The Luxor

In Vegas we stayed at the Luxor. I was amazed the price was so cheap – around US$90 a night but I guess they make their money elsewhere. As it happens though the amount I made from gambling exceeded by a small margin the total cost of the four nights accommodation, meals and drinks.

I am not normally a gambler. I have probably purchased less lotto tickets than any other person in NZ. But when in Vegas, hey you gamble. I proved quite adept at blackjack (it is pretty easy mathematically to decide whether to hit or not) and quite lucky at both the slots and roulette. I developed a routine where once I had made my target for the session I stopped playing, so each night left ahead.

Anyway the Luxor is the pyramid casino, and was pretty huge (but not the biggest). The lifts actually move sideways as well as upwards! It has almost 4,500 rooms and the spotlight that shines from it can be seen miles away.

They had four swimming pools, and spent a few hours a day in the pool or on the deckchairs. Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert and the temperatures were high 30s and early 40s. Even at 11 pm it would be very hot.

The theme of course was all Egyptian, due to the pyramid.

Just down the road was New York New York.

And the magnificent MGM Grand.

On the last night there we went to Stratosphere. The photo is of Vegas from the top of the tower. If you love adventure rides, then they have three rides you can do at the top of the tower, dangling 350 metres above the city. Not one to do on a full stomach.

Overall I loved my stay. I had never wanted to go to Vegas, but friends had suggested it. It’s an fun fun city. It’s really not that expensive and I am keen to return.