|
|
|
#10. The fountains at Bellagio. This is a no-brainer. I really like Elvis' "Viva Las Vegas" and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" (note* Did you know that Lee Greenwood was the lead lounge act at the Golden Nugget until he scored his #1 hit?)
# 9. The Lobby and Conservatory at Bellagio. Beautiful ceiling in the Lobby and the floral display in the Conservatory is always nice.
...you can check out the above 3 at www.bellagio.com/amenities
# 8. The Atomic Testing Museum at 755 E. Flamingo. Too cool if you are into Vegas history. www.atomictesticmuseum.org
# 7. Downtown.
We just saw Kevin Burke at Fitzgerald's for his stand up comedy show (9 pm). Funny guy! When I signed up for a Fitzgerald's player's card, I got 2 free tickets. A small theater and we had fun (especially for free). The Country Superstars show is also a great way to get away from the one-arm bandits for awhile.
www.fitzgeraldsvegas.com
Gotta agree, that we also enjoyed the Rat Pack show at the Plaza.
Have your picture taken for free at Binion's in front of the million dollar display (we did this at Xmas). You also get a discount coupon sheet after you get your picture taken (NVC chips, slot play, etc).
Don't forget to get out onto Fremont St. at the top of each hour to catch the overhead Fremont show. They have just added several new shows (tribute to Queen, etc.).
There is also alot of new cool neon headed East on Fremont towards the El Cortez. Perfectly safe to walk and my favorite thin crust pizza place is on the North side of the street , half way between the El Cortez and the Fremont canopy. It's called Uncle Joe's and although it is a hole-in-the-wall, they know how to make a great pizza or just a quick slice.
# 6. While downtown (make an evening for going downtown), you have to make time to have the Porterhouse Steak special at the Redwood Grill in the California. Fantastic! Open Friday through Tuesday from 5 - 11 pm. The Porterhouse special is not on the menu and you have to ask for it (never had a problem ever when asking for it). The special includes salad/soup, fresh baked french bread loaf, oddles of real butter, a huge Porterhouse steak (and their grillman KNOWS how to cook medium-rare, yummy!), potato/rice, fresh veggies (we had fresh green beans last time, also yummy) and a luscious apple-cinnamon-raisin turnover topped with a scoup of vanilla bean ice cream and home made whip cream. The price is a laughable $16.99.
A great piano player in the lounge area (music drifts into the dining area at a low level, perfect for dinner) and table linens with candle light. Make reservations as this place is small and fills up on the weekends. 1-800-634-6505. Definitely my favorite place for an affordable awesome steak.
www.thecal.com
On your way out, go to the hotel elevators in the lobby area, and rub Budda's belly for luck (a statue).
# 5. The volcano at the Mirage has just been redone. Cool! I think it goes off every 30 minutes (someone correct me if I'm wrong).
# 4. Go to the top of the Stratosphere for a cocktail and a night time look around... Beautiful. You can also do this at the Paris/Eiffel Tower restaurant (coffee and desert for us).
# 3. For a cheap thrill, go to Casino Royal on the strip and show the slot club your out of state ID. You then get to waste a few minutes on their free $50 (quarter play) slot machines. I don't think anyone ever wins, but it's a fun way to kill a 1/2 hour. They have the same free slot play deal at Hooter's (We've even had the chicken wings here. When you sign up for a player's card, you get a buy-10-get-10-wings-free coupon. Pretty good snack).
# 2. I really thought this would be dumb, but Darrell wanted to do this last fall and we had a BLAST! We rode the floats (Masquerade Parade in the Sky) at the Rio. It's $13 to ride a float, but the Las Vegas Advisor coupon book has a 2-4-1 coupon in it ( www.lasvegasadvisor.com ) and we loved every second of cruising over the top of the gamblers, waving and we even had a blast talking and laughing with the float dancers. The staff at the Rio was super about showing us the "behind the scenes" of the floats/show. Even though I hate heights, I'd do this again anytime (once we got going, I wasn't scared)!
# 1. Take a leisure stroll down the strip. Take a shoulder bag of some sort and collect a $1 or $5 chip from every casino ....pick up a pack of matches from casino bars....get a slot club card. These constantly change designs and several times, I have gotten free play on my players' card (if you're a new sign up). Take pictures everywhere!
Make sure you take an extra memory card for your camera and lots of extra batteries.
Crud, I'm out of numbers...ok, one more (trust me, I have 20+ more "favorites")...
# 0. If you are going to ride the Deuce bus on the strip, get a 24 hour pass ($5). Now either don't go to bed (like me) or get up early. As the sky just barely starts to turn from dark to daybreak (instead of being black, the sky turns a navy blue) - jump on the bus and ride it south to the South Transfer Station. At this early hour, the strip and it's neon is simply: incredible! The crowds have gone to bed and there may have a few casino employees on the bus but it's very quiet and relaxing....You can easily get a front seat upstairs and it's the best $5 tour in town. Take the bus to the South Transfer Station (you will go by the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, etc)...get off the bus, look straight in front of you and jump back on the Northbound bus. Now do the $5 tour northbound to downtown. Have breakfast at The Bay City Diner in the Golden Gate (2-4-1 coupon in Las Vegas Advisor coupon Book) or at Magnolia's coffee shop in the Four Queens (great breakfast specials here too). Get back on the southbound bus and head back to your hotel.
My favorite (non-cheap) show in LV is Mystere at Treasure Island. Loved it!
Mama Mia at Mandalay Bay is now closed 
You DON'T have to spend alot of money in Las Vegas to have tons-of-fun and make some great memories!
|
|