Las Vegas Independent

Las Vegas has become the world’s most popular holiday destination, with more visitors per year than any other city. That’s quite an achievement for a city that’s sprung from the Nevada desert and become a scarcely believable playground for all tastes.

Las Vegas hotels come in all shapes and sizes imaginable, from the Luxor pyramid, to the glitz of Caesar’s Palace through to the decadent luxury that is the Wynn & the Encore at the end of the Strip.

While the city is marketed primarily as a place for adults, there’s plenty for families to do as well. Most of the hotels in Las Vegas have catered in some ways for the underage, Excalibur has nightly jousting shows over dinner, Circus Circus has an indoor rollercoaster and amusement park & the MGM has a fantastic five pool complex complete with waterfalls & grottos.

Vegas is also the worlds largest conference and convention destination – you can be pretty sure that every hotel on the strip (and a lot of the off strip Vegas hotels) are hosting at least one gathering on any given day of the year.

Conventions
With more meeting space than any other city in the world, Las Vegas hosts a number of high profile events throughout the year, including the ABC Kids Expo, the International Vision Expo West 2014, the Solar Energy Trade Show and Mr. Olympia. The city has a number of luxurious convention facilities, including the Cashman Center, the Sands Expo & Convention Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Dining
The large casinos offer a variety of dining options, from buffets to gourmet food to simple cafes. Also, Las Vegas is known for great steakhouses with high quality meat cooked to perfection. This city is also home to the famous “Heart Attack Grill” which serves incredibly high calorie menu items such as the “Triple Bypass Burger”. Most of the hotels on the Las Vegas strip feature both café type eateries through to fine dining, if you haven’t been to the SW steakhouse at the Wynn (named after Steve Wynn’s initials!) then you’re missing out. The wine selection is second to none and the food is to die for.

Major Points of Interest
The most famous attraction in Vegas is gambling and there are countless enormous glittering casinos where you can spend hours hypnotised by card games and slot machines. This city also offers lots of great nightly entertainment, including comedy shows, live musical theatre, erotic dance clubs, variety shows and circus acts. Also, get a thrill on the rides, such as “The X-Scream” at the Stratosphere Hotel and “The Roller Coaster” at the New York New York Hotel. That’s not all that Las Vegas has to offer though, you’re only a short drive away from untouched desert with some of the best vistas in the States, Red Rock Canyon is less than an hour away, as is the world famous Hoover Dam, or the more adventurous could always book a helicopter ride and see the Grand Canyon.

Shopping
Las Vegas is a shopping lover’s playground, with many great malls to choose from. The Fashion Show Mall offers sweet styles from popular designers, the Town Square provides relaxing open air shopping and the Las Vegas Premium Outlets boasts discounts on your favorite brands.

Sports
The city’s most important sporting event of the year is the finals of the annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. It is held in December at the Thomas & Mack Center. A number of hotels in Las Vegas have also hosted the annual World Series of Poker, most recently the Rio Hotel and Casino has held that honor attracting tens of thousands of professional players from across the globe. Las Vegas also hosts the USA Sevens, part of an annual circuit of events for rugby sevens teams.