Money

Prices in Las Vegas can be gratis or outrageous. For example, you can get a sandwich wrap at one of the rock-bottom casino snack bars ( Circus Circus, Four Queens) for $3–$4, or you can spend upward of $20 for a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli in The Mirage. A cup of coffee in a casino coffee shop or Starbucks will set you back $2 to $5, whereas that same cup is free if you happen to be sitting at a nickel slot machine when the cocktail waitress comes by. A taxi from the airport to the MGM Grand can be as little as $13 if you tell the driver to take Tropicana Avenue and there's no traffic, or can run as high as $27 if you take the Airport Connector and there's a wreck on the freeway. The more you know about Las Vegas, the less it'll cost you.

ATMs are widely available in Las Vegas; they're at every bank and at virtually all casinos, hotels, convenience stores, and gas stations. Casino ATMs generally tack on a fee of up to $4 per transaction (this, of course, is on top of any fees your bank might charge). In addition, all casinos have cash-advance machines, which take credit cards. You just indicate how large a cash advance you want, and when the transaction is approved, you pick up the cash at the casino cashier. But beware: You pay a service charge up for this "convenience"—up to 18% or more—in addition to the usual cash-advance charges and interest rate; in most cases, the credit-card company begins charging interest the moment the advance is taken, so you won’t have the usual grace period to pay your balance in full before interest begins to accrue. To put it another way, don't obtain cash this way.

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