Things to Do in Las Vegas
Written March 8, 2008 by Jack Jones
With the Bodog.com Marketing Conference set to take place on July 23-25 we thought you might want to be prepared to get the most out of your trip to Sin City by giving you a list of things to do in Las Vegas. Yeah, we know - we here at BodogNation love drinking and gambling too - but what do you do if you need more from your Vegas experience? Perhaps, you’ve been to Vegas a thousand times, stayed at the MGM, swam at Mandalay Bay, ate at Nobu and got loaded at Rum Jungle, and now, you simply want to know what else is out there? Well, don’t fear; your benevolent BodogNation contributors (who have traveled and yes, even married in Vegas) are experts in all things pleasurable and have provided you with your own exclusive tour of a more unconventional Vegas.
Gondola at the VenetianOkay, okay, it might not be totally unconventional, but lots of people forget about the Venetian gondola rides. It’s a good time, and if you are in Vegas with that special someone (or even if you hooked up with a new special someone the night before), it can be one of the most romantic things you can do there (besides a 3 a.m. Elvis wedding). Oh, and if you’re not looking for romance, the rollercoaster at New York, New York will help you revisit that 10 a.m. buffet.
Rafting on the Colorado River
If you’re going to be in Vegas for more than just a quick weekend, take a day-trip and go rafting on the Colorado River. Many rafting tour companies will pick you up from your hotel in the morning and drop you off in the late afternoon (just in time for drinks at Tryst). If you are feeling a little green from last night’s cocktails, don’t worry, the tour is calm, beginning at the base of Hoover Dam, and coasting down an 11-12-mile stretch of river through majestic waterfalls and steaming hot springs.
The Museum of the American Cocktail
Formerly housed in New Orleans, the Museum of the American Cocktail was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and has now made its home in Vegas. The exhibit follows the journey of the cocktail through the past two centuries beginning with “First stirrings: The birth of the cocktail” and ending with “The end of the Golden Era: 1950s-1990s.” Open from 9-9 daily, the museum is located at the Commander’s Palace restaurant inside the Desert Passage mall (Aladdin Hotel) and is free to visitors.
The museum will also offer a “Mixology Seminar Series”. Seminar topics alternate monthly, the first of which will be the “Anatomy of the Cocktail”, presented by world-renowned mixologists Francesco Lafranconi and Dale DeGroff. During each seminar, a six-course cocktail dinner menu will be served featuring items like wild honey-lacquered Drambuie Drunken Quail. Woah.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a nice, new facility with the distinction of being the first completely new superspeedway to be built in the southwest region of the United States in more than 20 years. With suites that face onto the Speedway, the dragstrip and the half-mile dirt track you can watch any race in sweet drunken comfort. And if that doesn’t turn you on, well I don’t really know what will.
Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati Showroom and Dealership-Hoo Rah!
Surprise, surprise… Steve Wynn brings his affection for the finer things in life to the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel. A huge Ferrari aficionado, Wynn has opened the Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati - a 10,000-foot showroom that boasts more than a dozen extravagant and rare vehicles. Some of the vehicles featured at the showroom are the 2003 Ferrari 360 Spider F1, the 2005 Maserati Coupe GT and the 1995 Ferrari F50. Wynn is even generous enough to show off his own $1.4-million Enzo Ferrari, (not for sale). So, for a measly $10 entry fee, you too could be gawking at the array of beautiful Ferraris and feeling like a million bucks, or looking at a million bucks - whatever. The showroom draws a pretty big crowd and only allows 35 visitors at one time, so get there early (it opens at 10 a.m.), or be prepared for a lineup.
