Just an FYI to everyone concerned about smoking - as of last…January or Februrary, I believe? Nevada became non-smoking except in casinos (a certain amount of feet away from any dining establishments), and bars that do not serve food. Restaurants, bars that serve food and all other manner of public places are non-smoking. Basically, assume everywhere is non-smoking unless you see others smoking or see used ashtrays about.
Las Vegas is a very fun place to visit - many good ideas have been suggested above, can’t really add anything other than to say the Luxor is fabulous, I’ve stayed there every time I’ve gone and the rooms and service are lovely. Also: the tap water in Vegas tastes like ass. Buy bottled.
In case you are anyone reading this is interested, there are plans being made for a: Las Vegas DopeFest in August
Someone once said they were coming to Las Vegas but hated smoke, hated gambling, didn’t drink, ate only vegetarian and was hoping to spend a few days doing yoga and communicating with nature - I suggested they book a room in Palm Springs or Sedona, Arizona.
Yeah, people here in Las Vegas cuss like sailors, drink too much, eat too much, gamble too much, fart, make fools of themselves, stay up all night, watch strippers and they even smoke while they are here. And while there are lots of things to do for people who do none of the above, this is a party town - so people tend to do things they might not normally do at home. For many people, that is the whole point of taking a vacation here.
Last year 38.9 million people visited Las Vegas - so obviously quite a few people think it is worth the visit.
Just like some people find NYC too crowded, LA too spread out and smoggy, Miami too hot and humid, Hawaii too touristy - Las Vegas isn’t for everyone. One thing I will tell you, from all of my friends, family and acquaintances, not one has been bored while they were in Las Vegas and I cannot recall a single one of them who has not expressed a desire to come back again. Just my personal experience.
I love this city - warts and all - and highly recommend a visit to anyone who wants to get out of their daily rut and try something totally new. If you have time in August, stop on by!
There’s something about a city where you can walk down the street at 8AM drinking a beer and not only does nobody bat an eye, but you probably won’t be the only one walking down the street at 8AM drinking a beer.
DMark, try to get a date pinned down for the Vegas Dopefest soon, I’d like to make another (no promises), and the sooner the cheaper on plane fares.
I went on the NYNY rollercoaster and they strongly encourage people to put their glasses in lockers (although I wasn’t forced to–I would have been blind without them).
Hoo boy. I had been comfortable on coasters that were at Magic Mountain, ca. 1980 and I thought I could handle anything. Wrong. The way NYNY (and, I presume, most newer coasters) throw you around, turn you upside down without benefit of centrifugal force, but rather against CF, I just don’t do them anymore. The only one in Vegas I would consider is Stratosphere, because that, in spite of its height, seems like a fairly tame little run around bulbous area at the top of the hotel.
I wish we could have done the rollercoasters, but they were closed. It was January, after all, and an unusual cold snap to boot. Guess that’s just something to do next time!
The last time I was in Vegas was before I was legal to gamble, so this would’ve been something like 8-10 years ago, when the MGM was relatively new and New York New York hadn’t been opened yet. They were concentrating on family fare at the time (dunno if they still are, but the “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” ad campaign suggests otherwise), so I absolutely loved it. The Excalibur’s always been my favorite place, even if it was getting a little ratty the last time I was there.
I’d love to go back and see some of the shows like Blue Man Group and generally have a good time in the themed casinos playing the midways, riding the rollercoasters, eating up a storm at the buffets, and doing pretty much everything but gamble. Shoot, if I wanted to do that, I can always swing into the local NA casino I pass by every day on my way to work and back.
No, they have mostly given up on that as far as I could see. The hotel we stayed in, the Signature, is built on the site where MGM’s theme park once was. The only place we saw many children was at M&M World. They have a little 3D film starring the M&M guys…well, it was cute, but the kids just loved it. I think that they were just glad to finally see something in this city that is geared just for them.
I couldn’t imagine trying to explain to a young child what those cards are that the Mexican guys are handing out which are littered all over the ground.
I do think that my daughter would have loved Penn & Teller and Cirque du Soleil…actually, she got to see a Cirque show before we did–her grandparents took her when they came to Minneapolis.
I’m fairly bored by it, but living so close, I end up taking people there for vacation when they come to see me in L.A…
Food: Next time I’m going to shell out the bucks for something worthy…there’s a good moroccan place off the strip, I want to try. But I find the buffets gagworthy and I tried the Bellagio, which is supposed to be among the best.
Shows: I fell asleep during Ka (but I think it was more that I was so tired). I do want to see O the next time I’m there. Have already seen Blue Man Group etc…
Gambling: don’t gamble
I will say they have some nice shopping-especially the upscale outlet mall.
I just don’t find it that interesting. Between Vegas and the opportunity to go to San Francisco, I’ll choose San Fran every single time.
Nevada just passed a law making all restaurants non-smoking. Most of the casinos are putting in, or planning on putting in, non-smoking playing areas. Even the smoking areas in the casinos aren’t as bad as you might think. They generally have high ceilings and really good air circulation.
I took some of those home to Himself as a souvenier. Nobody offered me any, since I was a chick, there with another chick, so I asked for some (in Spanish, no less.) It’s fair to say there are probably at least a few people in Vegas who assumed we were a Lesbian couple.
