Las Vegas Baby.

[RoadKill]

Hey, for Christmas holidays I will be going to Las Vegas! (Most of you people are probally going to go suggest some casinos for me) too bad I'm under 18. Has anyone been to Vegas, cuz if you have mind suggesting some cool shows, or anything amusing, for someone under 16, becuase Las Vegas is sounding pretty boring to me, since I'm not allowed to gamble.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Disco? Where art thou?

In the meantime, I suggest getting up early and driving out to Red Rock Canyon, the views are absolutely amazing. As far as shows go, I can only recommend the two I saw while I was out there (both fine age-wise): Danny Gans and Lance Burton.

Gans is an impersonator/singer and has won a bunch of awards. Some of his material is directed at audiences who recognize older celebrities however. Burton is an awesome magician.

Most likely being driven here by Total War you probably wouldn't enjoy the ten thousand Cirque du Soleil shows operating around town. Go to the Speedway at the Sahara instead.

Also, what hotel are you staying at? The pool experience will probably represent a major part of your time in Vegas.

Oh, stay away from Fremont St. It's way overrated.

[Csargo]

Ask Disco.

[CountArach]

I went to Vegas several years back, underage. However it was incredibly unusual because the very day we went there was a flash flood... in the desert... WTF?!?!

[Ramses II CP]

I don't gamble, but trust me, there's plenty to do in Vegas. There are about ten million sites dedicated to it. ;)

Check out all the coasters (Speed at the Sahara is my favorite) is a definite.

[Vuk]

lol, Las Vegas isn't anything too great. If you want some good views, try NJ. ;)

Vuk

[Ser Clegane]

hehe ... I remember spending a night in Las Vegas wheb I was 16 - I was an exchange student in the US and we (six students) made a trip through the Western part of the US with Greyhound buses.
We went from casino to casino gambling on the slot machines (usually after 15 minutes or so we were thrown out and went on to the next casino).

Went there again a couple of years later with a couple of friends (at least we did not really have to worry about being thrown out that time), it's nice to spend some time in a casino and eat until you have to roll out on some of the cheap buffets - but during the day I found Las Vegas to be a bit boring.

If you are not allowed to gamble, seeing some shows might be quite interesting though (we went to see Dean Martin when we went there the second time - he seemed pretty drunk).

Unfortunately I cannot really recommend specific shows as my experience is a bit dated (i.e. last time was 17 years ago) - so a lot might have changed in Las Vegas

[Whacker]

Watch out for creepy aerospace engineering majors.

[Csargo]

LOLPWNEDROFL

[RoadKill]

I'll be staying at a hotel called the MIRAGE, people say its pretty good, not sure though. I'll be sure to check out the things you have recommended thanks. And if anyone has been or seen the Mirage hotel, tell me about it. Also we already bought tickets to see the blue man group, and some magician.

[Blodrast]

Yes, the Mirage is pretty cool; I haven't actually stayed in it, but I've walked through it, looked at their webpages, etc.

There are LOTS of things to do all day-round in Vegas - namely, on the strip, where you'll be staying.

One thing to look for is the "special events" that all big hotel/casinos have. These usually happen at regular times during the day, but also at night - and they're usually more spectacular at night. And more frequent, too.

For example, the first thing I'd mention is the famous fountains of Bellagio. They deserve their reputation. Mirage has their volcano - that only happens at night (which makes sense). Treasure Island has their mermaids and pirates thingie. The Wynn has another water-based show.

Also, during the day, at certain times, there will be some smaller events (but still quite nice to see) all over the place in the underground shops and such. For example, one of the fountains (Fountain of Atlantis, IIRC) in the shops of Caesar's Palace (The Forum) is one of them, and it was a nice thing with fire and water and all that.

So these events is one thing.
Then you have the shows - oh boy, where do I even start. There's a crapload of shows, for all ages.
Make sure you get half-price tickets (most of them sell them). They can be found at a bunch of places on the Strip, and you can buy them the day of the show and the day before the show (so at most one day in advance).

Check the local rag/brochures for shows, what you want to see depends on your taste (and age ).

Finally, there's entertainment all day long: Circus Circus have their, well, circus-based things; you have Egyptian-related stuff in the Luxor; go with the gondola at the Venetian, or check out Madame Tussaud's wax museum; go with the rides near Excalibur; the Mandalay Bay has their shark reef exhibit (and others); the Bellagio has dolphins (iirc).

And there's lots and lots more - but I'm getting tired here :).
Like I said, check out the local rag, and just wander around through the casinos and hotels - their stuff is advertised all over the place.

[Whacker]

Erm... One can legally purchase the services of a lady of the evening for the purposes of physical gratification.

[RoadKill]

Erm... One can legally purchase the services of a lady of the evening for the purposes of physical gratification.

No thanks

[Csargo]

SEIZE THE MOMENT ROADKILL. IT'S A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY!!!

[RoadKill]

Wow, ichigo I hope your not talking about prostitution.

[Csargo]

Was talkin bout the AIDS

[GeneralHankerchief]

Okay, I stayed at the Mirage too.

