travelswithtish.com

30 Hours in Vegas. Making Efficient Use of Our Time.

June 23rd, 2008

by tish

Okay, my main purpose for this Las Vegas trip was to see Elton John in his Red Piano concert at Caesars Palace. But that left quite a bit of time to spend on other pursuits. Here’s how I planned this one-night trip.

Early Flight In. Flew in on Midwest Airlines, arriving around 9 a.m. That gave us most of the day before the concert started.

Went Straight to the Las Vegas Hilton. Checked in. (Although it was too early to get into our room, our keys would be waiting when we returned in the afternoon.) Checked our bags with the Bag Room, freshened up and hit the Strip.

Why the Las Vegas Hilton? It’s a great hotel, has a first-class casino, and is one of the stops for the Las Vegas Monorail, which swiftly takes you from the North End to the South End of the Strip. Oh yes, I was able to reserve a free room through our Hilton HHonors Points.

First Stop Harrah’s. Spent some time hitting the Let It Ride Table at Harrah’s and dropping some bills (they don’t use coins anymore in Vegas) into a few Video Poker machines. Win a few, lose a few.

Flamingo and Imperial Palace. Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip) has great pedestrian overpasses to connect the casinos, so no one has to run for their life anymore to get across the street! We always love the Flamingo, so we spent some time there. (Be sure to check out their pool and garden area, complete with live flamingos.) Stopped at the Imperial Palace for a brief time, but didn’t care much for that casino.

Took the Monorail to Bally’s. It is so easy to hop on and off the Monorail. Bally’s is one of our favorite casinos, so we spent a couple of hours there. Decided to also buy tickets for “The Price Is Right” show there the next afternoon. Stopped for a quick lunch — a hot dog at Nathan’s. You’ll find lots of dining options — from extravagant to budget-conscious. We chose a hot dog as we planned to go to dinner after the concert.

Stopped in to Drai’s Casino next door, but pretty much walked in and out.

Back on the Monorail to the Hilton. By late afternoon, we headed back to relax a bit in our room, check out the rooftop pool and spa area and get ready for the concert.

Off to See Elton John! Once again took the Monorail right to Caesars Palace. I’ll give you details about this concert in my next post. But be assured, it was so good! Had dinner and did a bit more gaming at Caesars.

5 Hours of Sleep, Then Back to Las Vegas Business! We once again boarded the Monorail, luggage in tow, and headed to Bally’s, where we checked our bags in the Bag Room. (”Are you guests at Bally’s?” we were asked. “We just checked out and will be staying for an afternoon show.”) We’d be back there at 2:30 p.m. for “The Price is Right” and could easily get a cab to McCarren Airport. Plus our 24-Hour Monorail pass ran out at 10 a.m. We saved a few dollars by planning well.

Back to Caesars Palace. It’s across from Bally’s and I wanted to spend more time exploring its many casinos, Roman statuary and the Forum Shops.

Caesars is indeed one of the most beautiful and enduring casinos in Las Vegas. I have always loved its ambiance.

Paris, then Back to Ballys. Paris and Bally’s are connected so it was an easy trek over the Strip. We spent a couple of hours at Paris and both the tables and machines were kind to us. (That’s not to say we walked out with tons of money, but our money did entertain us for a long time.) Of course, we enjoyed some French pastry at one of its cafes. After that we returned to Bally’s for the afternoon show.

The Price is Right. We lucked out with a seat in the front row. The show was done pretty much the way it is on television, including original stage props. Lots of prizes, including the Showcase complete with a car. At least 50 people got a chance to participate and/or win something. Very fun. People were chosen from random drawings, but we didn’t get selected. Still was an entertaining hour or so.

Easy Cab Ride to the Airport. Retrieved our luggage and were at the gate for our flight within a half hour of leaving Bally’s. Plenty of time was left to try our luck on the airport machines. They actually seem to pay pretty well — and no coins, just receipts that are quickly redeemable before the last call to board your flight. Once aboard, we purchase a pretty tasty meal from the flight attendant and then it was time to catch up on sleep. We’d get home around midnight.

You can get Elton John tickets at StubHub. Get Great Tickets on StubHub.com!