Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
75¢. For more information go to www.usps.
com and click on “Calculate Postage.”
Always include zip codes when mailing
items in the U.S. If you don't know your
zip code, visit www.usps.com/zip4 .
The post office most convenient to the
Strip is in the Forum Shops at Caesars;
there's also one at 3100 Industrial Road,
between Spring Mountain Road and
Sahara Avenue. It's open 8:30am to 5pm.
All hotels will post mail for you at no
additional charge.
Newspapers & Magazines There are
two major daily newspapers in Las Vegas:
The Las Vegas Review Journal and the
Las Vegas Sun, though the national paper
USA Today is widely available as well.
Each comes out in the morning. The
Review Journal is an excellent source for
listings of concerts, performances, par-
ties, and other special events that might
be happening around town. You'll proba-
bly find one of the free local magazines in
your hotel room as well— Vegas Visitor,
What's On in Las Vegas, Where to Go
in Las Vegas, and others. Don't bother
reading the reviews in these publications—
they're all paid advertising. These periodi-
cals can, however, be a good source for
coupons, show times, and event listings.
Pharmacies See p. 315 for a listing of
24-hour pharmacies.
Smoking Las Vegas used to be the hazi-
est American city, though that haze may
now be lifting as voters recently passed a
stringent ban on smoking in places where
food is served. Poker rooms were already
smoke-free, but now bars and restaurants
may be as well. This topic goes to press
just as the ban is taking effect, so it's
unclear how it will reshape the Nevada
smoking scene at this point.
Taxes When guestimating your expenses
for the trip, you should always factor in a
sales tax of 7% on goods and many serv-
ices, and the hotel tax of 9%.
Telephone, Telegraph, Telex & Fax
Generally, hotel surcharges on long-dis-
tance and local calls are astronomical, so
you're better off using your cellphone or
a public pay telephone. Many conven-
ience stores sell prepaid calling cards in
denominations up to $50; for international
visitors these can be the least expensive
way to call home. Many public phones at
airports now accept American Express,
MasterCard, and Visa credit cards. Local
calls made from public pay phones in most
locales cost either 25¢ or 35¢. Pay phones
do not accept pennies, and few will take
anything larger than a quarter.
Most long-distance and international
calls can be dialed directly from any
phone. For calls within the United States
and to Canada, dial 1 followed by the area
code and the seven-digit number. For
other international calls, dial 011 fol-
lowed by the country code, the city code,
and the number you are calling.
Calls to area codes 800, 888, 877, and
866 are toll-free. However, calls to area
codes 700 and 900 (chat lines, bulletin
boards, “dating” services, and so on) can
be very expensive—usually a charge of 95¢
to $3 or more per minute, and they some-
times have minimum charges that can run
as high as $15 or more.
For reversed-charge or collect calls,
and for person-to-person calls, dial the
number 0, then the area code and number.
An operator will come on the line, and you
should specify whether you are calling
collect, person-to-person, or both. If your
operator-assisted call is international, ask
for the overseas operator.
For local directory assistance (“infor-
mation”), dial 411; for long-distance
information, dial 1, then the appropriate
area code and 555-1212.
Telegraph and telex services are pro-
vided primarily by Western Union. You can
telegraph money, or have it telegraphed
to you, very quickly over the Western
Union system, but this service can cost as
much as 15% to 20% of the amount sent.
Most hotels have fax machines avail-
able for guest use (be sure to ask about
the charge to use it). Many hotel rooms
are even wired for guests' fax machines. A
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