Vegas Vengeance - The Group Activity Bucket List

[Paulie_D]

Now, I'm sure that we all have our own ideas of things we might like to do as individuals while we're out in Vegas but I've been putting some skullsweat into a few ideas for things that might serve as an activity that could be done in groups, perhaps as the first night's gathering, a evening's entertainment during the week, a lunchtime/daytime visit or just some fun times around restaurant table.

I can't do tables as well as Leigh so I'll just give each one a heading, a short description (probably cribbed from their website) and a perhaps a link.

Feel free to pile on with suggestions if you've been there before or, if not, ask questions about the things that get posted.

I'll start with a couple of suggestions for the first night the group really comes together...these are all at Harrahs so you won't have too far to stagger to your room (if that's where you staying).


Harrahs - Duelling Pianos

When:
9pm - 2am, Tue-Sat

What:
Just when you thought everything in Las Vegas costs a fortune, then you have not seen The Dueling Pianos Show at Harrah’s Casino. Imagine a gorgeous young female accomplished piano player who is also a stand up comedian and one of the best audience participation entertainer. . . now multiply that by "2" because you are about to see the only all-female and identical twin dueling piano show in the world!   

Kimberley & Tamara Pinegar

The Dueling Pianos Show is an all-request, audience participation event that happens nightly. The Twins, Kimberley & Tamara Pinegar, since age six have mastered the piano. You can hear The Twins play their baby grand pianos and share with the audience favorite songs from the 60's to today’s hits. Whether you like country western, Aerosmith, Andrew Sisters or AC/DC The Twins will entertain you with amazing quick wit humor and the unique ability to keep the audience involved for hours.

Don’t misunderstand, because each show is different and the show ranges from R rated, depending on the audience and The Twins attitude, all the way to a very wholesome atmosphere. The Piano Bar has an age minimum, 21.

It is amazing how The Twins balance the audience participation, music and comedy at a high pitch hour after hour. This is the type of show that you can watch/participate and then realize that hours have gone by since you first sat down and you have been to one of the best shows you ever saw. And if all that was not enough, the show is FREE!


Harrahs - Toby Keith’s Bar & Grill [FIRST NIGHT?]

When:
11:30am - 2am Sun - Thurs
11:30am - 3am Fri-Sat

What:
Bar and Grill
Live Music Nightly 9pm - 2am

amed after one of Toby Keith's hit singles, I Love This Bar & Grill at Harrah's gives country fans a place to eat, drink and kick up their heels.

Keith's stamp is on everything in the bar from the memorabilia on the walls to the flat screen TVs continuously playing his music videos.

The decor is all-American red, white and blue and the centerpiece of the room is a large guitar-shaped bar with a stainless steel top.

Sexy cowgirl-attired bartenders serve up specialty drinks named for some of Keith's biggest hits. Try the Who's Your Daddy Margarita, which features a float of Guinness beer or the Whiskey Girl -- a tasty concoction of Jack Daniels, amaretto, pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine. Specialty drinks average $9-$10.

Of course, country and blues music is always playing in the backgroud at I Love This Bar & Grill. In addition, for those that feel the need to two-step, live country and rock bands, hand-picked by Keith, perform nightly from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.


Harrahs - Carnaval Court (Outdoor) [FIRST NIGHT?]

Link: Here

When:
11:30am - 2am Sun - Thurs
11:30am - 3am Fri-Sat

What:
Bar and Grill
Live Music Nightly 9pm - 2am

Early bands perform Sunday - Thursday from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 1 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Late bands perform Sunday - Thursday from 6:45 p.m. - 12 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7:45 p.m. - 1 a.m.
DJ "T" spins from midnight - 2 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and from 1 a.m. - 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Friday & Saturday: Cook E Jarr performs from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Enjoy casual dining at the liveliest outdoor venue on the Strip! Choose from a variety of delicious items from the Pepper Rose menu. While you're dining, enjoy live music, great drink specials and flair bartenders for the ultimate in entertainment!

