When we got married, a year ago, we joked that it would have been easier to elope to Las Vegas and have a tacky Elvis wedding. When British Airways had a sale we took the opportunity to snap up some tickets to Las Vegas, to celebrate our first anniversary in style.
We wanted to stay on the Strip but when we started looking prices were quite expensive and New York, New York seemed the most affordable of the famous themed hotels. Over the next few months Debbie kept an eye on the prices, which are very volatile depending on whether there are any conferences happening. By cancelling and rebooking she got us into The Venetian and then into the more exclusive Palazzo tower, where all the rooms are suites, for a price lower than our original booking.
We had a few things we wanted to do in our four days; take in a show, do some gambling, eat a steak and – a real bucket list item – take a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon.
Las Vegas Boulevard (“The Strip”)
Steve hadn’t been to Vegas before and was interested to know if it is as tacky as he expected – it is! We started out by exploring the Strip on foot, walking towards the famous Las Vegas sign past the different hotels, starting by taking a few photos of our own hotel – gondolas and all!
The next hotel we passed was New York, New York, complete with the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and its famous roller-coaster. We planned to have a go on the roller-coaster on the way back but forgot to do so. We will just have to go back!
New York, New York was very cool but we were pleased that we had managed to stay at the Palazzo instead.
Continuing on down the Strip we passed the egyptian-themed Luxor and Mandalay Bay (with it’s Shark Reef Aquarium) and then arrived at the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign for the obligatory selfie.
Retracing our steps we passed Paris (with Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe) and watched the fountains at the Bellagio.
The Bellagio was impressive from the outside, but the inside “Tea & Tulips” display was even more amazing.
Foreigner
We were lucky that Foreigner were playing a residency at our hotel and we managed to get tickets for their last night. Even though none of the band were original members, they smashed out all of the familiar hits; Feels Like The First Time, Cold As Ice, Waiting For A Girl Like You… A very professional crowd-pleasing performance and everyone seemed to leave happy.
Las Vegas By Night
Las Vegas is impressive during the day but it really comes alive at night. After the Foreigner show we went for another wander and were particularly impressive with Vegas’ newest attraction, The Sphere. This is a spherical auditorium where both the external and internal surfaces are covered with LCD panels. We didn’t have the time to go to one of the immersive shows, and fortunately U2 were taking a break from their $500 a seat residency when we were there, so we had to make do with watching the light display from the outside.
There is more to Las Vegas than the Strip and the other tourist area, Fremont Street, is a short bus ride away. Fremont Street is the original hub of Las Vegas and where the nuclear scientists at Los Alamos used to go to relax, watching the A-bomb tests from the roof of the Atomic Cafe.
Today it is mainly casinos and bars, with the length of Fremont Street covered by an LCD lined roof onto which a lightshow is projected.
There are stages with bands performing at intervals as well as street performers and a zip-line allows people to fly over the heads of the crowds.
Helicopter Flight
Debbie had got a bonus from work and decided to treat us to a helicopter trip. She had wisely booked a sunset trip so we had the best of both worlds; daytime and evening views. There were seven of us onboard; the pilot and three couples, all from England. The other two couples were celebrating their 30th birthdays and, coincidentally, ended up sitting in front of us on the plane on the way home so we were able to give them a copy of our video.
The Casinos
Every hotel has a casino. In most cases the casino is on the ground floor and you have to walk through it to get from the reception lobby to your room. It seemed that some people never made it as far as their bedroom and were gambling 24/7. As beginners, we decided to take it easy and watch for a bit before spending any money.
The table minimum stakes depend on the time of day and day of the week, so we also decided to try our luck on a sober Sunday morning rather than an inebriated Saturday night. We toured several of the casinos on Fremont Street as well as the Strip but found the stakes were about the same at all of them. Cheaper hotels didn’t equate to lower table stakes.
Debbie tried roulette and blackjack and quickly lost the money she had allocated. Steve eschewed roulette, as a game entirely of chance weighted in favour of the house, but made a small profit at blackjack.
In Conclusion
Las Vegas is an experience but I wouldn’t want to go there for too long or too often. Three or four days is probably enough and no more frequently than every ten years. Maybe we will go back for our tenth wedding anniversary.
Logistics
| Outbound: | BA 2277 depart: London Gatwick (LGW) 5/4/2024 10:00 am GMT+1 arrive: Harry Reid International (LAS) 5/4/2024 1:50 pm GMT-7 |
| Accommodation: | The Palazzo at The Venetian Address: 3325 LAS VEGAS BOULEVARD, SOUTH LAS VEGAS, 89109, NEVADA, USA , 89109, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Phone: 866 659 9643 Email: Reservations@VenetianLasVegas.com |
| Inbound: | BA 2276 depart: Harry Reid International (LAS) 10/4/2024 15:40 GMT-7 arrive: London Gatwick (LGW) 10/4/2024 9:40 am GMT+1 |
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