Don’t get me wrong, I will be drinking and gambling at some point, but I am not going to do it for three days! At least, I hope not…
Anyhoo, I’m headed there from the 3rd to 6th of July (why my buddy decided to pick one of the most expensive weekends to go, I’ll never know…)
So what else is there to do besides the casinos? We plan on hitting up the pinball museum and atomic test museum (he’s a nuclear engineer, so it was first on his list.) What else is good? And will we have to rent a car to do most of it? We’re trying to save money where we can, so if we have to rent one, we’re going to try and just do it for one day.
And how about food? Sure, we’ll hit up the cheapo buffets I’m sure, but we’d also like to have at least one good meal. preferably, a place that’s listed at restaurant.com so we can save more money buy buying half price gift certificates.
Somewhat geeky, but I enjoyed a trip out to Hoover Dam. WPA, Art Deco architecture, amazing engineering feats, alien landscape … what more could you ask?
And truly, just walking around and gawking at the people, plus visiting all the “theme” hotels to see the outrageousness is fun. Be careful about being out and about during the day, though … it will be brutally hot.
I was actually stranded there when the air travel was suspended for some strange reason in early fall, 2001. I rented a Harley and rode through the Red Rock Canyon area (nice rocky scenery), Hoover Dam (closed). I neither gambled (not in the mood) nor drank that week, and had a nice time, considering. Otherwise ate at some nice restaurants and wandered about the Strip.
Shooting machine guns sounds pretty cool…where can one do that?
And any good restaurants we can go to? Lots of bonus points if it’s one at restaurant.com…they’ve got an 80% off sale right now, so a $50 gift certificate can be had for only $4!
If you like sushi, The Social House at TI (Treasure Island hotel) is excellent, but it is not cheap- dinner for two without alcohol ran us about $120. On the upside, you can sit outside on the second floor and watch the hookers vs pirates show, which is fun.
Killer outlet malls if you’re into shopping (or you want to pick up a nice Coach bag for your honey).
The show “O” at the Bellagio is the most artistically and technically amazing theatrical production I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a metric fuck ton of live theater). Catch it if you can, the closer the better (we were 3rd row center, I think, and we saw such cool things going on that weren’t visible to the wider audience.
I don’t know where you’re staying, but the service at the Wynn is phenomenal, especially room service and housekeeping. They really excel at providing the best.
Oatman, Chloride, and Lake Havasu Arizona is fun for a day,plus you can visit Route 66,Searchlight, and Laughlin Nevada on the way. Maybe a 2 hour drive
Food: the buffet at “M” is the newest and best in town. It’s also a bargain. In town, there are more high-quality restaurants than anywhere else on the planet. Give us some guidance here.
