I went once and took the deluxe tour where you actually go inside the dam, not just the generators and diversion tunnels. Very cool.
I’ll echo what a lot of posters have said; I’m not much for gambling and debauchery, but I found a few things in Las Vegas that were interesting. I went to the Museum of Atomic Testing. Saw Penn and Teller. Ate at the Hofbrauhaus, and learned that every song ever written can be a German drinking song.
There are a few interesting things there, but I haven’t felt a burning desire to go back.
If you haven’t been lately, plan for “expensive”. I was on Fremont at the end of January, after not going to Vegas since 2017, and everything was a lot more expensive, and the bars were being a lot more picky about who could sit there.
It seems like everything I used to like about Vegas has either disappeared or gotten worse since I last visited. I used to love this crappy little casino called Slots-A-Fun, right next to Circus Circus. When I first visited Vegas, it was still a fun sleazy little place with cheap blackjack and dollar beers. Then the corporate people decided to “fix” it, and it just kept getting worse. I visited this time just to see what it was like now, and it’s still there, but everything that made it kind of cool is gone. Nothing but slot machines now, no snack bar, no real bar, no live games, and no customers. The only other person I saw there was a woman going in to use the bathroom, which was also the only reason I walked through the place. It’s utterly dead now.
A month ago I stayed at Horseshoe, which is what they called Bally’s now. It is, at best, grimy. (The poker room is really nice, but it’s the one new thing.) I spent all my time not sleeping in nicer properties.
I’ve always said that Vegas is everything that’s good and bad about the United States, all in one place, and cranked up to 11. You can find the best and worst of US society right next to each other.
Yeah, “Family Vegas” was more along the lines of “come on, people, it’s not THAT adult all over the place!” But then again, very shortly after that the real NYC “cleaned up” so that it also became safe to visit with the kids.
One of the archetypes thereof, Treasure Island’s pirate battle, was replaced on 2003 by a “more mature” show that in turn closed in 2013.
“Psychedelics are almost irrelevant in a town where you can wander into a casino any time of the day or night and witness the crucifixion of a gorilla - on a flaming neon cross that suddenly turns into a pinwheel, spinning the beast around in wild circles above the crowded gambling action.” - Hunter S. Thompson
Unfortunately, all but the supper club has been demolished but one can at least imagine it in all of it’s ‘Seventies bright orange shag carpet splendor.
I did some digging on the internet and found out the supper club was renovated into an entertainment venue. Unfortunately, it became a casualty of the pandemic and was for sale as of August 2022. (As seen in this Google Street View shot.)
I’ve been to Vegas a half dozen times and stayed at the Madonna Inn twice - once c. 1979 as a kid and just last summer with my wife and kids. MI does not have the gloss of Vegas. Both obviously fake, but MI much shabbier.
Not only that, but when you land, even if it’s 11:30 at night, something’s open and it’s possible to get a real meal.
Las Vegas is not for everyone, but most places aren’t. My friends are there now (just posted a picture from Omega Mart), and they go there every few years and even got married there. They don’t drink or gamble, and they keep going back. They also see a couple shows, with a tendency towards Cirque de Soleil and Blue Man Group.
We went on a tour to the Hoover Dam, which was really interesting as we learned a lot about the desert which we wouldn’t have picked up on our own.
Yes, I find the mini Eiffel Tower a bit kitschy, but it is what it is. And I didn’t like the buskers dressed up like Elmo and Mario, and trying to get people to pay them money. However, those buskers are just about everywhere there are tourists. If you don’t want to be surrounded by tourists, go somewhere else.
Also cool. Except for walking there. Not the best idea. I did find it interesting how much indoor walking is possible. Makes sense for a place that gets really, really warm.
And if you ever wanted to walk into a store and discuss about adult toys with people who can give advice, Las Vegas can also oblige.
