Weather, Traffic, Gambling, et al
Weather.
Temps will be ranging from 106 (tomorrow) to 11 on Friday back down to 106 on Monday in Henderson near our hotel. Night lows will be in the low 80s. It will be breezy, with the winds picking up Thursday and Friday; generally the wind comes up in the afternoon, though if it's a becomes a major thing, it could be windy all the time. The humidity should stay in the 8-15% range, so the Heat Index is more like 100 degrees to 106. It's a couple degrees cooler up on the Strip/Airport than our location.
For those of you going to Mt. Charleston on Monday, temps there are expected in the low 70s.
You should still bring a light sweater or long sleeves for the function space, shopping and restaurants, as the AC will be active everywhere. SPF 30 if you're going to be out in direct sun -- even if you're just in a car if it's 30 minutes or more. And water, take water with you if you go out. Dehydration, especially with this kind of humidity is rampant.
If you plan to swim, Vegas pools rely only on the sun to heat, so they will be cold.
Traffic and Crowds.
No major conventions or concerts this weekend, but there is an international one starting Sat (7000 attendees expected), so there may be an uptick at the airport as you are coming in. Lots of tourists, of course, and McCarran is the 9th busiest in the country. We've not had the TSA line nightmares some of the other airports have, but they do still recommend getting there at least 2 hours ahead of your flight.
Being at the height of our tourist season, travel on the Strip sucks. If you are driving, find the route that puts you on Las Vegas BLVD the shortest amount of time. Figure that you cannot turn right off the blvd anywhere along the Strip (Tropicana to Sahara), as even when the light is green, there will then be pedestrians crossing the street and keeping you from your turn. If you plan to take in the lights of the casino, don't do it at peak hours (9-midnight), or make sure your driver doesn't care and maintains focuses vigilance on the other vehicles and pedestrians. Hitting pedestrians -- even the ones asking for it -- is a no no.
If you are walking the Strip, be alert for any and everything. Crime is usually a target of opportunity, so don't be one. Don't walk even around our hotel at night alone (after midnight), and don't have bags, purses or anything else easy to grab. Don't walk near the curb and definitely not on the street unless the cops have directed you there (or the street is closed). The police presence is heightened weekend end evenings along the Strip.
Gambling:
A few dos and don'ts. Yes, many slot machines are now penny slots, but there is still usually at least a 40 cent minimum play. Yes, you can still play pennys and get free drinks (they will be cheap brands and watered down). Most slots do not accept coins, and most casinos no longer take coin for bills. They do take ATM cards in their kiosks, but be aware that many charge fees from $4-6 per transaction. If you going to gamble and you take a purse/bag, do not put it by it's strap along the back of your chair (same with restaurants). Keep it between your feet so you can feel it, or on your lap. Again, and easy target of opportunity. If you play any of the table games, keep your chips in front of you, basically between your arms. People standing/sitting next to you could be good enough to swipe a couple from the end of a stack. If you win a reasonable amount and need to cash in (ticket or chips), try to find a kiosk (if ticket) that doesn't have much of a line or crowd nearby -- basically you don't want someone else figuring out you've just pocketed a bunch of $100 bills. Do not get on an elevator alone after cashing, or go out to the parking garage alone if someone else has witnessed your win and makes a big deal out of it. (I don't really recommend going in and out of casinos alone, especially late at night) just as a rule. (Late night here is after 1a). If you win over $1200 from a single payout (generally this would happen at a max play slot machine), you've just earned yourself a 1099 form that gets forwarded to the IRS. You can have the casino take the taxes directly out of your winnings, but you will still need to file. (If you gambling even semi-regularly, and have a casino card for here or elsewhere in the country, you can get an win/loss earnings statement from the casino you have a card for, and any losses listed there can be used to offset your 1099 winnings, so I never have them take the taxes out myself, and just deal with it on my 1040.) You can cash out over $1200 with multiple tickets and not have to worry about the income being reported, it's just on a "single spin" (which could be a spin that gets you free games and the aggregate of those free games totals over $1200 that's still considered the single spin). It's also actually $119X dollars that kicks in the reporting, but I don't remember the actual amount.
The area our hotel in is nice, upscale and generally considered safe. But violent crime is on an uptick here, armed robberies of convenience stores and the like, or arguments that end in shootings, so just be very careful, especially if you are out after midnight. As far as protests and activists, our demonstrations have basically been peaceful, but Hillary and Trump do call out the loonies (Hillary is due back the 19th); right now more people are turning out for bringing the Raiders to Vegas rallies than Black Lives Matter, but we have been having some marches. All of them (occasional union protest) are usually on or near the Strip or downtown, not down in Henderson near us.
If anyone has any specific questions about Vegas, the hotel or the area, please email me directly, or go ahead and post to the list. If I don't know the answer, one of the other locals might.
