BWB,

Let me know if the $20 trick works. I probably wouldn't use it myself, but I'm just curious.

I am too bothered by noise when sleeping to chance getting a shitty room. I put substantial effort in my hotel visits to call the day-of and ask them to lock me into a room on the "quiet side". I'm not just talking about Vegas hotels. I do it every single place I go. I end up hating life when I forget to do it (or they can't accommodate my request) and I get a room facing a noisy street.

Maybe you're a heavy sleeper and this isn't an issue for you. As frugal as I am, I prefer to pay a bit extra to ensure this doesn't happen to me. I never want to knowingly book myself into a status where they can say, "Tough luck, this is your room", and I have zero recourse.