Las Vegas is probably the most tip-centric city you'll ever visit. A general rule of thumb is: Tip everybody you can think of. If it's a situation where the service is ongoing — such as ordering drinks — tip the person early and tip them a little more than you think you ought to. More than anywhere else I've ever visited, service in Las Vegas is directly correlated to how much cash you spread around.

Here are a few guidelines of commonly encountered tipping situations:

• Tip cab drivers somewhere around 15 to 20 percent. What I do is estimate what a 15-percent tip would be, then round upwards to the nearest $5. If you get unlucky and get one of the rare cab drivers who lie and claim there's a mandatory 15-percent gratuity (there's no such thing), then stiff the guy with a 10-percent tip if you feel like it.

• If you have anyone load, unload or store your bags for you — shuttle drivers or the hotel bag check, for example — slip them a couple of bucks per bag.

• At regular bars or when ordering from cocktail waitresses while gambling, tip them about a buck a drink. Note that once you've established a pattern of tipping, don't feel bad if you miss slipping the waitress a gratuity on one or two of her trips. She knows you'll average things out. Also remember that casino chips are as good as cash when tipping, and often a lot handier than reaching into your wallet for bills.

• At super-hip nightclubs, slip the bartender or waitress a 20 with your first order and let them know you'll be ordering more throughout the night. Then tip them a 10 every other order or so.

• When gambling, tip a friendly dealer by either placing a bet for them when you hit a hot streak or simply put a few chips on the table — but not in the betting area — when leaving the table and let them know it's for them. Don't feel like you have to tip a surly dealer anything. On rare occasion you'll even run into a surly dealer actively trying to get you to tip them. This is called "hustling tokes" and it's pretty much universally hated. Just leave that table.

• If you have tickets to a show that does not have assigned seating, but instead has someone to seat you, passing along $10 or so along with a request about where you'd like to be positioned can go a long way to moving you away from the exit and closer to the stage.

• Drop a dollar or two to the attendant at the pool whenever you pick up new towels.

• At a low- to mid-tier hotel, leave 10 bucks or so for the housekeeping staff when you leave. At a very nice place, bump it to 20 or more.

• If you visit a strip club… well, they're going to end up with all your cash, no matter how much or little you start with.

You're going to end up spending quite a bit of money on tips, but it's kind of fun. Spreading cash around can kind of make a person feel like a big shot, and, in the overall picture, it doesn't really add too much to the price of the trip.

You're talking about the passes sold that are touted to guarantee all sorts of benefits at nightclubs and bars, such as entrance to the VIP line (which is supposed to be shorter and move faster than that OTHER line filled with common riff-raff), discounts on bottle service, 2-for-1 drinkes, etc. They usually have names like "Vegas Passport" and such, and cost around 120 USD, give or take a few dollars.

To be honest, I've heard mixed things about the passes. A few clubby friend who bought them said they were worth the cost, as they got into the hotspots they wanted with no hassle. I take that with a grain of salt, though, as the people telling me the story were in Vegas on a Girls Weekend, and all the women in the group were attractive and there wasn't a guy in the bunch. With our with out a pass, good-looking unattached ladies never have a problem getting in where they want to go.

On the other hand, I've heard too many tales of people who bought the pass only to feel like it was money poorly spent. That they received no special treatment whatsoever. That the dude slathered with hair gel, fake tanning lotion and body spray who appeared to slip the doorman a 50 seemed to be treated with much more care.

I can't advise against buying these passports, because if the night is slow and the door staff in a good mood, you may very well be treated like the VIP they say you are. I would never purchase one myself, though.

It's a fairly low-risk purchase, though. $120 isn't exactly dirt-cheap, but chances are good you'll blow at least that much cash on something entirely frivolous at least once during your trip.

What I can recommend without hesitation are the Vegas shows. The two of you should make a point of catching at least one of those, as they are always worth the ticket price. Since you're going with your boyfriend, I think "Zumanity""Zumanity" may be the best option. It's about the sexiest on the Strip right now and a lot of fun for a couple to watch together.

Let's start with your main concern: getting your boyfriend into a club. Don't worry about it too much, as it's not likely to be a big problem. It's not hard to get a guy into a club; it's hard to get a group of guys into a club. Women feel more comfortable around women and, obviously, men feel the same way. Thus the more chicks a club has, the better off they are, and they know this. Getting one guy in is doable, especially when he's with one or more ladies to balance the odds. But a pack of six dudes with zero women would have better luck getting to Canada on a tricycle than getting into a swanky Vegas lounge. Since you've only got the one hombre, you're not doing too bad.

First, dress him up. That means get him out of those jeans and that stupid college T-shirt and put him in big-boy pants. Run a comb through his hair and put a mint in his yap. In short, dress him nicer than you think you have to.

Second, get in good with the wait staff at a hotel. Since you're staying at the Venetian — and one of the hottest nightclubs, Lavo, is right next door at the Palazzo — eat at the Palazzo's Sushi Samba or Restaurant Charlie and chat up your waitress. Be nice to her, really lay on the charm and tell her you're going to dance at Lavo later. Put 50 bucks on the table and ask if she can pull a few strings to get you in; works every time.

Third, if you don't have the 50 bucks to drop you're going to wait in line. There's no way around this. But while you're in line, chat up some other girls around you. If you get a group of two or three good-looking girls plus your one dude, the bouncer's going to let you in just based on the numbers.

Once you're inside, pick an area to call home base and quickly get on good terms with your waitress. Tipping a 20 on the first round, then at least $5 each time afterwards, will keep the drinks coming at whatever pace you want, and almost certainly faster than having to wade through the crowd surrounding the bar each time your glass is empty.

You may notice all the tips here revolve around either hot chicks or a constant flow of money. Welcome to Las Vegas. The whole city is built on those two concepts. Finding a great place to dance and drink to your heart's content is easy, but it won't be cheap. Don't sweat it, though. You only live once and you may only get a handful of chances to party like a high-roller in the glitziest city in the world. It's worth it.