Here's some information to help you estimate how much the Legion of Super-Gamblers trip to Las Vegas will impact your wallet. There are also some tips on how you can minimize these effects.
The rooms at Treasure Island were about $107/night including tax when I checked on 5/12. Those at Barbary Coast were about $75/night including tax. Hotel rates may go up or down from that between now and August 1st. As August 1 approaches, the rates will likely increase. 
[Update: As of 6/6 the rates at Treasure Island had increased to approximately $129/night including tax. The rates at Barbary Coast remained unchanged. Further Update: As of 6/18/97 the rates at Treasure Island had decreased to approximately $118/night including tax.]
There are other hotels in the center strip area (walking distance fromTreasure Island) that cost more when I checked on 5/12 but may have lower rates at some point. In particular, Harrah's rates could be lower. [Update: As of 6/6 Harrah's rates were the same as those for Treasure Island, $129 per night including tax.
If you have access to a car, you might check Circus Circus at the far north end of the strip. The true budget-minded with a car could even stay at the Motel 6 on Tropicana east of the San Remo.
There's a map on the web that may help you determine the relative location of hotels on the strip. Remember that these hotels are huge so distances can be deceiving. A Las Vegas block is much longer than an ordinary city block.
Airfare:I prefer using on-line airline ticket services such as Yahoo's Flifo. This site has a "fare beater" option to enable you to try to look for lower fares.
If 2 or more of you are travelling from the same city, you might wish to check out vacation packages. It may be possible to book a combination air/hotel package for less than the separate prices of each.Southwest Airlines Fun Pack Vacations and Funjet are two companies you may wish to check. In addition to their web sites, both companies (as well as others) often advertise in the travel sections of the Sunday editions of metropolitan newspapers. Even if Treasure Island isn't named as a hotel destination, they may be able to book accomodations there. Travel agents may know about additional packages. Be aware that some of these companies (incuding Funjet) use air charters instead of scheduled flights. In the unlikely event of equipment problems they may not have substitute aircraft available and substantial delays may result. Charters are also typically unwilling to book passengers on other carriers in the event of delayed or cancelled flights.
As of 6/8 American Airlines has announced summer airfare discounts of up to 45%. Most major carriers are matching these fares. This sale has an expiration date of 6/16.
The options are taxis and the airport shuttle.
The shuttles serve a number of hotels, so you could have a long trip before you get dropped off at your hotel. I've seen prices for shuttles from $5 to $10 each way. I have no specific information about them, I suggest following the signs to "Ground Transportation" after deplaning and collecting your luggage.
Taxis will take you straight to your hotel from the airport (although if you arrive when the strip is busy, this could still take a little while). Prices may range from approximately $12 to $15 each way to the center strip The price could be a little higher to the North Strip area and a little less to the South Strip.
Some of the trips we're considering (Downtown, Rio, Las Vegas Hilton, etc.) will require the use of taxis if we don't have enough cars for everyone to squeeze in. Trips up and down the strip will require the same. I believe that it's about $15 from the strip to downtown each way. Trips from one part of the strip to another may be about $5.
We've discussed attending 1 or 2 shows. Obviously show attendance is voluntary. The following are possibilities. Prices are to the best of my knowledge as of spring of 1997. Costs could go up slightly by August:
I believe that all of the above include 1 or 2 drinks. Some of them include gratuities as well.
The following are places we may end up dining. Once again, anyone could opt to eat elsewhere. Prices are approximate as of spring 1997.
Many of the casino/hotels have a food court area where it is possible to eat pizza, sandwiches, McDonalds, etc. in the $5 to $7 range.
Alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks are free while you're gambling. If you ever want to receive a second drink, you should tip 50 cents (as a minimum) to $1 for a drink.
If you aren't gambling, the cheapest place for nonalcoholic drinks will be the food court areas. Alcohol for the nongambler may be slightly cheaper in casino bars than ordinary bar prices. In adult entertainment emporiums, it may be considerably more.
We've discussed the following:
The Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton is supposed to open in July. Part of it is a shopping, restaurant, casino area that I assume will be open to the public without an admission fee. It appears to have some amusement type aspects as well that will require a fee to enter. [Update: The opening date for the Star Trek Experience has been pushed back to late August so we probably won't be able to visit it on this trip.]
The MGM Grand Adventure theme park has a $15 fee to ride the rides as many times as you want. Admission to the park is free. The Sky Screamer is in the park but requires a separate fee of $12.50 to $22.50 per person (depending on how many people are riding). I don't think I'll be paying $22.50 to ride it, but some ride enthusiasts really like it. [Note: I think the Sky Screamer may be a type of flying ride.]
As much as you can afford to lose. :)
Seriously, the best way to manage this is probably to decide how much money you'd like to allocate to gambling, then divide it into separate portions for each day. You might even want to divide it into different sessions (e.g. afternoon and evening) for each day and quit when (and if) you lose it. You may leave with more than you arrived with, but you shouldn't count on it. Keep your gambling money separate from your money for other expenses such as food and transportation.
If you're interested in spending your time playing table games such as blackjack, Let it Ride, etc. I've seen recommendations to bring 100 times your typical bet for a 2 night weekend trip. The minimum table bet at most of the strip casinos will be $5 (possibly $10 in the evenings). Some of the smaller casinos on the strip and many of the casinos downtown may have a $2 or $3 minimum particularly during the day.
The cheapest gambling will probably be slots or video poker (slot machine poker where usually you try to draw a hand of a pair of jack or better). You'll be able to find 25 cent machines in most of the casinos. Even nickel slots are around in some casinos (but not at Treasure Island) if you look for them. If you play one coin at a time in these (maximum number of coins is anywhere from 2 to 5), you can play for quite awhile for a relatively small amount of money. It's very difficult to predict exactly how much you will need because small jackpots ($20 to $100) are very erratic. If you hit several you can keep playing a lot longer.
Not counting airfare, hotel, transportation to and from the airport, shows, and gambling, I've seen recommendations of $50/day for incidental expenses. This would include any other taxis you take, food, tips, souveniers, etc. $150 for the 3 days sounds like a reasonable estimate to me. Just add on the cost of the hotel, airfare, airport transportation, shows, and gambling to estimate the total cost of the trip.
If you have any further inquiries about costs, send them to me at: sward@computonet.com. I'll do my best to answer them. If the question appears to be of general interest, I'll post the answer here as well.
You can also reach Michael and Troy at:
Michael Grabois: orbit@ix.netcom.com
Troy McNemar: troyesq@indirect.com
