Vegas With Kids

Most Vegas-aholics will tell you to leave the kids at home - despite the things to do with kids, it's not really a kid friendly destination. Others disagree. I met two 14-year old boys standing behind me in line at Payards at Caesars Palace, and they said they were having a blast - (they also highly recommended the brownies at Payards which I bought on their say-so, and wow- yum). They liked the various roller coasters, arcades, and had been to some of the Cirque shows, which they rated highly. (Even the Disney Family Travel site okays some of the Cirque shows for kids ).

Anyway. Since then I've been watching for posts about kids and Vegas. Some folks will always take their kids to Vegas - and here is some of the wisom I've collected.

Best off the strip - Red Rock Casino comes in rated pretty highly as a kid friendly place. (tho, ouch! watch for the "resort fee" they tack on to the room rate - a hefty $24.95/day). On the Strip, Circus Circus is considered fun for the kids, but a little run down so far as Las Vegas hotel/casinos go. The rides at the Stratosphere are a hit with kids of all ages. Ditto Mandalay Bay's wave pool and shark reef.

Here's a link to all the Disney Travel recommendations, though I totally disagree that the Forum Shops at Caesars are good for kids. The moving/talking statues are cool - and kid friendly - but the crowds are enormous most of the time and it's a lotta, lotta walking to get to the the venues. Not worth it unless you also want to stop at the Forum Shops gelato stand and pay $18 for two scoops of gelato.

Here's a link to the Vegas.com kid recommendations - and I wholeheartedly agree that the Ethel M chocolate factory and cactus garden is a must see. What? I've never seen it? Well, that's true, but I keep MEANING to.

Of course, if you are going to run all around seeing the kid friendly sites, when do you have the energy and time to go out and enjoy the grown up side of Vegas?

My guess is it's hardest for the 18-21 year olds ... they are so close to being grown up that the bars, clubs, music are really appealing but Vegas cards people like crazy.

Texas Town Sent to Vegas

Here's a marketing gimmick that I totally understand:

Tiny Texas town heads to Las Vegas
FORT WORTH, Texas – The tiny town of Cranfills Gap really needs a vacation. That's why Las Vegas tourism officials decided to fly nearly half the 350 residents to the desert playground for a five-day getaway and publicity stunt...more

Seriously, I am really loving the way the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is marketing the town these days. Big ideas - big giveaways - really good Web info - great online gadgets. I'm not sure how much is coming from the Convention bureau staff, and how much comes from R&R Partners, the ad agency that works with the group. If any of you know, pass on the info.

Get Your Brain in Gear

What does brain speed have to do with Vegas? Everything - you need to stay sharp and pay attention to have a positive "good luck" attitude. Here's a simple brain builder you can do each day just to stay in shape. Click New Game to get started.

The Creative Side of Vegas

To my ad industry pals: If you have a yen to know about the marketing and advertising side of Vegas, the Las Vegas Interactive Marketing Association has a site where you can view various campaigns for 2008. Third Annual Creative Media Award Show

Quotes about Vegas

Recent got thinking about sources of Vegas quotes, and from time to time I figured I'd post some links here.

EDIT: Here's one that came from Steve Wynn at the Encore grand opening: “I’ve never met a gambler that would win a bet and retire from gambling" - a great quote that appeared in Oskar Garcia's AP article.

And here's another, from a Vegas observer as quoted by the SJ Mercury article about Omar Siddiqui [Fry's VP of Merchandising arrested for shaking down vendors to get money to pay off Vegas debts]: "People think they can do whatever they want when they're in Vegas. Their language and behavior changes.''

Watching a rerun of TV show (Las Vegas - episode 77) and caught this: "What do you want to do?" (casino host Sam Marquez to a customer - Sharkey Rosenthal) -- "What do you think?" (replies Rosenthal) "Drink, gamble and get laid. I'm in Vegas aren't I?"

Yet another addition, from the LA Times, "if you are an international traveler, Las Vegas represents the perfect experience of United States culture -- maybe, not the one Americans would choose to make a first impression, but nonetheless we are a purely frontier creation in our nouveau riche gaudy fecklessness."


