This week’s Las Vegas podcast includes:
- Keno is still bad
- Stardust closing date announced
- Oscar wants a museum
- Billboard gets ripped off
- Our list of must-do items for first-time Las Vegas visitors
- “I think they’re mocking us.”
Five Hundy By Midnight 9/10/06 (32:13 min, 29.6 MB)
I am still getting over listening to all 3 shows in a row! I am listening to 83 now.
Thanks again for all the great shows.
Matthew
I think it was Voltaire, or was it Carrot Top, who said that good natured ribbing was the sincerest form of appreciation. George and Julie and I were glad the cell phone connection picked up our voices over the extra-loud Sean Paul jam that was playing in the Rouge Lounge during our call. You guys will have to stop by. The place is, appropriately, painted red and dimly lit. Rows and rows of wine bottles are mounted on the wall behind the bar, reaching to the ceiling, and the lighting in each bottle changes every few minutes. There are some interesting effects, like a cork in each bottle that floats gracefully to the top. Keep up the great work!
I have to disagree on mapping and planning your first trip. I’ve found that it’s best to research where everything that you want to see is, and plan your trip so that you’re not going constantly traveling up and down the Strip. You can still make time for gambling and sponteneity.
As for first-trip must-sees, I would add spending a night Downtown and at the Fremont Street Experience.
Another thing that first-timers must do is spend time looking at the many cheap souvenir stores along the Strip, notably the Bonanza, the strip centers between TI and the Sahara, and the South Strip between Aladdin and MGM Grand.
Just finished listening to this show. I agree with just about all of your tips (I’m not into the shows, but plenty of people are).
Another show idea: What do you suggest to the Vegas veteran to spice up another visit? I’ve already walked the strip, smelled the stench of Downtown, played “Guess who’s the prostitute” and walked through many shops where I could never afford the products. The gambling and some adult beverage consumption is a given, but what other gems await the return visitor?
I’ve got it. You need a show on all-out Vegas debauchery. Let ’em know why it’s called Sin City.
When I lived there, a must-see when I had first time to Vegas visitors was the Bellagio conservatory. And, if the visitors include teens, the NYNY rollercoaster is a must do. (And if the visitors include toddlers, then just put them in a stroller and push them around the Strip anytime after midnight.) If the visitors include old folks that aren’t into the nightclub scene, take them to lunch at Rum Jungle. They’ll get the idea of what it is like, but not actually have to stay awake past 10pm.
PS: I have a lot more tips if you decide to do a Vegas debauchery show.
My recommendation for first time visitors to Vegas is to go out in front of your hotel (one of the major hotels if you’re staying el cheapo) and get one of those prostitute baseball cards from one of the “Porn Slappers”.
Then go up to your room, call her up and invite her to your room. Choose something very unusual from her menu, like maybe a ’round the world/teabagging combo. Pay her fee and bang that ho!
After all, IT’S LEGAL IN NEVADA!!
I visited for the first time last year. I think many first timers think that to get the ‘vegas experience’ they need to stay at MGM, Belagio, Ceasars etc. However, if you are an inexperienced gambler and want to throw yourself into the vegas experience, you should look at staying at a hotel where you are not priced out of the fun. The Flamingo, Tropicana etc seem to be perfectly adequate and are ideally placed to visit the other properties but their table minimums are low enough for first time gamblers/visiters to get involved. Cheapovegas.com lists table minimums in their hotel profiles but I don’t know how up to date it is.
Great list of first-trip tips. Some meager (but exciting!) additions:
You probably will NOT need a rental car, so save the money.
Hotel rates vary wildly based on what’s going on in town. You can cut your room rate by 60% with a little research on the hotel websites and flexibilty on your arrival and departure dates.
If you’re researching shows for your first trip, check out a site like:
http://www.lvol.com/lvoleg/lvshows.html
in particular the “Ratings and Comments” section. The comments come from a range of people, art snobs to joe sixpack, so you can get an idea of what you might like before laying out the cash. Plenty of “if you love Carrot Top, you’ll love…” type comments that you can use as a guide…or warning.
If you want to see one of the big shows (O, Danny Gans, etc.) BOOK EARLY. The odds of walking into one of those shows when you arrive is about zero (unless you just dropped ten large at the craps table and get the pencil).
Non casino/club things to check out:
– Flyaway Indoor Skydiving on Convention Center just off the strip. Worth stopping in for a look even if you don’t plan to “jump”.
– Fry’s Electronics about a mile or so south of Mandalay on LV Blvd – good place to kill time while the SO is pillaging the nearby outlet mall.
– Some highly subjective food favorites:
Food in a hurry: Grand Lux Cafe in Venetian
Bang-for-buck dinner: Lawry’s Prime Rib (off the strip, but walkable)
Steak: Smith & Wollensky (across from NYNY) – don’t operate heavy machinery after eating here….
Breakfast Buffet: Paris (thanks Tim & Michele!)
One travel trick we like to use: Book a late night departure flight, then rent a car on your last day. That gives you a place to store your luggage after the hotel throws you out, access to all the off-strip stuff (outlet malls, the dam, downtown, etc.) and transportation to the airport.
You can keep your bags at the Bell Desk after you’ve checked out. We did that last time and it was no problem.
One thing that my wife and I found enjoyable and helpful on our first trips to Vegas was to take some of the free table game classes several of the casinos offer. Often the casino will open up a low limit table (usually lower than $5.00!) for people who attended the class. Even when we felt we were experienced players we still picked up bits of useful/interesting information in these classes. Many of the free Vegas guides have schedules of when and where these free classes are.