Boasting some of the world's top flair bartenders, Carnaval Court was voted one of the best flair bars in the country. Live bands take the Carnaval Court stage daily performing pop, jazz, beach music and more.

[Paulie_D]

OK...that should have whetted your appetites...

Lets move on to a few suggestions for a lunchtime or evening group raid. Not surprisingly, this is centred around beer, music and food.


Monte Carlo - The Pub [ANY LUNCHTIME/EVENING]

Link: Here

When:
Sunday - Thursday: 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 11:00 .am. - 3:00 a.m.

What:
Bar and Grill
Duelling Pianos: Thursday - Saturday 9pm - 2am

Casual yet stylishly contemporary, The Pub is your go-to spot at the Monte Carlo for great food, beer, sports, and an all-around good time. But don’t let the name “The Pub” lead you to believe this is an ordinary watering hole. Pull up a seat at the extensive bar, backed by a mesmerizing array of large kegs, and choose from more than 200 beers on tap. Or if you’re not quite in beer mode, you can opt for one of The Pub’s famous adult milkshakes such as “The Luck of the Irish” or “Peppermint Snowflake.”

There’s an extensive new menu of seriously good food to satisfy your hunger. Juicy burgers, fresh mango chicken quesadillas, grilled fish, and more make The Pub a Las Vegas dining destination in its own right.

With your appetite well taken care of, you can now focus on your entertainment. Big screen sports abound here, so if there’s a game on, this is the place to watch it. If sports aren’t your thing, there’s something for you as well.

Every Thursday through Saturday evening from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., let the music take over with Fuel the Duel. A crowd pleaser, you’ll find yourself singing along to all the right notes. Or dance the night away with the house DJ on special nights. Whatever the moment, you’ll find there’s always something exciting going on. To quote the manager, “We’ll throw a party for just about anything!”

Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall - Fat Elvis or Karaoke

When:
Mon/Tues/Thurs/ Fri: 3 pm, 5 pm & 6:30 pm
Karaoke at Bill's: Sunday - Wednesday, 8 pm - 2 am.

What:

Guests looking to “Shake, Rattle and Roll” to sounds of the King won’t want to miss award-winning Elvis tribute artist Pete “Big Elvis” Vallee who has been performing at Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon for the past eight years. His free show includes a vast catalogue of Elvis hits spanning rock, country, gospel, R&B and pop music.

Vallee embraces all of the endearing qualities of the King during his heyday in Vegas. His incredible voice has been compared to the King since Vallee was 13 years old. In January 2010 Vallee was named one of “Time” Magazine’s Top 10 Elvis Impersonators in a list compiled in honor of the King’s birthday. Johnny Cash was also named on the list.

The Big Elvis Show is one of the only all-Elvis acts in town and the longest-running Elvis tribute show on the Las Vegas Strip.

Hard Rock (Opposite) - Hofbrauhaus (Off-Strip)

Link: Here

When:
Sunday - Thursday, 11 a.m.- 11 p.m.;
Friday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight.

What:
American Version of a German Beer Hall

If you've been to Munich the name probably sounds familiar. Hofbräuhaus is a staple of Bavarian culture stretching more than 400 years. Having once only been reserved for royalty, it has survived countless wars and even once saved the city from being burned down, thanks to its beer.

Vegas' version of the Hofbräuhaus is an exact replica of its German counterpart, with much of the building materials imported directly from Germany. While you may admire the outside of the building, it is inside where the true beauty lies.

The restaurant is a replica of the Die Schwemme, the beer hall that is considered the heart of the original location. The tables, chairs and even the hand-painted accents on the ceiling are what you would see in Germany.

Live bands play nightly on the stage here, but not the local bands you can find all over town. Hofbräuhaus flies in German bands every four weeks and as Klaus Gastager, Hofbräuhaus vice president, put it, "They play seven nights a week whether they're too sick or too drunk."

