|
Getting to Know Las Vegas
The glitz of Vegas
shines brightest at night along the Strip.
Here's all you need to know – what
to expect regarding attitudes, customs, transportation, weather and
more in Las Vegas.
Myths and Legends of Las Vegas
Yes, it's true. You can drink, gamble,
eat and do just about everything else in Las Vegas 24 hours a day. In
fact, about the only thing you cannot find in this town is a clock.
This is a city of excess. When one comes here, he/she is tempted to
indulge, if it's in the pampering, the gambling or the partying. Or
all of the above.
This is also a city of convenience. No matter what one desires –
be it a soda or a room full of call girls – it can be obtained
any place, any time (price do vary greatly according to one's desires).
Finally, this is a city of great contrasts. Las Vegas is the only place
in the world where you can view $300 million of artwork one minute and
eat a $3.99 buffet the next.
Las Vegas is part reality, part fiction and all energy. The casinos,
the most elegant of which are located in mega-hotels along a 5-mile
corridor known as the Strip, are huge, lavish creations. They are full
of lights, but no clocks or windows.
 This
is all part of the plan so people won't know (or care) about the time.
Casinos look exactly the same at 3 in the morning as they do at 3 in
the afternoon. It makes for a pretty carefree existence until you realize
the whole point is to make one forget what is going on outside so people
will stay inside and gamble.
We provide the true pubs and clubs information in Las Vegas in the
PubClubbing
section, but it's important to note that this is a free-flowing,
late-night city. There are no laws limiting liquor sales, so clubs can
stay open through the breakfast buffets.
The clubs located in the casinos, like C2K in the Venetian and Studio
54 in the MGM, close at around 4 a.m., in the hope that slightly impaired
patrons will then hit the gaming tables. Off-site clubs with no gambling
revenue to fall back on can stay open until the last person leaves.
For more general information about drinking in Las Vegas, see the Pubs
and Clubs Customs section further down on this page.
There was a day when Las Vegas was one of the most inexpensive places
on the planet. There are still good bargains available – room
rates can be as low as $29 at the right time of year – but
the city has definitely gone upscale, especially on the Strip. Many
of those fantastic bargains with which helped identify Vegas as much
as its gambling are now gone. The famous buffets, once within easy grasp
of a $5 bill, are now reaching upwards of $15. It's still not a bad
price for platefuls of food, but not quite the ultra-cheap eats of years
past. Those deals are still out there, but you've really got to seek
them out.
Either that, or read our Dining
and Restaurants section.
Sex in The City
It's here. In fact, it's everywhere.
This is, we are quite certain, the only city in the world that provides
free lap dance coupons for strip clubs in the local newspapers.
Look through the phone book and there are 100 pages offering room service
of a different kind.
Prostitution is not legal in the city's limits and in theory, at least,
one has to go out of the city limits for such activities. However, hiring
an "escort" is as easy as walking out to the street. Here
is a great irony of Las Vegas: hookers are illegal yet dozens of people
who look like they are playing hookie from high school hand out magazines
touting photos and phone numbers of seductive girls for hire.
As if that isn't enough, magazine racks line the sidewalks offering
the same material. The reality of the situation is that if you want
sex for hire, it's available. Then, of course, there are the city's
world-famous strip clubs (see PubClubbing).
Orientation and Lodging Basics
Just arriving in Vegas and seeing the Strip brings thrills to many visitors.
Just arriving in Las Vegas is entertaining. By car, the skyline of
the casinos suddenly pops out of the desert landscape and captivates
the senses. By air, the city's barren surroundings surrender almost
instantly to the buildings and glory of the Strip.
These effects (as is the case with much of Las Vegas) is magnified
at night. This is somewhat ironic, considering the place is bathed in
sunshine 294 days a year, but Vegas is an indoor playpen, not an outdoor
barbecue.
This town is all about overload. It's this way from the moment you
arrive until you drive or fly out of sight. Everywhere the eye looks,
there are dozens of signs advertising things like, "Best Steakhouse
in Vegas." "Voted Best Show." "Entertainer of the
Year." You name it. These ads are everywhere – on the
streets, on the tops of cabs, on the back of cabs, even inside the cabs.
After a while, it crosses the mind that not all these messages can
be true, as many brag about winning the same award. After all, there
can surely be only one buffet "Voted Best in Las Vegas." Keep
it all in perspective. There are dozens of sources for those awards
and some may be as out of date as disco balls.
