Launch of New Las Vegas News and Events Site - Vegas24Seven

Today is the launch of the new Las Vegas Webzine - Vegas24Seven.

Vegas24Seven has reviews of shows and exhibits as well as reviews of all the hottest restaurants and business in Las Vegas. If you're planning a trip to Las Vegas be sure to check out Vegas24Seven for all the latest updated info on the events and happenings in Sin City.

Free Vegas: Bellagio Fountains

Well - you can't get any more free than this.

The fountains at Belagio - one of the free shows in Vegas - now free right here!

Vegas Buffets: The Feast Around the World Buffet at Green Valley Ranch Resort

I'm a big fan of the Station Casinos' buffets. Station Casinos is all the casinos ending in Station (Texas Station, Santa Fe Station, Palace Station, Main Street Station, etc.) and their upscale resorts - Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch Resorts.

Even though I'm a fan of all the Station Casinos' buffets, Green Valley Ranch's buffet is hands down the best of the group.

If you head to the player's rewards center first, you can sign up for a Station Casino Player's Card. With your player's card you'll receive $2 dollars off the buffet. The only thing the player's card costs you is your address - which they will most likely use to send you coupons and special deals in the mail.

The buffet itself is set up as a long strip on one side of the buffet area, with a separate salad bar in the middle like an island. There are 6 live cooking stations at the Feast Around the World Buffet. These stations feature Italian, American, Mongolian, Chinese and International specialties prepared when you ask for them. Most buffets I've been too have one live cooking station where they cut you a slice of meat and plop it on your plate. They go all out at Green Valley Ranch.

On my first trip to the buffet I stopped at the Chinese section of the buffet. I'm generally not a big fan of Chinese food in a buffet - but the fried rice, spring rolls, and orange chicken looked really fresh and really good. Now - I go against traditional buffet tactics in that I don't overload my plate. I prefer getting about a half serving of a lot of different things. I find then I'm able to sample a larger variety of good foods if I don't fill up on large portions. For what it's worth.

The second trip up I went to the Mongolian section and chose some chicken and a really neat mix of vegetables, including water chestnuts which I love, and some different sauces which a cook threw on the grill. It was really good and reminded me of a Mongolian grill that I used to eat in San Antonio, Texas called Hu Hot.

Now my favorite part about a buffet is the dessert section. Usually you'll find a soft serve machine with vanilla and chocolate, with a thing of chocolate sauce and sprinkles next to it. If you're lucky they'll have a few slices of pie or cake next to some hard chocolate chip cookies. Well, at Green Valley's buffet, I think I hit the jackpot. They had cakes and pies galore - and they all looked good. They had custards and puddings and all sorts of still warm cookies. And the ice cream - no soft serve machine, but rather hand scooped Dreyer's ice cream. I got a scoop of mint chocolate chip and butter pecan, I know, weird combo - but it was so good.

The buffet runs $7.99, $9.99, and $17.99 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That includes your players card discount, so be sure to get one first. And if you play enough, you can accumulate points on your players card to redeem for the buffet. I've eaten there 3 times for free by using my points. Not a bad deal.

And after you leave the buffet - you can walk around The District - located just outside the Green Valley Ranch Resort's Hotel and Casino. It's like they're little shopping area. It has some neat little shops and nice little green areas with benches. It's a pedestrian street lined with trees, so it's always nice for an evening, after buffet stroll.

Fun Vegas: Fun with the Kiddos in Sin City

Heading to Las Vegas? But not for the parties and gambling? Are you bringing the family to Las Vegas like Chevy Chase - Clark Griswold style?

Well, that's good. Because there are a number of fun things to do with the kids in Las Vegas. Besides showing the kids the standard tourist sights like the fountains at the Bellagio, the Volcano at the Mirage, and the lights of Fremont Street - you could plan a carnival day out.

Start the day out at Circus Circus. Circus Circus is on the north end of the strip across from the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Circus Circus is known for having an indoor amusement park as well as circus acts performing high above the casino floor. You can watch trapese artists as well as contortionists and of course there are always clowns. Upstairs there is a stage where shows take place every thirty minutes. In between these shows the kids will love running around the second floor which is like a big carnival. There are plenty of classic carnival games like water gun races and tossing rings around bottles. All the usual prizes are available to the winners - big stuffed animals and lava lamps.