1 ) Quote Garden
Sample quotes:

The night before I left Las Vegas I walked out in the desert to look at the moon. There was a jeweled city on the horizon, spires rising in the night, but the jewels were diadems of electric and the spires were the neon of signs ten stories high.
Norman Mailer

Las Vegas: all the amenities of modern society in a habitat unfit to grow a tomato.
Jason Love

2) Hold Em Secrets
(Not quite Vegas themed - poker themed - but appropriate to Vegas)
Sample quotes:

In the long run there's no luck in poker, but the short run is longer than most people know.

-- Rick Bennet

Trust everyone, but always cut the cards.

-- Benny Binion

3) Las Vegas Quotes

Sample quotes:

Vegas is everything that's right with America. You can do whatever you want, 24 hours a day. They've effectively legalized everything there.
- Drew Carey

Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.
- Jonathan Clements

4) Brainy Quote

This site is hard to use, and appears to be duplicates of other places - but perhaps not

Sample quote:

If you know how to live in Vegas you can have the best time.
Tony Curtis

5) http://hotelslasvegas.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/top-10-most-notorious-quotes-about-las-vegas/

Sample quote:

“Las Vegas is sort of like how God would do it if he had money.”
- Steve Wynn

6) Notable Quotes

Sample quote:

Las Vegas history, the real Las Vegas history, makes fops and fools of even the most sincere explorers. The city's story is riddled with blind alleys, dead ends, crazy twists, and outright fabrication.

JOHN L. SMITH, foreward, Nevada Yesterdays

LAT: Fantasy meets economic reality

Richard Abowitz has an entry in his LA Times blog, Movable Buffet, that really caught my fancy, "Vegas:Fantasy meets economic reality"

His point: anyone who looks beyond the neon sees the Vegas economy shorting out. The casinos are asking, "how are we to survive the downturn" which cascades to employees which cascades to the city's economy.

He writes, "Vegas only knows how to grow and we are still growing, but no one knows if all those rooms will attract people as has always been true in years past."

Hey Vegas, I live in Silicon Valley - believe me - we understand your pain. The first dot com bust had us scratching our a**es in bewilderment. But herein is the difference. We didn't whine and cry. We kicked in and said, "where's the opportunity in this lousy atmosphere?"

The casino industry is not a failing industry (think newspapers). The casino industry will come back.

But much as I love Vegas (and every reader knows I adore it) the place has turned into a stuffy company town that only knows how to solve problems through spending cuts. Players programs are getting stingy, housekeeping is getting shoddy, food is more mediocre, drink service is slower, slots are tighter. Yep - room rates are low, and casino personnel are friendlier, but if the various Vegas discussion threads are correct, employees have less authority, casino hosts less pull, and management hides from customers who want to give feedback.

What Vegas needs is a few wild-eyed visionaries who are asking, "What can we do so that when this recession ends, we are stronger and have more loyal customers than we had at the beginning? Where should we be investing in players now so that when the downturn ends, we're making dozens of dollars for every one we invested?"

I've never seen such a lack of innovative marketing as I've seen in Vegas during this downturn.

If I could make any position for myself right now, it would be a "players' ambassador." I'd bring new openness to communications, start blogs, survey constantly, have e-mail contests, tell folks what we realistically can do, explore ways to reward long-time players even if they cut back this year, meet the "new generation" of players, and establish relationships with every Vegas blogger. I'd Twitter from the bars, have an iPhone app, do something with Facebook. Come on Vegas - even your over-50 set is online!

We all know Vegas will come back. The question is which casinos will credit 2008/09 as being the beginning of a brilliant future, and which will say it was the end of a good ride.

Walking Map of Strip

Just saw this useful walking map of the Vegas Strip and wanted to share - i especially like it shows where the overhead walkways are.

It's not exactly accurate - for instance, it shows 5 minutes between Ballys and Paris, but actually there is an indoor walkway between the two that makes it a very quick walk. But little quibbles aside, this is a nice resource.

