Seeing one of my favorite musicals, Phantom of the Opera, in a Las Vegas environment, was a chance that I jumped at. This Phantom is an all-new production, reuniting the original creative team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hal Prince.  It’s the same storyline, including all the songs, but has new staging and illusions that [...]

Yahoo! Travel recently released its list of the most popular cities of 2009.  Based on leading travel research and booking websites, here’s what travelers have to say about where they went this year: Las Vegas Miami Cancun, Mexico San Diego Cabo San Lucas, Mexico New York City San Francisco Orlando Honolulu Paris, France Are there [...]

I was in Las Vegas a few months back, and had an opportunity to chat with a waiter and one of the local restaurants.  As I usually do, I asked him where he goes when he’s going out for the evening.  And, I always stipulate that he can’t choose (or try to sell me on) [...]

The Stardust Hotel & Casino long ago bit the dust, and I do mean that literally as well as figuratively — it was imploded on March 13, 2007.  The implosion was accompanied by a big extravaganza, complete with fireworks, prior to the building crumbling down. The casino-hotel complex was nearly completely rebuilt in 1991, meaning [...]

We have a winner in the contest for the Las Vegas getaway! Our winner is Gayle J, who left this comment: I have been to Las Vegas twice and still haven’t seen everything. I want to go to the Hard Rock Cafe and want to see the Blue Man group and of course gamble. Thanks. [...]

Many of you followed along on my recent trip to Las Vegas, and my quest to find some G-Rated activities. Here are the top things that I found: Spent a day at the pool at Mandalay Bay.  Renting a cabana, and have a place to get out of the sun occasionally, made a 100+ degree [...]

I was in Las Vegas last week, and if you haven’t been recently, well. . . you haven’t been at all.  The landscaped has changed so much over the last several years.  With the demise of many Las Vegas institutions, and the building of new ones, the skyline along the strip doesn’t bear many of [...]

I’ll be heading off to Las Vegas tomorrow, and exploring the family-friendly side of Sin City.  While the city once promoted itself as a family-friendly destination, it has long since abandoned that idea, and has had great success (and fun) with “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” With so many families wishing to vacation [...]

While I was traveling, I wasn’t able to keep up with Matchbook Monday, but now that I’m back I’ll just pick up right where I left off!  I also picked up a few matchbooks on my travels, Europe still allows smoking in many places, so look for them in the coming months. Today, though, I [...]

Today’s Matchbook Monday is from Paris.  Not the one in France, but the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paris is located on the Las Vegas Strip, and, as it’s name suggests is patterned after the famous French city after which it takes its name.  It include a 540 foot replica of the [...]