The AP gives from more freebie advice for Vegas visitors. From Houston Chronicle:

For freely given advice on thrift in Vegas, start with www.bigempire.com, a site that proudly offers dozens of tips for "living low on the hog," as the authors put it. Suggestions run the gamut, from decent buffets and other cheap eats, to free eats (if you dare), to cheap hotels that offer clean $35 rooms and surly gamblers. Free stuff abounds as well, if you're in the market for key chains and coffee mugs.

Much more mainstream is www.vegasfreebie.com, a site that sorts free attractions by locations and category . Check out the photos of the Sunset Stampede at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, a free animatronic, laser light and water show with a pioneer theme.

The site also lists hotels with free lounges, including the storied Tropicana, built in 1957, which has two free shows and a 24-hour lounge with a 15-foot TV screen.

The site http://vegas4locals.com/deals.html has an extensive list of free things to do, including some dueling pianos; exotic bird shows and magic shows; and a family-friendly medieval show at the Excalibur Hotel, and live German music at the Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas. Like the other sites, it also includes directions to the volcano at the Mirage, a famed Las Vegas spectacle.

EBay is a good place to look for last-minute Las Vegas deals too, with vacation packages, lodging, and tickets to shows, some of them affordable.

Free attractions also lie outside the city. Fifteen minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, Ethel's Chocolate Lounge offers tours of its candy factory and of its four-acre botanical cactus garden, which it says is the largest in Nevada. Go to www.ethelschocolate.com for directions and photos of chocolates and cacti.

Just 30 miles from Las Vegas is the Hoover Dam, where the Bureau of Reclamation runs tours for close to a million visitors each year. They cost $11 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $6 for kids over the age of 6; younger kids are free. You'll find www.hooverdamtourcompany.com also offers tours, from Las Vegas, by bus, helicopter, plane, or van (hint: for budget travel, take the bus).

Farther afield is the Grand Canyon. At www.lasvegasgrandcanyontour.com you'll find information on trips to, around, in, and above the canyon starting at $89 for a bus trip with breakfast and lunch.

Just like other major cities around the world, the city of sin has some hostel-type places for young backpackers who don't mind sharing a room. Go to http://usahostels.com/lasvegas/index.html?lang10 for pictures of its dormitory accommodations, which come with pool, kitchen, and free Sunday-night barbecue.

Top free attractions

For those looking to make the most of their travel budget while visiting the "Entertainment Capital of the World," there are myriad options for the value-conscious visitor. Here are just a few:

Free attractions line the Las Vegas Strip and they're not hard to find. The Mirage's volcano erupts in a lagoon filled with waterfalls and palm trees every 15 minutes from dusk to midnight.

Next door, nightly passersby can catch the "Sirens of TI" at Treasure Island. The revamped version showcases the popular pyrotechnic war as male renegade pirates battle "sexy sirens" of Sirens' Cove. Performances run every 90 minutes beginning at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, the world-famous Fountains at Bellagio thrill visitors with more than 1,000 water-emitting devices choreographed to music by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli.

The Rio's "Masquerade Show in the Sky" features state-of-the-art floats that are suspended from the ceiling and parade above the casino floor in a one-of-a-kind Carnivale celebration.

Downtown's famous, casino-lined street is now the Fremont Street Experience, a 175,700-square-foot pedestrian area covered by a continuous canopy studded with more than 14 million lights. Each evening on the hour, this canopy comes alive with spectacular light-and-sound shows.

From Las Vegas Hilton to Luxor to JW Marriott, most major resorts offer free lounge entertainment that is available practically around the clock.

Low-priced attractions abound as well. "The Mac King Comedy Hour" at Harrah's Las Vegas is a great show value, with tickets priced at less than $20. The show contains quirky humor, visual gags and King's sleight-of-hand, all delivered in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

For lunchtime bargain-hunters, nothing beats the classic $0.99 shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, the oldest hotel in Las Vegas. For gourmet on a budget, many Las Vegas buffets now offer fare from around the world and at a reasonable price.

The Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino's Carnival World Buffet offers more 300 offerings and 70 dessert dishes from around the world - from pizza to omelets to teppan yaki to fresh pasta. Another example is Paris Las Vegas' Le Village Buffet which showcases five provinces of France. Each station is themed for a particular province and features a different facade designed to replicate the architecture of that region.