Vegas – A Family Getaway Destination

Las Vegas is a great family holiday destination. This city, famed for its numerous casinos and its scintillating nightlife also has a lot of activities that you could enjoy as a family. In fact, many casinos recognize the importance of family vacations and offer a host of family-friendly activities alongside their primary gambling attractions.

One of the main attractions in Las Vegas, other than the casinos is the High Roller. The High Roller is a 909-foot high roller coaster at the Stratosphere Hotel. Unless a newer and bigger roller coaster comes along, the High Roller has the distinction of being the highest roller coaster in the world, making it literally the biggest attraction in Las Vegas. The High Roller consists of tracks in excess of 800 feet and with sharply banking turns that could zip you along at speeds as high as 32 miles an hour. This exhilarating ride could set you back $5 a trip and you do get daily passes. As with most roller coasters, especially ones that are so high and steep, height restrictions are enforced.

Another great activity to indulge in with the kids is spending the day at the zoo. The Nevada Zoological and Botanical Park makes no tall claims of being the biggest zoo in the world, nevertheless it is a great way to spend the day with the kids. They have quite a few exotic birds and animals including wallabies, ostriches, flamingoes and emus. The chimpanzees at this zoo are a huge hit with the smaller kids. Sometimes their antics could even impress older kids. You can make a choice between a half-day and a full day ecotour of the desert. This could be a great fun-cum-learning experience for children as they learn about so many different aspects of the desert.

Who could resist the romantic charms of a gondola ride? You could stay at the Venetian Hotel and Casino and experience its authentic gondola ride as a double bonus. You have a choice of outdoor as well as indoor gondola rides. The gondolier serenades you with the romantic sounds of Venice while you float under bridges and past beautiful landscapes. There are romantic 2-person gondola rides as well as gondola rides for the whole family. Reservations for gondola rides have to be done in person on the same day as the ride.

Did you know there was a Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Las Vegas? This is an absolutely-must-do on your Las Vegas family vacation. It offers you that unforgettable opportunity of golfing with Tiger Woods, singing with Elvis and sailing with the infamous Jack Sparrow. Here you could come face to face with some of Hollywood’s most famous faces. Don’t forget to take your camera along to record those memorable moments.

Las Vegas, the original gambling town was completely focused on its casinos and glitzy nightlife. Rather lately the city has recognized the importance of promoting family activities alongside the gambling activities. The gambling casinos themselves offer families a lot of tempting choices that have families coming back for more!

Heading to Las Vegas (North Platte Telegraph)

The North Platte Telegraph Back in June, Gretchen Bergquist of Oxford went from being Miss Panhandle to Miss Nebraska 2008. Now Bergquist is hoping to gain a new title as she prepares to compete in the Miss America Pageant on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.

Tix Corporation Achieves Another Milestone With 250,000 Discount Dinner Reservations Sold in Las Vegas in 2008 (GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance)

STUDIO CITY, Calif., Jan. 5, 2009 -- Tix Corporation , a leading integrated entertainment company providing discount and premium ticketing services, event and branded merchandising, and production/promotion of live concert and theatrical events, today announced that during 2008, the Company sold more than 250,000 discount dinner reservations to Las Vegas area restaurants.

Wynn's Encore steals the show (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Las Vegas » Is this the worst moment ever to open a fancy new casino? You're entitled to wonder that, given that Steve Wynn's 2,034-room, $2.3 billion Encore took its first bets in late December in the middle of a national financial nervous breakdown.

Recession muffles buzz at tech show (Boston Globe)

America's biggest technology trade show won't be quite so big this year. The four-day Consumer Electronics Show that begins next week in Las Vegas is expected to draw fewer visitors as the weak economy drains corporate travel and marketing budgets.

World's Biggest Electronics Show Suffering from Slowing Economy (AnandTech)

CES in Vegas is expected to be smaller this year with less glitz...