Most people – and they are here by the tens of thousands
– have booked rooms through a hotel or a package deal. PubClub.com
offers Vegas hotels with our
on-line reservations system.There are more than 100,000 hotel
rooms in Vegas. And more are always on the way.
Because the hotels prefer you spend your coins in their casino, the
rates are often fabulous and the accommodations are first-rate. It is
possible, though not always advisable, to secure rooms on-site without
advance reservations.
Be aware, though, that rooms in Las Vegas are an example of Economics
101 in its most basic form. That is to say, prices are completely dictated
by supply and demand. A $39 rate one night could go for $250 the next
if it happens to be during one of the city's big conventions or any
major sporting evens.
Sundays-Thursdays are cheapest, while weekends are 2-3 times more expensive.
Still, on the average it is possible to stay in a clean, large room
in elegant surroundings for less than $100 a night.
Finally, there are the slot machines. They are everywhere: in the airport,
the pubs, convenience stores, grocery stores and especially the casinos.
Eventually, their constant "ding, ding" sound will become
as familiar as a bar tab.
The Hotels and Casinos/Gambling
Lifelike replicas
of Paris (here) and other exotic locations make the Strip a real trip.
Caesar's Palace. Mandalay Bay. The Venetian.
New York, New York. Paris. MGM Grand. Bellagio. The Wynn. We could go
on and on, and in fact they do in Vegas. "Spectacle" is the
key word here.
Each hotel and casino presents a different "theme" based
on a place (New York, Paris, Venice, Rio) time (Roman era at Caesar's,
Medieval at Excalibur) or a form of entertainment (rock 'n roll at the
Hard Rock).
They are masterpieces in design and concept, covering entire city blocks
and containing fine artwork, frescoed ceilings, sculptures, live animals,
exploding volcanos or whatever can be created by their creative masters.
Entire shopping malls, restaurants, bars offering margaritas by the
yard and complete re-creations of actual cities are contained within
their walls.
The purpose of all this is to entice people inside the various casinos
to gamble. They might as well have a guy with a hook yanking people
off the street.
It this Venice,
Italy, or the Venetian?
These hotels are one of the greatest aspects of Las Vegas. Everyone
is free to stroll their grounds as if a prince or princes. Even those
of modest means can stay in one of the hotels for around a hundred dollars
and be pampered like a millionaire. Las Vegas takes courteous service
to a level as high as its Stratosphere hotel and can put visitors in
a virtual reality fantasy that many could otherwise only dream of experiencing.
Gambling is what makes it all possible, and the games run the gamut:
blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, all kinds of poker and the ever-present
slot machines. Las Vegas has more slot machines than McDonald's has
hamburgers.
To further dazzle the gamblers, most of the casinos offer free shows
built around their particular theme. For instance, there is an exploding
volcano every half-hour after dark at the Mirage, a mesmerizing dancing
water show at Bellagio in a small lake, an entertaining Mardi Gras show
complete with live band that rotates around the ceiling at the Rio,
a lion habitat at MGM Grand and $1 million around a horseshoe at the
Horseshoe Casino downtown.
One of the best attractions is the pirate show at Treasure Island,
a Hollywood-quality "battle" between a pirate ship and a full
replica of a sailing 1800s British frigate (afterward, the victorious
pirates invite you inside to celebrate their triumph).
"Where does it all end," many people ask.. "Why should
it?" we respond.
Enjoy the shows, the glitz – everything these places have to
offer. Part the fun of Vegas is walking in and out of the different
casinos, soaking in the different themes. It's a microcosm of the world
located within a few blocks.
Just keep in mind that their owners did not build these masterpieces
and offer cheap room rates out of the goodness of their hearts. They
exist because people gamble, and the odds are in the favor of the casino.
As proof, notice that all those moving sidewalks always go INTO the
casinos, but never out. 
Getting Around Town
Vegas welcomes visitors
with not only open arms but open taxi doors, as well.
Las Vegas has almost as many taxi
cabs as slot machines. In fact, there are 2,000 of them on the street
at any given time and are often the best method for bar and casino-hopping.
Some clubs and casinos can be reached by foot, but the Venetian, MGM,
Rio, Mandalay Bay and Hard Rock are all a ride away from one another.
Many of the taxi journeys are less than 10 minutes. The drivers are
an interesting mix of people who chat with you, ask you where you are
from, if you've ever been to Las Vegas and even suggest restaurants,
bars and casinos. The information they provide is pretty reliable, though
it can vary greatly from driver to driver. It's better to check often
with PubClub.com.
