—TEATUnE V-

By Stephanie Trembath

ithin the short span of three
days I observed the Eiffel
tower, took a gondola ride

through the streets of Venice, visited a
Taoist Buddha, tasted Asian delicacies,
had my palm read by a foreign physic,
wrestled with a boa constrictor, danced in
Caesars palace with young Grecian boys
and sustained a diet that consisted mainly
of cosmopolitans and cookies. After
existing in a state of constant sleepless
intoxication, I returned home three
pounds lighter and exhausted beyond
belief. Such immoral behaviour and
incessant madness is only acceptable in
one location; the oasis we call Las Vegas
in the heart of the Nevada desert.

A trip to Las Vegas is not a vacation,
rather, it is an escape from the real world;
a trip for adults to Never Land where
you solemnly swear to stay up all night
taking in the sights, and gamble till your
wallet is totally empty. Travelling to

well as television and radio stations. With
the arrival of Hughes many other business
owners started buying land in Las Vegas,
and the Italian mafia was eventually run
out by the federal government.

The initial idea to manufacture a
metropolis in the middle of the desert
with the overall design consisting mainly
of casinos, hotels, and shopping forums is
ridiculously ingenious. Dropping people
off in a sweltering city consisting largely
of beds, swimming pools, poker tables
and slot machines accompanied by free
alcoholic beverages seems completely
absurd if you’re removed from the
situation. What do you mean I can dance
wearing stilettos in a pool at 3am? What
do you mean there’s a place that exists
purely out of the necessity to gamble
and throw dice? What do you mean that
there are places I can go and act as I
please without being judged or questioned
by authority? Las Vegas has become a
manufactured society; a retreat where one
can stay up all night smoking openly in

Vegas that have single dollar minimums,
but unless you’re willing to pay a cab or
walk for an hour Old Vegas is too far to
comfortably visit.

Another great place to gamble is
O’Sheas Casino located between the
Imperial Palace and Harrah’s. At O’Sheas
there are tables of Black Jack Switch
where players are dealt two hands and
are able to pair any of the four cards for
the best hand before hitting or staying
to hit twenty-one. If you play to kill
some time and enjoy a few free drinks
(which I would recommend as one shot
in Vegas is $11-$20) playing black jack,
four card poker, or Texas hold’em are all
good choices. If you want to experience
the crazy thrill of winning big money
fast, or the devastation of leaving with
significantly less than you started with,
at the Wynn there are $20 buy-ins to play
war where you can acclaim the full Vegas
experience betting on luck.

Another student savvy tip; objects
appear closer than they actually are. As

people. It’s significantly cheaper, easier,
and way more enjoyable.

If you don’t want to take a limo
or wander the strip for a place to party,
many of the major hotel-casinos have
their own nightclubs and restaurants with
numerous places to drink and gamble. As
paying entrance admission to a nightclub
or standing in line are issues for most
students ($30 to get IN and I have to wait
for an HOUR?!?) All you have to do to
bypass these ominous tasks are make a
reservation at the adjoining restaurant
and ask your server for a stamp. At the
Venetian and Palazzo, Tao restaurant and
nightclub take three full floors; so it’s
worth it to have a late dinner and skip the
line up for the party afterwards. Mirage,
Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and Encore
operate much the same, but you have to
talk to the serving staff to get the quick
admittance!

A survival guide to Vegas: tip the
bartender if you don’t want watered down
drinks, sleep only at the poolside to gain

72 Hours of Sin City

The Student Guide to Surviving Las Vegas

Vegas means taking the oath of “Whatever
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, and

is the most common place for single,
coupled, or married individuals to become
immersed in superficial debauchery.
Vegas is the magic place where you can
forget your past and re-shape your future
(if only for a few spectacular hours), as
the present moment is all consuming with
flashing lights, astounding architecture,
beautiful women, and the dazzling sound
of slot machines. Known as the world’s
entertainment capital, touring Las Vegas
means experiencing the finest restaurants,
shopping, nightlife, and casino’s located
on the infamous Strip.

The Las Vegas Strip, which is
located just outside Paradise, Nevada
US, was first developed in the early
1900’s, however; it wasn’t until gambling
was legalized in 1931 that there was
a mass advance of the hotel-casinos
industry. Many of the first hotel-
casinos of Vegas were developed and
sustained by organized crime; American
gangster Benjamin Siegel, who was
known as “Bugsy”, was a leader of the
Italian- American mob who took part in
developing some of the first hotels in Las
Vegas, one of which was the Flamingo.
Initially, the hotel-casinos where used
for laundering illicit drug money for the
Italian mafia. Later on, in the 1960’s, Las
Vegas attracted the attention of wealthy
aviator Howard Hughes, who bought
numerous hotel-casinos on the strip as

12

air conditioned casinos and drink for free
as long as the bets are placed and the slot
machines sing.

The more money you have, the more
fun Vegas becomes. As a full time student
I didn’t exactly bring a lot of money to
play with, nor did I get to experience the
shopping Vegas offers; I figure when I
graduate and am all grown up I will be
able to enjoy the full Strip experience.
For now I was content with the Las Vegas
expedition student style.

The foremost important thing to
remember when you go to Vegas isn’t
that herpes sticks, it is the fact that the
House Always Wins. No matter what
you decide to play whether it is craps,
roulette, four card poker, black jack, or
the slot machines, and no matter what
you win, you’re luck will eventually
run out. Setting aside money to gamble
with each night is a good way to regulate
your spending, especially when you have
a pile of chips in front of you and the
atmosphere is loud and raucous and full
of the excitement and energy of people
winning.

One of the best places to go gamble
if you’re on a student budget is Harrah’s.
The buy-in for most tables is five dollars
until ten’ clock, and even after that buy-
ins will stay at $10. More popular casinos
like the Mirage, Caesars Palace, The
Wynn, and The Bellagio have minimum
bets of $25, which is really pricy by
student standards. There are places in Old

everything is so luminous and massive,
everything looks as if its ten minutes
away no matter where you are standing
on the strip. Too cheap to pay the price
of a taxi, I quickly learned that walking
the strip at night was impossible due to
massive crowds, uncomfortable footwear,
and my wrongful assumptions with
location distances. A better way to get
around; there are free shuttle buses that
leave every 30-60 minutes from specific
casinos and hotels with drop offs at other
casinos and various shopping centers.
Another option is to take a limo; if you’re
with a larger group or meet people who
share the same idea, taking a limo costs
anywhere from $30-$60 and holds 12-13

the maximum pleasure from your trip,
and pack as many outfits as possible.
Don’t wear uncomfortable shoes, don’t
order shots of tequila ($20 an ounce), and
don’t gamble at the Palms ($50 buy-ins).
Try not to dance in the beautiful water
fountains that are guarded by security, try
not to start drinking at 11am to cure your
hangover, try not to borrow someone’s
cell phone and make a long distance call
to Vancouver, and try not to make eye-
contact with the people who flick cards at
you advertising prostitutes. Oh, and lastly,
destroy all evidence of your trip because
really, you’re bound to do something
reckless and totally unusual for yourself.
It’s Vegas.