Posts Tagged ‘Las Vegas’

The Golden Nugget is the largest of the Las Vegas Downtown casinos consisting of just over 1900 guest rooms and 3500 square metres of gaming space. The casino is currently undergoing a major expansion to increase the hotel space by 500 rooms. The Golden Nugget opened in August of 1946 and is famous for its huge gold nuggets on display including the worlds largest, called the Hand of Faith it weighs in at a whopping 27.21 kilograms and was found in Australia. The Golden Nugget has some great dining options including a branch of the world famous Houston steak house Vic & Anthonys. There is also one of the best buffets downtown with live cooking stations and a huge array of tasty foods.

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The Wynn is one of the most beautiful and luxurious of the Las Vegas casino resort complexes. Located on the Las Vegas Boulevard between Riviera and Spanish styled Palazzo and opposite the Fashion Show Mall the hotel has over 2700 rooms, 10300 square metres of gaming space, and huge conference, theatre and convention facilities. It is sister to the adjacent Encore which has just been completed and doubles the facility. The complex features some amazing shopping and even is home to a Ferrari dealership- very handy after a huge win. The gardens are spectacular and grounds make up the Wynn Golf Club. For partygoers there are several great nightclubs including Tryst which includes a 90ft waterfall and lake in the centre of the club- it is quiet spectacular. For diners there is no better in Vegas, with choices like Ristorante di Mare, Bartolotta and the world famous French Alex which holds two Michelin Stars and is the restaurant of Iron Chef USA Alessandra Stratta.

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Bills Gamblin Hall and Saloon is one of the smaller entertainment complexes on the Las Vegas Boulevard and doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of the big resorts but has a great old time charm which makes it very popular with the young and elderly. Their signature attraction is one of the Strips ‘best’ Big Elvis yes you heard it right, he is a 500 plus pound impersonator of Elvis Presley and boy is he talented. The casino features just under 200 rooms and has around 1600 square metres of gaming space with all the favorites including slots, poker and a race room. There is plenty of free entertainment in the gaming rooms and drinks and food are very reasonable.

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The Aladdin was one of the first of the theme resorts on the Vegas strip, but that has made way for one of the most exciting Planet Hollywood Las Vegas. This 2600 room resort has 9300 square metres of gaming and huge show rooms and shopping strips. Just renovated the resort has one of the freshest looks on the strip. A drink or two at the Mezzanine is a must for any visitor it has spectacular views of the video walls and neon of the gaming lounge and a great way to escape the Vegas heat. Planet Hollywood has some great dining too, the Spice Market Buffet is a must for anyone hungry with an international selection of dishes. For fine Japanese its hard to go past KOI it has an amazing candle lit atmosphere and for steak lovers the Strip House offers some of Vegas’ juiciest steaks.

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The medieval themed Excalibur opened in 1990 and has been a favorite on the Las Vegas Strip. Having just over 4000 rooms and over 9300 metres of beautifully themed gaming space the casino is a treat for young and old alike. The hotel was the worlds biggest hotel at opening but many more Vegas mega hotels have claimed that title since. The resort features one of Las Vegas’ longest running and most popular shows THE Tournament of Kings. This amazing show features medieval jousting and is a lot of fun and can be done as a medieval dinner show. For the ladies there’s plenty of buff action with the Thunder from Downunder show and there is always some entertainment playing around the complex. Being a family hotel the kids haven’t been forgotten either underwater legend Sponge Bob Square Pants features in an incredible 4D adventure ride and the huge pool is one of Vegas’s best.

