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stuff to do in vegas
HalberdBlue
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm going to Las Vegas for 4 days for spring break with some friends, but I have little idea of what there is to do there, other than "a lot of stuff" and casinos. None of us are terribly interested in gambling, so what is there to do? One of my friends has been there a few times so he has some ideas, but I'm looking here for some more. Right now the only must-do thing on my list is skydiving. I'd also like to go bungee-jumping again, but I don't know if there are any places near Las Vegas that do that. I'm the only thrill-seeker in the bunch though so you that would probably be the extent of "crazy" stuff I'd do because I'd probably be doing it alone. Oh yeah, and there are females in the group, so suggesting a bunch of strip clubs or whatever won't help.
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GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
As far as Vegas goes, just keep in mind that as long as you are playing the games (any kind) you get free drinks. So use this to your advantage. Don't blow a wad of money in the bar or anything like that, save your money and get drinks on the casinos dime instead.
The aquarium (Shark Reef) in Mandalay Bay is surprisingly good, and the little mall area Passage Thru the Desert is kind of cool. They also have an ultra highend car store in one of the malls, and you get to scope out lambos and the like. All in all, Vegas has quite a few things to do for anyone. even if you don't do a lot of gambling, the entire town is designed for entertainment. Stay close to the strip, and you'll find something (or someone) you like.
Just make sure to stop off at La Salsa Cantina and get a yard margarita. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.
Have fun.
If you want to drink well, for cheap, go downtown, away from the strip, to Main Street Station, near Fremont street. There's a brewpub in there, with $3 22-oz. Microbrews, and hella good drink specials (I was drinking $3 Long Island Iced Teas). You can also check out the light shows on Fremont.
nah just kidding. when i went there i was underage so i couldn't gamble but honestly just seeing all the casinos and respective hotels was pretty fly.
-For example, in front of the Mirage there's a volcano that goes off, I believe, every hour (especially cool after dark) (though it may be cheesier than I remember, I haven't been for a few years).
-In front of Treasure Island there's a pirate show -- I think it's a tacky song-and-dance-and-glitter routine right now, but it could be enjoyable (though the mock pirate fight complete with sinking ship was way cooler).
-Inside of Caesar's Palace, in the Forum Shops (might be fun just to browse, in case you've never been in Gucci and Versace -- don't spill your drink on the $4k dresses though) there's the living statues show. It's cheesy, again, but kinda fun (again, on the hour, I believe. They're Greek statues [Poseidon, Hermes, Artemis and Apollo, I want to say] who talk and...stuff).
-There's a wave pool inside of Mandalay Bay that I don't think you need to be a guest to use. There's the Dancing Waters in front of the Bellagio (as seen in Ocean's 11, the new one).
-Gondola rides inside of the Venetian (though I don't remember how much they cost, it's kinda fun).
-Roller coasters around New York, New York, and on top of the Stratosphere. Also on top of the Stratosphere is one of those things that shoots you up real fast and takes a picture of your face as you're pissing yourself (anyone know the name?).
There's also an M+Ms store with all sorts of colors of M+Ms in big candy bins that you can collect to bring home (or eat, whatever), like black, grey, pink, turquoise, lavender, whatever.
You can go indoor skydiving, though I'm not sure if there are any locations on the strip. Also, helicopter rides at night are sweet, and there's a roller coaster outside Vegas proper with one of the steepest drops in the country, or something (or at least it used to be).
If you're willing to spend a bit more money, the shows there are amazing. Cirque du Soleil is always worth going to see. I think Blue Man Group is still playing there, plus there's always some great comedy acts going on. I would recommend you DON'T go see Lord of the Dance if it's still there. Penn and Teller put on a great show.
If you're into/willing to pay for fine dining, there's some of the best in the country there, such as Nobu, Aureole, Lutece, and Alize. Spago and one other are by Wolfgang Puck, and Emeril has a fantastic Cajun place, though I'm not sure what hotel it's in. Kinda cool name-dropability. Also, I hear the clubs can be great (and would be an option if you have women with you -- very picky about guests), though I've never been. One that was really cool that I went to in the daytime, though, was the VooDoo lounge on top of the Rio -- the outdoor area hangs out over the hotel and has a glass dance floor (incredibly thick, reinforced, glass dance floor, that's replaced every four months or something) -- very cool to see if heights don't freak you out.
I'll be responding again if I think of anything else -- Las Vegas is one of my favorite vacation spots.
Edit: Spelling and @ saint2e, I would highly recommend NOT bothering with a rental car unless you're going to be driving out of the city a LOT (or into it). You'll probably walk anywhere faster, and I think we only ever took cabs when it was more than a couple hotels away (these hotels are really big, so that's a few blocks) and we were dressed up/tired/lazy, or if we were going downtown or to the Rio or something. A couple of the hotels (Mirage and Treasure Island, I think, and another set or two) actually have moving sidewalks between them, which is kinda cool. If you know what you're doing, then don't mind me, of course!
edit: and don't waste your time on the pirate show. it's like some toned down modern dance/showgirls thing now. totally lame and not worth the time.
There's also a casino that has some roller coaster-type stuff at the top floor. I forget which one, but to be honest, it looked really cheap and a little bit dirty. Like dangling from a skyscraper as you're on some crazy ride and you can look down hundreds of feet and see the cars driving around the strip like Matchbox toys. Even if you don't want to go on the rides, the view is amazing.
