Landing in Las Vegas

In the middle of October 2010 I made a trip with 6 other friends to Las Vegas in Nevada US. The intension of this trip was party and gambling at the first place. We arrived at McCarran International Airport (LAS) around 8pm and I had already booked online a Limo-Transfer with a welcome-bottle of Champagne (150$). My friends had no idea and were happily surprised about it. The ride to the Hotel was around 10 minutes. Long enough to kill the bottle and enjoy the first impressions of the Las Vegas strip. For me it wasn’t the first time in Las Vegas, but there is always something new to discover. Furthermore it’s impressive to feel the spirit of Las Vegas every time. Our base, consisting of two connected rooms was located in the Mirage- Hotel. We had bad luck with our view, as we were located on the backside of the hotel-complex. But no worries, we need good luck at the gambling tables, not in election of the rooms.

Las Vegas Casinos

Turning to the important points, we ran to the next supermarket for a well-chosen mix of Whiskey, Vodka, Rum, beer and anything else, which belongs to the basics. Back to the hotel, suit up, get drunk, driving in party- mood and down to enter the casino. The remarkable architecture of Vegas offers a complete casino-basement all over the whole strip in the ground floor. You cannot enter you hotel room, pool side, shopping area, restaurants etc. without crossing the casino. Somebody could consider it as annoying, but for passionate gambling addicts it is like in paradise.

We gambled in the most famous casinos and in conclusion I can say, that Las Vegas is and stays the best gambling spot of the world. For low and high roller, there is the right table nearby. The min bets are starting at 5$ for Roulette or Blackjack. If you can still not afford it, there are automats with even lower bets waiting for you. Besides the wide gambling offer, the flair in Las Vegas casinos is unreachable. It’s like a party! You have free drink supply as long you are gambling. And I am not talking about cheap punched longdrinks, the card offers everything from beer to cocktails. A good investment is a high initial tip for the waiter chic, to ensure a fast and constant supply. The audience in Las Vegas casinos is amazing, you can talk to everyone, having fun together, also the dealer are in a good mood and open for some jokes. I always enjoyed every minute in Las Vegas Casinos.

Las Vegas besides gambling

But maybe you are not a gambler and you prefer to spend your time with other mind-blowing activities. First of all take your time to walk up and down the strip, enjoy the shows in front of the casinos and feel the spirit of Vegas. The best time for it, is after 8pm.

 

Furthermore I would recommend the Stratosphere- Tower. A nice place for adrenaline junks. Imagine a 350m high tower, with three out-of-this-world rides. The X-SCREAM, Insanity and the BIG SHOT. You can go upstairs just to enjoy the amazing view over Las Vegas and have a relaxed drink or you go a step further for real action. I have chosen the X-Scream and the Big Shot, really intense rides, which bring you to the edge. Check out below link and decide what you rather go for.

Gun Range

Another kicking experience is a visit of a gun-range. For gun fanatic Americans it is supposed to be boring, but for Europeans, who are not used to see guns, firearms or even bazookas it will be an exciting moment. For me it was a bucket list thing, I like to play certain ego-shooter and that’s why I had to know how it feels to shoot a M16 and a Desert Eagle. 2 Magazines, 4 9mm bullets and 70 bucks later I knew it and I can suggest you, never come across with a Desert Eagle, the scary two kilo steel machine.

Grand Canyon

But let’s jump to THE “must-seen” in Las Vegas. Well, it isn’t in Las Vegas, but it belongs to a Las Vegas trip. You are absolutely committed to do a trip to the Grand Canyon. No matter how, but go for it, you won’t regret it. You can do it like VIPs in a helicopter or you go by car. The helicopter trip is quite short and really expensive. We rented two Mustangs Convertible for 85$/day each and started for the ride in the desert. It really gives you a feeling of freedom to cruise through the desert without seeing anyone, hard contrast to busy Las Vegas.

On the ways we passed the Hover Dam, made a picture, done, further. The Grand Canyon is enormous and there are a lot of good spots with a breathtaking view. Either you can enter the National Park and search a lost spot next to the abyss to absorb the environment or you decide to go for the Grand Canyon Skywalk(30$). This spot is a tourism magnet. So be prepared for a lot of people. During the walk only a few cm of glass keep you and the depth of the Grand Canyon apart. This is nothing for guys with fear of heights. No matter, which spot you choose. Don’t miss the Grand Canyon!

Nightlife

So, done with day-activities, lets immerse in the nightlife. The freaking, crazy, colorful nightlife of Vegas. It seems to be endless. A lot of clubs, shows, casino, strip-clubs etc. For me the perfect Las Vegas night starts with a couple of whiskey-cokes at a Blackjack table. Then continuing with some drinks in several bars on the strip, ending up in one of the world most impressive nightclubs.

The nightclub in Palms Tower. The club consists of three areas, the Ghostbar with the dramatic outdoor sky deck, the Playboy-Club Moon with a lot of waiter-bunnies, and the Rain. The club Moon is surrounded only of glass-walls, that gives you a remarkable view all over the glittering Las Vegas strip the whole night. But it’s hard to enjoy it, because there are a lot of extremely hot girls in short party dresses on the dance floor drawing your attention. Pick one and stay focused to take her home.

Hooker and Strip Clubs

But no worries if you won’t get lucky in a nightclub, there are more options to have fun with girls in Las Vegas. But for these options you have to pay. The Americans are taking advantage of the legal prostitution in Las Vegas a lot, but I think for Europeans it is nothing new. If you are interested in it, you get hundreds of card with phone-number of prostitutes everywhere on the strip.

If you don’t want to get involved in this business, there are several high-class strip clubs in Las Vegas, which are open 24 hours. Unbelievable, but that’s Las Vegas. But never book a strip club tour with a limo in advance. They will charge you a lot and you can get the limo tour everywhere for free. There are a lot of promotion guys on the strip trying to convince you for a free ride with a limo or a partybus to a strip club of your choice. Also the entrance is for free.

The driver earns commission from the club and a typical win-win-win situation is created. However the strip clubs are solid, nice shows and the girls in a good mood. A Lapdance on your seat costs 20$ per song and for 100$ you will get one in a private room. The end depends on the negotiation before; you know what I am talking about. To sum up, no matter if you like strip clubs or not, they really belong to a complete Las Vegas trip in hangover style.

I hope I could give you some inspiration of enjoying Las Vegas in the right way. It’s not my intension to give you detailed trip advices, the process of discovering Las Vegas should be done by yourself. Everyone has different needs satisfy and limits to break and Las Vegas is the right city for it. I mean everyone knows the sentence, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Today people are using it for almost every place of the world, but it’s a rule made and used for Vegas. If you go to Vegas with the right friends, it will be your “everything can happen” or “everything will happen” -trip. Trust me.

For me, until now, Las Vegas is the unchallenged location for a hangover trip.