Ouch! 90 Minute Delays Expected at McCarran

Runway construction will cause one of the prime runways at McCarran Airport to be closed from Nov 1 to May 1 - expect 90 minute delays in peak hours.

It's never fun to be sitting at the airport (at either end) - especially when you are excited about going to Vegas or so dog-tired from the trip you can' t wait to be home. So be prepared to be patient and possibly reconsider your flight times.

Southwest Airlines Blog

NBAA blog

Airliners Net Thread (this one is full of jargon but interesting)

Another Look at Casinos

Artist Lisa Esherick has a series of paintings titled Casino that captures one of the elements that has always fascinated me about Las Vegas: the faces of gamblers. I picked up on her from VegasTripping and pass her work along to you.

Here are her notes on the series:

Following the Baths series I began my Casino series, inspired by a chance visit to Reno with a European friend in tow. I was immediately attracted to the outrageousness, the acid coloring and quality of light of the American gambling casino — an atmosphere that maintains a perpetual sense of night, no clocks allowed, time is lost, responsibilities abandoned, as money moves. I wanted to catch the constant shiftyness, uncertainty, edginess — a sense of silent watching and being watched. As a painter, a natural voyeur, I am both watcher and watched. On later visits to a Siberian casino and two in Germany I found a less garish, semmingly more elegant, black-tie affair when it came to gambling. The gaming rooms were high-ceilinged, wood-panelled and chandeliered with tables more blue than green. Coats and ties were the code; if you came without, you rented at the door. This was a traditional world, harking back to Doestoevsky's time and before, when the spa culture, "the Cure" was the activity of the day and the gambling casino was the activity of the night.

OMG - a $3000 cocktail?

EDIT: LEAVE it to Steve Wynn to go to excess in his new XS club at Encore...with a $10,000 cocktail. Here's how Robin Leach describes it: The club’s new signature cocktail will actually be known simply as The One, and the cocktail recipe is of rare vintage Dom Perignon Enotheque champagne and a shot of prized Louis XIII Remy Martin Black Pearl cognac. You can’t get more expensive champagne or cognac if you tried. As a keepsake of experiencing the world’s best, you will be presented with either a ladies 18k gold chain and black pearl pendant or a set of men’s sterling silver cufflinks with black pearl insignias.

But back to the original post - when I was still awowed by the $3000 drink.

Yep - that and nine high priced cocktails that are less costly, but still quite hefty in the top 10 most expensive Las Vegas cocktails.

One great thing about that $3000 drink offered at the Wynn? It makes this $99 Goddess Elixer Margarita offered at Treasure Island look like a bargain.

21 Ideas Under $21

Forget the ever-present "Go see the Mirage volcano" (tho the new volcano is probably worth a gander) when someone asks you what to do that's interesting and cheap in Vegas.

The LA Times has a story, "In Las Vegas, 21 Ideas -- all under $21" that is rip-roaring great fun and has handy ideas. Written by the wonderfully articulate and Vegas-wise Steve Friess, blogger and podcaster of Vegas Happens Here, the article is culled from the tips that close the weekly podcast Friess does with his husband Miles Smith.

Among other tidbits the article tells you where to hear Bette Midler's band free - where to go for cheap Vegas collectibles, and the best free sunset view of the Strip.

Vegas Search, Gaming Search Added

See in the right side strip that little custom search box? It's for folks who are thinking about Vegas and want only Vegas-based results - so try it out with "comps" or "craps strategy" or "nightclubs" or "promo codes" or "airfare" - whatever. If it's about Vegas, we want you to find it.

If you have a site we should add to the searches, or a site that comes up with bad results, let us know. It's a work in progress.

