Having fun in Vegas is not a gamble
Autumn 2009
They say that less than 10% of Americans have passports. Some reports put the figure as low as 5% and when you visit Las Vegas you understand why so many believe they don’t need a passport.
Americans pile into Vegas, not just to win their fortune, but also to “do Europe.”
On ‘The Vegas Strip’, you can visit Italy, courtesy of The Bellagio Hotel, the Eiffel Tower (I do wonder how many passers by actually believe that the mini tower by the Paris Hotel is the REAL Eiffel Tower), an Egyptian pyramid (The Luxor Hotel), and most spectacularly of all, Venice in The Venetian Hotel. An indoor “Grand Canal” winds its way through the hotel, and gondola rides are on offer with hooped shirt gondoliers. The starlit Venetian sky is above and a plethora of cafes and ristorantes line the canal, in between gift shops, and of course, the slot machines and gaming tables.
For further entertainment watch pirate ships battle at Treasure Island or ride a roller coaster at New York New York. In 2003, Montecore, one of Siegfried & Roy’s famous white tigers took a bite out of Roy’s neck. Six years on and the tiger tamers have moved from fluffy bitey to fluffy floaty. Yes, you can learn to train dolphins at Siegfried & Roy’s (not so) Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat for only $500 a day – only at The Mirage.
Steve Wynn built The Mirage. In fact, Steve Wynn built Las Vegas, well certainly modern Vegas.
He made his mark and his fortune by building the Mirage and then Bellagio. He sold both to MGM in 2000 and used the proceeds to build, what is now the most spectacular hotel in Vegas, “The Wynn”.
Situated at the top end of the Las Vegas Strip, The Wynn is vast. I stayed there for 4 nights. It took at least 24 hours to find my way around, a good 10 minutes to walk back to my room from the hotel epicenter, and at the end of my stay, I still hadn’t covered a substantial part of the complex. The rooms are also huge. At 3,300 sq ft my suite was bigger than most houses, but Vegas is all about space. Forget London hotel Harry Potter cupboards; sardines is not a game you will be playing here.
Dining is fine in Vegas with lots of good restaurants. Celebs eat in the hotel restaurants so if you’re lucky you may find yourself next to a star. During my stay, Sting sat at an adjacent table in Okada, The Wynn’s Japanese restaurant and the following evening Steve Wynn was entertaining Usher in Daniel Boulud, the French bistro.
Vegas is the one city where Americans walk, plodding up and down The Strip, looking miserable in crimplene leisure suits. Love it or hate it, the one thing you cannot say about Las Vegas is, “it was alright”.
Americans pile into Vegas, not just to win their fortune, but also to “do Europe.”
On ‘The Vegas Strip’, you can visit Italy, courtesy of The Bellagio Hotel, the Eiffel Tower (I do wonder how many passers by actually believe that the mini tower by the Paris Hotel is the REAL Eiffel Tower), an Egyptian pyramid (The Luxor Hotel), and most spectacularly of all, Venice in The Venetian Hotel. An indoor “Grand Canal” winds its way through the hotel, and gondola rides are on offer with hooped shirt gondoliers. The starlit Venetian sky is above and a plethora of cafes and ristorantes line the canal, in between gift shops, and of course, the slot machines and gaming tables.
For further entertainment watch pirate ships battle at Treasure Island or ride a roller coaster at New York New York. In 2003, Montecore, one of Siegfried & Roy’s famous white tigers took a bite out of Roy’s neck. Six years on and the tiger tamers have moved from fluffy bitey to fluffy floaty. Yes, you can learn to train dolphins at Siegfried & Roy’s (not so) Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat for only $500 a day – only at The Mirage.
Steve Wynn built The Mirage. In fact, Steve Wynn built Las Vegas, well certainly modern Vegas.
He made his mark and his fortune by building the Mirage and then Bellagio. He sold both to MGM in 2000 and used the proceeds to build, what is now the most spectacular hotel in Vegas, “The Wynn”.
Situated at the top end of the Las Vegas Strip, The Wynn is vast. I stayed there for 4 nights. It took at least 24 hours to find my way around, a good 10 minutes to walk back to my room from the hotel epicenter, and at the end of my stay, I still hadn’t covered a substantial part of the complex. The rooms are also huge. At 3,300 sq ft my suite was bigger than most houses, but Vegas is all about space. Forget London hotel Harry Potter cupboards; sardines is not a game you will be playing here.
Dining is fine in Vegas with lots of good restaurants. Celebs eat in the hotel restaurants so if you’re lucky you may find yourself next to a star. During my stay, Sting sat at an adjacent table in Okada, The Wynn’s Japanese restaurant and the following evening Steve Wynn was entertaining Usher in Daniel Boulud, the French bistro.
Vegas is the one city where Americans walk, plodding up and down The Strip, looking miserable in crimplene leisure suits. Love it or hate it, the one thing you cannot say about Las Vegas is, “it was alright”.
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
