ROADRUNNER

......SUCKERS!

WHere you ask?

It has to be LAS WAGES, NEVADA!

There are only a few hotels, that don't give you the feeling of having your pockets picked, while they empty them!

It isn't such a bad place, if you have GOOD connections. For those that don't, you should see it at least once.

Every once in awhile, a special hotel opens like the Bellagio, and it is best to enjoy them early before they change hands.

There are some good show like the Cirque du Soleil- Mystere and the 'O' show. A few good places to eat your favorite foods, but be selective.

A good place to get crazy with your favorite partner for a weekend. Throw all caution to the wind!

[This message has been edited by ROADRUNNER (edited 07-24-2001).]

fetchem

Trap? I disagree. Las Vegas is very upfront and honest. Everyone knows the gambling odds. Don't let one's stupidity on the tables cloud the best travel value in the country.

Where else in the world can you stay in a Four Seasons Hotel for $119 a night? Or dine with Picasso's on the wall for $80 including wine? Las Vegas has more fine shopping than 5th Avenue and Rodeo Drive combined. It is THE restaurant capital of the world and has 12 National Parks within a 2 hour drive. Including the grandest one of them all---The Grand Canyon. I have seen Kid Creole and the Coconuts in a lounge and The Knack jamming on the lawn for free! No trap there.

Spend an evening stargazing on Lake Mead or an afternoon golfing at Lake Las Vegas (which will be nicest resort in the world) and you will feel differently.

Las Vegas truely has it all. It all comes with a very reasonable price tag. No "trap" here...

raffy

I strongly disagree to Las Vegas being labeled as "THE" restaurant capital of the world. Have you ever visited San Francisco, New York, Chicago or New Orleans? Perhaps LV does indeed have some wonderful restaurants, many outposts of their famous NY or SF originals.

ROADRUNNER

PLEASE! Restaurant capitol of the world!

No one is looking for 'LAS VEGAS' style restaurants elsewhere! For example, New Orleans cooking in major city.

Yes I like dining at the Belleagio, but few other places for something outstanding. There are GOOD places to eat, but few fantastic ones!

fetchem

Don't be a bully. Those cities you mentioned are 100 times the size of Las Vegas. That said, Las Vegas competes nicely. I also think restaurants in those cities are more of a "trap" once you factor parking, tipping the maiter d' and overpriced drinks into the equation. Aureole will cost you 40% more in New York than Las Vegas with one exception. The head chefs and top wait staff all moved to Las Vegas three years ago to design their dream restaurant. I think you will get a better experience with a cheaper price at the Aureole in Las Vegas.

More James Beard award winners cook in Las Vegas than any other city in the world. The Belagio Hotel alone hosts 6 James Beard award winners. The Picasso is the countries number one restaurant and rests close to Le Cirque and Aqua. Walk across the street to The Palm, Spago's and Chinois. Emril has a couple of restaurants in Las Vegas. I can keep going but there is already a board dedicated to dining.

This board is about "traps". Perhaps, you won't get your type of food in Las Vegas, but it is world class and reasonably priced. Perhaps, you won't get the best river rafting, but rafting the Colorado through the Grand Canyon is spectacular and reasonably priced. Perhaps, you won't golf on the best courses, but there are plenty to chose from. Perhaps, you won't get the best hotel, but you will get a great hotel at a bargain price.

I just don't see the "trap".

afang

I would have to agree with Fetchem.
I have been in Vegas for a whole month on business and I have had great experience..I don't know about the resturant capital of the world...every city brags about being the resturant capital of the world....for example...Houston has it's own promotion saying that it has the most resturant pere sq ft in the nation, than...Dallas says the MetroPlex has more resturants than anywhere else...so it is hard to say whom...

yes..Vegas is no trap

------------------
Al

UAL Traveler

I don't think so. You must be counting NM's, NRA's and NHS's.

fetchem

Boy, I didn't expect my comments to be so controversial. The point of my post was: the only tourist trap in Las Vegas is the Mercedes sitting on top of the quarter slots. Once you leave the tables, everything is quite honest and upfront. You know what you are getting before you go in. And it is quite reasonably priced. There is no "trap".

Don't forget the buffets. For the price of McDonalds in your big cities you get a 45 course meal. I know you are going to razz me on that one.

$300 will get you a Marriott in Manhattan or San Francisco. But it will get you the 3 nights at the Four Seasons, Belagio, Rio or Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I received a postcard for the Lake Las Vegas Hyatt for $99/night including $25pp in food. That works out to $49 a night. You take Manhattan and give me Lake Las Vegas for a week!

