# The Holidays in Las Vegas - A Rant **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935 "2006-12-29T00:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/21 "2006-12-29T22:19:32Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] People who go to LV just for the gambling don’t understand at all what that great city is **really** all about! whores [/QUOTE] Technically illegal in the city proper, but easy to find in the city anyway. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/22 "2006-12-29T22:34:21Z")
We don’t use the valets much for the reasons cited above. We need the exercise, I want my car now, not when you can get to it, and I don’t like other people driving it. Plus, in the instance in the OP that started this whole thing, we weren’t using the valet because we weren’t staying at that hotel. All we wanted to do was stop by Slots-of-Fun and grab a giant hotdog for lunch. After 35 minutes in the parking garage behind people I then (and now) want dead, we decided to just eat at the Palms instead. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/23 "2006-12-29T22:44:29Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] Technically illegal in the city proper, but easy to find in the city anyway. [/QUOTE] I see them walking down the street every day where I work . They are among the least expensive ones in vegas and alot of them don’t have teeth . For teeth I recommend the strip, but be prepared to spend at least 50 bucks 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/24 "2006-12-29T22:56:54Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] If you don’t use the valet, you have to trust random idiots driving, parking, and opening doors near your car. With the valet, you at least have someone who’s likely to be sober and whose job it is to park cars around it. Plus, if the valet damages your car, they’re liable (right?), whereas random guy in parking lot might not even leave a note. I’m not sure how this balances out, but I’d guess that the valet is likely to have a lower expected cost. [/QUOTE] That’s a good point. I wonder about the liability, though, since I couldn’t prove the car wasn’t scratched when I turned over the keys. Anyway, I prefer to walk. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/25 "2006-12-30T01:08:28Z")
I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve heard that it’s a good place to stay while exploring the surrounding countryside and nearby state or national parks. So, I don’t know–does anyone go to Vegas to have a place to crash out and easy access to relatively cheap rental cars while looking at beautiful rock formations or something? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/26 "2006-12-30T05:10:26Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve heard that it’s a good place to stay while exploring the surrounding countryside and nearby state or national parks. So, I don’t know–does anyone go to Vegas to have a place to crash out and easy access to relatively cheap rental cars while looking at beautiful rock formations or something? [/QUOTE] I’ve been to Vegas my fair share of times (I’ll be there in two weeks again) and I don’t understand the compulsion some of my companions have in renting cars while we’re there. I know a dude like \*\*Silenus \*\* most likely drove his own car there (based on his location), but shit, park your car once and cab it the rest of the time. Who the hell wants to be a responsible driver in Free Drink City? Certainly not me. As to the gist of his OP, there is a time and a place for kids, and it’s never, ever, “Right now, on the Vegas strip”. Anyone who thinks otherwise is free to get back in the car with Clark Griswold and be on their happy way to Wally World. I like getting the Whore Cards myself. They’re like baseball cards for grownups. Trade them with your friends, fuck, why not? Vegas has done a good job getting away from the Circus Circus/Excalibre atmosphere of the 80’s and early 90’s, but they have to get even more stringent on the Adults Only vibe that the recent ads hint at. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/27 "2006-12-30T06:15:29Z")
Regarding the “family friendly” Vegas - that was a brief experiment years ago that ended in dismal failure. I don’t have the exact figures at hand, but they found that although more tourists showed up during the family phase, prior to this “family friendly” experiment, the average adult spent something like $100 a day in gaming, but the average adult with kids spent about $25. Needless to say, that family idea was dropped faster than you can say “Bingo”. MGM Grand had built a huge, expensive, Disneyland-ish park in the back and simply closed it down to end the parade of families coming through their casino. They have torn down many of the rides and open what is left of it only for the occasional private, adult parties. (They might not even do that anymore since they started building the high-rises out back.) And yes, there are families with kids who live here, but it isn’t easy. There simply isn’t a whole lot for kids to do in this town - ask any high school kid in Las Vegas and they will all tell you this town sucks for them. They can hardly go anywhere without a parent or legal guardian. Tourists who bring kids to Las Vegas are usually clueless idiots who find out the hard way that they can’t do hardly anything with the kids in tow - other than some limited family friendly activity at Circus Circus. Even locals with kids are always trying to find something to do with them for birthdays and the like - and they quickly run out of ideas. A desperate co-worker, trying to figure out something to do with her kid for her birthday, told me once, “If I take my daughter to Circus Circus one more time she has threatened to run away.” ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/28 "2006-12-30T06:48:25Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] (snip) If you try to wheel that stroller down a crowded sidewalk filled with drunk tourists, little Ashley is going to get bumped, jostled, spilled upon, have her precious ears fouled with inappropriate language, and otherwise have things happen to her that her therapist will charge $75/hour to listen to in a few years. (snip) [/QUOTE] Heh, my going rate’s about $135 these days; by all means, traumatize away! 