Las Vegas Strip

nightscape

travel wonder in America

Why the

Las Vegas Strip

nightscape is special

The Las Vegas strip becomes one of the most dazzling scenes on earth after the sun sets. Lights blaze. Energy quickens. Big rollers gamble. Top entertainers perform. All these take place along a 5 kilometer (3 mile) desert road lined with flashy hotel-casinos.

Yes, the Las Vegas strip night scene is artificial, ostentatious and over the top, but it's unique and eye-popping enough for every traveler to experience it at least once in his lifetime.

The other aspects

of Las Vegas

are not wonders

They include the daytime Las Vegas strip, which is relatively lackluster. And, the Las Vegas downtown hotel-casino area is uninspiring anytime. Without the nighttime Las Vegas strip, the name "Las Vegas" would not be on the Silver Medal list.

About the

hotel-casinos

Virtually all the big hotels have their own casinos - and they compete imaginatively with one another for tourists and their gambling dollars. Lures at these casino-hotels include a Disney-esque volcano that erupts on schedule - and a full-scale pirate ship that battles another boat before sinking completely below the water with its captain.

Many Las Vegas strip casino-hotels attract tourists with extravagant floor shows, often with world-famous performers.

Some casino-hotels have extensive theme parks to appeal to the growing family market. Some have fanciful architectural facades like castles, pyramids, Mississippi showboats, and large-scale versions of the Statue of Liberty and other famous Manhattan landmarks.

The Las Vegas strip (along with Downtown Las Vegas) has about 100,000 rooms and most of the world's biggest hotels. One has over 5005 rooms, making it the world's largest hotel. Yet, sometimes Las Vegas is fully booked due to its immense popularity among gamblers, sightseers, conventioneers and trade show attendees.

There is a hotel-casino to suit every taste and pocketbook, from budget family to stylish upscale.

The nighttime casino scene is more energetic that the daytime period because it draws a younger and more affluent clientele (retired visitors and local regulars tend to come earlier).

Interesting

tidbits about 

casino psychology

Casino lighting is designed to appeal to the subconscious. The casinos install millions of bright, flashy, colorful lights outside to lure you inside and innumerable dimmer, more subtle lights inside to put you in a gambling mood.

Another ploy is positioning elevators, reception desk and restaurants far away from the hotel-casino's main entrance. This forces people to walk by tempting slot machines and other gaming devices on their way to and from those destinations.

Casinos know that people gamble bigger sums and more eagerly at night. That's why casinos are windowless. It creates the illusion that its nighttime even though its midday and the sun is shining brightly outside.

American cuisine

I hope your America travel dreams come true - and that 

my Las Vegas Strip nightscape page helps you enjoy your vacation, tour or trip

©2008 HQP / Hillman Quality Publications