GotoLasVegas.net

If you are looking to go to vegas on holiday then their should only be one place on your mind, the Las Vegas strip or as close to as you can get, obviously the closer you get to this part of vegas the more you will pay for a hotel, however i have stayed at the Fitzgerald several times and would reccomend it for anyone on a budget.

Las vegas is a big place, you can even get lost on the infamous las vegas strip, but dont fear there are many maps online which will help you back on your way if you get lost.

lasvegasmaps.com Is great for exploring las vegas strip and it is an interactive map detailing some of the hottest spots on the strip

Vegas.com Has another great map for las vegas strip, detailing everything on the strip that you may want to visit

The best time to visit Vegas will ultimately depend on what you are going to Vegas for. I personally recommend a trip in the new year as Las Vegas is famed the world over for its lavish New Years parties & events, but if you are just looking for a sunny holiday then May-October are the best times with great temperatures ideal for lazing by the pool all day.

Summers in Las Vegas are scorching and daily temperatures can average around 38 degrees celsius from june to august. Winter is a bit more kind with average temperatures of around 13 degree celsius from December to February. In June you can see up to 14 hours of sunshine per day and in January as low as 8 hours average is around 10-12 throughout the year.

There is alot more to do in Las Vegas than gamble & drink, Las Vegas offers hundreds of great thrill rides, well if you are ready to be shaken & stirred James bond style then some of these thrill rides will be perfect for you:

Adventure Canyon
Adventure Dome
Big Shot
Canyon Blaster
Chaos
Desperado
Insanity
Inverter
Rim Runner
Sling Shot
Speed - The Ride
Star Trek : The Experience
The Roller Coaster @ New York - New york
Turbo Drop
X Scream

If you are looking for a good hotel guide for las Vegas then i would suggest you use Google maps, as i have only been to Vegas twice and both times stayed in Fitzgeralds which offers a basic budget hotel & casino for Vegas. See the listing of budget hotels in Vegas over here, Many with reviews.

Here are some of the larger Casino’s in las vegas.

Arizona Charlie’s
Two Locations:
Arizona Charlie’s - Boulder
4575 Boulder Highway
Las Vegas, Nevada 89121

Arizona Charlie’s - Decatur
740 S. Decatur Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89107

Ballys
3645 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Binion’s Horseshoe Casino and Hotel
128 E. Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Bill’s Gambling Hall (former Barbary Coast)
3595 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Caesar’s Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

California
12 Ogden Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Casino Royale & Hotel
3411 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Circus Circus
2880 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Coast Casinos
Barbary Coast, Gold Coast and, The Orleans.

El Cortez Hotel & Casino
600 E. Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Ellis Island Casino
4178 Koval Lane
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Excalibur
3850 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Hooters Casino
115 East Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 739-9000

Fitzgeralds
301 Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Flamingo
3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Four Queens
202 Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Fremont
200 E. Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Gold Coast
4000 W. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103

Gold Spike Hotel & Casino
400 E. Ogden Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Golden Nugget
129 E. Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Golden Gate Hotel & Casino
One Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Harrah’s Hotel & Casino
3475 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
4455 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Hooters
115 East Tropicana Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 739-9000

Imperial Palace Casino
3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Las Vegas Club
18 E. Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Las Vegas Hilton
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Imperial Palace
Antique cars and more.

Luxor
3900 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

Main Street Station
200 N. Main Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Mandalay Bay
3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

MGM
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Mirage
3400 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Monte Carlo
3770 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

New Frontier Hotel & Casino
3120 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Orleans Hotel & Casino
4500 W. Tropicana Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103

New York New York
3790 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

The Palms
4321 Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103

Paris
3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Planet Hollywood
3667 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Plaza
1 Main Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Rampart Casino
221 N. Rampart Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89128

Rio
3700 W. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103

Silverton Hotel Casino & RV Resort
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89139

Boulder Station
4111 Boulder Highway
Las Vegas, Nevada 89121

Palace Station Hotel & Casino
2411 West Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102

Santa Fe Station Hotel & Casino
4949 North Rancho Drive
Las Vegas, Nevada 89130

Texas Station
2101 Texas Star Lane
N. Las Vegas, Nevada

Suncoast Hotel and Casino
9090 Alta Drive
Las Vegas, Nevada 89145

Terribles’s Hotel and Casino
4100 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89156

Stardust
3000 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Stratosphere
The tower is the attraction.

Tuscany Suites & Casino
255 East Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Venetian Resort Hotel Casino
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Treasure Island
3300 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Wynn Las Vegas
3145 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Tropicana
3801 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Venetian
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Barcelona Hotel & Casino
5011 E. Craig Road
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89115
(702) 644-6300

Bighorn Casino
3016 E. Lake Mead Boulevard
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 642-1940

Cannery Hotel & Casino
2121 E Craig Road
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 507-5700

Fiesta Casino Hotel
2400 N. Rancho Drive
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89130
(702) 631-7000

Jerry’s Nugget
1821 Las Vegas Blvd. North
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 399-3000

Mahoney’s Silver Nugget
2140 Las Vegas Blvd. North
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 399-1111

The Poker Palace
2757 Las Vegas Blvd. North
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 649-3799

Ramada Inn Speedway Casino
3227 Civic Center Drive
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030
(702) 399-3297

Texas Station
2101 Texas Star Lane
N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
(702) 631-1000

Wildfire Casino
1901 N. Rancho Drive
N. Las Vegas, NV 89106
(702) 648-3801

You would be forgiven if you forgot there was much more to do in Vegas than visit the casino’s. This can be  problem as Casino’s are designed to keep people within their premises and they try to offer the tourist everything they need but there is a whole city to explore, here are some notable things you should go see in Las Vegas.

