I won $24.30 off of a $1 at Bellagio!

We had driven an entire day to get from Redding, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was exhausting, but at least we avoided the main highways by taking the mountain pass route.

Approaching Vegas was overwhelming.You drive through miles of desert nothingness so dark at night that you can see the milky way and stars litter the skies like icing sugar on a chocolate cake. Then, you begin to approach a city of lights so bright you wonder if something is going to short circuit. The city gets bigger and bigger, and so do the buildings and towers. Suddenly you’re driving (or rather inching) along The Strip and your senses are overwhelmed by the stench of hundreds of people, the sounds of commercials and outdoor performances playing one after the other telling you that “Leanne Rhimes is performing at the Luxor” “Watch the #1 musical performance..” “Rated #1 show in all of Las Vegas” etc. as if you were on the set of Minority Report, and the bright lights twinkle, flash, and move across the buildings around you all trying to entice you to spend money at their resort. It’s an epileptic person’s worse nightmare.

I can’t say I was keen on staying in Vegas when we first arrived. I normally avoid big cities when I travel. But, by the end of two days, I wished we could’ve stayed at least one more night because there was so much to do and too little time to do it all.

This was my second visit to Vegas as an adult. The first trip was in 2007 for five days and that was just the right amount of time to see some shows, shop at the outlet mall, and go through all the hotels on The Strip. Two days is not enough time.

Sidenote: Please don’t take your kids to Vegas. I went once as a kid and hated it because I wasn’t allowed to step into any area that had gambling (including restaurant seats that had gaming screens), which pretty much meant I couldn’t go anywhere because there are machines everywhere! It’s also not a good idea to bring your kids because there are dozens upon dozens of people along the streets handing out graphic stripper and prostitute cards to anyone who walks by. Even if you avoid them, the cards cover the sidewalks like confetti after a New Years Eve party.

Worthwhile Things to Do in Vegas

1. 

   Tastes of the World at the Coke shop is also worthwhile. It's $7 for 2 trays of pop from around the world or $8 for a tray of floats.

   ‘Tastes of the World’ at the Coke shop is also worthwhile. It’s $7 for 2 trays of pop from around the world or $8 for a tray of floats.
2. Spend an entire afternoon walking down The Strip and visiting all the different hotels. It may look like a small street, but it takes a really long time to walk from one end to the next. Each hotel has an underlying theme and most have free daily shows (ex. Bellagio’s water show outside, Treasure Island’s Siren’s show, Caesar’s Palace afternoon show etc.). There are tons of cheesy photo opportunities and fun to be had.
3. Take in a show. I would go to at least one major show like a Cirque du Soleil performance, and maybe one of the smaller burlesque shows for kicks. Ticket prices may be high for a Cirque show, but it’s worth it.
4. Devote an afternoon to shopping at the Outlet Mall. Like everything else in Vegas, the Outlet Mall is oversized and will take an afternoon to get through.
5. Try a buffet and don’t skimp on it. Avoid the ones that are $7.99 and treat yourself to a nice one – budget $20 for lunch or $30 for dinner.

Tips for Travellers to Vegas

1. Book your hotel room online and ahead of time! Booking your Vegas hotel room online is always cheaper than booking a room in person.
2. Be aware that the hotels have begun charging an extra “resort fee” that range from $10 to $25 per night. This may make your cheap room more expensive than the nicer room at the more expensive hotel.
3. Prices for rooms change throughout the day, so if you have the time, check the prices a few times over the course of a couple of days to get the best deal.
4. If you don’t know what show you want to watch, visit places like Tix4Tonight at the Coke store for discounted tickets. Be aware that they charge a $5 fee so it’s worth it to buy tickets for expensive shows but not so much for the smaller shows.
5. If you want to catch a Cirque du Soleil performance, you might have to purchase them online ahead of time for good seats (depending on the show). Ka and Love usually have discounted day of tickets, but O is usually sold out by the day before.
6. If you want to get a discount on Cirque du Soleil performances and don’t mind sitting on your own, you can get discounted single seats at the booking desk. There were only ‘limited vision’ seats left when we got there so we bought individual seats scattered in the nicer sections of the theatre that were much cheaper – the ‘limited vision’ seats cost about $120 while the seats that we got that are normally worth around $170 only cost us around $120. You can’t talk during the performance anyways and you won’t want to look away from the stage to look at your friend / partner either.
7. If you want to change your seat, you can always try to go to the booking desk an hour before a performance to check if anyone has refunded their tickets last minute.
8. 

   CSI: The Experience - Worst Vegas attraction EVER.

   
   Do NOT go to CSI: The Experience. I seriously want a refund!! It was $30 to go in and it’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever paid for. It’s supposed to give you the experience of solving a crime on your own. I thought that at the very least the crime scenes would be detailed and realistic like they have in the show. But no. The crime scene looked like the set of a high school’s haunted house and the “experience” consisted of going through a few rooms and filling out a form with information that’s hand-fed to you on posters and interactive computer screens. I actually felt like they should be paying ME to go through it. At the end of it I actually did ask for a refund but the guy said he couldn’t do it. He also said that lots of people complain about it being crap, after which I thought “then why the hell didn’t you tell us not to go in!?!” Ugh.
9. If you want to gamble a bit, take out $x from your wallet (the amount you’re willing to pay for the experience of gambling) and put your wallet away until you’re out of the casino. This helps to prevent overgambling.
10. If you want free alcoholic drinks, just sit in front of a slot machine for a while and bet a few cents every minute or so. Waitresses will come around and ask if you want something to drink. It’s complimentary and a really cheap way to get buzzed before you hit the clubs. I’ve heard this works better if you’re female with a female friend (men don’t get as many drinks). Be aware that the drinks contain much more hard alcohol than you may be used to. You can also order non-alcoholic drinks.
11. I’ve heard that you’re more likely to win on a slot machine that’s closer to a casino entrance because they’re programmed to have higher chances of wins so that people walking by the casino see others winning and are enticed to enter. I haven’t found out whether this is true or not.

See all of Anny’s photos in her original post.