While you're here at the blog, check out the other posts - There's more than you see on this page. Click the "older posts" link further down the page. Or if you're lazy, here are some of our favorites:

Your Good Luck Guardian Angel
Las Vegas Sun - History of Sin City
Las Vegas Special Collections - History in Images
Get Your Brain in Gear
Las Vegas - Not All Glory and Fun
Play Some Blackjack
Thinking of Historic Vegas
Win a Trip to Las Vegas

Great Contest - Ultimate Vegas Escape

Yet another first-class Vegas sweepstakes from one of our favorite Vegas sites - the official site from the Convention & Visitors Authority, Visit Las Vegas. Enter this Ultimate Vegas Escape before September 30 and you could win

• A limousine and concierge to meet you at the airport.
• Four nights' accommodations in a suite at one of Las Vegas' world-class resorts.

Here's some of the other highlights:

Tickets to see Bette Midler "The Showgirl Must Go On" at Caesars Palace, Cirque du Soleil's LOVE at The Mirage and a $2,500 shopping spree at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort. You'll get behind the wheel for some unmatched excitement at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Advanced Driving School, and you'll also get to enjoy some tantalizing cuisine at some of Las Vegas' premier restaurants, including Dos Caminos at the Palazzo.

You Look Like a Million Bucks

Attention old timers - those who remember when one of the favorite tourist attractions was a million dollars cash on display in Binion's on Fremont Street:

The million dollar cash display is back

It might not be worth what it was when it was removed in 1998 but it's nice to see that money returned to its position of glory.


You do remember Texas gambler Benny Binion, don't you? If not, check him out in the search box on this page. A true Vegas legend. "The only bad luck for a good gambler is bad health. Any other setbacks are temporary aggravation." -- Benny Binion

Distinctly Vegas - Marshall Retail Group

OK - eyes up from the gambling, if only briefly.

During my recent visit to Caesars Palace, a friendly lady named Margo at the Total Rewards desk recommended Carina's, a clothing store inside Caesars, and (she promised), "Much cheaper than anything in the Forum Shops." Hey, I don't go to Vegas to shop, but why not?

I stopped in about 10 p.m. Intending to walk in and out, I stayed almost an hour delighting in the wide assortment of fun, very moderately priced clothes. I picked out a dress to give a friend who is going away for a spa weekend, I tried on some strappy gold sandals, and I picked out some lightweight, colorful blouses that were great in the heavily air conditioned casino. The top-notch staff really knew their inventory, which (as a kid of a retailing family) I truly admired. Turns out Carina is part of the Marshall Retail Group, and the sales staff (Debra and Cindy) had such great things to say about the company I came home and did a little research.

I'd seen Marshall-Russo stores for decades - most recently at Bally’s, Excalibur, Harrah’s, & McCarran International Airport. Cute clothes, cute shoes, and a pretty good place to pop into for moderate-priced presents to take home. It's not Vegas-themed t-shirts and tchochkes (for that go to Casino Royale or Imperial Palace). Still, the stores were mostly background scenery.

Maybe the stores were background to me, but this privately-held Vegas based company is a highly successful chain of retailers with stores in 70 casinos and resorts. The Marshall Retail Group owns dozens of brands - Carino, Shoooz, Along Came a Spider, among them. They also operate Harley-Davidson stores chock full of biker regalia, leather goods, and logo items (found at Bally's, MGM Grand, New York New York, Fremont Street and the Rio).

I'm emailing the company, asking for more info about the founders and philosophy - and will post what I get. In the meantime, the next time you're in Vegas, remember that not everything interesting in Vegas comes with neon. Here's a very nice, boutique-type company with eclectic inventory and friendly staff. It's a Vegas success story that you can enjoy away from the casino.

Mystery with a Gimmick - How Vegas!

We love a good gimmick, so walking through Las Vegas' McCarran Airport and spotting an author signing books, with a tag, "Search for the hidden dagger worth $25,000" caught the eye of one of our contributors.

Author Stephen Grogan was cheerfully explaining to a customer (who, yes, did buy the book) how his "interactive" novel worked. Basically, the novel "Vegas Die" is a whodunit in which someone is killing the old mobsters of Vegas and the mayor becomes the No. 1 suspect.

