BoxRec

Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

sligobhoy67 wrote:Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

that should have said "adcive and tips" not "advice and trips" - we dont need help with any hallucinogenic drugs thanks.

book the whole package seperate.

search for cheapest flights, search for accommodation dependent on your budget and how near you need to be to the venue.

warning..although 'one stop' flights might seem cheaper, they are very knackering so always book a direct one, its worth it in the end, 3 hours stuck at chicago etc worrying about your bags etc is not much fun.

book the fight tickets directly from the venue the moment they go on sale, do not go through travel agents/reps/independent agents !!

cut out the middle men, with the internet this is easy

www.hotels.com expect to pay about 40 quid a night for your room (per room and not per person !!)

and for your flight.... www.skyscanner.com

sligobhoy67 wrote:Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

I have been 5 times and have stayed in the circus circus hotel down the end of the strip away from the big fight venues.It's a bit of a walk but in march the weather won't be too hot so i'd save a bit of cash and stay there or somewhere round there and just walk in ( visiting all the bars on the way ), get a direct flight if possible, i once went from manchester to chicago to los angeles then vegas it was a killer,so pay a bit extra and go straight there,and get your tickets from the venue direct and most of all visit the casinos.

bigjack wrote:

sligobhoy67 wrote:Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

I have been 5 times and have stayed in the circus circus hotel down the end of the strip away from the big fight venues.It's a bit of a walk but in march the weather won't be too hot so i'd save a bit of cash and stay there or somewhere round there and just walk in ( visiting all the bars on the way ), get a direct flight if possible, i once went from manchester to chicago to los angeles then vegas it was a killer,so pay a bit extra and go straight there,and get your tickets from the venue direct and most of all visit the casinos.

We were think of booking flights to NYC and then internal flights later because its not 100% set on being in Vegas and try and do St Patricks Day in NYC on the way back.

I'll try my best to get tickets im really excited about this one cant wait

sligobhoy67 wrote:

bigjack wrote:

sligobhoy67 wrote:Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

I have been 5 times and have stayed in the circus circus hotel down the end of the strip away from the big fight venues.It's a bit of a walk but in march the weather won't be too hot so i'd save a bit of cash and stay there or somewhere round there and just walk in ( visiting all the bars on the way ), get a direct flight if possible, i once went from manchester to chicago to los angeles then vegas it was a killer,so pay a bit extra and go straight there,and get your tickets from the venue direct and most of all visit the casinos.

We were think of booking flights to NYC and then internal flights later because its not 100% set on being in Vegas and try and do St Patricks Day in NYC on the way back.

Been out in New York for Paddy's day its Bang on they celebrat it more then the Irish

sligobhoy67 wrote:

bigjack wrote:

sligobhoy67 wrote:Myself and a couple of mates - casual boxing fans - are planning on going to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

I've never been there and as it looks to have more than a 50% chance of being in Vegas on the 13th of March I thought I would come here and get some advice on the dos and donts with going from thoses that have been there and done it.

Any advice on getting tickets, which airports to fly into, hotels etc would be much appriciated.

I have been 5 times and have stayed in the circus circus hotel down the end of the strip away from the big fight venues.It's a bit of a walk but in march the weather won't be too hot so i'd save a bit of cash and stay there or somewhere round there and just walk in ( visiting all the bars on the way ), get a direct flight if possible, i once went from manchester to chicago to los angeles then vegas it was a killer,so pay a bit extra and go straight there,and get your tickets from the venue direct and most of all visit the casinos.

We were think of booking flights to NYC and then internal flights later because its not 100% set on being in Vegas and try and do St Patricks Day in NYC on the way back.

Internal flights are not as cheap as they were, and NYC to vegas will probably be quite expensive.

I can highly recommend the Palms hotel, it's a little of the mains strip, but it's a much younger crowd than a lot of the other hotels.

rhino222 wrote:http://www.hotels.com expect to pay about 40 quid a night for your room (per room and not per person !!)

and for your flight.... http://www.skyscanner.com

Palace Station Hotel and Casino..Nice hotel and cheap at 47 euro per night in March.Its just off the strip and they run a shuttle which drops you off at most hotels including the strip for free (tip the driver).

I live in Vegas. Here are a few tips:

-If you order your hotel room from a 3rd party you won't be able to change the reservation for free. If you get the room directly from the hotel, they'll not only allow you to change/cancel the reservation for free, but in most cases they'll also honor the online rate if its cheaper than what they offer. This may come in handy for you if the fight date changes.

-The "cheaper" tickets to the bout will sell out lightening fast. Find out the day they go on sale and buy them as soon as you can from either ticketmaster or the hotel itself.

-If you like to gamble, casinos owned by Harrah's (Caesar's, Rio, Harrah's, Bally's, Flamingo, Imperial Palace, Bill's, and maybe a couple others) offer poor odds on just about every form of gambling they offer. The Venetian has the nicest poker room, Palazzo has the nicest sports book. Wynn will be hosting a big poker tournament series in March if you're into that sort of thing.