At dinner time head to the south end of the strip to Excalibur - leave the world of clowns and travel back in time to the middle ages when dragons still roamed the earth. For dinner buy tickets to the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. This is a Vegas style dinner show - similar to the scene in "The Cable Guy" starring Jim Carey where they go to Medieval Times and play knights - that the kids will love. Tickets are priced like a show at 49.95 each, but remember - you're getting dinner and a show for that price. And the show is great - the kings battle each other doing jousts to sword fights. And the kids will enjoy eating their medieval meal with their fingers.

After the show, you can stay at Excalibur and play some more carnival games. Excalibur has a midway with all sorts of games with a medieval theme.

There are plenty of things to do in Las Vegas with the kids. And the kiddos will love being able to go home and tell everybody about their summer trip to Las Vegas - because apparently 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' only applies to the adults.

Ok - so not everything is free...

It's ok though, we'll work through this. I just ate at my favorite sushi restaurant (so far) here in Vegas and couldn't resist posting a review of it.

Sin City Sushi: All You Can Eat Sushi at Sushi Mon in Las Vegas

I'd like to admit that I was super skeptical of the "all you can eat" sushi restaurants around town. I'd never seen this concept before I moved to Las Vegas. To me, "all you can eat" implies buffet style which in turn implies "not so fresh."

So I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I found out how the "all you can eat" aspect works at a sushi restaurant. What they really mean is "All you can eat...in an hour." Upon being seated you receive a menu and a roll list just like any other restaurant. Upon being seated the waitress at Sushi Mon (9770 S. Maryland Parkway #3, Las Vegas), asked if we would like the "all you can eat" option - and then explained it to us when we asked her about it. During lunch, for $22.95 you get one hour to order as many rolls as you would like. Whatever you want and as much as you want. However, as great as this sounds - you will be charged extra for anything that you don't eat. Which I think is fair, because it's not right to waste food. Dinner is 3 dollars more.

So we ordered our rolls and waited. Service was quick and right away we had our freshly prepared first batch of rolls made by the sushi chefs behind the bar. We got our usuals to start - Kapa Maki (Cucumber roll), Philadelphia rolls, spider rolls, some spicy tuna, and sea bass. Our baseline, our standards. We also ordered two specialty rolls - a TNT roll that was advertised as super spicy and a dragon roll - which had some interesting ingredients including a spicy mayo which I absolutely love. My favorite - the spider roll:



Upon tasting the TNT roll I did have to call the waitress over - for more water! It was advertised as spicy, but it was crazy spicy. I was practically crying - if only it didn't taste so good! Read More...

Free Vegas: Shopping in Sin City

While Las Vegas might be known for the gambling and casinos, you can't look past all of the shopping choices available to the traveler in Vegas. There are plenty of places to go shopping in Las Vegas, and though you might lose some money in the shops - at least you'll have something to take home with you - something the blackjack table might forget to do.

The Strip has a ton of shopping options for you. Most of the mega-resort casinos have some sort of shopping mall connected to their casinos.

Caesar's Palace has the Forum Shops connected to the casino. It's a popular place for tourists and locals alike to hang out, grab a bite to eat or shop. Store include everything from GapKids and Guess? to Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Burberry among it's 150 shops. Restaurants include the popular Planet Hollywood and the Cheesecake Factory. Or if you're looking for something a little different you can get sushi at Sushi Roku or try Wolfgang Puck's Spago. There are shops for everyone here, or you it's a good place to people watch or check out the fountain shows.

Across the street from the Forum Shops are the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. This gigantic mall has canals with gondolas just like the city of Venice. you can stroll the cobblestone streets or hitch a ride in one of the gondolas. Either way, there are a ton of shops and restaurants to enjoy as well as numerous street performers throughout the mall. One of the neat things about the Grand Canal Shoppes is that the ceiling is painted like and lit like the sky - so along with the canals it almost feels like you are strolling the streets of Venice. Read More.

If you liked this article be sure and check out my other published articles on Associated Content.

Free Vegas: Hiking Outside of Sin City

Travel to Las Vegas and you'll likely hear plenty about nearby attractions like the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and Lake Mead. There are even places right on the Strip where you can take part in guided tours of these places. These highly publicized attractions are well worth it and have many interesting sights and are great ways to escape the lights of Vegas. But in addition to these high traffic tourist spots, there are a couple of not so highly publicized areas that are well worth your time, and cost no more than a rental car and a camera.

