Half naked? The ones we collected were fully naked spread eagle shots with very small strategically placed stars. One, two or three depending on the pose. There is a LITTLE imagination required for what is behind those stars, but not much.
Just went a few months ago. You HAVE to go to the Neon Sign Boneyard Museum. And don’t forget your camera!
In my very limited Vegas experience, don’t get hung up on the “savings” from half-price tickets if there’s a show you actually want to see. When I went there we wanted to see a show, but didn’t particularly care which, and “half-price” turned out to be about 10% off. Not bad on $70 tickets, but it really only covered the service fees they would have charged buying tickets at the door.
If you like cars and have some time to kill the Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace are fun. Free admission if you bother to print out the coupon, and you can spend as much time as you like walking around classic, rare, and celebrity cars in a carpeted parking garage. Unlike much of Vegas, nobody bothered us doing it, nobody tried to sell us anything, and there were no crazy noises and lights. We took tons of pictures, and even my wife, who isn’t a big car nut, enjoyed it.
Go to the damn dam.
I wouldn’t suggest going to Hoover Dam unless you have a lot of time. It is interesting, but not worth killing a half day.
I agree with the article that distraction is dangerous. Also, I don’t like to mix my pleasures.
Duly noted. I was fooled by everyone saying how walkable Vegas is. 
I think that might have to wait for a trip that isn’t dominated by a conference for work. I suppose I could always extend my stay by a day on my own dime, but I expect I’ll be ready to come home by the end of that..
Yes, I suppose you are right. I’ve actually never been to Las Vegas, but I always figured if and when, I would visit Hoover Dam if I had time to fit it in.
Only the Strip is walkable. The other 98% of the city is not. Well, you could walk through some random neighborhoods, I guess, but it is not a pedestrian-friendly city. It’s more like square miles by square miles of strip malls.
And the strip is really only walkable from one end to the other if you are in pretty good shape. By the time you get from Mandalay Bay to the Mirage, you’ve hiked a pretty long way - and aren’t to the end. And if you’ve stuck to the sidewalk, you have collected an entire set of escort cards to trade with your friends!
(The fancier casinos seem to do a better job of keeping the card slappers off the sidewalks in front of them - and I have been known to cross the street from block to block to end up on the “less trashy” side).
Last time I was there, they had two different tours of the dam. They start with the diversion tunnel and then show you the powerhouse. Then the deluxe tour breaks off and gets to go through some of the access passages in the dam itself.
The deluxe tour has a longer wait and sells out earlier than the regular one, but it’s worth it. Get there early.
I found that pretty much all of the casinos keep them off their property. They just know exactly where the property lines are.
Trivia: They have been trying to ban these people and the semi-porn cards, but have not been successful.
However, some property owners are trying to keep them to the street area away from their property.
Sheldon Adelson, the owner of The Venetian, was quite clever when he “donated” some of the front of his property for widening of Las Vegas Boulevard. This essentially made ALL of the remaining property in front of his casino now private property - meaning nobody can picket or hand out flyers or do anything in front of the building unless approved by his security. I believe it is the only property on The Strip that has absolutely no city owned public walkway.
The concept that Venetian/Palazzo security can prevent people from doing that stuff has been legally tested, and failed. It’s in sort of a limbo status, where some types of things like porn card passers and strip club barkers are routinely shuffled away without consequence, but others like street performers and vagrants often aren’t.
The Venetian property still does more than any other Las Vegas strip property to keep undesirable people away, though. You won’t even see Caesar’s Palace security patrolling on the sidewalk outside, for example. Most places won’t even try to clean up the public walkways leading to their property.
That’s why I always suggest taking a taxi from place to place, even if it’s next door. It seems like pickpockets and porn peddlers and hookers (and their pimps :eek: )and vagrants outnumber the tourists, sometimes.
Inside the casinos is a different story. Security will recognize the “problem” hookers (the ones who cause a scene or rob their patrons) and kick them out. Usually the ones that slip by security don’t cause problems, meaning you’re more likely to be safe. I still wouldn’t recommend accepting an offer from them, but at least you don’t usually have to worry about getting beaten and robbed by a pimp once you’re inside a Vegas property. The porn peddlers and vagrants don’t even make it past the front door.
The best bit of Vegas advice; If you’re going to walk the Vegas strip, do it in the daytime!
I moved to Vegas this past July. Vegas is a pit. If you must come here, either stay on the strip, or go far, far away to the mountains.
How is the bus system for getting around the Strip? After walking a mile or so with my wife and kids to see the Bellagio fountains, and passing many clusters of card-passers, $7 each for a bus ride was looking good.
I felt really sorry for the Mom whose five-year-old asked “Mommy, what are all these cards doing on the ground?”
Was Vegas like that when they were trying to sell it as a “family friendly” destination just a few years ago?
You’re probably right - I didn’t look very closely.
I thought, come on - I’m with the woman I love, and the point of the Vegas trip was a treat for her (and us). And they are trying to ply me with other women. :rolleyes:
Regards,
Shodan
Well, today’s the day I make the hotel arrangements, so I’ll shoot for the Mandalays first, with the Luxor as a fallback position. And once everything is confirmed, I will call about Penn and Teller tickets.
Eh. I’m not sure what one who brings a five-year-old to Las Vegas is expecting to see.
Vegas is all about spectacle, and most people realize it’s a decidedly adult spectacle. You know, “Sin City”; “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”; etc…
A certain amount of sleaze is par for the course, and those who are offended by it (or have 5-y-o kids) might be better off choosing a different vacation destination.