I have been to LAS VEGAS so many times I couldn’t count them on my finger and toes. The first time I was there when I was 11 years old. There were only 3 hotels on the ’Strip’ then. The downtown area was a great place to visit. Until the mid ’60’s the top Hotels only charged you $16.00USD for each night. If you promised to gamble at least $50.00 a day your room, food and entertainment were free. The only thing you had to pay for was tips and renting a tube to float in the Hotel’s pool! The Mob ruled the Town and everything was safe because who would dare to defy them? The ’Mob’ is gone, (or at least they’re not visible), and Vegas has the crime that all large Cities have. It is still a great place to visit.
From my Father’s Detroit days he knew most of the Managers of the major Hotels. After I got married we stayed at the Tropicana, Sands, Caesars Palace and New York, New York. We were staying at the Sands when the United States decided to do their first underground test at ’ground zero’, (a half an hour drive from Vegas). Many people left Vegas but we decided to stay. The test was to take place at 2 A.M. so we saw a midnight show and went to the Casino to play black jack until the test was over. What fools we were in our youth! The hotel shook so hard, the water from the pool came over the windows of the hotel, the chandeliers, (above the casino), almost fell down and the final straw was when a man sitting next to me said to the dealer, ’Why have you stopped the game. Get your but moving and deal!’’
Vegas has so Apartment and Condo Rentals, Hotels, Motels and RV Parks that there will always be a place that you can stay within your budget. I do suggest you rent a car because, (even in the good old days), walking between one Hotel to the one next door can often be more that 6 blocks.
There are a lot of attractions for you do visit if you don’t want to spend your time in a Casino or by the pool.
We have been there in every season. We don’t golf but if you do within the Vegas area there are over 30 golf courses. If you visit in the winter you can ski at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort at Lee Canyon and the Diamond Peak on Mount Rose.
We drove a few miles to see Lake Mead. This is a wonderful place to go for a boat ride, water ski or relax and have a picnic.
You’ll never have to look for a place to show. Each major Hotel has a shopping arcade.
THE MALLS:
The Belz Factory Outlet, (on Las Vegas Blvd.), has a lot of shops such as Calvin Klein, Lenox, Nike and Saks Fifth Avenue.
At the Boulavard Mall, (on the Maryland Parkway), you can shop at the Bath & Body Works, Bombay Company, the Disney Store, the Gap and Macy’s. We visit here to pick up a few boxes of chocolates at Ethel M. Chocolates. The parking lot is so large once we forgot where we parked, what color our rental car was and the license number. We had to phone the rental company to get the information so the Mall could help us find our car!
The Fashion Show Mall is on Las Vegas Blvd. This is a Mall has the top shops such as Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, Betsey Johnson, Sharper Image and Discovery Channel Store.
THE PLACES I ALWAYS GO TO EAT:
The Stage Deli in Caesars Place has mile high sandwiches. They let you order half a sandwich and that is great because I can’t finish the half I order.
You’ll find Cafe Trilussa on Las Vegas Blvd. South. They make great pasta but we come here to eat their ’wilted spinach salad’.
The local people and those ’in the loop’ know that the Rio Hotel has the best buffet in Vegas. They have buffets at breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner. We go for dinner when they serve the Seafood Buffet. You’ll find the Rio on Flamingo Road.
We go to The Prime Steakhouse if we want steaks or prime rib roast. It’s in the Bellagio Hotel.
For French Food we go to the Le Provencal on the Strip.
There is lot of excellent Asian Restaurants in Vegas. We like Chang’s in the Ballys Hotel.
THE ENTERTAINMENT:
Every hotel has shows. The range from French Follies to
well known entertainers. I can’t list the shows I’ve seen
as I’m almost at my 1000 word limit. Also they change so it’s better if you found our what will be on when you are
going to Vegas.
SOME THOUGHTS:
From being a gambler’s heaven Las Vegas has turned itself into a Family Vacation Spot. Every member of your Family will find something to do in Vegas.
The Vegas Tourism site is at:
https://lasvegas24hours.com
©LL