Just in regards to tickets.
I've seen a lot of people saying they'll be going to this for their first trip and are interested in tickets etc. These, IMO, will be harder to get than De La Hoya-Mayweather, where the whole lower tier were $2000 and the majority of the upper tier $1000. For that only 5000 tickets were released to the public and sold out immediately. Just be prepared to pay a lot of the tickets and don't expect them to be easy to come by.

Fantastic place - Rhino is completely correct - book it all seperately - you will get things cheaper.

F*ck the jet lag too - just go and do a load of money on the tables and make sure you visit each and every casino - it will keep you busy and awake.

I remember though going into the MGM - I thought somehow we had walked into the lion's cage until Rhino reminded me it was one of those glass ones.

Go for longer than 3 days - go at least 5 if you can afford it - its a truly magical place in my view.

We went to chicago and had to stop for 3 hours - then Rhino booked us on "cattle class" with american airlines - f*ck me I thought the plane was going to fall apart!!! - we then blagged it in Vegas - we managed to get ourselves transferred onto a straight through flight on the way back - make sure you ask - as the phrase goes - ask not want not.

Isn't it worth just buying the whole package? OK it's more expensive but I would've thought that with everything in the bag then you won't get frustrated if you have hotels etc, then suddenly you don't have tickets available. IMO this is the biggest fight since Lewis v Holyfield as we have the two best p4p guys fighting it out to see who is No 1 so the tickets will be even harder to get than Mayweather-DLH and Mayweather-Hatton, which were huge fights in their own right.

Boxingmad wrote:Isn't it worth just buying the whole package? OK it's more expensive but I would've thought that with everything in the bag then you won't get frustrated if you have hotels etc, then suddenly you don't have tickets available. IMO this is the biggest fight since Lewis v Holyfield as we have the two best p4p guys fighting it out to see who is No 1 so the tickets will be even harder to get than Mayweather-DLH and Mayweather-Hatton, which were huge fights in their own right.

Rhino is the best to ask - he managed to wheel and deal a bloody good and bloody cheap trip for us!!!

Then we went on the blag of all time by getting promoters passes for the weigh in and the fight.

Amazing place. Had 10 nights at the MGM for the Hatton / Pacquiao fight. Would stay there if I went again as the atmosphere there was superb.Had top nights at the bar in Times Square in NY NY hotel. Voodoo Lounge at the Rio is also a must see. Casinos absolutely HUGE and brilliant. Kept getting lost in the MGM casino cos it was so big!! Grand Canyon also worth a trip! Wouldn't go for 10 nights again though! 5 days in Vegas and 5 in New York would be spot on IMO.

If you can trust find a company that can trust who will guarantee you tickets it will be much less of a headache but i would say that as i run Queensbury Travel and i've already got the packages ready to go. www.QueensburyTravel.com

I took over 100 people over with me for Mayweather v De La Hoya and got tickets for all of them (which wasn't easy let me tell you) and then did the same for Hatton v Mayweather.

Not booking the flights to NY until you know where it will be isn't a bad idea but you probably won't really save anything as the one stop flights will probably cost no more than the NY flight plus an internal flight.

Where to stay will depend on how much you want to spend and if you want the full on Vegas experience. Staying at the MGM is like sitting on a boxing world conveyor belt, you'll see everyone in the lobby, bars, lifts etc. For Mayweather v DLH my room was a few doors away from Tito Trinidad's.

You can stay a few minutes off Strip for a fraction of the price and you'll hardly be spending any time in your room anyway.
Getting there is the easy part concentrate on your strategy for getting a ticket in your hand. Don't rely on getting on Ticketmaster.com the second they go on sale either.

I've been to Vegas 8 times in the last 4 years so pile in with any questions.

Jon

What do you reckon it'll be like if it happens in Dallas? You done any shows from Texas?

whatashambles wrote:What do you reckon it'll be like if it happens in Dallas? You done any shows from Texas?

Ironically i think tickets might be harder to get if it goes to a stadium because a lot of Americans will not bother trying to get tickets for a Vegas casino show knowing that it's next to impossible but might see an arena show their big chance.

I've organised trips to Houston for Juan Diaz fights but not Dallas. I expect it will suffer as boxing fights don't work too well in huge arenas either you'll watch the whole thing on the big screen or need to bring binoculars.
I was in the front row of the lower tier for Wlad v Chagaev in Germany and that was just about an acceptable view but for most of the people further back it would have been hard to see when a punch was landed.

The other main difference to Vegas would be i'd expect lots more more Burt Reynolds style mass bar room brawls with guys in check shirts and cowboy hats.

Shirow wrote:If you can trust find a company that can trust who will guarantee you tickets it will be much less of a headache but i would say that as i run Queensbury Travel and i've already got the packages ready to go. www.QueensburyTravel.com

I took over 100 people over with me for Mayweather v De La Hoya and got tickets for all of them (which wasn't easy let me tell you) and then did the same for Hatton v Mayweather.