And after watching the bands play for a few hours, you may wonder how they make it to the stage nightly.

There is a beer garden located just past the beer hall that is similar to the German version, only indoors. Vegas summers are vastly different than Germany's and there's not enough beer in the world to change that.

While the décor may be enough to attract lovers of German culture or history buffs, it is the beer and the party that fills up every seat in the house almost nightly. The beer here isn't just Beck's like many other German bars, but the actual beer you get at the German Hofbräuhaus.

The original location was the starting point for the German Beer Purity Law, which states that all German beers must be made without additives or artificial ingredients. In layman's terms, that means this is the purest beer you can get anywhere. Additionally, the beer straight from the taps isn't pasteurized, as most imported beers are, which can change the taste.

Beyond the beer itself, there is a true German menu with the tastiest soft pretzels you'll ever have (another item straight from Germany), schnitzel, sauerbraten, assorted meats and cheeses and an apfelstrudel that will make the truest Americans forget about apple pie.

Beer wenches sport authentic dress and pack a surprise when you order a shot of Jägermeister.

[Paulie_D]

Speaking of appetites....I think better with a full stomach.

I've been to both the Hash House and Maggiano's and they both do excellent food at very reasonable prices for very generous portions.

As for The Range...I love a last night full blown steak meal and budgets get ignored. I've been itching to try this out.



Imperial Palace - Hash House A go Go

Link: HERE

When:
Sunday - Thursday: 7:00am-11:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 7:00am-2:00am

What:
Restaurant...you have to visit.

“Twisted farm food” is what happens when homestyle Indiana favorites meet the excess of the Strip. That’s exactly what you’ll find at Hash House A Go Go in its third location, right here at the center of the fun, Imperial Palace Las Vegas.

Famous for creative menu offerings, oversized portions, unique presentation and flavorful dishes using only the freshest ingredients, Hash House A Go Go is home to the city’s best breakfasts, plus one pound stuffed burgers and colossal salads at lunch, and a variety of innovative dishes at dinner.

Lunch offerings include sandwiches like the Kokomo, with griddled meatloaf, roasted tomato and smoked mozzarella on old fashioned milk bread; one pound burgers stuffed with goodies like apple smoked bacon and mashed potato; and salads like the Big O Caesar and warm spinach salad.

At dinner, your choices include Andy’s Crispy Indiana Style Hand Hammered Pork Tenderloin, served with griddled mozzarella, caramelized onions, fresh spinach, Portobello mushrooms, house charred tomato and bar b’ que cream; Sage Fried Chicken breasts served on a bacon waffle tower with hot maple reduction and fried leeks; grilled swordfish with crispy shrimp and fresh tomato roof and an 18 oz. bone-in ribeye steak with maple sage garlic butter.

Decadent desserts like the Chocolate Snickers Bread Pudding and a drink menu renowned for its mimosas and Bloody Marys plus freshly squeezed juices and the house favorite Kiwi Watermelon Lemonade round out Hash House A Go Go’s offerings.

Fashion Show Mall - Maggiano's Little Italy

When:
Mon-Sun: 11:00 AM-11:00 PM

What:
Italian Restaurant...huge portions at very reasonable prices when I visited a couple of years back.

Maggiano’s specializes in creating generous portions of authentic Italian-American cuisine, served family-style. Our menu is large and varied, offering a great selection of homemade pastas, signature salads, prime steaks, fresh fish and memorable desserts.

Maggiano’s Las Vegas location, with our 325-seat dining room and banquet facility for up to 200 guests, is conveniently located at the Fashion Show Mall on world famous Las Vegas Boulevard.

Whether for lunch or dinner, for social gathering or for work functions, you get more of everything at Maggiano’s.

