We recently went to Las Vegas to celebrate the birthday of a friend who is a huge U2 fan and wanted to see them perform live in Las Vegas’s newest attraction; the MSG Sphere.

We attended the concert on Saturday night (more on that later) and at the stroke of midnight, on his birthday, our group of 6 headed into an already bustling bar in the popular Venetian Resort, only to be chased out by a cocktail waitress who said the bar was closing at midnight. She shoed us over to the bar at a restaurant across the casino, where the bartender said they could accommodate us and make us $8 drinks, but we’d have to guzzle them because THAT bar was closing at 1 AM! Did I mention it was SATURDAY NIGHT?! Ok, Sunday morning, but this is supposed to be Las Vegas! I’d expect this in my hometown of puritanical Boston where the sidewalks roll up at midnight, and you can’t get dinner AFTER a show, but I had not expected this in Las Vegas, where I was quite proud of myself for not shuffling off to bed at 10:30pm!

In general I found a lot about my experience in Vegas had changed in the 15 years since I had last been. I haven’t been to Las Vegas since 2006, tagging along with Jeff for a convention he needed to attend on my birthday weekend. That trip, we tired to entertain ourselves in the casino, and after losing 20 dollars in less 2 minutes, we decided to spend our time in the desert instead; arranging a tour to bike 13 miles around the Red Rocks Canyon and renting a car to go explore the Hoover Dam. Here Are some of the changes we noticed. (views from Red Rocks Canyon in 2006)

Las Vegas was less smoky than old Vegas

But it’s still more smoky than most other places now. First, fewer people overall are smoking, so that’s good for everyone. Most of Vegas’s attractions are indoors and despite superior air filtration systems, we noticed the smoke in the casinos and it wafts up from the casinos into upper level attractions and shops. Because there is so little indoor smoke anywhere these days, I really noticed it during our stay.

Vegas used to be considered a budget vacation

Many people I talked to who love Las Vegas today have a lot of nostalgia for it. They spoke about going to Vegas with their families for vacations and celebrations and making wonderful memories; seeing shows, eating meals together and enjoying the spectacles of architecture, neon and fountains. Many people have a similar nostalgia for places like Walt Disney World even though that’s also become a sometimes challenging and expensive destination now.

*During our visit; Las Vegas was hosting the National Finals Rodeo and Cowboy Christmas, as well as a variety of medical conventions.*

I feel like gambling used to subsidize the other attractions; lodging and dining in town, and now it appears to be the other way around. I have a few friends who are comped gorgeous suites in the top resorts based on their gambling points and that might be being subsidized by the dynamic pricing of rack rates for hotel rooms by people like me, who don’t gamble. During the busy weekend we visited, along with the National Finals Rodeo and several big name concerts, rack rates for rooms were $1000- 5000 a night for the top resorts and $350-500. We paid $210 for shared pizzas at pizza lunch with soft drinks for 6 and over $300 for lunch in a top strip restaurant for 4 for lunch with no cocktails. Tickets for sphere movies run (again dynamic pricing based on demand) from $150-250, we paid almost $1000 to see U2 and a popular Cirque de Soleil show for 2 and live shows can run into the thousands if they start selling out. Ride shares even just a few blocks could start at $15 and go up to $30 during surge times. (Views around Las Vegas)

Vegas was mellower than I remembered

Legal weed is available from a dispensary on nearly every block. It feels like maybe with less drinking, people are calmer, I witnessed less “excess” drinking, fewer people throwing up on their shoes and less stumbling patrons, so maybe more Vegas guests are imbibing in pot and mellowing rather than getting falling down drunk and angry or aggressive? (Freemont Street Experience and downtown)

Vegas is an inside place

This hasn’t really changed, but on our last trip we made an effort to explore the desert, and we didn’t do that this time so by day two, I was jonesing to be outside! You can walk between casinos on the sidewalk (and up and over the pedestrian bridges) but when I find myself in a city I almost always seek out a park or garden, and I couldn’t find anything like this in the city on foot!

