Making the Most of $5 BUCKS in Las Vegas

Las Vegas might look like a town of extravagance—and it is—but it is also a bottomless pit of FUN for those with short pockets. This post is going to focus on what you can get for five bucks. Yep, $5. Good ole Abraham is still good for something! So make your way up and down the Strip, and off the Strip cashing in on bargains galore.

$5 BUCKS CAN GET YOU FED
I’m not just telling you this, I’ve actually eaten a good $4.95 Steak dinner. I was having lunch at Ellis Island and right about to order the meatball sandwich when I saw a couple to my right get a steak, bake potato, and pile of fresh green beans. The waiter kindly told me that was their $4.95 steak deal and I decided it was dinner time. The meal also comes with soup or salad. Here’s the beauty of it, there’s no time limit on this deal. Ellis Island offers this bargain 24/7. Just make sure you order the steak a grade less than you normally would. My medium was pink, but a bit more done than I usually like it. I also had their home-brewed Root Beer Float for $1.95, one of the best I’ve ever had. More dinner than I could eat + dessert for $7 and change. Ellis Island Casino & Brewery 4178 Koval Lane (Between Tropicana and Flamingo)

$5 BUCKS CAN MAKE YOU A GAMBLER
While penny and nickel slots abound, it’s not so easy to get a mega-cheap table game. Poker Palace has $1 Blackjack, and Slots-A-Fun has $1 Craps. If you insist on the slots…read Cheapo Vegas’s Nickel Test first to see which casinos have better payouts. Poker Palace, 2757 Las Vegas Blvd. North, and Slots-A-Fun, 2890 Las Vegas Boulevard South.


$5 BUCKS CAN BE ROMANTIC
Want to treat your date to a night she won’t forget? All for $5? Buy her a $4.95 gelato at Bellagio from either the inside chocolate shop, or the one on street level at the front of the casino. Then walk out to the Strip and watch the FREE fountain show. Faith Hill’s “This Kiss” might play, or even more romantic, an Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye.” The lights, the water, the music, the gelato…that and a kiss should give you plenty of points with your sweetie. If ice cream isn’t her thing, Chocolat at the Esplanade at Wynn Las Vegas has a heavenly $4 chocolate eclair. One of those and a stroll through the fancy shops with daydreams of greener times would be dreamy. Kiss her already, you fool! Bellagio, The Strip at Flamingo.

$5 BUCKS CAN GET YOU SOUVENIRS
Forget about $5, you can get an assortment of goodies for only $1 each. Gaming dice, decks of casino cards, LV Dealer’s visors ($1.99), Las Vegas key chains and magnets for (under $2), or Las Vegas bottle opener key chains ($.99). Go nuts at Bonanza Gifts, The Strip meets Sahara Ave.