Don't take the monorail, it's a waste of time and too far of a walk from the hotel to matter.

[Blodrast]

Erm... One can legally purchase the services of a lady of the evening for the purposes of physical gratification.

You sure ? I don't remember precisely, but I thought that while prostitution is legal in some counties in Nevada, that is not the case in the county that Las Vegas is in (forget its name).
I may be wrong, though, honestly can't remember.

Do note that I'm only focusing on the "legal" part here, not disputing "possible".

And RoadKill, Vegas is famous for TWO things: casinos and strip clubs.

[Ramses II CP]

It is not legal in Vegas. Doesn't mean it can't be found. You don't have to drive too far to find it legally, however, if that's your goal.

If I remember the rail line at the Mirage right, it goes to the Luxor (Or MGM Grand?) which isn't a very long walk away itself, and the view walking on the strip is better than riding in the silly train. There's a shuttle from Harrah's to the Rio though, that is worthwhile (Or there was, things change fast).

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I went to Reno at one point and saw some pretty cool shows, though Reno is nothing next to Vegas from what I've heard...

I was however at the Blue Man Group in NYC and it was awesome. You'll have a ton of fun at that show!

hehe ... I remember spending a night in Las Vegas wheb I was 16 - I was an exchange student in the US and we (six students) made a trip through the Western part of the US with Greyhound buses.
We went from casino to casino gambling on the slot machines (usually after 15 minutes or so we were thrown out and went on to the next casino).

Went there again a couple of years later with a couple of friends (at least we did not really have to worry about being thrown out that time), it's nice to spend some time in a casino and eat until you have to roll out on some of the cheap buffets - but during the day I found Las Vegas to be a bit boring.

If you are not allowed to gamble, seeing some shows might be quite interesting though (we went to see Dean Martin when we went there the second time - he seemed pretty drunk).

Unfortunately I cannot really recommend specific shows as my experience is a bit dated (i.e. last time was 17 years ago) - so a lot might have changed in Las Vegas

Huh, I didn't realize you were an exchange student. Wasn't it great?

[AntiochusIII]

Curiously enough, I'm living here in Las Vegas for three years and still know next to nothing about it.

Considering Roadkill is underage, though, half the fun will be unfortunately closed to him. No clubs, no casinos (not that gambling is any fun IMO), and no strip clubs.

And yes, prostitution in Clark County is illegal. I'd advise against it anyway since it's not exactly, ah, safe.

I went to Reno at one point and saw some pretty cool shows, though Reno is nothing next to Vegas from what I've heard...

Bah. I've been to Reno. It's a ghetto town trying to be the next Las Vegas. The food's bad, the shows suck, and the casinos are all downtrodden.

*puts on UNR sucks t-shirt*

Roadkill: Your hotel, the Mirage, is a good place to stay. It's old but has been well-renovated; it's also at the heart of the Strip so you can go anywhere from there. Unfortunately the monorail is rather useless to you though compare to if you're staying in, say, MGM.

Some random ideas:

Circus Circus has a mini-theme park they called "the Adventure Dome." The roller coaster there is decent though I think that's the only really interesting ride in there.

I prefer the roller coasters in New York and Sahara though :/

Mandalay Bay (the big tall golden building at the edge of the Strip) has an artificial beach + clubhouse etc. and an Aquarium [I think that's Mandalay Bay]. I don't see why anyone would come to a bloody desert to enjoy the beach though.

The Venetian has an artificial Venetian canal with, of course, gondolas. Not sure why anyone would choose Vegas over the real Venice to me though. Just an irrelevant pretentious mini-rant but... I feel so suffocated living here in the midst of all the glamorous illusions capitalism can bring to bear while my heart yearns for something more...romantic.

There are tons of shows everywhere so unless we know something about your tastes I can't really give out recommendations. If you don't care just go to a random show in the bigger hotels; those are usually at least interesting. Famous ones I sort of remembered are Cirque du Soleil, Lance Burton (who I don't think is that good by the way), and Celine Dion.

[edit: I was suggesting Celine Dion but apparently her show will be closed before Christmas holiday so everyone please cheer and celebrate for a musical atrocity that is about to be put on hold!]

You can just go to any big hotels and expect to have some shows running; The Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Luxor, MGM Grand, etc.

Etc.

Edit/P.S. Oh, and you can visit Lake Mead and Hoover Dam in (a long) driving distance if you want. Though I suggest you don't try to surf or swim in the lake. It's...not very clean so to speak.

P.P.S. It's currently not as hot as during summer so you're coming at the right time. Christmas really is the best time to be in Vegas. For anyone else I'd suggest not coming during Summer unless you want walking around a heated concrete jungle to be a part of your experience.

[Ser Clegane]

Huh, I didn't realize you were an exchange student. Wasn't it great?

It was a fantastic experience (I spent half a year near Seattle in 1986 - after that we had somebody from the family staying with us in Germany).
I have still contact with my US family - the mother actually was boen in Germany and she and her mother dropped recently when they were traveling in Germany to visit family