Harrahs - The Range Steakhouse

Link: MENU

When:
Mon-Sun: 5PM -10:30 PM

What:
Restaurant: Steak and Seafood

You'll be treated to an outstanding dining experience at The Range Steakhouse. Succulent steaks, prime rib, seafood and poultry entrees are presented in an intimate setting that boasts a spectacular view of the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Grilled-to-order steaks come in all sizes at The Range Steakhouse, from the 8-ounce filet to the 24-ounce porterhouse. The slow-roasted prime rib, with natural au jus and fresh horseradish, is served in a 12- or 16-ounce cut.

The Range also presents delicious seafood items, such as grilled Atlantic salmon fillets, swordfish steaks, giant shrimp scampi, twin lobster tails and Alaskan king crab legs, which are available as an entree (a full pound) or a side order (a half pound). In fact, guests may order any seafood item as a side to a steak entree and create a surf and turf meal of their own design. Other mouth-watering entrees include free-range grilled chicken, blackened rib-eye chops or the double-cut pork loin chops.

[Paulie_D]

Las Vegas Roller Coasters & Thrill Rides

Some of the best thrill rides and roller coasters in the world are in the Vegas area. In fact, almost all of these rides are at local hotels. Here's a rundown of roller coasters in Las Vegas.

Not my cup of tea but a last longer could be entertaining.


Stratosphere Hotel & Casino

What:

SkyJump

First they put a roller coaster on top, which was the highest roller coaster in the world.  Then they put up the Big Shot, which accelerates you straight up as the whole world seems to disappear below you.  Then they built a ride that put you over the edge.  Then they built another ride which put you over the edge, but that one actually points you towards the ground and dangles you.  How were they gonna top that?

Well, they did.  The newest ride has you jumping off the tower, "skydiving" 108 stories to the ground.  God.  Damn!  There's no paraCrute, you travel along zip lines which have a braking system.  The only downside is the price -- $100 per jump.  (If that's out of your budget then Insanity (below) will give you almost as good a scare for only $12.).

Website Link

What:

Insanity

This is a spinning ride that dangles you over the edge. Never tried it.  Maybe it was the screams and the look of sheer terror on the faces of the riders as I watched them from the observation deck, or maybe it's just that I didn't care to be dangled a sixth of a mile from the ground that day.  Anyway, if you want to be scared, this is your ticket.

What:

X Scream

This one is a see-saw thingie that dangles you over the edge. It doesn't go as far over the edge as Insanity, and you definitely feel more enclosed and grounded, so I imagine it's not nearly as terrifying. Still, it's pretty scary if you're scared of heights. One nice touch is that on one of the runs after your cars get to the edge of the platform, the whole arm stutters and drops the angle even more, making you think for a second that the thing broke and you're about to hurtle towards your death, ha ha.

What:

Big Shot

This is the one that made the Stratosphere famous. You're strapped into a chair with your legs dangling, and then they shoot you straight up the tower's steeple, 160 feet in two seconds, at four G's. Then they freefall you so you get negative G's, then shoot you up again, etc. If this ride started at ground level it would be scary, but add to that the fact that you're a fifth of a mile from the ground and it's terrifying. As you're going up you worry that the brakes will fail and you'll go straight off the steeple and land down the strip at the Sahara.

Downtown: Fremont Street

What:

Fremont Flightlines

The newest ride, opening in October 2010.  Ride along a zipline right under the canopy of the Fremont Street Experience -- 800 feet at speeds up to 35mph.  Here's a review from one of the first people to ride it.  The price is $15 before 6pm, and $20 after 6pm.  Tip:  Book online or by phone, and then start at the front of the line when you get there.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so see the video at right.

Here's a review from a friend of mine..

There were about 6 of us there, one of the group got turned away for being over weight, they have a strict weight tolerance, thankfully I am now down to below their maximum allowed weight (by 1/2 a lb clothed), I actually had to take my phone and keys out to make weight.

