The Other Side of Vegas

The casino tipping point thread got me thinking about Las Vegas' future survival.

The long answer is that yesterday my boss told me he's going to Vegas with his wife and 12 year old daughter, then asked me to help him draw a list of what the kid can do. It turns out there's a lot of stuff out there that's not even remotely realted to gambling.

Aside from children specific places like Excalibur, there are rides, exhibits, pools, museums and shows that can be enjoyed. Some are free, more are not. Thing is that while Vegas is not a "family" destination, and hopefuly never will be, you can do a lot mroe than just gamble.

In fact for my first trip gambling was one of many things I wanted to see or do. For that matter it still is, though it has grown in importance, and I admit if I dind't want to gamble I'd probably spend my vacation elsewhere.

So sure, you can gamble in many more places than just Vegas, but what else is there at those other places?

Quote: Nareed

So sure, you can gamble in many more places than just Vegas, but what else is there at those other places?

Amusement parks, bowling, movies, ... and a great many things that if not "at those other places" are nearby. A teen arcade may be inside a casino or half way across town.

I see lots of kids in Vegas, but I don't think it's a place to take a 12 year old on a vacation. I love Vegas, but I'll never take my daughter there.

For me, Las Vegas is an adult destination. The fact is that the hotels all have gambling in them and it is their major activity. You walk into the check in, and invariably, the path to your room is the casino. You walk the streets of Vegas and you are handed the cards offering escort services.

Gambling is an activity to be enjoyed responsibly, like alcohol. I don't want to expose my child to a casino until she's old enough to understand the entertainment value and cost involved and can be responsible.

That said, there are roller coasters, a few shows, and swimming pools to enjoy on the strip. At the West Edmonton Mall (north America's largest mall), there is a casino, arcade, shooting range, amusement park, water park, cinemas, bowling alleys, and stores in the same enclosure. The Red Rock casino in Vegas has movie theatres and a bowling alley attached to it. Atlantic City has the boardwalk and the Ocean.

But I would rather take my kid to a resort where gambling was not offered. Disney comes to mind.

Mind you, my 12 year old daughter is old enough to have opinions on gambling (she thinks it is a waste of money and time, yet she has no problems beating her older brothers at Hold'em).

Quote: FleaStiff

Amusement parks, bowling, movies, ... and a great many things that if not "at those other places" are nearby. A teen arcade may be inside a casino or half way across town.

I failed to make my point. Let's try again.

Vegas has a great many rather unusual entertainment options you don't find anywhere else, at least not all bunched together in a relatively small space. There are roller coasters, art galleries, museums, botanical gardens, small zoos (sort of), and whatever you call the more extremely themed hotels (I like just walking around Luxor, Venetian, Paris and Caesars looking at the architecture and ornaments). Plus gambling and the shows, not to mention shopping malls galore. And the scale of things is just diferent from what you find almost everywhere else.

What I'm saying is that casinos or no casinos, Vegas is in a class by itself.

Amusement parks, bowling allies and movie theaters are found in every sizable city in the world.

A good comparison would be Disneyland. To call it an amusement park, or a theme park, misses the point. Disneyland defines its own class, and the only other places that come close to it are the other parks Disney has built (Disneyworld, EPCOT, MGM, Tokyo Disney, etc); maybe also Universal Studios. But not Six Flags.

I do a lot more in vegas than just gamble. I suppose many of the people who post here do as well. But I wouldn't be surprised if many of you, or even most of you, go to Vegas only for the casinos. I know people like that, too.

Quote: Nareed

I failed to make my point. Let's try again.

Vegas has a great many rather unusual entertainment options you don't find anywhere else, at least not all bunched together in a relatively small space. There are roller coasters, art galleries, museums, botanical gardens, small zoos (sort of), and whatever you call the more extremely themed hotels (I like just walking around Luxor, Venetian, Paris and Caesars looking at the architecture and ornaments). Plus gambling and the shows, not to mention shopping malls galore. And the scale of things is just diferent from what you find almost everywhere else.

What I'm saying is that casinos or no casinos, Vegas is in a class by itself.

Amusement parks, bowling allies and movie theaters are found in every sizable city in the world.

A good comparison would be Disneyland. To call it an amusement park, or a theme park, misses the point. Disneyland defines its own class, and the only other places that come close to it are the other parks Disney has built (Disneyworld, EPCOT, MGM, Tokyo Disney, etc); maybe also Universal Studios. But not Six Flags.