Cabs can be caught at any hotel. It's such a big business there's a
specific line for taxi riders complete with a "taxi valet"
who hails the cab and opens the door, treating you as you were a movie
star getting into a limo (be sure and tip him/her a dollar or gaming
chip). On busy nights, this process can take up to a half an hour. Taxi
rates are about the same as they are anywhere in the U.S., about a dollar
a minute.
Hailing down a taxi on the street is surprisingly difficult. Most are
already transporting passengers and the empty ones are often harassed
by police for stopping in the street. To catch a taxi away from a hotel,
flag it down in an area where it can turn off the street, such as a
parking lot.
If you want to travel in style, take one of our Party
Buses – limos to Hummers to mini-buses with lights,
music and a dance pole.
Leave the driving to the pros when in Vegas – especially on
the Strip.
Forget about driving. Traffic is terrible. The Strip after dark is
like American Graffiti without the drag racing – all vehicles,
all the time. For those who must drive, stick to the back side of the
casinos around Paradise Road. This thoroughfare runs parallel to the
Strip and has only about a quarter of the traffic, meaning it's almost
possible to occasionally reach the speed limit.
The airport is conveniently located about 10 minutes from the Strip,
so renting a car is necessary only for out-of-town day trips. Shuttles
from the airport are just $5 to the Strip, $7 to downtown.
An alternate form of transportation are the free shuttle buses
provided by the casinos. The Hard Rock and the Rio have easily identifiable
buses; the latter has pickups at the Information Center and Harrah's.
The Hard Rock pick-ups are at the MGM and Fashion Show Mall. Some hotels
have monorails to take guests around the Strip. These are often faster
than the taxis (and are free). Ask any hotel about additional shuttle
pickup information.
The city also supplies a shuttle van that patrols the Strip
where, for $1.50 (each way, exact change, 9:30 a.m.-2 a.m.) you can
casino-hop from one end to the other. The trip lasts anywhere from 10
minutes to half an hour, depending on traffic and one's starting and
finishing spots. There is also a trolley ($1.75, exact change)
with pickups at Harrah's, Stardust, Riveria and others.
Convenient for convention-goers, Las Vegas' ambitious monorail
runs from the MGM to the Sahara in 15 minutes, with stops at the Bally's/Paris,
the Flamingo Hilton, Harrah's, the Convention Center and the Las Vegas
Hilton. It's $3 per trip, $10 for a day pass, and $25 for a 3-day pass.
An more limited monorail system connects the Mirange and Treasure Island,
the Bellagio and Monte Carlo, the Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay,
and Bally's and MGM, all for free.
Yet the easiest way to see Vegas is to walk. Moving by foot
is not only efficient, but affords the luxury of stopping into the different
casinos along your way. Pedestrian bridges, moving sidewalks (again,
always in, never out) and the occasional monorail takes visitors from
casino to casino.
Now here's the really cool part about walking: it is perfectly legal
to have open containers on the Strip. The weather is usually sunny and
warm, so grab a drink and take a stroll.
Las Vegas also offers public bus service, but no self-respecting PubClubber
would ever be caught rolling up to Caesar's Palace in a bus.
The Tourists
If you go to Vegas, you must enjoy people,
and we just don't mean fellow PubClubbers. Las Vegas is full of tourists.
Even during the "slow" times of late November thru Christmas,
the streets and casinos are packed.
There aren't many kids but there are a lot of parents and grandparents
some of whom, it seems, are making their first journey out of Iowa.
These otherwise fine folks tend to stop stone cold in doorways, escalators,
elevator exits and everywhere else that leads into a larger area in
order to gawk at the incredible excesses overloading their senses. This
causes people more familiar with such surroundings to ram into their
backsides in their attempt to actually go some place.
They also don't dress particularly well. They wear what you always
hope your parents won't but often do. That is, colored sox with shorts
for dad, an old-fashioned dress halfway between the knee and ankle for
mom. Then again, high fashion for many Vegas tourists is as lost as
money on a poor poker hand. Bad Hawaiian shirts or cheap t-shirts draped
over massive beer bellies are as common as Armani suits.
Oddly, these fashion opposites are often standing side-by-side. Once
in the clubs, though, the dress is largely to impress.
Pubs and ClubsCustoms
It's always a party in Vegas' pubs and clubs.
Finding a drink in Las Vegas is almost
as simple as finding a place to gamble. The combination of the two is
more intoxicating to casino owners than the alcohol is to the patrons,
so they make it easy to obtain volumes of both.
