Olympia On the Cheap! Romano's Step-by-Step Guide!

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Written by John Romano

Even in a Bad Economy, When You're Short on Dough, You can Still Go to the O

My face book page is littered with comments about me going to the Olympia.  Many of them share the same sentiment - they all wished they could go. While some aspects of feasibility know no bounds, the great limiting factor for many these days is that they think a trip to Vegas to attend the Olympia Weekend is a frivolous and expensive exercise in wretched excess, especially in the current economic climate.  Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be. And I'm going to prove it. In true Romano form, this year I shrugged off press passes, company airfare, and free hotel rooms, rolled up my sleeves and went like a regular guy paying my own way to show to all of you that you can go to the Olympia, take advantage of all the weekend has to offer, and not break the bank.

But first, l need to get some of my typical bitching out of the way.  While the Olympia is the greatest bodybuilding show on Earth, Vegas ain't what it used to be.  While my lineage proves I'm pretty close to 100% Italian, somehow I've been imbued with a Jewish gene because I am one of the cheapest bastards to ever not wear a yarmulke.  From $7.00 coffee at the airport Starbucks to $200 for what amounts to a snack at a sushi bar, today it seems Vegas' aim is to bend you over and break it off up inside you.  You have to be very careful or you'll blow your entire bankroll just eating out.  I suppose that's true anywhere, but especially on this trip I noticed that from the minute I got to the airport the goal of everyone with whom I did any kind of business was to rob me. So, pay attention to prices before you commit.  There are still bargains to be had, but you really have to look for them.

The other thing is the weather. It's dry in Vegas with a capitol D.  Hot too.  Maybe I've been far too acclimatized to humid conditions, but this year, in particular, the arid climate in Las Vegas was nothing short of brutal.  My throat was constantly parched, I lost my voice, and I was inundated with phlegm the consistency of drywall mud that had me pulling things out of my nose that I could have walked to town on a leash.  We all normally drink tons of water - at least we should.  When in Vegas, double it.  You'll need every drop.

I also usually bitch about the host hotel.  I think I once went as far as to describe the Orleans as being "three cigarette burns short of a flop house," or "decorated by the Salvation Army."   Well, to some degree it is, but not really.  Aside from the aging, cigarette smoking, oxygen tank wheeling clientele; it's cost effective, conveniently located next to the Orleans Arena, and there's cheap food available 24 hours a day!  The place is also very clean and relatively modernized.  What else do you need on Olympia weekend?  After spending three nights at the Sahara "an exotic Moroccan themed resort with a NASCAR styled diner" built in 1954 and never updated - or cleaned - the Orleans might as well have been the Palazzo.  But, you know, for 40 bucks a night in Vegas, you should be expected to rough it.  And trust me, you do - six TV channels??  It's the 21^st century!!!  But, the idea was to save money, and that's what I did.  I felt really bad about subjecting my smoke'n hot girlfriend to staying in such a dump, but she never complained once.  She's so freak'n cool, all she cared was that there was a bed in the room and that I was in it.   I promise you baby girl, next year I'm making it up to you and we're staying at the Palazzo like our friends Ron and Nancy Noreman did.  Damn, their suite was sweet!!!

Whenever going to Vegas, your hotel and airfare are going to be your two biggest expenses next to show tickets and food.  All of the major discount travel sites - Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, etc., offer hotel and airfare package deals to Vegas.  If you book early, you can really save some money.  I booked a deal on Spirit Air for $139.00 round trip, non-stop from Fort Lauderdale and got the Sahara for $150.98 for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights including tax.  That's hotel and airfare for less than $300.00, and I booked it two weeks ahead.  If you book really early - like in January - you can get a much nicer hotel for a serious discount.  But you have you work cut out for you. It's worth it though; I ran into a couple at the airport who booked in January and snagged three nights at the Venetian for 80 bucks a night!  That's seriously cheap for that level hotel.

When booking your hotel you have to think logistics. The Olympia press conference, the "Meet the Olympians," the Olympia Gala, and the Olympia finals are all held at the Orleans Arena or at the hotel which is connected to it.  The Olympia expo, Ms. Olympia, Fitness, Figure and Bikini prejudging are all held at the Las Vegas Convention Center located diagonally across town.   Like it or not, you're going to have to travel.  With the paucity of cabs, their expense, and the brutally long lines in which you must wait for them in the stinking heat, taking advantage of other means is really important. For that reason alone, staying at the Orleans is worth the extra money.  Not only is the main event held right there, but they also offer free shuttle bus service in really nice motor coaches every 15 minutes between the convention center and the Orleans.  So, staying there is definitely a viable option - actually, it's the best option.

I opted for the Sahara not only because of the el cheapo price that had me singing Hava Nagila, but also because the Las Vegas Monorail stops at the Sahara and is one stop from the Convention Center.  You can buy an unlimited all day pass for $12.00 and you can go as far south as the Luxor Hotel.  So, if we wanted to walk the Forum Shops at Caesar's, or eat at any of the great buffets in some of the other hotels, transportation did not increase the cost and it was very convenient. But, I have to warn you, the north end of the strip is seedy as hell.  It's where they film Cops, and for good reason.  To do it all over again, I would have booked really early and shot for the Orleans.  I know I can't believe I'm saying that, but from a purely economic and logistical standpoint, it really is your best bet.