Photos from the U2 Concert at Sphere (click to enlarge any photo)

*video representation of Las Vegas during the U2 concert at the MSG Sphere*

At the U2 concert the performance included a video representation of Las Vegas that looked so real you thought you were in the city, then it was deconstructed with cranes through the wizardry of AI, building by building, until only the desert remained, then the sphere filled with thousand of endangered desert animals in black and white above us to the back drop of “With or Without You” (changing the characters of that love song to endangered animals of the greater Las Vegas area) Then the band left us with a note of hope for our environment, while they played “Beautiful Day” and the lizards and snakes and small mammals all around us were filled with color. (deconstructed Vegas, and the endangered animals that inhabit it. Click to expand)

*As Las Vegas was deconstructed, Sphere graphics filled with endangered animals filled the space.*

I could ask myself if going to Las Vegas was worth the time and expense.

We went to Las Vegas to celebrate with a friend and we were able to meet up with several other friends, an old college acquaintance, a friend I met on a Zumba cruise and my favorite travel agent (Jay Paul, Cruise Planners) who were all living or coincidentally visiting Las Vegas at the time. I learned talking to friends who love Vegas that it’s about the memories they have being connected with people they love in the place that mean the most to them. And I’ve found in the end, every place is about the connections you make with the people you meet there and the experiences you have with the loved ones you travel with. And in that sense, my trip to Vegas was worth the time and money we spent!

Meow Wolf Mega Mart; part art installation, part mystery puzzle rooms.

My Tips for Las Vegas

• Book your trip during a quiet time if you can; rooms, flights and shows are all dynamically priced based on demand. Quiet times might surprise you. A friend just noticed Easter weekend is reasonably priced, likely because there won’t be any conventions held and kids are out of school.
• Book components as early as you can; our Cirque de Soleil tickets were twice the cost of our friends’ because we decided to join them at the show a few days before we left. Alternatively, search for last minute deals at hotels or shows that aren’t as popular if you aren’t particular about where you stay or what you see.
• Sometimes a package can be cheaper; we bundled airfare and hotel for four nights for just a tick over $1000 for a regular non strip view. Rack rate for the suite we were upgraded (because of status on our airline) was 2k a night!
• Look into your travel loyalty programs for discounts and specials, Las Vegas resorts partner with cruise lines, airlines, credit cards and even your casino at home with offers that will be better than rack rates and you may be able to use your rewards.
• Take note of “resort fees” when booking hotels. Every place charges them now and they can add $50-100 per night and they aren’t payable with rewards points and they aren’t usually comped for gamblers. That’s cash (or credit card) you’ll need to pay.
• The sphere is a fascinating new attraction that creates a “view” where there might not have been one before. Some resorts are on it, and Sphere view rooms are selling at a premium. But it can’t hurt to ask, if it’s not busy, you might get a complimentary upgrade.
• - if you don’t have a sphere view the best places to see it are to walk into the parking garage at the Wynn and go to the roof; the pedestrian bridge near the Venetian; ride on the High Roller, a slow moving Ferris wheel attraction.
• Ride share is popular in LV, and riding can be less expensive than cabs, although during “surge” times cabs may be cheaper. All rides can drop off at the “circle” but cabs can come right up to the curb of your hotel for pick ups too. If using a ride share app, pay attention to the ride share pick up location at your resort, it’s usually off a side entrance or along a side road, not in the drop off circle of the hotel.
• Casino food courts offer the most inexpensive food on the strip. But expect to pay “airport” prices, not food court at home prices.
• Getting off the strip will find restaurants with better specials. Downtown (Fremont St area) has older resorts and restaurants with advertisements for $18.95 prime rib and anyone over 350 pounds “eats free” at one restaurant I can’t vouch for the quality of either place because as pescatarian more than 200 pounds under the limit, I didn’t try either!
• There are loads of entertaining things to do in Vegas for free or cheap; the fountains at the Bellagio, walk and gawk the lobbies of all the big resorts (especially at Christmas time), visit the Fremont St “experience” with free buskers, and live bands, shops and free dinner (for anyone over 350 pounds)!
• There are other paid attractions worth visiting; Area 15 Meow Wolf Vegas art installation and puzzle rooms, Neon Graveyard, and Museum of llusions. Walking away from the more corporate “Fremont St Experience” (think Times Square without the open container law) You’ll see some of the older hotels and a fun attraction call the The Downtown Container Park. This fun shopping and entertainment arcade features an audio animatronic fire breathing mantis and several local art galleries and small local food shops. (Watch your back, bicycle and hover board groups that race around the area and collect “tips” and the area is popular with protestors and folks living on vacant lots.)