Palazzo, here I come! I’ll be visiting the Palazzo in a couple of weeks. I was there when it had it’s grand opening, but now that all of the stores should be open, I’m going back. If anyone has any requests or you want to know anything specific, leave me note and I’ll try to find out for you.

It seems like deciding what to wear in Vegas is a big issue for many travelers. First off, just know, that you cannot go wrong. Honestly, every type of outfit you can imagine can be seen there. But also, if you are the type of person who is a closet exhibitionist, you have found your paradise. Legs, cleavage, and midriffs are very normal in Las Vegas. I mean, if I saw some of the outfits in my town, I would do a double take. In any regular setting, many of these getups would be way too flashy, sleazy, or inappropriate. However, Vegas is not just anywhere. It is extremely unique in that it is almost like living in an adult circus. All those glittery, bosom-enhancing outfits that you see on TV really do walk around the strip. Now, of course, you do not have to dress that way. I actually choose not to. I’m just saying that if you have wished for a place to show off your inner showgirl, you can do it here.

The style that I actually recommend for Vegas is a classy, sexy spin. Nice fitting jeans or stylish shorts with cool heels. Or summery sequined tops that flatter your curves are great looks. Trendy, branded items, like your coveted Prada purse, or Manolo shoes are great to show off here. That is not to say that your stuff has to be expensive or a label; just know that you will see a lot of that. In fact, depending on the hotels you plan on hanging out at, you will find different looks. For example, at the Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn, Caesars, or Mandalay Bay, you will see more sexy chic and money prancing around. Yes, I mean labels on purses, shoes, and sunglasses. At Flamingo, Bally’s, Stratosphere, Excalibur, and Luxor, you will see more casual sneakers, fanny packs, and people trying too hard to be sexy. These hotels, while all nice enough, seem to attract the budget conscious who still want to stay on the strip. The remaining TI, Mirage, Paris, MGM, and NYNY you will see a mixture of both since those are middle priced strip hotels that attract everyone.

Just remember, no matter what you wear, you need to be comfortable in it; both in how you feel about yourself and how you plan to move around the town. If you will be cabbing it everywhere, go for the stilettos. If you plan on walking a lot, go for the pumps or sandals. But if there ever was a place to dress however you like, Vegas is it.

In response to a question about nightclubs, here is some, hopefully, helpful information.
Bottle service is when a patron buys an entire bottle of liquor rather than paying for a drink at a time. You may still be charged for the mixers, but if you know that you or your party will be drinking a lot of one type of liquor, this might be a good choice. The bottles are substantially more expensive than what you could buy at a liquor store, but then again, individual drinks are also easily $8 - $15 each. Many times you also get a host to take care of making your drinks for you. Purchasing bottle service usually waives your cover charge as well. You may want to ask about that.

As for what nightclubs are best suited for different age groups, you can look at http://www.vegas.com/nightclubs/ to see details for of each nightclub. It also details what sort of music is played etc. I don’t actually do a lot of clubbing, but I will try to visit a few on my next trip.

Another tip is that many VIP / front of line passes are available on eBay for very cheap, like $1. I know that also if a club is trying to get patrons, they may hand out the passes occasionally for free. Once, as a friend and I were walking through Treasure Island, we were offered VIP passes to Tangerine. They also give out passes to Coyote Ugly on the Mezzanine at New York, New York frequently. Also ask the concierge at your hotel.