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Opening in 1993 the Luxor on the Las Vegas Boulevard strip is one of the more eye-catching of the huge theme hotel casino resorts. Owned by the MGM group the resort is home to over 4400 rooms and some of the city’s best gaming, nightclub, bars and theatres. The centrepiece of the complex is a 30 story black glass pyramid topped with a spotlight which is claimed to be the worlds brightest and can be seen from Los Angles and it is claimed can be seen from space. The pyramid is guarded by a massive Sphinx which is one of the city’s best photo oppourtunities. Over the last few years over $300 million dollars has been spent renovating the Luxor, which has replaced much of the Egyptian inspired interior out of the complex and replacing it with a more luxurious and contemporary style. But the exterior still retains the amazing ancient Egyptian look. The Luxor is home to LAX, on of the world’s hottest nightclubs and has hosted some of the world’s hottest celebrities including Britney Spears, the Hiltons and Christina Aguilera to name a few. Like many other Vegas casinos the Luxor also features an amazing Cirque du Soleil show called Criss Angel Believe which is set to run until 2018.

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Paris Las Vegas

Though Las Vegas still remains one of the top spots for high rollers, with upscale boutiques at the Palazzo Las Vegas, a high-stakes poker room at the Bellagio, and $25,000+ a night suites at The Palms Las Vegas, travelers are beginning to discover why Sin City is one of the best locations for a penny-pinching vacation. In these difficult economic times, everyone’s looking for new ways to save and cutting back on expenses. But a vacation doesn’t have to be one of the things you cut out from your budget. This year, try booking a trip to Las Vegas, where you can save on discounted shows and hotel rooms. Read the rest of this entry »

Caesars Monuments

Caesars Palace is probably the best know of the huge theme hotel casino complexes in Las Vegas. Opening in 1966 as a 680 room resort the hotel now has over 3300 rooms and has nearly 15500 square metres of gaming area and has resident performers including Bette Midler, Elton John and Cher.The exterior and interior of the huge complex is themed in classical Roman style with huge statues, marble floors, triumphal arches, mosaics the whole works, its so easy for your mind to escape and think you are in Rome thousands of years ago- it is that authentic- except for the bling bling and ching of thousands of gaming machines. If you are into shopping- Caesars’ offers some of Vegas’s best with the Forum Shops, here over 160 of the most luxury brands offer every luxury product you could ever want. The mall is noted as being America’s most successful shopping malls being the highest grossing in the USA- leaving the glamour of Rodeo Drive back in Los Angeles for dead. Caesars’ has a wealth of great dining, including the Vegas favourite- the buffet and plenty of entertainment other than the big music stars including The Pussy Cat Dolls Lounge, Pure Night Club and plenty of free entertainment like animated character fountains and a free show called Fall of Atlantis.Now owned by the Harrah group, the future looks even more amazing for Caesar’s with yet another billion dollar expansion on the horizon, which will include another 29 storey hotel tower, a new events centre and a pedestrian promenade and some more casino space.

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Paris Casino

It’s Vegas week here at Tripandom and we thought we’d start with one of our favorites the Paris casino situated on the Las Vegas Strip. The casino features a 5/8ths scale replica of the Eiffel Tower (they wanted to build a full size one but the airport was too close), a neon sign in the shape of the Montgolfier balloon, a two-thirds size Arc de Triomphe and a replica of La Fontaine des Mers. The front facade of the building imitates the Paris Opera House and the Louvre. The tower contains a french restaurant between the top of the legs as well as an elevator that takes you to the top of the tower for a fantastic view of the strip. The legs of the tower go down into the casino floor where a bar sits between them. The complex is home to around a dozen restaurants and cafes all with a French or European theme so it’s a great place to go if you want to get away from the American burger or Vegas buffet. Read the rest of this entry »

The Hoover Dam

About 30 miles from Las Vegas on the border of Nevada and Arizona you will find the massive Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Powerstation holding back Lake Mead. Completed in 1935 it was the largest electric power station and largest concrete structure in the world. with enough concrete to pave a two lane highway from New York to San Francisco. Tours of the power station are available daily where visitors can see and hear first hand the amazing engineering and construction feats accomplished to build this mighty structure. The power generated serves not only the glittery lights of Las Vegas but much of Arizona, Nevada and most of Southern California. Interestingly the power station dosn’t store power it just generates what is needed at the time.

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