For people who prefer National Parks to Casinos, it's worth mentioning that Death Valley isn't the only National Park for which LAS is a convenient airport. Vegas is about a 3 hour drive from the exceptionally scenic Zion National Park and 1-2 hours from Mojave National Preserve (run by the National Park Service). It's also about 4.5 hours from Grand Canyon National Park. For those unfamiliar with Zion and Mojave, here are a couple of photos.

Zion National Park

Kelso Dunes in Mojave National Preserve