😃 Ahh, you gotta love Vegas! ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/29 "2006-12-30T15:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] Yes, I’m sure the families from Vegas with kids are the exact ones crowding the sidewalks on the strip. I’ve posted my disdain for the “family destination” slant on Vegas in the IMHO thread about Vegas likes and dislikes [/QUOTE] And now: [The #1 reason not to bring your kids to Vegas!](http://fametastic.co.uk/archive/20061227/3913/michael-jackson-planning-las-vegas-comeback-shows/) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/30 "2006-12-30T20:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=want2know] And now: [The #1 reason not to bring your kids to Vegas!](http://fametastic.co.uk/archive/20061227/3913/michael-jackson-planning-las-vegas-comeback-shows/) :eek: [/QUOTE] Ah yes, Michael Jackson in Las Vegas - I can hardly wait for him to announce his plans for an all nude cast in a updated version of the musical, Oliver! ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/31 "2006-12-30T23:00:46Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] Ah yes, Michael Jackson in Las Vegas - I can hardly wait for him to announce his plans for an all nude cast in a updated version of the musical, Oliver! [/QUOTE] At Circus Circus! ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/32 "2007-01-05T02:37:35Z")
I’m totally going to have to mark this thread for tomorrow when I have more ambition. I’m with you almost all the way on this one for sure. I only have trouble with #1, though. We always valet and cab it. The only time we don’t cab it is when we’re going far off the strip for anything. For walking, we pick a destination on the strip and walk there if we’re so inclined. I was there for NYE, and people are just clueless fucking douchebags when they get in large groups. At least Kanye West wasn’t the headlining entertainment at the Aladdin (Now Planet Hollywood) this year. I can’t tell you what a damn nightmare that place was when we got back after midnight last year. It included people sleeping at slot machines ALL OVER THE CASINO and puking in garbage cans. Lovely atmosphere his followers brought with them. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/33 "2007-01-05T20:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] I’ve never been to Vegas, but I’ve heard that it’s a good place to stay while exploring the surrounding countryside and nearby state or national parks. So, I don’t know–does anyone go to Vegas to have a place to crash out and easy access to relatively cheap rental cars while looking at beautiful rock formations or something? [/QUOTE] You wouldn’t rent a car, but just take a charter bus to visit Boulder Dam, the Grand Canyon, etc. In that sense, it is a good place to act as a hub for that type of activity (though, again, not so much if you’re with a brood in tow). ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/34 "2007-01-05T20:13:26Z")
[QUOTE=AudreyK] people who stuff pictures of boobs in their faces every 10 feet. [/QUOTE] I have never been too keen on going to Vegas. Until I read that… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/35 "2007-01-05T20:44:57Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] Regarding the “family friendly” Vegas - that was a brief experiment years ago that ended in dismal failure. I don’t have the exact figures at hand, but they found that although more tourists showed up during the family phase, prior to this “family friendly” experiment, the average adult spent something like $100 a day in gaming, but the average adult with kids spent about $25. Needless to say, that family idea was dropped faster than you can say “Bingo”. MGM Grand had built a huge, expensive, Disneyland-ish park in the back and simply closed it down to end the parade of families coming through their casino. They have torn down many of the rides and open what is left of it only for the occasional private, adult parties. (They might not even do that anymore since they started building the high-rises out back.) And yes, there are families with kids who live here, but it isn’t easy. There simply isn’t a whole lot for kids to do in this town - ask any high school kid in Las Vegas and they will all tell you this town sucks for them. They can hardly go anywhere without a parent or legal guardian. Tourists who bring kids to Las Vegas are usually clueless idiots who find out the hard way that they can’t do hardly anything with the kids in tow - other than some limited family friendly activity at Circus Circus. Even locals with kids are always trying to find something to do with them for birthdays and the like - and they quickly run out of ideas. A desperate co-worker, trying to figure out something to do with her kid for her birthday, told me once, “If I take my daughter to Circus Circus one more time she has threatened to run away.” [/QUOTE] The same thing happened back in the 80s re: spring break at Fort Lauderdale. In addition to the added PITA factor (drunk & disorderly, petty crime & general increase in asshattery), the hotel owners realized that 2 comparatively quiet European adult tourists in a hotel room generated a tad more profit than 14 rampaging frat boys on spring break did in same hotel room. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935/36 "2007-01-05T22:00:27Z")
I confess that when my wife and I go to Vegas, we bring our kid along. Not out of guilt or anything, but simply because the primary reason we go to Vegas is to look at the sights/spectacles/neon (and a bit of swimming), and those are family-friendly enough for us. I think the OP’s rant against strollers is a bit misplaced, at least for kids under five. I wouldn’t mind an occasional “adults only” Vegas trip, just to get a bit more time to gamble, but I need to convince the missus first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-holidays-in-las-vegas-a-rant/385935.md?page=1)