As far as the National Parks, here we go:

1) Lake Mead National Recreation Area
2) Grand Canyon National Park
3) Tolyabe National Forest
4) Virgin River Recreation Area
4) Humbolt National Forest
5) Great Basin National Park
6) Dixie National Forest
7) Zion National Park
8) Cedar Breaks National Monument(3 hours)
9) Fishlake National Forest (4 hours)
10)Bryce Canyon National Park (4 hours)
11)Kolob Canyons National Reserve
12)Mohave National Preserve
13)Joshua Tree National Park (3 hours)
14)Fort Mohave Indian Reservation
15)Rainbow Canyon National Preserve
16)Sunrise Mountain National Area(by Lake Las Vegas)

not included, but pretty darn nice:
Red Rock Canyon
Valley of Fire
Death Valley
Colorado River
Lake Mohave
Lake Havasu(London Bridge for you city types)
Mount Charleston
Brianhead Ski Area(3 hours)

Sorry, these recreation areas do not have McDonalds. You will have to bring your Big Mac with you from NYC...

aamilesslave

Ummm, Dallas? More restaurants per capita than anywhere in the US....it's no wonder I seldom eat at home.



[This message has been edited by aamilesslave (edited 07-29-2001).]

UAL Traveler

fetchem, I didn't mean to stir things up, but in fact your list does make my point. National Parks are just that. They are not NRAs (National Recreation Areas), National Forests, Preserves or Reservations. Perhaps I am nitpicking, but the National Parks are a distinct entity, and generally regarded as the jewels of the National Park System. The NPS themselves admit that 'The numerous designations within the National Park System sometime confuse visitors.' The nomenclature is nicely laid out in Designation of National Park System Units.

amanuensis

My wife used to live in Las Vegas so we go there occasionally. We both think that there is no THERE there, i.e., it is not a real city because its only reason for being is tourism from gamblers. Take the tourists away and there would be no city. So to me it is a tourist trap -- and since Las Vegas is a big city that is growing bigger at the highest rate in the nation, it is a big tourist trap.

Lucky5

Yes, I've been to (and eaten at, natch) SF, NY, Chitown, and the Big Easy. Of those four, NO was the best hands down. But you know what else? Even that didn't compare to the best meal I've ever had...in Las Vegas. Twas about 3 years ago at the Paris Eiffel Tower Restaurant. Two words: "Dover Sole." Absolute perfection. Pricey, but worth it (about $50/entree as I recall). Of course, nothing else in Vegas compared to it. We ate at Le Cirque at the Bellagio the next night and were disappointed (although to be fair, perhaps it was merely a letdown in comparison the the previous night's fare). Take it for what it's worth...

rubbernyc

Just to stir things up a bit more....
I agree wtih Fetchem in that vegas is upfront about the gambling. We all know that it pays for most things in town. That having been said, I enjoy going there every year to do the grand canyon, hoover ****, the rollercoasters, the neon, the whole tacky enchilada. I have had some good meals there, however, it is NOT the restaurant capital of the world. As a new yorker, I can have many foods delievered 24 hours a day. Can walk a couple blocks and find some restaurant that's open. We do have pricey places, but we also have every cuisine covered from cheap to snobishly expensive.

hedoman

If you were to choose one very good dining experience daily, you would have eaten in the same San Francisco restaurant five times before you finished the first round in Las Vegas.

quinella66

I agree that 'Lost Wages' is a big trap. I was there for a few days at the end of a southwest trip to see national parks and I am glad I got to see it, but am in no hurry to return.

First of all, the restaurants are nothing special. I heard all these storys of great buffets of excellent food at cheap prices. Wrong. Not only did I get food poisoning from one, but the food was no better than Ponderosa at triple the price and you had to walk 20 minutes past 500 slot machines just to see the menu. On the other hand, the steakhouse in the Luxor was great, but at $30+ per place, it should be. It was no better than a comparable (price-wise) places in New York, SF or whereever. Think about it - there is really no such thing as Vegas food, they cannot even produce their own water out there in the desert, they have to ship everything in, including the people to cook it.

It was interesting to see the architecture, but it was one big tacky tourist trap designed to extract money from the droves of tourists led in with delusions of grandeur. Think about it - us visitors work for a living while these casino owners just build more and more casinos every year! Obviously the odds are in their favor, unless of course, you can count cards in blackjack and disguise it so that they do not throw you out. Unless you mindlessly hand away your money, they kick you out if you use any skill against them.