The setup is pretty nice, you go to their office, step on the scale (everyone got weighed), sign the waiver that no one ever reads, and get your wristband. After the office, you hop on an elevator and go up to the top of the garage, where they have a queue for the riders. There were not too many people hitting up the zipline that afternoon, and the wait was pretty short.

After the queue you get to the harness station. They pretty much have a one size fits all harness, and let's just say they're not really built to fit a 6' guy...SNUG was an understatement!!! After narrowing the chance that I'll ever have children at the harness station it was time to zip.

This was the hardest part of the entire thing, you walk out onto a platform at the top of the scaffolding, yes you are hooked in for safety, but having a mild fear of heights, the walk was not the most fun. They then latch you onto the line, and tell you where to hold your hands (important so you don't hit yourself in the face when you stop), and they send you on your way.

The Zipline isn't really that long, but I will say it was a RUSH...at the end they take your photo, as well as a few that they take while you're on the line (I was turned around at the camera so it wasn't a good photo), and they do a nice job of jacking up the photo price!

New York, New York

What:

Manhattan Express

Casino Player magazine says: "At two minutes and 45 seconds, it's easily the longest-lasting ride in Las Vegas. Top speed is 67 mph and the biggest drop is 144 feet, but what keeps everyone coming back for more is the insane 540-degree spiral, not to mention the fact that it takes place over a pretty solid replica of New York Harbor. If this ride doesn't put you in a "New York State of Mind", nothing will."

[sharplea]

I know this is going to be a weird question...but can we have the odd place that isn't centred around alcohol...mainly cos I don't drink.

Cheers mate, will still be in attendance at most of these though.

[Paulie_D]

I know this is going to be a weird question...but can we have the odd place that isn't centred around alcohol...mainly cos I don't drink.

Heresy!

Of course...they are coming....that's what the 'Reserved' sections are for...the odd restaurant suggestion, rollercoaster last longer, re-enactment of the fountain scene of Oceans 11...you know the boring stuff.

My thoughts were that, as a group, we are kind of centred around having a night out so that's where I started. You'll notice that most of the suggestions also include a restaurant.

Like I said, if anyone want to add some research and suggest something...I'll play along.

[PHIL_TC]

Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall - Fat Elvis Karaoke = Winner

[samuel_9]

Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall - Fat Elvis Karaoke = Winner

write up your street..... i hope you do a good elvis...ill be waiting to here it...  what colour is your hair going to be

[Curlarge]

In The Aria, Cirque du Soleil have "Elvis" the show which is absolutely superb. A sort of Elvis meets Dodgeball meets Spiderman sort of thing. The artists are simply fantastic and well worth seeing. About £100 per show.

[Paulie_D]

The Imperial Palace also has Karaoke.

Imperial Palace Karaoke Club is conveniently located on the third floor next to the Sports Bar (accessible from the Strip)

STARTING TIMES
9 p.m. Sunday - Thursday
10 p.m. Friday - Saturday

It's OK....but nothing special. I preferred Bills as it has better seating and is on the casino floor.

[Paulie_D]

Added a couple of eateries near the top.

[gallowgate]

How about a trip downtown?
I've only been once for a couple of hours,any suggestions?

[Paulie_D]

How about a trip downtown?
I've only been once for a couple of hours,any suggestions?

It's worth seeing the Fremont Street Experience if you are there but I wouldn't make a special trip.

If a group wanted to head down to Fremont Street one evening I wouldn't try and dissuade them but it's really just a bunch of tired casinos (excepting perhaps the Nugget).

Casinos they can see on the strip...I don't know of anything I would make a special trip just to see....but if anyone knows different...

Oh, I forgot Hogs and Heifers...never been but I hear it gets lively....they based Coyote Ugly on it...but cleaned it up for the movie.

[Paulie_D]

Added Rollercoasters and Thrillrides...well some of them.

[duke3016]

Top top work Paulie, I will give this the love it deserves when I get home.