- The Hoover Dam
When built this was the tallest Dam ever built, and it is marvelous to see this engineering spectacle

- Shark Reef (Mandlay By)
This is a massive aquatic exhibit within the Mandalay Bay Casino

Gondola Ride (Venetian Hotel)
Experience a gondola ride down the Grand canal, this will be as close as you can get to a Venice experience in Las Vegas.

Las Vegs is the home of some of the worlds finest hotels, and i could go into how marvelous these hotels are but instead i want to tell you about the sheer size of these hotel, some have over 5000 rooms which is enough for more people in my town!

1. MGM Grand
5044 Rooms, 10 major restaurants, convention center & 171,000 square feet casino floor.

2. Mandalay Bay
4774 rooms, this is now part of the MGM Mirage group of hotels & casino’s

3. Luxor
4,408 rooms, bringing the pyramids to egypt this amazing hotel is 350ft tall, and is an absolute spectacle

4. Venetian
4,049 Hotel rooms and every room is at least 700sq ft (double the size of normal hotel rooms in vegas). The Venetian also boasts a 1.7million square foot convention centre

5. Excalibur
Has 3993 rooms, however the Excalibur is more thn just a hotel it is hotel casino and amusement park all rolled into one,.

6. Bellagio
2933 Rooms and 512 suites, this hotel has won numerous wards in the lst few years due to the high quality of service provided by the bellagio.

Las Vegas is known all around the world for gambling, drinking, bright lights, great weather & amazing shows. But how exactly did this city become to be such a hotspot? see the timeline below for a brief history of las vegas

10,000 Years Ago - Paleo-Indians visited Las Vegas valley as nomads, travelling and setting up camp in various places

2000 Years Ago - Anasazi Indians move to south Nevada and live long the Muddy and Virgin rivers.

1829 - A scout named Rafael Rivera is the first European to look at the valley, The valley is named las Vegas which is Spanish for “the meadows” because of its wild grass.

1844 - John C Fremont arrived in Las Vegas and kept a diary describing two springs he found.

1855 - Mormon church members choose las vegas as the place to build a halfway between Salt Lake city and Los Angeles

1964 - Nevada is admitted into the union as the 36th state of USA

Late 1800’s - Discovery of precious metals leads to mining industry in Las Vegas

1885 - The state of land act is introduced and land is sold at $1.25 per acre, this makes Farmers snap up the land and agriculture becomes a dominant industry for 20 years.

Early 1900’s - Railway completion linking Southern california & salt lake city make las vegas a railroad town

1905 - Las Vegas is founded as  city on may 15th

1909 - Nevada Legislature creates lark county on july 1st,

1911 - Las Vegas is incorporated on march 11th, the population is at 800. Divorce laws are liberalized in Nevada making it esier to retain residency, and quickie divorce can be got in 6 weeks.

1930. Las Vegas population grows to over 5000

1931 - Hoover dam construction begins, this brings nd influx of construction workers which makes the population grow, gambling was legalised in March 1931

1935 - Hoover dam is completed and stands at 726 feet high, was the tallest dam when it was built.

1940’s - Las vegs population is now at 8,442 and WW2 breaks out, this brings the defense industry out due to its isolated location and with plenty o water supplies.

1944 - The city begins to operate council.

1945 -After WW2 hotels, resorts & casinos were built, these offered top name performers & entertainment which made tourism & entertainment the largest employer.

1950’s - First atomic bomb is detonated at the Nevada Test Site, people stood and watched the test. In 1955 Moulin Rouge opened its doors, it was the first racially integrated hotel, Topless showgirls also debuted in 1957 and two years later the “Welcome to fabulous las vegas sign” is created an the Nevada Gaming commission is created.

1960’s - corporations start to build/buy casino properties, as they are now seeing the gambling industry is highly lucrative, Gambling becomes known as gaming and starts to become a legitimate business, in 1968 Elvis Presley open at the International Hotel (not know as Las Vegas Hilton)

1970’s - corporations continue to heavily invest in the hotel/casino industry turning it into a legitimate business that is traded on the stock markets

1980 - Las Vegas’s economy remains very strong and the population is now at 164,000+, Annual population starts to rapidly grow at around 7% each year meaning the population double in 10 years.

1990’s - in 1993 the Dunes hotel is imploded, each year 4% growth in hotel rooms and 9% increase in jobs.

2000 - The official population of las vegas is now 478,434, Las Vegas is now the largest metropolitan city in the US founded in the 20th century, On May 15th 2005 Las Vegas celebrates it’s 100th birthday.