We checked in around 12:30pm on Friday, the lobby was not too busy. After reading the stories we almost didn’t try but then decided what the heck. We took the first available clerk. She was very friendly and as I handed her my $50 sandwich I mentioned that we were in Vegas celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary and asked if there are any complimentary upgrades available.She casually let the 50 slip onto the counter and said she’s see what she could do. She then went to the back for a couple of minutes. When she came back she said she got approval for a beautiful room….and it was with a great view of the strip and fountains.

Stayed at Bellagio Nov 17-20. Checked in at 1pm on a Friday, with check-in being not too busy. Went to the first available clerk with the $20 sandwich. Asked if there were any complimentary upgrades, clerk looks at $20 and quickly replies “no”. Got the $20 back with no upgrade. While in line saw another clerk pocket a $20, so I think I just got bad luck re: the clerk I dealt with.

1 weekday night in April with no major events/conventions.

Check-in was medium sized busy as we arrived about 5-6pm or so. Ushered to a friendly Eastern European guy who chatted us up nicely. He saw the $20, let it sit in plain view and smiled and said he’ll do what he can.

Went from a run of the house room to a Bellagio Suite (non fountain view…but that was ok by us) on a high floor (20+)!

Well worth it. And we’re going back there again next month!

Checkin at 7pm on a Wednesday night for 1 night stay.

Very friendly older male agent. Handed sandwich and was upgraded from a “run of the house” king room to a Bellagio Suite on the 32nd floor. (no fountain view but hey beggers can’t be choosers!)

Very nice room and massive with 2.5 baths, a separate living room and great high views of the backside of LV city.

Almost chickened out, but decided to do the sandwich trick (I used a $50). I was polite and asked about any upgrades. We were given the upgrade to a Resort Tower king, a free buffet and a line pass to get us to the front of the line. Definitely worth it.

I went in early on our check in day at 9am. Since we already had a penthouse reserved I was hoping to get an upgrade to a fountain view. I didn’t specifically target any clerk since there were only 2. The girl at the desk was very nice and immediately handed the $20 back when she took my ID and card. After looking up my reservation she said here were no complimentary upgrades available for the room I booked but she would look into a fountain or premier view room for the difference. I ended up paying the extra $100 for the premier view as a surprise for my wife. I assume since it was a holiday weekend and I had already booked a penthouse there really wasn’t much to upgrade to but it was worth a shot. It also seemed like at the VIP check in they weren’t allowed to take tips since she handed the $20 back before looking at the computer.

Tried to upgrade with a $100 and was unsuccessful. I think it was mostly because I booked a high end suite to begin with. I figured I’d make it a C-note and go for a Grand Lakeview Suite. The most I was offered was a different penthouse but with a better view. I declined since I was primarily looking for more space. I tried this twice before and it worked both times so I’ll still be trying it in the future. Just didn’t have much luck this time but I gotta give the girl a lot of credit to walk away from a hundy like that.

1. I targeted a younger woman, 25-35, with an outgoing personality. I watched the check-in folks for about ten minutes before I made my move.
2. Time of day was around 12:30 pm.
3. I told her I was an old country boy from Juliette, Georgia who was trying to impress his wife. Told ’em I’d always stayed at lesser properties at the strip, but my wife had always wanted the Bellagio. Then I said the only thing that would make it even better would be a room with a nice view of the fountains. The clerk told me she’d go talk to her boss, when she came back she told me she could help me!

Walked in about 6:00 pm. Went to the 1st available clerk. Asked if they were offering any complimentary upgrades. He said ” I’ll see what I can do.” Boom! Fountain view & buffet line passes. I couldn’t believe it worked. I will never be able to stay in a room that doesn\’t have the fountain view. It’s AMAZING!

Did the $20.00 trick on check in and asked for any complementrary upgrades they might have. We had to wait 1.5 hours for the room to be ready, but got a decent upgrade with a killer view. Well worth the $20.00!