Not booking the flights to NY until you know where it will be isn't a bad idea but you probably won't really save anything as the one stop flights will probably cost no more than the NY flight plus an internal flight.

Where to stay will depend on how much you want to spend and if you want the full on Vegas experience. Staying at the MGM is like sitting on a boxing world conveyor belt, you'll see everyone in the lobby, bars, lifts etc. For Mayweather v DLH my room was a few doors away from Tito Trinidad's.

You can stay a few minutes off Strip for a fraction of the price and you'll hardly be spending any time in your room anyway.
Getting there is the easy part concentrate on your strategy for getting a ticket in your hand. Don't rely on getting on Ticketmaster.com the second they go on sale either.

I've been to Vegas 8 times in the last 4 years so pile in with any questions.

Jon

if we book into the MGM will we stand a better chance of getting tickets.

What will be the range in face value for the tickets?

sligobhoy67 wrote: if we book into the MGM will we stand a better chance of getting tickets.

What will be the range in face value for the tickets?

If you're booking independently booking at the MGM won't make any difference. As I said before about De La Hoya-Mayweather I think tickets will be similar prices, i.e. Lower tier $2000, Upper tier $1000-1500 and a few at $750.

Shirow wrote: I was in the front row of the lower tier for Wlad v Chagaev in Germany and that was just about an acceptable view but for most of the people further back it would have been hard to see when a punch was landed.

I was second tier and it was horrible, couldn't tell what punches landed or anything. I'm not sure whether to bother if it's in Dallas, no point going all that way to just watch it on a screen.

sligobhoy67 wrote:

Shirow wrote:If you can trust find a company that can trust who will guarantee you tickets it will be much less of a headache but i would say that as i run Queensbury Travel and i've already got the packages ready to go. www.QueensburyTravel.com

I took over 100 people over with me for Mayweather v De La Hoya and got tickets for all of them (which wasn't easy let me tell you) and then did the same for Hatton v Mayweather.

Not booking the flights to NY until you know where it will be isn't a bad idea but you probably won't really save anything as the one stop flights will probably cost no more than the NY flight plus an internal flight.

Where to stay will depend on how much you want to spend and if you want the full on Vegas experience. Staying at the MGM is like sitting on a boxing world conveyor belt, you'll see everyone in the lobby, bars, lifts etc. For Mayweather v DLH my room was a few doors away from Tito Trinidad's.

You can stay a few minutes off Strip for a fraction of the price and you'll hardly be spending any time in your room anyway.
Getting there is the easy part concentrate on your strategy for getting a ticket in your hand. Don't rely on getting on Ticketmaster.com the second they go on sale either.

I've been to Vegas 8 times in the last 4 years so pile in with any questions.

Jon

if we book into the MGM will we stand a better chance of getting tickets.

What will be the range in face value for the tickets?

Not necessarily i don't think the MGM run the box office for any boxing events anymore it's usually Ticketmaster. They will have a ticket allocation but these will be used as inducements to bring back return customers who have gambled a good amount on previous visits.
I'd guess the face values to range from $300 - $1500 for ringside. There is one corner of the arena which has seats further back than anywhere else that the sell seats for $150 or some low amount so they can advertise this as the start price but these maybe only 40 of those.

Shirow wrote: I'd guess the face values to range from $300 - $1500 for ringside. There is one corner of the arena which has seats further back than anywhere else that the sell seats for $150 or some low amount so they can advertise this as the start price but these maybe only 40 of those.

I was in there for Pac-Hatton, There were 3 rows of about 10 seats a row. For De La Hoya-Mayweather they were $350.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

sligobhoy67 wrote:

bigjack wrote: I have been 5 times and have stayed in the circus circus hotel down the end of the strip away from the big fight venues.It's a bit of a walk but in march the weather won't be too hot so i'd save a bit of cash and stay there or somewhere round there and just walk in ( visiting all the bars on the way ), get a direct flight if possible, i once went from manchester to chicago to los angeles then vegas it was a killer,so pay a bit extra and go straight there,and get your tickets from the venue direct and most of all visit the casinos.

We were think of booking flights to NYC and then internal flights later because its not 100% set on being in Vegas and try and do St Patricks Day in NYC on the way back.

Internal flights are not as cheap as they were, and NYC to vegas will probably be quite expensive.

I can highly recommend the Palms hotel, it's a little of the mains strip, but it's a much younger crowd than a lot of the other hotels.

Yeah, just checked them - £200. Not exactly a bargain seen as I've Manchester-NYC for £300.

Will probably book my flights to NYC and hotel in Vegas this week.

I'm really just worried about the tickets.

sligobhoy67 wrote:
Yeah, just checked them - £200. Not exactly a bargain seen as I've Manchester-NYC for £300.

Will probably book my flights to NYC and hotel in Vegas this week.

I'm really just worried about the tickets.

I wouldn't yet mate. It sounds very much like it's heading to Vegas and you should know for defo by the end of the week so it might be worth hanging on.