But Grogan has added a treasure hunt for a dagger hidden somewhere in metropolitan Las Vegas. Clues to the dagger's whereabouts are buried within the pages of the mystery. The first alert reader to solve the puzzle can keep the dagger or redeem it for $25,000 cash. ["sorry honey, can't do the cub scounts. I'm going to Vegas to search for $25,000"]

Those who go in search of the $25,000 dagger have been dubbed "Questors," and need to first register at QuestMystery.com to understand the basic ground rules of the game.

Grogan has experience in playing games. He has spent fifteen years in the casino gaming industry – the last seven with a well-known game design company.

We haven't yet read the book - so no review attached - but you gotta love a guy who adds tours of sites mentioned in his book, and a treasure hunt, to his marketing plan. How Vegas is that!

Ripped Off by a Taxi - Complain!

If you've been to Vegas a lot, you know - the Las Vegas taxi drivers are great, and overwhelmingly honest. But some will rip you off...a $25 trip from McCarran to Harrahs or a $30 trip from Mirage to MGM.

If it happens to you, there is a link below to a video from the Las Vegas Taxicab Authority that tells you how to make a complaint. It's only 34 seconds, so it should be part of your "Vegas insiders" toolkit. (The complaint line, fyi, is 702-486-6532)

BTW - in June, 2008 the Taxicab Authority raised rates by 45 cents a mile, so expect your trips to be more expensive - about an extra $1.50 from the airport to Caesars Palace.

Watch:
Taxicab authority video

Flair Bartending at Harrah's Carnaval Court

How have I completely missed stopping by to see the flair bartenders at Harrahs! I've stayed there a dozen times, and still, never taken the time. It's a must -- my next trip, I stop by Carnaval Court.

UPDATE; YEA - Finally made it over to the Court to see them. Pretty much like I'd seen it on TV and YouTube, though the loud base-heavy music and screaming loud conversation made it more authentic :=) I stopped by at 7 p.m. and the security guard told me it was the end of a shift so I'd see a more lively exhibition if I came back after 8. I did and he was right.

I also stopped by Shadows, the Caesars Palace bar with flair bartenders. Friday night, late-ish, but the team there seemed less into the joy of it all.

The Vegas Showgirl

The Vegas showgirl is as iconic as - uh - just about anything. Vegas Vic, one-armed bandits, craps tables, and the topless Vegas showgirl complete with feathered headdress. It's all Vegas, baby! (Photo from Destination360)

It's a little sad little fact that these revues are slowly disappearing. Only three productions featuring traditional showgirls remain on the Strip: the Tropicana's "Folies Bergere," Riviera's "Splash" and Bally's "Jubilee!"

They are being replaced by Broadway-style production shows. I guess that's what you'd call all the Cirque shows, plays, high-tech shows, musicals etc. It's a revenue thing as much as an image thing, I'm sure.

5 or 6 years back, E! ran a series titled, "Vegas Showgirls: Nearly Famous." It was fascinating - watching the incredible work and pressure, and the slow demise, inching rather than racing into quaintness, soon to be oblivion. Back in 2006, the NYT had an article, "The Twilight of the Ostrich-Plumed, Rhinestone-Brassiered Las Vegas Showgirl."

It got me to thinking maybe I should take the backstage tour of Jubilee! before the show, like so much of Vegas, disappears into a balance sheet of modern corporate decision making. [ed note: Bally's owner, Harrah's, has been especially non-sentimental in its razor-sharp cuts under the new ownership of two private equity groups, so anything is a very real possibility]

Anyway, here's a snippet from author Mike Gerrard, in his article Las Vegas Nude Showgirls Revisited that gives you the flavor of what you learn on the tour:

The cramped dressing rooms are two stories below the stage. Paula has 11 costume changes, which makes each show like an hour on a Stairmaster. 'The stairs on stage are 12 inches high, twice normal height,' she says. 'Walking down those in high heels, wearing a 20 pound costume, a headdress that sticks out three feet on each side, hitting your mark to avoid bumping into the other 85 dancers…and doing it topless…is quite a challenge.'

