Coming to Vegas for a birthday. Any recommendations on places to have a small get-together. I was thinking maybe appetizers and drinks, but it needs to be budget minded. Thanks for the help!

Do you want to stay on the strip? Fremont Street? Off strip? What kind of budget? How many people? Do you want someplace trendy, relaxing, etc? There's so many places, it's hard to recommend without more info...

jpw, we need more info!!

I use to go to Vegas every year for my birthday with my girlfriends!

There is a very fun margarita bar in Ballys...I think that might even be the name, haha!

Or check with the hotel you are staying in about one of their restaurants/bars that might have a little private room.

What is the budget?? Red Square at Mandalay is fun but it can get a bit spendy on the martinis....

We are already staying at the Imperial Palace. There would be about 10 people aged 27-33, plus 2 that are 55-60. We don't want anything to trendy. We are down-to-earth people who like to drink beer and maybe some margaritas or martinis. I like the idea of the margarita bar. The dream in my head is a place that we can have a table/booth, sit and talk, eat some appetizers, maybe do a little dancing. Budget..what would $300 get me?

It's called the Tequila Bar, off the Ballys website:

The Tequila Bar

Bally’s Tequila Bar & Lounge is an exciting Mexican sidewalk cantina with over 50 different tequilas. Enjoy a limitless number of signature margaritas plus frozen daiquiris, Mexican beers and a great snacking and sharing food menu from tacos and quesadillas, to blue agave-spiked oysters and chili-dusted rock shrimp. Enjoy the Latin music. Enjoy the fun. Bring your friends and meet new ones in our Mexican Holiday Everyday Atmosphere.

Location: Casino Level

Hours of Operation: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily

It is not huge, no booths but we had 13 of us around a few tables pulled together. Very fun! I don't know the price because I didn't pay sorry about that!

The IP has Tequila Joe's-- maybe you can arrange a little something there. You DO know that the IP is kind of, well, a dump?! For a few bucks more, the Monte Carlo would be exponentially much nicer....

Jpw, are you following me around the travel boards? ;o) A big group of co-workers out to Vegas a few months ago and they all met up at a place called Nine Fine Irishmen. Apparently, there is a room upstairs that has really big booths (big enough for 20) and is fairly private.

As far as budget is concerned, I would just spring for appetizers and a birthday cake. Based on the group going, they could drink $300 dollars worth in about ten minutes. Plus, that way it will be easy to monitor exactly how much you spend. Heavy appetizers and cake could easily substitute for a big dinner one night and would be a good chance for everyone to socialize.

In your own building, Imperial Palace, there is a restaurant floor (court) with a piano playing bar- if all remains as it was 2 years ago. But I know that the court of restaurants are up there- over the casino floors in Imperial Palace. Ski club people always co-mingled there and you could use any of the restaurants as your detail. It would NOT be pricey and you might have the piano player etc. all to yourselves a bit after the dinner hour as it is not much advertised outside of Flamingo/Imperial Palace. One is a Steak house, one is a Chinese etc., one is a BBQ, and one is Italian or eclectic- but all their menus are posted outside of their dividing walls and they all ray out from the piano bar area. Each restaurant in itself is large.

We are talking lower prices on food, drinks all the way down the line here. If your budget-minded, beer drinking group is like my ski club people, check this out.

The people on these forums are full of tremendously accurate and wonderful information, but they are not budget minded in the way that your wording, makes me believe you may be.

It's off the strip, but I've been to the Gordon Biersch Brewery which sounds like the type of place you're looking for (though I don't know about dancing). They had really good appetizers and mixed good strong drinks, all reasonably priced. Check out the web site - www. gordonbiersch.com to get a better idea of the types of food offered and prices. It's on Paradise Road which is just off the strip.