"Las Vegas Lowdown" Las Vegas by Parklife

I had planned a relatively short mid-week trip to Vegas as a get-away for my girlfriend who had never been. Of course, things only ever goes 1/2 as planned and while we had a great trip, we did things we hadn't planned and missed things we were planning on doing. But such is the travelling life....

Regardless, it was a great trip and we can't wait to go back again and catch up on what was missed.

The weeks leading up to the trip I did research and looked up various deals and reviews. I was able to either print off or order coupons for a great many sites, restaurants, shows, clubs, etc... At one site, I ordered about 30 coupons and paid $10 for shipping. The coupons arrived in 3 days and we used enough of them to make them worthwhile.

Of course, I also discovered that the best source of coupons was the many free magazines that are lining the streets corners or taxi cabs (24/7 being a great little magazine with lots of coupons and info that is found in most taxis).

We stayed at the Venetian, which was an experience all to itself. In addition, we checked out two major shows, "Zumanity" and "La Femme", ate at 3 buffets, and went to a couple of restaurants (Grand Luxe and Postrio chief among them).

We spent the days going from casino to casino joining the players, or slots, clubs. For one, it's a great way to get little keepsakes (credit card type membership cards) and also a way to get some promotions and coupons (we received $5 slots play in any slots at one, $50 in promo slots play at another and various coupons at others).

The trip, as always, was too short and left much that I wanted to show her. We didn't get to visit old-town at all, so no Fremont Street Experience, didn't get to Mandalay Bay, The Stratosphere Tower or the restaurants off the strip I had wanted to visit. But, alas, that's just one more reason to go back.

• Pros:Food, Nightlife, There's more than just gambling
• Cons:Porn Peddlers, Time-share sellers
• In a nutshell:If you think Vegas is just about Casinos and Gambling, you've got another thing coming.