If you have any experiences with Vegas showgirls - shows, people, tours, send them in.

Las Vegas Sun - The History of Sin City

The Las Vegas Sun launched a WOW-ser of an online special section on August 10. Titled "A Gamble in the Sun" it features fun, deep and interesting information about Las Vegas history - including videos, photos, facts, profiles, interactive maps (see the Strip decade-by-decade), etc. [ed note: the link is not working consistently today - Monday 8-11 - not my fault, something with the Sun's site]

The Sun recently brought in a new crew to its interactive division, headed by Rob Curley, a long-time interactive newspaper maven whose last gig was the Washington Post online. We think Rob's style matches the spirit of Vegas perfectly. Can't wait to see what else is on the way.

Las Vegas Special Collections - History in Images

Escape the neon lights for a moment and enjoy the rich history of Las Vegas.

If you are the type of person who likes museums, and likes to think about Vegas beyond gambling, here is a site for you: The UNLV Special Collections website.

It is a wonderful, rich resource.

A Wise Word about Good Luck

"If you wish to count on luck, contemplate “good luck,” at all times. Learn from mistakes and move on. The images you create, within your mind, will determine your path in life. Envision good luck, take calculated steps toward it, and do not quit. "

Paul Jerard - author, Yoga master

Getting In Shape for Vegas with Blackjack

Yet another way to test your luck - get in gear - and to be thinking of Vegas. To play, just click Deal. Also check out our Slot Machine.

Steve Wynn is Always News to Those Who Think of Vegas

For those who follow such - here's an NYT article from Sunday, August 3, "The Chips are Down in Vegas. But Steve Wynn is Betting Big"

Here's a taste of how the writer captures Mr. Wynn, and Vegas itself:

"The give and the take. The grand gesture. The over-the-top glitz. The invocation of magic in a brew of 24/7 gambling, resort excess, ultrahigh-end shopping, fine dining and routine pampering. These are all part and parcel of a toolkit toted around for decades by the man credited with changing the landscape of the Strip and bringing a semblance of class to Sin City.

Later this year, Mr. Wynn, 66, will open his latest project: the $2.3 billion Encore casino resort, a fantasy land featuring 2,034 luxury suites, a glass-encased casino overlooking several pools, and penthouse baccarat tables for high rollers.

The Encore is also an outsize gamble by a man who has made a lucrative, freewheeling career out of such moves..."

Review of Mirage's BLT Burger

The often witty PSLove Blog has a dandy review of the new hamburger joint at the Mirage, BLT Burger, including a niggling little side thought that will haunt many Vegas regulars -- since the restaurant replaced the white tigers, the lingering thought (though totally not present) of tiger pee seems to haunt her as she eats.

The bill, a hefty $50 for two burgers, one order of onion rings, a soda and a milk shake is an OUCH.

She also has some updated promotional offers on her blog, so if you're in a Vegas mood, check it out.

Good Luck Slot

Test your Vegas luck on this before you go to the real thing. Also check out our Blackjack game.

We had a much faster, niftier slot, but suddenly it refused to load - sigh. This one is a little lunky - but hey - it works and it's been vetted by Google. Yes, you can play right here on Thinking Of Vegas - or if you insist, leave our site and go to the full screen version. Anyway, it's a way for you to start thinking about good luck. Just click Bet 1 or Bet 5, then press the spin button. See how long it takes to double (or lose) your money.

A Rockin Jingle

Intuit Quickbooks makes this slick jingle generator available - featuring Tommy Silk. So if you're up for a rockin' (but silly) good time, check out our Thinking of Vegas Jingle. Nice tie-in, don'tcha think? Quickbooks? Accounting? Money? Vegas? Yeh, we're hopeless, everything sets us to thinking of vegas.

Thinking of Historic Vegas

Ahh, yes. Las Vegas - the city of opportunity and destiny.

The SanPedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, (later sold to and absorbed by the Union Pacific) auctioned off 1,200 lots adjoining the "railroad townsite of Las Vegas," on a single day leading to the official founding of Las Vegas on May 15, 1905. The area is in today's downtown Las Vegas, or what is called "Glitter Gulch". (For more about the location, size, etc of these lots visit History of Las Vegas' Block 16).

I believe the Glitter Gulch phrase - and correct me if I'm wrong - was the winning phrase in a contest run by local business interests. The winner was a high school girl who got $50 and a miniature model of a slot machine. But accounts vary - some sources say the area was being promoted as Glitter Gulch in the 1940's - another account dates the naming to 1953.

Essortment has a nice brief overview of Las Vegas, including the fact it was the last western state to OUTLAW gambling in the 1900's, then the first to legalize casino gambling in 1931.

Win a Trip to Las Vegas

Some win-a-Vegas-trip contests are so mundane you think, heck, I can have a better time using my comps than winning this.

But the official Las Vegas tourism web site has some "ultimate" Las Vegas trips, including one that includes walking the red carpet at Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto opening (Palms), backstage pass to the Blue Man Group (Venetian) and a makeover and shopping spree.

Another trip includes a tattoo from Vince Neil Ink and getting to hang out with Criss Angel.

Enter the Ultimate Vegas Escapes Sweepstakes at Visit Las Vegas.

Vegas Fun Away from the Casinos

From Vegas.com - sure it seems like B-Roll PR material, but it's still fun. Golden Nugget water slide, Rio's bar, Lake Mead and more. A perfect Vegas fix in 76 seconds.

Looking for Bargains?

Check out the page on EarlyVegas.com that lists dozens of promotions from the various hotels and links you to them.

For instance, here's an offer from MGM Grand - Ultimate Escape OfferFrom $59! - $25 Entertainment credit (KA or Crazy Horse Paris), 2 for 1 Grand Spa access pass, 15% off Spa Services Promotion Runs July 17, 2008 - September 30, 2008 Promo Code: SDM057 [editor's note: headline DOES say $59, however, those dates must have passed - when I clicked through $69 was the lowest available - however, still a good rate]

Or if you've always wanted that special VIP service, check out this. From $310! - Personal airport greeter with limo service to and from Mandalay Bay, Exclusive invited guest registration window upon arrival, Flowers and welcome amenity in your suite, Nightly turndown service, Complimentary line pass to all Mandalay Bay nightclubs and lounges, Preferred spa appointments, Access to Mix Lounge and the House of Blues Foundation Room, Preferred seating at our premium Restaurants, Preferred golf tee times Promotion Runs July 8, 2008 - May 31, 2009 Promo Code: GOLDKEY (Exp May 31, 2009)

Thinking About Luck

Luck. It's a big topic. One I'll write about often.

There is all sorts of luck. Since we're thinking of Las Vegas in this blog, I'm wondering, what's your pre-Vegas ritual of gearing up with lots of good luck energy? If you have songs, chants, items, rituals, please share.

Las Vegas - Not All Glory and Fun

At times this is how I feel about Vegas - I so want to be there but then when I am, it's just so-so.

My luck is bad, the casino smoke has made me sick, I've scarfed down food too fast, my senses are so kicked up I can't sleep, and I can barely breathe in the heat. It's a Vegas I need to remember so I don't get all romantic about the place. I just get plain bored with being a nameless face in the casino crowd.

There is plenty to do in Las Vegas - plenty of non-gambling things to do - but it's easy to let the sheer overload of it all numb your senses.

I'm hoping that some others will write in and tell me I'm not alone.

Welcome to Thinking of Vegas

Sometimes I just want to think about Las Vegas - I want to get away from what I'm doing, enter the fantasy, hype, anything is possible world. If that's you too, send in your posts - best casino? luckiest place for craps? for slots? worst slot service?

Maybe you can join me as blog author - if I can figure out how to get forums on the blog I'll add that, but I'm thinking it's not possible. So send stuff in as comments and if it's Vegas worthy, I'll copy it over as a post.