The Luxor is famous for it’s ultra bright spotlight and sleek black pyramid. What you may not realize, is that they actually house some really cool authentic Egyptian artifacts. There is a King Tut Museum that you walk through to see what a sarcophagus would have looked like in a real tomb. -Luxor King Tut Museum

The museum was actually pretty cool. The rooms are sized to scale form the notes of the guy who found Tut’s tomb in 1922. It is primarily reproductions, but accurately displayed. There are hieroglyphics on the walls, and shabtis (pronounced shwob tee) placed around the tomb. Those little statues were supposed to represent the slaves that would help the deceased in the after life. You’ll learn all sorts of nifty facts like that in some of the shops and exhibits. I know, you don’t generally go to Vegas to learn anything, but trust me, sometimes, learning can be fun. Ugh, I sound like a teacher.

You will probably spend about 15 – 20 minutes walking through the exhibit and another 5 or 10 in the gift shop at the end. You might even find yourself buying a book about ancient Egyptian legends. In the Gaza Galleria there is a store that sells Authentic Egyptian artifacts. In here you could drop well over $1,000 for an authentic shabti or artifact turned jewelry piece. Myself, I bought the replicas. I have to save my money for the one armed bandits.

A cool aspect to the Las Vegas casinos is the themes that each hotel has. New York New York is one of my favorites. From the outside it has the look of the Manhattan skyline. Those building are actually the hotel rooms. I like to try to figure out which “building” I am staying in when I am a guest there. There is a small scale of the Brooklyn Bridge as a sidewalk, the Statue of Liberty, and even a small NYFD tugboat fountain. Inside, its high roller gaming area is a play on the Tavern on the Green ritzy restaurant in the real New York City. The dealers even wear jerseys from New York Sports teams. There is a pizzeria, an Irish Pub (Nine Fine Irishmen), Gallagher’s Steakhouse, and an ESPN zone restaurant. On the second floor of the ESPN Zone, there is a cool little arcade. They have air hockey, ski ball, video games, small ball bowling, a basketball game, and various other amusements.

If you’ve got a crink to work out of your neck, you could ride the roller coaster that weaves around the buildings outside. It is painted like a checkered cab, and is a good way to waste a few bucks and 20 minutes of your life. It’s not a bad coaster, but a little pricey. There is also another arcade up there near where you get your coaster tickets. This one is bigger than the ESPN Zone one.

As you find yourself wandering through the casino floor, you will see a big red apple, a bridge over a stream just like the one in Central Park, city building facades, and even a steaming manhole cover near the box office window. If there were bums and trash, I’d think I was in Manhattan.

Another nice thing about the NY NY is its proximity to the MGM Grand. There is a bridge that crosses Las Vegas Boulevard, connecting the two, door to door. This bridge is also one of the best spots in Vegas for a photo facing north. NY NY also has a bridge / walkway to the Excalibur, which is just to the south.