Red Rock Canyon is located about 15 miles west of the Strip. It is just outside of the city - you can take Charleston Boulevard all the way there. Charleston crosses the strip just north of the Stratosphere. Hop on Charleston and go west. Once you pass Red Rock Casino and Highway 215, you're almost there.

When you first get to Red Rock, there is a visitor's center where you can get out and check out some of the history of the canyon. You can learn about the Native American's who first lived in the area as well as the animals and plants that populate the canyon. Read more.

If you liked this article check out my other articles published on Associated Content.

Free Vegas Series Pt. 2

A few more articles published on Associated Content.

Free Vegas: The Fremont Street Experience
Las Vegas on a Budget

Head down to Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas and you'll find the largest LCD big screen in the world. Where exactly is it? Look up, it's overhead - arching over pedestrian friendly Fremont Street. Read more...

They also picked up one of my reviews on Red Rock's Poker Room.

Vegas Poker: Red Rock Casino Poker Room

The poker room at Red Rock is a large, comfortable room with a very friendly staff. Because the majority of the players in the poker room are locals, the staff works really hard to keep their business. Read more...

Planning a trip to Vegas and there is something in particular that you would like to see reviewed by me on this site - let me know. I'll tell you what I know about it and give you my honest opinion.

Imperial Palace Auto Collection

Ok. You've made it to Vegas, but you're tired of the clinking and clanking of the slot machines, sunburned by the Vegas sun, or maybe you're just a big car enthusiast.

The Imperial Palace, located on the strip next to Harrah's and across from Caesar's Palace, is home to the largest classic car collection in the world.

Admission is $6.95 per adult - but there are often people offering free tickets to the collection out on the strip in front of the Imperial Palace. Or, check out some of the free "to do" magazines available everywhere - they often have coupons for the auto collection. Even better yet - before you go, click here for a free coupon to the show!

In the collection there is something for everybody - they have every imaginable classic car you can think of. They also have three of the VW bugs used in the last "Herbie" movie.

The main floor has cars of every make and model. From classic Chevy's and Fords to examples from some of the premier car lines the world has seen including: Packard, Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg, Hispano-Suiza, Talbot Lago, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Cadillac, Delahaye, Delage, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Horch, Isotta Fraschini, Pierce Arrow, Minerva, plus many more.

You'll also notice a price tag on many of the cars. Almost all of the autos in the collection are available for sale. So if you have a $25,000 for a classic Indy Pace car or perhaps an extra 4 million for one of the Phantoms on display, you'll be able to drive it out of the showroom as well.

So if you're bored and want to take a drive down car memory lane - check it out!

Associated Content - My Free Vegas Series

I've begun publishing a series of articles on Associated Content called the Free Vegas Series. In each article I highlight different Vegas attractions that are either free or inexpensive.

If you don't know about Associated Content - it's a sight that pays you to post articles, anywhere from $3 - $20. It's a pretty neat program and I'm having fun with it. It's a nice supplement to this blog.

Here are my articles:

Free Vegas: Sin City on a Budget
Heading to Las Vegas on a budget? Or maybe you're already here - confined to your hotel room flipping channels and surfing the internet well, because lets just say you gambled a little more than you had planned.

Free Vegas: Free Shows in Vegas
Free drinks. Free shirts. Free buffets. Las Vegas is full of free stuff - you just have to know where to look. It's estimated that Las Vegas Casinos spend over 3 million dollars a day giving away free stuff.

Free Vegas: Hiking Outside of Sin City
Red Rock Canyon is located about 15 miles west of the Strip. There are numerous hiking trails that you can stop and hike. The canyon is also popular to rock climbers, who can often be seen scaling the cliffs and rocks of the area.

Another article I wrote unrelated to the Free Vegas series:

How to Become a Poker Pro in 3 Days
First on the list, and probably the most important step in this process, buy a nice pair of sunglasses.

All of my articles on Associated Content will be available through the widget in the sidebar of this page.

Free Vegas Intro

Just a quick introduction to get things rolling here. I'm a writer/poker player/dad living in Las Vegas. I have a few blogs that I maintain which you can find links to on the right.

I'm starting this blog because I think Las Vegas is a great destination for a vacation - but with so many things to do, how do you decide? And what if you're on a budget? I'm going to be reviewing the places in Las Vegas where families can go and have fun, and which won't keep you from buying little Johnny new shoes when you get home.