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas is something everyone should experience at some point in their lives. From the looks of it when I was there, that is happening. As you may know, the strip is closed to auto traffic for about 8 hours, or more depending on cleanup. Around 6 pm police cars barricade the road in preparation for the night’s festivities. One thing I didn’t realize, but it makes sense, is that they also close many streets leading to Las Vegas Blvd. Therefore, using a cab is not really an option for most people. I assumed that getting a cab would be difficult because so many people would be in town vying for them. But actually, New Year’s Eve is one of the worst nights for a cabbie, profit wise. Since many cab drop-offs require the use of the strip and streets leading up to the strip, cabs can’t get around very well. Also, they can’t cross the strip via Tropicana, Flamingo, or Spring Mountain, among other streets. By law they are not able to pick up or drop off passengers on a street at all. My husband and I were lucky. We stayed at the New York, but walked to MGM Grand early in the evening to get a cab down to the Wynn for our dinner reservation at Alex. (I’ll write about that another time.) Then at about 11:00pm we were able to get a cab from the Spring Mountain side of the Wynn, near Chanel, and take it back to MGM in time to stand in the street at midnight and enjoy the fireworks. Ah, the fireworks. While they are by no means the best fireworks I have ever seen, the atmosphere surrounding them was unparalleled. As many times as I have been to Vegas, I have never seen anything like the strip being closed down and completely packed with people. My husband and I were able to wedge our way out in front of Grand Canyon Experience, on the MGM side of the street, and although we totally enjoyed it, we did not have the best view of the fireworks. I assumed that they would be launched from every hotel, but that was not the case. They were launched from MGM, but not from New York, which we would have had a much better view of. Our view of MGM was partially obscured by that Grand Canyon Experience building. Though we could still see the fireworks up the north end of the strip as well. It was a really cool sight seeing them all around the Eiffel Tower.
Once the fireworks were over, about 7 minutes later, we had the task of getting back to the New York. It seems easy right? It’s just on the other side of the street, which we are standing in the middle of. Well, actually, the center, median portion of the strip is barricaded off by police officers. You cannot cross directly. Instead, you have to work your way down to a cross street, such as Tropicana. Then you go up Tropicana to turn onto the other side of Las Vegas Blvd. I held tight to my husband’s jacket, so as to not be separated in the mob of people doing the same thing. Let me say, standing in the center of Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd was totally cool. Normally standing there would be a death wish, but it was just full of partiers. You could just stand there and look down the strip at the mobs of people. We eventually made it back to New York safe and sound. I am embarrassed to say, by this time, I was tired. That morning we actually woke up in Green Bay Wisconsin from a Packer’s game. As I have said before, flying in and out of Vegas is cheap. Anyhow, after that travel, my ample wine at Alex, and our experiences that evening, I was ready for bed. Thank goodness I had a 75 minute massage scheduled for New Year’s Day; something I strongly advise, but book in advance. It’s not a unique idea come morning.

If you are planning to spend New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas, get on it. Make your reservations. Many hotels are not even listed as being available anymore on Vegas.com nor other travel sites. Call your players card number and see if they have anything left for you. If not, you may be left staying off the strip. Probably not a big deal, but personally, I want to be close to my room after the festivities, just in case I have a few extra drinks. The strip is closed to all cars at 6:00 pm, so cabs will be using the back streets. I am hoping to not have to use a cab if I can help it, though my husband doesn’t think it will be that bad. Do note, however that hotels with cab stands that are only accessible from Las Vegas Blvd (The Strip) will not have cabs available until the strip opens back up.

Another thing to consider is dinner. If you are planning on a nice meal, you should reserve sooner than later. Some high-end places that we have called are already booking up. Many restaurants will also have special event menus, such as Picasso at the Bellagio. We checked into that one, and the price per person for their black tie event (9:00pm – 12:00) is $575 per person. Another great restaurant in Vegas, Alex, at the Wynn is taking names of interested parties for their gala. I just wouldn’t try to waltz into a restaurant at 8:00 on New Year’s Eve unless you are P Diddy.

If you are planning to spend the evening at a club, check in to that early as well. I have already seen that many clubs have special concerts or various events that are trying to lure you in. Some sound as if you may want to reserve early as well.

If you are on the strip right before midnight, you will be treated to a fireworks show. All of the main casinos blast them so that from the strip, you have quite a view.

Also, I would advise staying an extra day. January 1st is a great day for college football, and Vegas is a great place for sports. And you might just want to sleep in on the 1st.

If you love shoes, and what girl doesn’t, you should definitely check out the Manolo Blahnik store at the Wynn in Las Vegas. For those of you who don’t know what Manolo Blahniks are, you should watch a few episodes of Sex and the City. Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, Carrie, is a huge fan of the brand on the show. Anyhow, the store in Las Vegas is one of only 2 Manolo Blahnik stores in the United States. Sure, you can buy these shoes at Nordstrom and other high-end department stores, but these are the flagship stores that showcase the new items. I have been to this store a few times now to look at some really gorgeous shoes. It is located on the Wynn Esplanade near Dior, Rolex Louis Vuitton… you get the point. The shoes in here are gorgeous; there are alligator, ostrich, Italian leather, and even fur ones.

