My partner dreamed of gambling in Las Vegas. I was always reluctant to go, because I don't gamble at all - I'm just not interested. Finally I relented and we agreed to spend a long weekend there, but I still worried that I'd be bored.
How wrong I was! I thoroughly enjoyed myself. My ideas may not work so well for you if you're not a walker as the Strip is 6 km long, but if you don't mind strolling for a few hours, you'll find it all surprisingly entertaining and apart from your bus fare, it's free!
It's very simple really, just buy a 3 day pass on the
Deuce bus, then take the bus from your hotel to the farthest end of the Strip from where you are. Then start walking back. Make sure to walk into each hotel you pass, with most of them you can walk through and out the other side, so you're not backtracking. You may even find they have a free tram to the next hotel!
I'm not going to tell you where the trams are, because part of the fun of this walk is discovering the special things about each property. Every hotel has a different theme and some of them are realised in amazing detail. In one hotel you're gaping at the statues and gilding in a Roman villa, and in the next, you could be walking under an Egyptian pyramid or crossing a bridge over a Venetian canal.
Of course the other advantage of walking through the hotels is that you spend most of your time in nice cool air-conditioning. Most also have shops to browse, and while you may not arrive at the right time to see a show, you can make a note of the ones you want to come back to.
This excursion can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be, depending on what you do - do you just want to enjoy the sights, or will you treat yourself to a souvenir here or a sundae there? It's up to you.
When you get tired, all you have to do is look for the next Deuce bus stop, hop on and head back to your accommodation. The next day, all you have to do is take the bus back to where you left off.
I know some non-gambling wives (or husbands) will spend their time shopping at the outlet stores - but why? You can find outlet stores anywhere, but there is nowhere quite like a Las Vegas hotel!
Finally, don't forget to nag your partner into taking one day off so you can go on an excursion to the Grand Canyon!
