Flight to LAS with layflat seats?
 

You're going to have to backtrack to JFK for this and fly Delta or BOS and fly Jet Blue (Jet Blue doesn't serve CLE/PIT-JFK, unfortunately). DL will put you on a regional jet for the shorthaul but it's less distance, B6 is backtracking you about an extra hour or so (but Mint is likely nicer than Delta One).

In theory you could also double-connect through SFO/LAX on UA/AA/ (PIT/CLE-EWR/JFK-SFO/LAX-LAS). Don't do this unless you really like connecting in airports (and the shorthaul connections both ways won't have lie-flats, whereas with B6 you only have one connecting non-lie flat flight each way instead of two).

IMO it's not worth adding ~4 hours of travel + connection time to a fiveish hour flight, especially through Atlantic Seaboard airports with congested airspace (a lot can go wrong very quickly, and make your trip less fun). Personally I'd do F on a nonstop or one-stop somewhere in the Midwest if I simply HAD to get my sweetie to Vegas in complete style, and do other special things at the destination... but you do you.

Both CLE and PIT have direct flights to LAS on Spirit Airlines. Spirit doesn't offer "real" first class, but they do offer what they call a "big front seat". I've flown that seat out of CLE before, not 100% sure about PIT but they probably offer it there too.

The big front seat is just that -- same level of service as economy, but with a bigger, wider front seat, equivalent to most other domestic first class seats. For the money and time I would rather travel directly to LAS non-stop and avoid the hassle of switching planes, layovers, and backtracking that it would take to get a lie flat seat. I think the big front seat is a pretty good compromise between the two.

Mint is nice, so is Delta One. I just don't think it's nice enough to double your trip time, and IMO connecting back East during winter on a backtracking itinerary is asking for weather or ATC problems to mess up your trip (that being said ORD or DFW can go pear-shaped in the wrong weather too).

That's a four-six hour drive (longer if there's bad traffic). Do not recommend unless desert driving on an interstate and dealing with LA traffic is your thing, though the strawberry shake at the Mad Greek in Baker is not bad.

I hear you. Winter pricing in Vegas for the fancy hotels is often not bad if you pick the right hotel. It will be too cold for pools and bring a warm coat, but it will feel positively tropical compared to a lot of the US in the depths of winter.

That is usually how I roll unless there is a mild status run involved (in which case LAS-LAX-SEA or v.v. usually isn't TOO bad and nets me nearly double mileage from LAS-SEA or v.v.).

Rather spend extra time and dollars in order to travel F or in search of a lie flat, an alternative use of the extra time and money might be a nicer room or suite at a nicer property as that is where you will spend a lot more time. You may also enjoy an additional show or a great meal. Just a thought that doesn't answer the question you posed.

When are you looking to go? AA is operating 787s DFW-LAS in November. But thats a fairly short flight for the second leg.

I kind of "get" the desire to make the trip special. I go out of my way to get lie-flats sometimes PHL-LAX.

But - the simple fact is that lie-flats are very much the exception on domestic routes.

It's hard to see turning a short trip into a really long one, possibly with much greater cost (because the connections may not price out as a single trip), to get what is really not much better than lying in your recliner at home except that someone else brings you the food from the microwave. If you're taking a really long flight, or a long red-eye where you can sleep, it's a different story.

Also keep in mind that most lie-flats are designed for privacy, not for interacting with someone.

I'd definitely spend the extra $$ on a nicer room in Vegas. There are some really knock-out hotels in Vegas. My personal favorites have been Venetian and Delano, but others may have theirs to pick.

Corner suite at Aria

I've gotten the Delano in December for $125-150 a night in December in years past. Palms Place 1BR suites are also not ridiculous during December-January (though pricier than that, they are pretty darned nice). Aria's not a terrible option either, nor is Vdara. Some of the suites at Cosmo are pretty nice too, and Skylofts at MGM are reputedly amazing if you REALLY want to toss cash around.

Hotwire is unique in Vegas, in that it will essentially tell you what hotel you're going to get. It will say something like "The last person to book this deal got HotelCalifornia." It won't get you an upgraded room, but the entry-level rooms in some of these places are pretty nice, like Delano, Venetian/Palozzo. If you don't have political objections, Trump is the sweet spot for price/quality, at least in my book - I stayed there 4-5 times before mid-2015. All depends how much you want to spend. There are also very nice suites in some of the lesser hotels, like Orleans.

Well, if you're willing to drop serious cash on lie-flats for the plane ride, spending money on the room and F&B in Vegas at a high-end Strip casino is arguably a better deal in terms of $ spent vs. reward at making it "special". It's often not THAT hard to find a good comp deal during low season (MGM is sending me comp deals for $150 in F/B for 3 nights at Delano, and I am a flea, though a flea who used to use the Royal Offer combined with December/August stays in low season when it wasn't garbage like it is now, so they're not stupid), and frankly a meal at a Vegas high end restaurant is going to blow away any meal served at 35,000 feet that's been flash-frozen and reheated in a dinky airplane oven, and you'll spend a lot more time in that room on a 3-4 day stay than you will in a plane.

I'll add Wynn to the list of properties to consider.

AA appears to be starting operation of a 767-300 with lieflats from PHL to LAS. They may only be operating around the holidays though.

If you can get to PHL, I found a routing on a 763 to DFW and then 788 to LAS. I don't know if this is a permanent route, I was just looking for the week after Thanksgiving and found it. And I don't know anything about the return route.