You could always check online to see if the House of Blues is having a cool concert while you're in town. I've been to a couple shows there, and it's a pretty awesome venue.
There are also tons of other non-Cirque shows in Vegas, but some of them probably will only appeal to you if you've got an interest in the theater (Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia, etc).
You could always drive out to Lake Mead, rent a boat (or a few jet skis) and go out swimming for a day.
If anyone's a fan of hiking or the outdoors, the Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon, or Mt. Charleston are all awesome places to visit, that aren't too long of a drive from Vegas.
If clubs are more your thing, there are several excellent clubs on the strip. There are also a shit load of awesome places to eat, in every price range.
The Shark Reef - Mandalay Bay
The Dolphin Pools - The Mirage
The Dancing Waters - The Bellagio
The Gondola Rides - The Venetian
Bungee Jumping - Circus Circus
The AdventureDome - Circus Circus
All of the cheesy carnival/circus stuff - Circus Circus
All of the shopping - Bellagio / Caesars Palace / Venetian
All of the rollercoasters - New York New York / The Sahara / The Stratosphere
The Stratosphere itself, amazing views of all of Vegas - The Stratosphere
Walking the strip - Fun in and of itself
There's thousands of things to do.
Also, can I please dispell the myth now? Yes, there are prostitutes in Las Vegas, just as many as in every other city on the planet. Prostitution is not legal in Clark County, the county in which Las Vegas is encompassed entirely by. Yes, you can drive outside of town and go to the real prostitution ranches, but they are not in Las Vegas at all.
Often times I would say "I need a drink, sit at a machine (wasn't even putting in a dollar), and wait for the waittress to come." You give her a buck for a tip and you get a beer. That's how vegas rolls.
Prostitution is not legal, however you will see TONS of guys standing on the strip slapping escort flyers in their hand at night. My friend also got called the minute he checked in asking if he wanted her to come up. You can walk the strip with a beer no problem. My friend and I have a picture with beers in one hand giving thumbs up to a cop sitting in his squad car. He asked if we wanted to get cuffed up to make the picture cooler, laughed, and drove off.
The cirque shows are good, but expensive. If you want to check out some cool things, the Dinner Show at Excalibur is like $30 and is like medieval times. It's really tacky but kinda fun to do once.
Ceasar's has a gigantic mall, the fountains there come alive in the evenings and put on 15 minutes show (obviously free). Cool to see, even if they're kinda lame.
If you go to the end of the strip and hit up the Wynn, they have a high end car dealership where you can see all sorts of ferraris, lamborghinis, masseratis etc. It's fucking awesome. If you have proof of ownership of one of these cars it's free to get in (HAAHHAHAHAA) or you pay like $10.
Great suggestion list!
I'd also recommend going down and seeing the Freemont Street Experience. The light show is fantastic and there are a ton of places to grab cheap food that are very good.
We were impressed by the Luxor too - some very cool little shops and if you've killed your feet walking the strip there's an Imax theater in there if you need a break.
I have no idea what is still there since the Aladdin turned into the Planet Hollywood but there was an neat little gellato place in the mall that the wife and I loved - and we had a very nice, cheap meal at Kady's in the Riviera too.
God, now I want to go back again
The Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. Completely amazing experience.
Also, everything else listed is perfet.
The main draw for me is the gambling - Honestly I could sit down at the poker room at Caesars and play for 12 hours straight. Poker is fun because 1) Your money lasts a long time if you play tight 2) You're playing against other players, not the house and 3) the table conversation tends to be pretty good as long as you're not seated with assholes.
Blackjack is fun too but of course it burns your money pretty fast. The house always wins and whatnot. I can play pretty much optimal blackjack w/o card counting so occaisonally I'll hit a lucky streak and win a bit. Again though, I play BJ mostly for the table conversation and free drinks.
Some suggestions for the Vegas area - if you're into nature/scenery:
Red Rock Canyon - maybe 30 minutes from the strip by car IIRC. Nice hiking. Great desert scenery - I'm a midwestern boy so the desert is fascinating.
It's so quiet, it's a wonderful counterpoint to the lights and noise of the strip. Clears up a hangover fast ;D
I also like Valley of Fire which is about 50 miles from the strip.
and if you have more time on your trip, grand canyon (seriously, this thing is the win, i can tell you its big, your friends can tell you its big, but dude, you don't know the definition of big until you've seen it)
This. I stayed a weekend in Vegas less than a month ago and Ka was amazing, provided you can get your hands on tickets. They're priced from $69 if I remember, and we waited until the night of the show and ended up paying around $100 each. Wish I'd been able to see Love.
Thanks for the other tips though. I think I'm going to also check out Hoover Dam and, if time permits, the grand canyon.
Not that I plan on parading around drunk, but what risks would there be to me being drunk outside, being underage and all?
Please, though, someone from Vegas clarify!
Quoth the wikipedia:
It seems that visits to Area 51 itself would not be a wise idea. I think that the town of Roswell has a number of tourist-y alien attraction spots, though.
There apparently is a sign that you can drive up to and it says go no further or some such. This is where I plan on going.
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