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alligator · Mar 20, 2007, 07:31 AM

I'll be in Las Vegas soon for work, and I'd like to find something to do besides gamble. I'm especially interested in photography. Can someone recommend somewhere to go or something to see that I can photograph? I'll have a car, but I do not want to spend hours driving. Thanks!

- - e r i k - - · Mar 20, 2007, 07:37 AM

Are you kidding? Las Vegas has infinite motives. And even more if you want to travel a bit.

Besides, there's a lot of stuff to do in Las Vegas. Entertainment is plentyful: concerts, magic shows, dinner shows, etc. etc.

- - e r i k - - · Mar 20, 2007, 07:37 AM

Bring a tripod and take some amazing long exposures.

Dakar² · Mar 20, 2007, 07:39 AM

Prostitution is legal there.

marden · Mar 20, 2007, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

Prostitution is legal there.

Not in Las Vegas or Reno. Everywhere else in NV, yes.

- - e r i k - - · Mar 20, 2007, 07:44 AM

Prostitution is legal here too, I don't see that as a major tourist attraction though.

dcmacdaddy · Mar 20, 2007, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Prostitution is legal here too, I don't see that as a major tourist attraction though.

For sexually repressed and puritanical Americans it is a tourist attraction.

Dakar² · Mar 20, 2007, 07:58 AM

Regardless, did you people not realize I was joking or are you really that boring?

Mastrap · Mar 20, 2007, 08:05 AM

The desert is just around the corner. That should keep you busy enough.

osiris · Mar 20, 2007, 08:14 AM

Take a ride out toward Rachel. The high desert is incredibly beautiful, lots of great photo ops, some small lakes, and endless highway. Nighttime is astounding if you're into stargazing. Oh, and take a fast car.

macroy · Mar 20, 2007, 09:32 AM

Hoover dam, Lake Mead, Boulder City.... about 30 mins away... its nice. And there are a lot of hiking places just outside the city.

And you can do a million things just on the strip without gambling. As the others said, there are a ton of shows. And even though you have a car, I'd keep that in the Casino garage if you are going up and down the strip - the monorail is much easier. That three day pass was awsome when we were there.

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 10:09 AM

Red Rock Canyon

And as macroy mentioned, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam (take the dam tour!).

The strip at night (w/ tripod as has been mentioned), Don't miss the old city downtown light show and free concerts, and Inside each Casino has photo ops. The Bellagio has the glass ceiling, Alladin has the street performers, Hilton has the Star Trek Experience, NY NY has the skyline...

What is there NOT to see in Vegas?!?!

I've been there three times and consider gambling to be a distraction fro the real Vegas. You can gamble just about any where in the USA now.

Sherman Homan · Mar 20, 2007, 10:38 AM

Bring your camera and Dramamine to the top of the Stratosphere.
Las Vegas Stratosphere Ride � Stratoshere Thrill Rides

osiris · Mar 20, 2007, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by macroy

Hoover dam, Lake Mead, Boulder City.... about 30 mins away... its nice. And there are a lot of hiking places just outside the city.

And you can do a million things just on the strip without gambling. As the others said, there are a ton of shows. And even though you have a car, I'd keep that in the Casino garage if you are going up and down the strip - the monorail is much easier. That three day pass was awsome when we were there.

I haven't been to Vegas in almost 6 years - when did they start charging for the monorail? (the one from the MGM)
Did they put slot machines on them too?

Timo · Mar 20, 2007, 10:55 AM

The Hoover Dam tour is interesting.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 11:15 AM

yeah

ort888 · Mar 20, 2007, 11:19 AM

Vegas without gambling = Branson, Missouri

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 11:23 AM

lol

macroy · Mar 20, 2007, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by Sherman Homan

Bring your camera and Dramamine to the top of the Stratosphere.
Las Vegas Stratosphere Ride � Stratoshere Thrill Rides

Did the unlimited pass last time we were there (expensed it as "transportation"

)...
Of course, after the Scream, I decided I was too old for this crap. That is one F'd up ride. Especially if you're afraid of heights....

Sherman Homan · Mar 20, 2007, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by macroy

Did the unlimited pass last time we were there (expensed it as "transportation"

)...
Of course, after the Scream, I decided I was too old for this crap. That is one F'd up ride. Especially if you're afraid of heights....

I have never been more scared in my life.

At the top of Scream I was pretty sure that the entire building was going to collapse, nothing could be structurally strong enough to hold together. Nine hundred feet plus the height of the deck and then the height of the tower... Yeah, I would do it again!

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 04:12 PM

The Big Shot at the Stratosphere was pretty awesome as well. Check out the videos at the bottom of that page for an idea.

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 04:13 PM

The big Shot is the tower going off the top of this picture.

macroy · Mar 21, 2007, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

The big Shot is the tower going off the top of this picture.

That was the last ride we did .... scary too.

Jawbone54 · Mar 21, 2007, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Vegas without gambling = Branson, Missouri

My parents love Branson.

Nivag · Mar 21, 2007, 05:47 PM

have they got rid of the rollarcoaster on the side of the Stratosphere?

marden · 06:05 PM

Visit Pahrump.

Brothels

Pahrump and neighboring Crystal house legal brothels, which helped build the infrastructure of the town. The brothels include:

Cherry Patch Ranch
Chicken Ranch
Sheri's Ranch

Art Bell

Pahrump is Art Bell's hometown, although he briefly took up residence in the Philippines in 2006. He is the founder of the Coast To Coast AM radio talk show, which is mainly about paranormal matters. He still hosts it on some weekends, and also owns KNYE, the local radio station located in Pahrump.

On the December 28, 2006 broadcast of Coast to Coast AM Art Bell announced that he has moved back to Pahrump. His Coast to Coast weekend show is being broadcast from Art's local facilities as it was before.

In fiction

In the movie "Rain Man" the diner scene and exterior where "Rain Man" himself counts the cards was filmed at a Pahrump bar known for rough fights.

In the movie Mars Attacks the aliens blow up Pahrump, after a dove flies over the aliens (scenes really shot in Burns, Kansas as was most of the film).

The town has been mentioned on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Season 2 of the CBS reality show "The Amazing Race" featured Pahrump's dry lake bed as its starting point.

Pahrump was featured in the Aaron Sorkin television drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in a two-part episode titled "Nevada Day." Part One aired November 6, 2006, and Part Two was aired a week later on November 13. The scenes, however, were set only in the town jail and a small diner, and the town itself was not featured, implying that Pahrump was a much smaller town than it is. The town's name was the butt of a running gag with each member of the cast snickering the first time they heard the name.

Rush drummer Neil Peart mentions in his book, Ghost Rider, that he guesses that Pahrump means "soggy bottom".