The Nongambler's Guide to Vegas

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-nongamblers-guide-to-vegas/ss-AAknv4h?li=BBnbklE

There's more to Vegas than just gambling!!!?? And the morg's temple too!??

Only reason I would have to go to Vegas would be to attend one of the major trap shooting tournaments held at the Clark County Shooting Complex. I don't gamble and can't justify the cost of going to a stage show. Just another place to drive through for me.

RB

Funny you should post this as I just barely an hour ago got home from a couple of days in Vegas. We stayed at The Four Queens on Fremont Street. We strolled Fremont Street and seen quite a show, some of it freaks, and some of it talented people doing what they do.

We seen the Bellagio Garden, it was just as the pictures show and an awesome experience. They change this 4 times a year and it's never the same. Next time I will check out some of these other suggestions. It never occurred to me even for a minute to visit the morg temple, don't even know where it is.

Geez, what fun is that?

Although...do catch the Penn & Teller show in between rounds at the blackjack tables. Worth it :)

I'm going to guess most of the readers here are tired of me telling stories about Las Vegas. I lived there from 1998 to 2015, and moved back to Utah to enjoy some winter weather :(

I never gambled much but won a couple of times. I won an $800 pot on penny slots several years ago.

I saw lots of the shows, not as many as I'd have liked and seldom went to the strip unless I had visitors come to town.

My absolute favorite place on the strip is the Bellagio Fountains, out front. When Steve Wynn first opened that place, (it opened about the same week I moved there) the fountains were just terrific and I could stand there for an hour or so most times I went to hear different songs. After MGM took over, the shows weren't as cool but still worth seeing.

And I loved downtown, even with all the weirdos. (the weirdest people are the tourists). The last 2 years, the company I worked moved from Henderson to DT Las Vegas, and the CEO spent a ton of money redoing the old City Hall. The experiment hasn't worked like the CEO wanted but he's still there.

I hated the heat for the first month or so and then got used to. Nothing like coming out of work at 11pm and having it still be 105 degrees. I miss it.

And morg temple is way east at the end of Sahara. The only time I went by it was when my TBM sister was driving from AZ to Utah, and she wanted to see it. It's not all the impressive and she said, boy it's not like those old ones, is it?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2016 11:39PM by memikeyounot.

memikeyounot Wrote:
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> I'm going to guess most of the readers here are
> tired of me telling stories about Las Vegas...


Never :)

My favorite show is the Beatles Love Cirque du Solei show at the Mirage. Most of what I like to do is off the strip, like hitting the outlet mall and in the winter and spring, going to the Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire parks. At least once a year, I do go gambling when I'm with others who like to do that, but I prefer going to casinos off of the Strip because they have more $5 Blackjack tables than the ones on the Strip.

As for the Morg temple, it's basically out of the way, and I think it's one of the ugliest temples they've built. A few years ago, I was there for Halloween, and when I went to Freemont St, there were 2 guys dressed as Mormon missionaries drinking beer. I was too busy laughing to get a picture of them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2016 12:24AM by adoylelb.

Circus Circus with the great talent every half hour, and the M&M museum/store just a couple of examples. Plus one of the best Hobbytown U.S.A.'s anywhere. Yeah, I spent a lot of time there with the kids. Someday want to try out the place where you can cook off rounds from full auto weapons.

I thought I would hate the New Years celebration in Vegas, but went last year and it was great!

I read an interesting article the other day titled "How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts" - http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/12/losing-it-all/505814/?single_page=true

After reading that I feel all sorts of conflicted about whether or not that industry deserves my $$, even as a non-gambler.

With the corporate takeover of Las Vegas, gaming has become a lot less attractive: six-to-five Blackjack, side bets with terrible odds, reduced Video Poker payouts, etc. I haven't been to the Strip in many years, but from internet reports I gather that it's pretty much unplayable. Some of the off-strip venues that cater more to locals still have some good games. Our primary gaming focus has shifted to poker tournaments, but now many places are phasing out their poker rooms too.

Even if you don't gamble, the options are less attractive. The shows are expensive--"plus tax and fee"--and you get nickel-and-dimed for everything. For example, one show I remember charged extra for a copy of the program after you were already seated. But if you're into French-Canadian mimes, or mid-level celebrities lip-synching their own recorded songs, they've still got plenty to choose from.

Then there are resort fees [1], parking fees [2], "franchise fees" [3], metered-drink-comp systems [4], and other corporate-bean-counter add-ons, all designed to squeeze every last nickel out of the customer. Some major Strip casinos charge extra for making reservations through a human agent, instead of booking online like you're supposed to. And they are experimenting with automated check-in kiosks to eliminate the desk clerk. If you want to talk to a human being, that's extra.

So to gambler and non-gambler alike, Las Vegas continues to become less attractive. We still go up for the WSOP each year, and perhaps if there's a good comp offer to one of the off-strip places mentioned above; but otherwise nowadays, we mostly go to Laughlin; the Phoenix-area casinos; or even the Los Angeles card rooms.

I was a long-time regular Vegas visitor, going an average of two or three times per year since 1969; but these days, it wouldn't make much difference if I never set foot in the town again.

Notes:

1. http://vegastripping.com/news/blog/5864/mgm-resorts-increases-resort-fees-yet-again/
2. http://vitalvegas.com/mgm-resorts-announces-90-million-parking-overhaul-and-new-parking-fees/
3. http://vitalvegas.com/beware-the-deceptive-cnf-charge-at-beer-park-hexx-kitchen-at-paris-las-vegas/
4. http://vitalvegas.com/caesars-palace-plays-red-light-green-light-for-comped-drinks-at-sports-book-bar/

Lots of great places to eat ,Cirque shows, sunning and swimming at the pool. last trip we went to the Mob Museum downtown in the old federal courthouse which was a lot Better than I thought it would be. Did not play any slots and only gambled at the sportsbook which I do in Wendover anyway. I like sports so what's a 20 dollar bet on few games .It really isn't necesarry to gamble