I do a lot more in vegas than just gamble. I suppose many of the people who post here do as well. But I wouldn't be surprised if many of you, or even most of you, go to Vegas only for the casinos. I know people like that, too.

I was at Disney'land' last summer, and it is little more than just another theme park. Disneyworld on the other hand is something absolutely into a class of itself and is absolutely phenomenal.

Vegas' scale is absolutely grandiose. Every casino on the strip has a gimmick and you are absolutely right, Vegas is in a class by itself. But gambling far outclasses every single activity on the strip. If you want to go on roller coasters, I drive 40 minutes and go to Canada's Wonderland -- a single roller coaster in the NYNY or the thrill rides on the top of the Stratosphere doesn't cut it. If I want to see an art gallery, I go to New York, Chicago, or Washington. The Bellagio's small collection doesn't cut it. If I want to go to the zoo, I don't marvel at the kitties in the MGM Grand -- I make the 30 minute drive to the Toronto Zoo. And Bellagio's botanical gardens are marvelous but it takes you 5 minutes to walk through the entire thing.

My point is that Vegas does offer all of these things on the strip, and movie theatres and arcades too, but that these are just very minor diversions to the obvious attraction -- gambling. But the Vegas strip excels in other areas too -- I can't think of any other area (with the exception of Manhattan) that compares to Vegas in the combination of food, shows, shopping, and nightlife. The strip also offers a close proximity to the airport, fantastic pools, great weather, and spas. When you add the opportunity to win it all back with gambling (or lose more), nothing beats Vegas as an adult tourist destination.

But because all of this centers around the activity of gambling, Vegas isn't somewhere I would take my children.

Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age - 50.

I think I would absolutely go out of my mind with boredom if I was a teenager in Vegas, wondering what to do. Oh, sure there are pools and arcades and such, but really, what is there to do, while the 'rants are out gambling?

Heck, even now, as a relatively mature adult, I sometimes get bored.

If my wife drags me to the botanical gardens in Belagio just one more time, there gonna be trouble!

Stand aroung the Rio to watch the masquerade show in the sky, hoping to score some cheap beads? Yawn.

That's why my last trip, as well as my trip coming in September I'm gonna be alone (not to mention that both involve a convention).


For those reasons, I'm happy there was that hidden gems thread, as well as the comments here.

I've already added the Pinball Museum and Atomic Testing Museum to my list for this year - not to mention the Wiz Coffee meet!

By the way - I love Disneyworld, but hate going there with kids.

My wife and I don't have any kids, but we went a couple years ago with one of her neices. She was around 10. And bored.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I've already added the Pinball Museum and Atomic Testing Museum to my list for this year - not to mention the Wiz Coffee meet!

I wonder if a casino could be persuaded to put the Wizard on exhibit? ;)

Seriously, yes, you can get tired of everything, or used to anything, which is pretty much the same thing. My first time in Vegas I must have stood gawking at the scenery for hours. The second time I wasn't so impressed.

BTW, my point isn't that vegas is a good vacation spot for a 12 year old, only that my boss got me thinking of all the non-gambling activities available.

Anwyay, the point is that Vegas is more than a mere gambling destination. And that is what will likely keep vegas in business, even if gambling's legalized all over the world and even if 99% of the world's popualtion live within driving distance of a casino.

it is a challange to keep youngsters occupied in vegas. when my daughters where there during the basketball tournament the coaches would usually take them to the malls for shopping. i don't know how they do it but most teenage girls can spend hours at the mall. but then my daughter wonders how we can spend hours in the casino.

for younger kids, the wet n wild was a great place for them, which is why i think they should bring that back. i know it would only be open during the warmer months but when i was there it was crazy with kids who, again, could spend hours there.

what i can't understand is why anyone would bring kids who are stroller age. unless the adults are only expecting to sightsee, at that age the kids are definitely just an anchor as they surely cannot appreciate anything thats going on.

.

My boss returned from vegas a few days ago. Talking about his trip, it came up neither he nor his wife gambled at all in the five days they spent there. I find that very hard to believe, even if they wasted a day at the Grand Canyon. But I also have no reason to doubt him.

isn't there some sort of law requiring all adult vistors to Vegas gamble? :P