David,
I would suggest you look into flying instead of driving. I tryed diving to Las Vegas from Louisiana last June. I kept track of cost both ways. I flew back to the convention round trip(on Southwest). For about the same cost as driving 1 way. Its hard to say what the cost of flying will be then. But, with gasoline going up all the time. Flying will probally still be cheaper.
All together (with no comps) I would suggest you have at least $1000.
Danny