In a word no. Never go to Vegas without a hotel reservation especially at the time of year you are hoping to go!!!!

If you are bothered about staying in the same hotel for the duration, just split your hotel reservations up across a couple of properties. You will find a lot of people on here stay on strip during midweek when rates are lower and then head off strip (or to a cheaper on strip property) for weekends.

Best bet is to check out the Fat Wallet thread nearer the time. I would concentrate on working out an itinerary first and making flights a priority, then you will see what budget you will have for accommodation and we should then be able to help you further. There are many posts on Vegas on this forum, I would do a search, grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy the read.

What Jwhiting said. With bells on. Christmas and New Year are the busiest times for booking hotel rooms in Vegas. The other problem with waiting until you go, you will almost always have to pay through the nose. If you look on Fatwallet http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-deals/704925/?start=0

or one of these below, you should be able to find something that is bookable now with just the first night's deposit then you can cancel if you find something better.

http://www.vegas-promotions.com/

http://www.vegashotelhunt.com

http://www.casinotripreports.com/smf/index.php?topic=57.0

http://www.vegashotelspecial.com

http://www.harrahs.com/hot-deals

http://www.vegas-hotels-online.com

http://www.smartervegas.com

http://www.earlyvegas.com/promo_codes.html

First priority is definitely your flights. Try http://www.kayak.co.uk for a gide of prices.