Temps will be ranging from 106 (tomorrow) to 11 on Friday back down to 106 on Monday in Henderson near our hotel. Night lows will be in the low 80s. It will be breezy, with the winds picking up Thursday and Friday; generally the wind comes up in the afternoon, though if it's a becomes a major thing, it could be windy all the time. The humidity should stay in the 8-15% range, so the Heat Index is more like 100 degrees to 106. It's a couple degrees cooler up on the Strip/Airport than our location.
For those of you going to Mt. Charleston on Monday, temps there are expected in the low 70s.
You should still bring a light sweater or long sleeves for the function space, shopping and restaurants, as the AC will be active everywhere. SPF 30 if you're going to be out in direct sun -- even if you're just in a car if it's 30 minutes or more. And water, take water with you if you go out. Dehydration, especially with this kind of humidity is rampant.
If you plan to swim, Vegas pools rely only on the sun to heat, so they will be cold.
Traffic and Crowds.
No major conventions or concerts this weekend, but there is an international one starting Sat (7000 attendees expected), so there may be an uptick at the airport as you are coming in. Lots of tourists, of course, and McCarran is the 9th busiest in the country. We've not had the TSA line nightmares some of the other airports have, but they do still recommend getting there at least 2 hours ahead of your flight.
Being at the height of our tourist season, travel on the Strip sucks. If you are driving, find the route that puts you on Las Vegas BLVD the shortest amount of time. Figure that you cannot turn right off the blvd anywhere along the Strip (Tropicana to Sahara), as even when the light is green, there will then be pedestrians crossing the street and keeping you from your turn. If you plan to take in the lights of the casino, don't do it at peak hours (9-midnight), or make sure your driver doesn't care and maintains focuses vigilance on the other vehicles and pedestrians. Hitting pedestrians -- even the ones asking for it -- is a no no.
If you are walking the Strip, be alert for any and everything. Crime is usually a target of opportunity, so don't be one. Don't walk even around our hotel at night alone (after midnight), and don't have bags, purses or anything else easy to grab. Don't walk near the curb and definitely not on the street unless the cops have directed you there (or the street is closed). The police presence is heightened weekend end evenings along the Strip.
Gambling:
A few dos and don'ts. Yes, many slot machines are now penny slots, but there is still usually at least a 40 cent minimum play. Yes, you can still play pennys and get free drinks (they will be cheap brands and watered down). Most slots do not accept coins, and most casinos no longer take coin for bills. They do take ATM cards in their kiosks, but be aware that many charge fees from $4-6 per transaction. If you going to gamble and you take a purse/bag, do not put it by it's strap along the back of your chair (same with restaurants). Keep it between your feet so you can feel it, or on your lap. Again, and easy target of opportunity. If you play any of the table games, keep your chips in front of you, basically between your arms. People standing/sitting next to you could be good enough to swipe a couple from the end of a stack. If you win a reasonable amount and need to cash in (ticket or chips), try to find a kiosk (if ticket) that doesn't have much of a line or crowd nearby -- basically you don't want someone else figuring out you've just pocketed a bunch of $100 bills. Do not get on an elevator alone after cashing, or go out to the parking garage alone if someone else has witnessed your win and makes a big deal out of it. (I don't really recommend going in and out of casinos alone, especially late at night) just as a rule. (Late night here is after 1a). If you win over $1200 from a single payout (generally this would happen at a max play slot machine), you've just earned yourself a 1099 form that gets forwarded to the IRS. You can have the casino take the taxes directly out of your winnings, but you will still need to file. (If you gambling even semi-regularly, and have a casino card for here or elsewhere in the country, you can get an win/loss earnings statement from the casino you have a card for, and any losses listed there can be used to offset your 1099 winnings, so I never have them take the taxes out myself, and just deal with it on my 1040.) You can cash out over $1200 with multiple tickets and not have to worry about the income being reported, it's just on a "single spin" (which could be a spin that gets you free games and the aggregate of those free games totals over $1200 that's still considered the single spin). It's also actually $119X dollars that kicks in the reporting, but I don't remember the actual amount.
The area our hotel in is nice, upscale and generally considered safe. But violent crime is on an uptick here, armed robberies of convenience stores and the like, or arguments that end in shootings, so just be very careful, especially if you are out after midnight. As far as protests and activists, our demonstrations have basically been peaceful, but Hillary and Trump do call out the loonies (Hillary is due back the 19th); right now more people are turning out for bringing the Raiders to Vegas rallies than Black Lives Matter, but we have been having some marches. All of them (occasional union protest) are usually on or near the Strip or downtown, not down in Henderson near us.
If anyone has any specific questions about Vegas, the hotel or the area, please email me directly, or go ahead and post to the list. If I don't know the answer, one of the other locals might.