I’ve been to #LasVegas a few times: The first 3 times I went, I was between the ages of 11 and 14, and then another time at 26 and the last at 32 years old.
The first 3 times I went with my family. My grandparents were the common denominator on all of these trips. My first 2 times I stayed at the Monte Carlo Casino and Hotel. The #MonteCarlo is no longer there, it closed in 2016, but has been updated by the MGM Group, to The Park (My grandmother has stayed there but was underwhelmed- called it “cold”). Don’t worry, there are plenty of hotels to try and they are always updating and remodeling.
I remember flying into Vegas as night, as you fly over the mountain range, you are blinded by the city lights.
When you fly in during the day, you see a flat brown desert, with an area of tall buildings, almost in the middle of nowhere.
Each time we arrived at the airport when I was younger, we were picked up in a limo. I just always thought that is how you traveled into the city and to your hotel. It wasn’t until I was 26 years old that I realized everyone is not picked up by a limo and you have to find your own transportation. When I went back at 32 with a group of friends, my grandmother surprised us with a limo to pick us up to remind me (Thanks G-Ma), so it kicked off that trip pretty nice.
The first few times I went to Vegas, I was too young to gamble, but I have the memories of the casinos and how they had coins for your winnings, instead of printed out pieces of paper. You would carry the coins in buckets from each hotel. I would walk through the hotels, and have my family collect all the buckets for me. When you are under 21 years of age, you are allowed to walk through the casino, but you are not allowed to stop and watch- you had to continuously move.
Most hotels had a kid arcade for anyone under 21, but there were never a lot of kids in there. My family always kept me busy though. They would take turns with me at the beautiful pools. We also saw a lot of shows and did a lot of activities, like the Magic show by Lance Burton, The Rockettes, The Zoo at The Mirage, The Impersonation show, The Hoover Damn Tour, Cabarets, and Oldie performances. They would also take me to the Hotels and casinos off of the strip, like The Rio, The Stratosphere, and Old Vegas (Fremont Street). And yes, they would do the activities with me... from watching the parade from the ceiling at The Rio, going on The Sky coaster ( bungee jump), going on top of The Stratosphere for the pit-fall and roller-coaster, watch the dancing fountains from the Bellagio, shop at the Venetian, see the Volcano at the Mirage, watch the Pirate fight from Treasure Island (they since stopped and I have no idea why) and watch the light show in Old Vegas. As I write this, it was probably because everyone had lost a little too much gambling and needed a break.
The other time I went to Vegas, I was a teenager and went for a family friend’s wedding. No, it wasn’t at the Little White Chapple, and wasn’t Officiated by Elvis. We stayed at the Flamingo, and there is a beautiful garden there. The wedding took place in the garden, followed by a party in the newly married couples’ room. Too bad the married couple did not last, I think it was due to Money issues, just kidding.
I did learn a lot as a kid about Vegas:
1. Only go for 3 days at a time (You won’t need any longer)
2. Take $2 bills to use a tip money
3. Set an allowance for each day (but, if you don’t, it is very easy to have money wired, just ask my parents)
4. You will be exhausted from your trip
5. Vegas doesn’t sleep, there is always something to do
6. Take a break when needed, there are a ton of activities outside of the casino floor
7. Be prepared to walk, a lot
8. Don’t leave the table or slot if you are winning. (The whole don’t leave when you’re on a heater is true.)
9. Get your member play card, and use it (free and discounted rooms and food make the difference when you want to spend your money on gambling).
When I went back for the first time when I was of age, it was with my closest girlfriends for one of their bachelorette parties. We went in with the whole “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, but not sure we lived up to it. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace, we did have a different experience than the Hangover Movie, but we had a blast. We ended up on tables being able to play together, went to a few pool parties, and of course, saw the Chippendales show.
The Cosmopolitan has great pool parties, but we did not go to the exclusive party, we stayed at the lower level one. We ate at Serendipity (since closed), and ate at the hotel buffet. We ended up at the hotel buffet since one of our girls ended up in the room passed out. We were playing too long at one of the tables, and yet the free drinks got the best of her. She ended up getting sick once she stood up from the table, but the hotel(s) were great. They offered a wheelchair with assistance from hotel to hotel. Literally! She was put in one Wheelchair, and we stumbled right beside her as she had her head in a bucket walking down Vegas Blvd. As we walked to the line of one hotel property, the wheel-chair chauffeur used walkie-talkies to let the next hotel know we were coming and for the next chauffeur to met us, this happened with at least 4 hotels, all the way to our own hotel and room to turn her into bed. Vegas may have got the best of us.
The most recent time we went with a group of friends. We all had a blast, we stayed at The Palazzo. The guys slid some extra money at check-in and we all ended up with upgraded rooms. We ended up eating at great restaurants (shout out to Yard bird) (and another shout out to Top of Binion’s on Freemont street for sitting a group of 6 at 4pm with plastic drink cups because we couldn’t decide what to eat). We went to so many hotels and casinos, New York, New York Chocolate Bar is a must, and the pool was great, we did not go into the club pool since we ended up going to Tao (club) our last night (a must to go to).
With this, Go! Have a blast, go with family, friends, for an event, or just because. You won’t experience anywhere else like it. And yes, they do have slot machines to play at the airport.
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