Food is your next biggest problem. Option one is an olfactory nightmare, but if you can handle the interminable flatulence you can pretty much survive all day on a $9.00 breakfast buffet offered at most hotels (not the Sahara) and samples of protein bars and drinks at the expo. You're going to gass (yes, with two Ss) the place out, but you'll survive.  There are also all kinds of low end joints on the north end of the strip that offer a pretty decent meal for not too much cash.  Terrible's Casino even has a T-bone steak dinner for $10.99. You're not going to get dry-aged USDA prime meat like you'll get at Cut - the best steakhouse in Vegas, if not the world (Thanks again for dinner, Ron), but you'll get enough protein to ward off catabolism.  Look, this is "Vegas on the Cheap," you're going to have to suffer a little.  If you bought your Monorail pass, you can go just two stops form the convention center to Harah's and eat at their fairly reasonable restaurants.  Or, you can just eat the brown rice and emaciated chicken breast for $8.99 at the Expo concession stand.  Like I said, the object here is survival. If you go with that understanding, anything better than just surviving is sauce for the goose; in this case, dry chicken.   At least the concession has chicken breasts.  What other expo does?

Vegas used to be a place to get screaming deals on great food.  They were famous for really inexpensive and lavish buffets and cheap steak dinners, but those days are pretty much gone.  You're going to have to budget at least $50.00 a day for food per person and that's really, really cutting it close, and forgetting about quality. Price goes up from there, but, again, my objective was to go as cheap as possible.  I got away with 50 bucks a day and I didn't gain or lose a pound.  If you eat like Jewbacca you can probably get away with 20 bucks a day.  Pop Tarts and 3 Musketeers don't really add up.  And, I loaded up on Fiberlyze, so I'll probably stave off colon cancer while I'm at it.  If there's any room in your budget allocate it to food.

Okay, so now I'm at hotel, airfare and food for $450.00 plus three days mono rail pass at $12.00 a day.  That's $486.00. . .plus two round trip cab rides from the Luxor to the Orleans (I took the monorail to the end and then a cab - there were lots of cabs at the Luxor, no waiting) for $7.00, or som each trip.  So, basically I'm at $525.00.  However, there are some other costs you may or may not have to also absorb such as airport parking and baggage charges.  These can easily add another $100 to the tab.  But, if you travel with a carry on and have a friend drive you to the airport, you won't incur these extra costs. Okay, now the only thing left to buy are show tickets.

There is no way to save on these.  They are what they are. The table below explains the prices.  It comes right off the Olympia web site.

While the prices are fixed, let me give you my take on what you should buy.  Definitely go for the $15.00 expo ticket.  You really only need to go one of the days.  I'd suggest Friday if you plan on attending the Women's events.  Their prejudging is held right at the expo in the morning.  You do need a VIP wrist band to sit in the audience, but you can really see all you need to see standing in the back.  After the judging you can easily walk the entire expo floor before closing.  If you do that there is really nothing left to see on Saturday unless you plan on attending some of the other events such as the World's Strongest Bodybuilder competition or some of the power lifting or strongman events.  Personally, I'd splurge the extra 15 bucks and go both days.  The expo is really well-attended, there are tons of vendors and there is something constantly going on up on all the stages.  There is never a dull moment at the expo and it really is probably the best part of the weekend, and that's saying something.

As far as the finals go, unless you're sitting in the first 10 rows then it really doesn't matter where you sit.  You're not going to see much detail, or be able to determine who looks better than whom.  There are several huge TV monitors behind and to either side of the stage and out in the audience.  Most people are looking to the monitors.  Unfortunately only one of them is in HD, so on the rest of the monitors everyone looks grainy.  But at least you get to see what's going on. I saw many people in the audience with their laptops watching the web cast and participating on the forums.  I think this is a great idea and certainly enriches the experience.  So, my suggestion is to buy the cheapest tickets available for either night, or both nights depending on your preference for either the men's or women's events.  On Saturday night you get the finals for Mens Bodybuilding, Mens 202 Showdown, and the Figure event-- a little of everything.  So, you can really get away with just a $70.00 Saturday night finals ticket and follow the rest online from the comfort of your hotel room or the lounge of any of the nicer hotels along the strip that you can access with your monorail pass.

So, if you're willing to suffer a little, give up a little, and work a little, you can spend three days in Vegas, catch a good deal of the Olympia, as well as take in a little of Vegas for less than $650.00 for yourself.  If you bring your significant other you're just paying the extra airfare, food and show tickets, and possibly the monorail pass.  If you go with a friend you really only pay your own food, travel, and tickets, and split everything else.  So, plan ahead, save some money every month and I'll see more of you next year in Vegas for the 2011 Olympia Weekend.  Every bodybuilder wants to win the Olympia. Any other show is a distant second.  It's the show to win. By that very same token, it's also the show to see.  If you have tons of money you can go to the Olympia and enjoy it in grand style. But most of us can't do that.  However, I did prove that most of us can go and live the bodybuilding dream.  Even if you do it just once, the Olympia is the experience of a lifetime.  It's something you have to say you did.  I have been very fortunate to have been able to attend this yearly event too many times to even count. This year I really realized just how fortunate I am. The Olympia is nothing short of awesome. Save for it, plan for it, and go! You'll be raving about it to your grandchildren.

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