I LOVE LAS VEGAS! I have had work and play bring me to the adult playground called Las Vegas. US Youth Soccer had their Annual Meeting there in 2001. Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) had their International Workshop there in 1996. And the National Funeral Directors Association had their Annual Convention there in 2003.
In addition to their convention business, Las Vegas is known for their gambling and wedding chapels. Well, what more could we want...we love to gamble so in July 2002 David and I chose to "run off to Vegas" to get married. It was a very nice ceremony, perfect for us given that this was a second marriage for both of us.
If you’re already married and not looking to do that again and you don’t gamble, there is still plenty to do in the city that never sleeps. The shows are first class with major headliners like Celine Dion and Barry Manilow as well as other acts synonymous with Las Vegas like Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil. Heck, maybe even Wayne Newton is still playing Vegas.
There are also lots of free entertainment options including going to the top of Paris Paris, watching the water show at Bellagio or the pirate show along the sidewalk at Treasure Island.
Can you get enough of Las Vegas? I don’t think so!!!
Quick Tips:
Shop for hotel and air packages for your best deals. Often you get your hotel for free or next to nothing if you buy an airline package. We’ve done both FunJet and Northwest Airline deals and been very happy with the value received. You do need to be careful about the low end hotels however, found in those packages. Circus Circus is a dump in our opinion and is overrun with kids...YOUNG KIDS! If you are single or a couple traveling without your children, do yourself a favor and avoid Circus Circus. That being said, if you are traveling with little ones (toddlers to teens) this is probably the best place for your family trip. They cater to kids complete with an inside carnival area that will keep any kid entertained for hours on end.
If you go to Vegas to gamble, it goes without saying that you should sign up for their players’ card program. In doing so, you will earn points that will return in payoffs for free shows, meals and other comps. In Vegas, if you go a lot, it is all about the comps. Today we only go to the casinos with the best comp program. We favor the Las Vegas Hilton, although it is a bit far from the strip and the other places we enjoy going.
Vacationing in Las Vegas in the summer may mean that you want to make use of the swimming pool. As much as we enjoyed our wedding trip and our stay at the Excalibur Casino & Hotel, their pool leaves a lot to be desired. The pool was large and spacious, but was shallow, probably less than four feet deep at its deepest point. The Las Vegas Hilton is our choice for swimming pools too!
Perhaps my favorite casino in Las Vegas is the Stardust as it was there that I had my largest casino win...,000 on a straight flush playing Let It Ride. The view from my 17th floor suite was rather nice too. That was with the YABA International Workshop trip in 1996.
Best Way To Get Around:
Getting to Las Vegas is simple...and getting around IN Las Vegas is equally easy. You can take a shuttle bus or cab from the airport to your hotel. Rental cars are not necessary unless you are planning day trips to Hoover Dam, Death Valley (CA) or even the Grand Canyon. If you don’t want to drive to these places, there are tour operators that make the trek out of Vegas to all of these places. The trip to the Grand Canyon, however, is seasonal as there is a lot of snow on the north rim in the winter.
Speaking of cabs, they are very inexpensive in Vegas. You can get just about anywhere for under by cab. Sometimes the traffic on the strip is bad, though, so the meter will run as you sit in gridlock.
Since our last trip, they have opened the monorail that connects the outlaying areas like the Las Vegas Hilton with the strip. We are looking forward to our next trip out there and giving the monorail a try.