Las Vegas with pictures

[BayouPinoy]

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Recently visited Las Vegas for a meeting and the family went along. The following includes the synopsis of the trip with a few sample photos.

Stayed at the Riviera (old part of the "Strip"). Not "many" things for a 5 yo to see--better options at the other part with the newer casino/hotel combos like Paris, New York, etc. The Las Vegas monorail is a good option for "casino hopping" at it allows people to go from one stop to another while avoiding the street crowd and the "slow" bus service. We were unable to visit all of the casinos on the strip because we made a sidetrip to Grand Canyon (subject of another thread), but the ff summarizes the places we visited:

1. Rainforest Cafe @ MGM Grand (OK food, but an interesting place for kids with animatronics-driven animals, not too pricy). There are other family-friendly places that we never got to visit.
2. Paris buffet @ Paris ($$$$, lots of choices, but did I say it cost the three of us around $75 excluding the tip?)
3.Â* Lani Misalucha and The Society of Seven @ Bally's (All Pinoys are encouraged to watch the show, tickets start at around $45, it was OK production-wise, as Las Vegas shows go, but we thoroughly enjoyed #4)
4. The Celine Dion performance at Caesar's Palace (tickets start at around $89, nosebleed section, but it was thoroughly worth it, even if you are not a Dion fan, the production itself was gorgeous)
5. "Some" family friendly stuff at the Luxor, including an Imax theater
6. Lots of other freebies including the Bellagio Fountain shows and the Treasure Island "Sirens" show (the famous sinking pirate ship--PG rating advisory), including others that we did not get to see.

Bottomline: it is possible to experience Las Vegas in 5 days, but one will have to stick to a strict schedule.


Photo 1. A view of the strip from the Eiffel Tower experience observatory. I believe this is looking towards the south. Part of the Aladdin on the foreground and part of the Luxor pyramid in the background.
[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv1.jpg[/img]

Photo 2. The ParisÂ* Casino (and "fake"Eiffel Tower")

[img width=383 height=511]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv8.jpg[/img]

Photo 3. Venice under a roof: Only in gaudy Las Vegas. And no we did not ride the gondolas--we didn't even dare ask how much the "experience" was.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv2.jpg[/img]

Photo 4. The Stratosphere casino.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv9.jpg[/img]

Photo 5. A zoomed shot of the Stratosphere roller coaster. The annotation on the photo highlights another ride: from their brochure, it is an arm- or crane-like device that swings thrill-seekers out into open space. See pic below. Not my game.



[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv4.jpg[/img]
[img width=267 height=737]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/tower_img_thrill.jpg[/img]


6. The Bellagio fountain show. Note: Caesar's Palace is in the background.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv7.jpg[/img]

7. The Sirens of TI at Treasure Island.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv5.jpg[/img]

Photo 8. Ah, Viva Las Vegas!

[img width=512 height=384]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b279/BayouPinoy/lv3.jpg[/img]

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Nice pictures !! I do suggest though if you are a BUFFET FOOD lover , the best ones are somewhere off the strip . Frfomur constricting sched... it is impossible to do that but then you seem to be happy with the experience .

[lindsay]

hay las vegas...been there a couple of times....i had a blast there, i won $800 on the slots as in never in my life i won money....so happy kau ko...hehe...

[BayouPinoy]

Nice pictures !! I do suggest though if you are a BUFFET FOOD lover , the best ones are somewhere off the strip . Frfomur constricting sched... it is impossible to do that but then you seem to be happy with the experience .

Thanks for the info. I was so busy going into the trip that I barely had time to google--and it was mostly for "family friendly" options on the strip. If there is a next time, we will definitely sample the fare off-strip. We have no preference either way (buffet vs. non-buffet), but our son has food allergies and we felt we had much more options going the buffet route. In addition, not all places charge premium for buffets on the strip, with some starting at $15.00. That's about the going rate for any entree on a regular menu for non-buffet options.

[orangepink]

hay las vegas...been there a couple of times....i had a blast there, i won $800 on the slots as in never in my life i won money....so happy kau ko...hehe...

$800 is great! Me, I won $7 and lipay na kaayo ko hahahaha! Daghan ba bisaya diri in Vegas? Mostly, tagalog man gud akong na notice.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

@ ORANGEPINK ...... yes daghan kaau BISAYA and di lang kay BISAYA , Sugbuanon gyud . There is an association here strictly for Cebuanos and if I am not mistaken , you can see them in SALO SALO Restaurant every Sunday @ lunch time getting together . I am not a member of them though , just heard of it .

[BayouPinoy]

Coming from a location where pickup trucks outnumber cars 3 to 1, we were pleasantly surprised to run into a pretty good slice of the diaspora. One kababayan worked for an operation that pushed timeshare sales--he sensed we were out-of-towners and had as a easy "marks." He dangled incentives, promised "no pressure," and feeling adventurous at that time, I thought, hey why not? When he asked if my wife spoke English, I was befuddled (hoy, graduate siya sa STC! ), but when when we arrived at the timeshare hardsell, I understood, i.e., almost half of the "marks" were foreigners who hardly spoke English. We got buffet and show vouchers out of that weird experience, but all in all, it was par for the course.

[orangepink]

@ ORANGEPINK ...... yes daghan kaau BISAYA and di lang kay BISAYA , Sugbuanon gyud . There is an association here strictly for Cebuanos and if I am not mistaken , you can see them in SALO SALO Restaurant every Sunday @ lunch time getting together . I am not a member of them though , just heard of it .

Salo-salo? That's the restaurant with yellow checked tablecloths? I think we ate there once. Mga tagalog man nag tindera but maybe I'll drop by on a sunday. What about bisayas in their 20s? Asa sila tambay?

[koykoy]

...my dream place...

[EZRA]

he he he he . lingawa nakos Vegas uy.. daugan pa kos CRAPS ...