As far as "when to book", this is what I did. First I picked a few hotels that I was interested in. Then I checked the prices, made reservations at any that were in my price range, you can cancel up to 48 (Or 72) hours in advance for a full refund. I think at 1 time I had 3 reservations! Well, sign up for the email promotions for the hotels you're interested in and keep checking back for better rates. If something comes up then jump on it, there's no charge for making changes! We're going for 5 nights (only 11 days and counting!) We started at the Monte Carlo for about $870, knocked that back to $750 when a code came out. Booked a reservation at Bally's for $615. Found a pretty good deal at MGM for $760, and got an even better deal the next night. The reservation we're actualy keeping is for MGM, $650 including $25 restaurant credit, 2 for 1 spa passes and 15% off spa services. If you can sign up for the player's club you could get a much better rate too. We started shopping around for a hotel about 5 months out, prices went down a bit then went even higher. Book early and keep checking to avoid getting ripped off (too badly anyway!)