Go Holiday DIY

How much for seven days of gambling?

Where: A week in Las Vegas

When: August 2nd-9th

With a tour operator American Holidays has a week for two at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, for just over €3,000. The Mirage is "a palace of delights, where South Seas vibe meets Strip excitement", by all accounts. As if that weren't enough, it's also "where soft, sunlit days give way to torrid nights". The American Holidays package covers seven nights in a "deluxe room" and sees us leave Dublin with US Airways on August 2nd at 2.35pm and, after a stop-off in Philadelphia, arrive in Vegas at 10.38pm. This gives us plenty of time to lose our shirt before bedtime. The homeward flight leaves the Nevada city at 11.29am on August 9th and also stops off in Philadelphia before arriving in Ireland at 9am on Sunday morning. The basic price is €2,922.09, to which we add taxes of €101.98 and a tour operator's booking fee of €10.

How much? €3,034.07.

On your ownUnsurprisingly for such a well-known hotel, the Mirage accepts web bookings at www.mirage.com, and the same seven nights in the same type of room when booked directly costs $1,183, to which we must add taxes of $106.47 - a total of $1,289.47. The very strong euro really works in our favour, so this costs €806.52 at the time of writing. Aer Lingus has flights via New York, departing Dublin at 10.30am on August 2nd and arriving in Vegas at 21.40pm. The return flight leaves Nevada at 11.20am on August 9th and arrives home 10 minutes after the tour operator's flight, at 9.10am on August 10th. On both the outward and inward journeys the connecting flights are with jetBlue. The basic fare per person is €814; taxes and charges are another €66.42. To that we have to add a fuel surcharge of €100 and a ubiquitous and always mysterious "handling fee" of €12, which takes the total cost of the flights to €1,972.84.

How much?€2,779.36.

Independent savings€254.71.