Is there life after Las Vegas?
17-Feb-2010

Zeke Quezada of about.com suggests the following activities make for a
good time in Las Vegas – especially, we suggest, for depressed
tourists and visiting Rugby 7s players. You might like to: laugh so
hard (you) puke with ‘Frank Caliendo in Las Vegas’; sing along with
‘Big Elvis’ at ‘Bill’s Gambling Hall’; try the ‘sliders’ and ‘Sammy’s
Gimlet’ at ‘First Food and Bar’; take a stroll around the ‘Springs
Preserve’ (and see that Las Vegas is about more than tiny skirts and
stiff drinks); solve a crime at ‘CSI: The Experience at the MGM Grand
Las Vegas’; take a break at the pool at the ‘Mandalay Bay Hotel’;
marvel at ‘Magic with Lance Burton – Master Magician’; or take a ‘Day
Trip to Zion National Park’ to explore what else the American
Southwest has to offer.

Alternately, visitors to Las Vegas might also like to take a ‘Pink
Jeep Tour’ and explore the desert; sample wine along with
extraordinary food at ‘Andre’s French Restaurant’; have themselves an
‘In-N-Out Burger’; indulge in cheese and beef at ‘Morel’s at Palazzo’;
try to defend a ‘Caveman at the Excalibur’; sample a slow poached
steak at ‘StripSteak at the Mandalay Bay Hotel’; become ‘Mesmerized
with Marc Savard’ at the ‘V Theater at Planet Hollywood Hotel’; visit
a real gold mine at the ‘El Dorado Canyon Mine Tour’; appreciate the
Las Vegas wildlife at ‘Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin
Habitat’ at the Mirage; get very close to the ‘Titanic at The Artifact
Exhibition’; or stand underneath the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture at
the Bellagio Hotel.

Then again, there’s breakfast at ‘Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas’; or
visitors can sit sip a drink and a smoke at ‘Rhumbar’; see an
incredible show at the ‘Mirage - The Beatles Love’; try the ‘Chef
Matsu Special’ at ‘Wazuzu’ at ‘Encore Las Vegas’; eat in a ‘Rainforest
at ‘Kokomos’; buy toys at ‘FAO Schwarz’ at the Forum Shops; or waste a
day dancing, drinking and laughing at the ‘Carnival Court’ at
Harrah’s.

Disappointed Sevens visitors might also like to check out the ‘Atomic
Testing’ museum; have a ‘Corned Beef on Rye’ at Canters; dance on the
bar at ‘Coyote Ugly’ at ‘NY/NY’; do a late night at ‘Drai’s at the
Bill's’; be a ‘Dolphin Trainer for a Day’; drink with a late night
meal at ‘Binion’s’ coffee shop in Downtown Las Vegas; eat at the
‘Spice Market Buffet’ at the ‘Planet Hollywood Hotel’; check out the
Ferraris at ‘Wynn Las Vegas’; fill up on bread and wine at an outdoor
table at ‘Mon Ami Gabi’ at Paris Las Vegas; get a massage at ‘Canyon
Ranch Spa’ at the Venetian; or even get married at the ‘Little Church
of the West’ – if that doesn’t work out, quickie divorces are also
available.

And still there’s more –especially those trying to forget their 7s
team’s dismal performance in the US Sevens leg of the IRB tournament -
try going to the top of the Stratosphere Hotel (but not jumping off
please); have a blast at the ‘Piano Bar at Harrah’s’; do the ‘Haunted
Vegas’ Tour; have a Martini at ‘Red Square’; hop on the ‘Las Vegas
Strip Trolley’ for trip down Las Vegas Blvd; see the ‘Legends’ show at
the Imperial Palace; watch the ‘Lions at MGM Grand’; have a margarita
at ‘Margaritaville at the Flamingo’; have steak that melts like ice
cream in your mouth at ‘N9NE in the Palms’; or order at the ‘Pink
Taco’ at the ‘Hard Rock Hotel’.

And if any of these distractions in America’s infamous ‘Sin City’ fail
to relieve the deflation of watching your team of Sevens winners get
done over, there’s always the crap tables in any one of Las Vegas’s 75
casinos where safe bets evaporate just as reliably. Or then again,
escapist nostalgia buffs might prefer opting for the best Elvis
impersonators belting out his classic 1964 (Lucky Jordan) hit ‘Viva
Las Vegas’ - proving, after all, there is life after death. But is
there life after Las Vegas?