In fact, those dropping everything from nickels in slot machines to
thousands at the Baccarat tables drink for free (be sure, however, to
always tip the waitress at least a dollar).
 Vegas
is well-suited to caterer to revelers. Alcohol, as is everything in
this town, is consumed to the max. There are several free-standing bars
and pubs in town, even a few brew pubs. But the casinos don't let you
leave that easily; each has two, three, four or more bars within its
grounds.
Among these are the famous (or infamous) cocktail lounges featuring
a variety of live bands ranging from excellent to mildly mediocre. Vegas
is, after all, the king of the lounge act.
Drinking in casinos and clubs is not cheap, around $5-6 for a beer
and $6-8 for a mixed drink. Some of the best drink bargains can be found
downtown (Freemont Street) at the older casinos.
While alcohol is available anytime, the bars are sparsely populated
until 11 p.m. In fact, the clubs don't even open until then. They do,
however, go strong until after 4 a.m. The drinking age is 21. The dress
code depends on when and where one is drinking. Cocktail lounges, pubs
and bars are as dressy or as casual personal tastes dictate. Late-night
clubs are more discriminating, requiring hard shoes and collared shirts
for men and restricting shorts, tennis shoes and t-shirts.
The smoking ban has yet to reach Las Vegas and is not ever likely
to find a home here. Cigars are very popular.
The Language
Las Vegas has a language all it¹s own.
Here's how to talk to impress:
• High Roller. Someone we're not, a big gambler who spends
his money at the tables rather than the bars in exchange for a free
suite. Good guys to hang with, though. A casino catering to high rollers
is known as a Carpet Joint. A low roller, by the way, is known
as a Grind, Sucker or Tinhorn.
• Black Chip. A $100 casino chip.
• Boxman. Head man who supervises the craps table.
• Hard Count/Soft Count. Counting the coins from the slot
machines/counting the bills from the gaming tables.
• Gaming Tables. The games played on tables, such as craps,
blackjack and poker.
• Marryin' Sam. Wedding chapel minister (yikes!).
• Stickman. The dude with the backscratcher-looking device
in craps who handles the dice.
• Stiff. Winning gambler who doesn't tip the dealer.
• Turkey. Someone who is unpleasant to the dealer.
• Toke. Gratuity (yeah, we think of it as something else,
too).
Currency
The almighty dollars are king here, but
you will need a lot of them. Quarters are important, too, for those
trips to the slot machines.
Accessing money is frightfully easy. Dozens of automated teller machines
are available in the casinos; just be certain they dispense money at
that location. Some require you to take a receipt and fill out forms
with the cashiers. We've only seen these in the Rio, but if they are
there, they could be lurking elsewhere.
Credit cards are accepted here but casinos often require you to join
their VIP club in order to cash checks. Restaurants, pubs and clubs
all eagerly accept cash, coins, credit cards or even gambling chips
if you are drinking in that particular casino.
Temperatures
(Highs) March-May (Spring): 78F
June-August (Summer): 102 F
September-November (Fall): 80 F
December-February (Winter): 58 F
Time Zone
Las Vegas is GMT -8.
When To Go
Unlike many destinations, Las Vegas is
pretty much happening any time of the year.
The slowest times are around Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the busiest
just before and just afterward with the mega trade shows, Comdex (mid-November)
and Consumer Electronics Show (first week of January).
Attending the city during major boxing matches can also be challenging
with eccentric crowds, entourages and bodyguards.
Prices for hotel rooms skyrocket during major conventions, but considering
the city hosts close to 4,000 per year, the odds are there will be some
type of show occurring any time of the season, be it the Charisma Group
or the Roller Skating Association. Conventions tend to run Mondays-Thursdays,
so weekends are filled more with revelers than folks from, say, the
National Association of Demolition Contractors.
The weather in Las Vegas is a cool 66 degrees for a year-round average,
but since it is located in the desert, it is subject to extreme temperature
changes. In the summer months, it can be flat-out unbearable outside
(despite what you hear about "dry heat"). In those times,
we recommend the shorts-and-t-shirt wardrobe prevail; thankfully, many
of the clubs relax their dress codes accordingly.
From October thru March, it can be surprisingly cold at night. Temperatures
in the mid-30s are common in December and January and snowfall is not
out of the question. In those months, don't be fooled by the warm days.
As soon as the sun goes and hides behind all those hotel/casinos, the
temperature can drop by as much as 20 degrees.
 Next
stop on the Virtual Vegas Party Bus: The Bartender
|