Monday 31^st October 2016. After our trip to the Hoover Dam we sat in the Hoover Dam Lodge quenching our thirsts until it was dark. The idea here was we wanted to drive into Las Vegas down the straight roads to see the lights in the distance. We will of course have a post of the new strip lights in full to come.

We passed quickly through the new strip and took some photos on the way through from the car.

We arrived “Downtown” after our drive and found a place to park. The thirst issue was not fully resolved and needed to be addressed as soon as possible. We found a bar at the edge of the Fremont Street strip so we could watch the world go by for a while. We have gone from vast open expanse of scenery to a point where we couldn’t even see the sidewalk later as it was so busy. Halloween was underway and a prize was being given for the best outfit by the judges where ever they may have been hiding.  Live bands were playing and a group on a stag outing by the looks of it were enjoying the music and the beer!  The street was in full swing and the atmosphere was amazing, with every turn of the traffic lights more people flocked to the area.

We tried to walk up and down the strip, but it was just best to go with the flow of people who had a natural slow meandering speed and direction.

Mart had on his bucket list to have a gamble in the Casino. Probably the famous casino in the area being the Golden Nugget was the place we headed for. The wallet that was previously lost was opened and some dollars were changed into little plastic discs. Black Jack was the chosen game and he found a table to take up residence.

Cards were dealt and we must say that Marts poker face was rubbish as he smiled at a good hand. After a few hands Mart had worked up a sweat, but he was up $75, not being able to believe his luck. So he decided to walk away and quit while he was up and his luck held out. Bucket list for Mart had another item ticked off.

The walk back took us past some more attractions not just bright lights this time.

We decided to call it a night not wanting to be too late as we had an early start for SEMA in the Morning. As we walked back to the car, we passed a monument that during the day was impressive, but at night it came to life. A fire-breathing bug, the noise and heat was pretty spectacular.

We found somewhere to eat off the beaten track a little, in the shape of a burger bar, it wasn’t the best, but it serviced a need but it did have a casino although it wasn’t that busy.

We had to stop off on the way back, just in case as we couldn’t remember the state of the beer supplies, in case that dreaded thirst reared its ugly head again. It was now T-minus six hours to go before we got to SEMA. 🙂

Did you know?

1. The names Las Vegas and Vegas are interchangeably used to indicate the Valley, the Strip, and the city, and are used as a brand by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to denominate the entire region. The Valley is affectionately known as the “ninth island” by Hawaii natives and Las Vegans alike, in part due to the large number of people originally from Hawaii who live in and travel to Las Vegas on a regular basis.
2.  Since the 1990’s the Las Vegas Valley has seen exponential growth, more than doubling its population of 741,459 in 1990 to more than 2 million estimated in 2015. The Las Vegas Valley remains one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States, and in its relatively short history has established a diverse presence in international business, commerce, urban development and entertainment, as well as one of the most iconic and most visited tourist destinations in the world.
3. In 2014, a record-breaking 41 million visited the Las Vegas area, producing a gross metropolitan product of more than $100 billion.