The ones I would buy if I could, would be the alligator print red sling-back heels for $2200. And of course, I would need the matching purse for a mere $8000. Or maybe the ostrich flip-flops… But my husband just may explode if I spent $700 on flip-flops…

Last time I was in Vegas, a couple of weeks ago, I went with a friend, who is also a huge Manolo Blahnik fan. She splurged and bought herself the most amazing vixen-red stiletto Mary-Janes that I have ever laid eyes on. If you have the self-control, or lucky you, the budget for these shoes, go to Vegas and check them out. If you can’t find anything that floats your boat, head over to the Jimmy Choo store at Caesar’s Palace. They have the cutest little pair of indigo blue strappy heels with and matching purse…

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas is second only to Times Square as far as places in the US to spend that most important evening. This year, I plan to do just that. Normally when you look for hotels in Las Vegas for New Year’s you are either going to pay through the nose for a room on the strip or you are going to be staying at Whiskey Pete’s way off the strip. But wait. Here is a way to stay on the strip for a reasonable price. Comps.

I have mentioned before that you can use your Players Card to secure your room through Casino Marketing. Well, I did just that for New Year’s Eve this year. I called, just for giggles, to see if there were any rooms or special rates available for New Year’s. I totally expected them to laugh and say, “no way. That’s New Year’s Eve”. But they didn’t. My husband and are reserved at the New York New York for $199 on Dec 31. The next night, Jan 1, is I believe, $89. They gave me this rate even though the travel websites show that the hotel is sold out, because I have shown that I spend money at their casino when I stay. This is because of what I have said before; when I stay at a property, I try to spend at that property. I eat as many meals, see as many shows, and gamble exclusively at that property, and I charge it to my room whenever possible. That way, when I call for reservations such as New Year’s Eve, they see me as a valued guest, and I get one of the rooms that are set-aside for people like me. Don’t mistake me, you do not have to be a huge spender, you just have to do your spending at their hotel.

Another thing that I have mentioned before about Las Vegas is that travel out of their airport is often cheaper. That is actually why we will be in Vegas for New Year’s Eve. We are flying out of McCarran to go to Green Bay for the last NFL home game of the season at Lambeau Field for my birthday, and then returning to Vegas on New Year’s Eve. We saved about $300 by doing this, and turned around and spent it again on a hotel in Vegas. But the really neat thing, is that we are essentially getting 2 vacations for the price of one, since flying out of Salt Lake City is so expensive, which is my local airport.

This reinforces two things that I have said before. Always try to get cheaper rates through casino marketing. It can’t hurt to ask. Also traveling to and from Vegas is often a great way to save money while getting extra vacation experiences.

Vegas attire is some of the most diverse I have ever seen. Flashy, tacky, sparkly, barely-there, frumpy, you name it, you’ll see it. This is one of the few places where anything goes. I mean anything.
I personally like to have fun with my wardrobe when I go to Vegas. I actually have a section of my closet for my “Vegas clothes”. This section includes spike-heeled boots, sequined shirts, sassy high heels, and even small fashionable purses that can be carried easily but still accent a chic wardrobe. I still wear regular casual clothes occasionally, but this is definitely the place to come if you want to get a little more flirtatious or fun with your clothing. One of the things that gets me is when I see women in spike heels that look like they have been walking all day. Remember that the Las Vegas strip is long, and casinos are large. If you are planning to stay in your shoes all day, make sure they are relatively comfortable. If you are just going out clubbing or to dinner for a couple hours, by all means wear those heels.

Many women choose to dress like J-Lo at the Oscars with their low cut or bust enhancing get-ups, especially in the summer. Other women wear tennis shoes and fanny packs. I, personally, don’t advise the fanny pack look, but it is fairly common. Not as common as cleavage by any means, but still normal. If you don’t have any hip clothes and you want to dress up sassy, there are plenty of boutiques that sell them in Vegas.

Men vary as much as women in the fashion department. Some men look like minivan driving, soccer dads from the Midwest, while others look straight out of a fashion magazine. Anything goes.

So check the weather in advance of your trip and pack what feels comfortable to you. Believe me, you will blend in no matter what you choose.
Remember that if you plan to go to a nice dinner, restaurants may have dress codes, such as no tennis shoes, no jeans, or dresses / dress pants required for ladies. Be sure to check or just bring a semi-formal outfit just in case.