where you wake up and think, “I may need to pee soon,” but the type of urgency that you consider not wearing your shoes to run back inside to go. Sometimes behind that snow bank looks a lot closer than inside the truck stop. After that, I’m good for the next eight hours if I want without needing to go at all. I assume it’s just caused by the body cooling as heat escapes and you really don’t need it anymore. There are also places that get down to ninety degrees at night so you lay there sweating, miserable, and wide awake like some kind of hotbox punishment in a backwoods state prison. I could get a motel room, but that’s money that’s not staying in my pocket then and I’d rather spend the money I earn at home.
I love New York! There, I said it. I also violated one of the biggest rules of a columnist (not that I am one, but the same rules apply for a personal blog) and started a piece with the word “I,” but it had to be said. With all that, it’s an OK place to be trapped if the bartenders are amicable but I learned a few lessons.
Two weeks ago I quit my job without any real notice. Since then, I often wonder if I made the right choice. The job I took is totally not something I pictured myself doing and it was a spur of the moment decision to start driving trucks and see the country.