We have been fortunate to have traveled all over the world. In fact, our daughter has pointed out that we have been to every continent except Antarctica. With all that travel, one of our favorite adult destinations remains Las Vegas, Nevada.

Why Las Vegas? We love the atmosphere, the buzz, the activity and the many options one has in terms of things to do. Las Vegas isn’t just about gambling, although we love that part! It’s also a place to see world-class shows, enjoy great dining, and an area that’s surprisingly close to some terrific outdoor activities.

First, gambling, there is no doubt that Las Vegas is a city based on gambling. We don’t really like table games or slots, we love sports betting, and to be more specific, betting on American football (need I say it). If you like to bet on football, the best time to go is Thanksgiving weekend. Because? It’s simple, there are so many games to choose from in one weekend that your chances of finding your ‘game of the year’ are never better. We have been lucky to have won big the last 3 years by analyzing the full calendar, determining the ‘best bet’ and then betting on it. Not only does it have a full professional calendar, but of course it also has the university calendar spread over 4 days – an excellent betting opportunity.

When it comes to entertainment, we haven’t found anywhere better than Las Vegas. The shows, while certainly not cheap (which is why you need to win big), are definitely worth seeing. In particular, we have enough Cirque du Soleil shows and have seen several in Las Vegas, including “O”, “Zumanity” and “Mystere”. Of these, we would rank them from best to worst as follows:

1. “O”, an impressive show that combines water-based acts with ‘earth’

2. “Mystere”, the most traditional Circus show, very good

3. “Zumanity”, we were disappointed, this was supposed to be the ‘sexy’ version of Cirque, but we just didn’t do it as much as the others.

In addition to the various Cirque shows in Las Vegas (we have yet to see “Ka”), there are some fantastic acts in ‘Lance Burton Is Our Favorite’ magic, ‘Rita Rudner’ comedy, and variety shows to choose from.

One high end show that we would not recommend is the ‘circus type’ show ‘Le Reve’ at the Wynn. While the staging is pretty amazing, the show itself disappoints, we’d rank it just above Zumanity. If you decide to check it out, splurge on the VIP seats where you’re treated to a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered cherries, and monitors at your feet that let you ‘see the action’ behind the scenes and underwater (which is really cool). .

For dinner, we have a tradition of going to ‘The Eiffel Tower’ in the Paris casino for our ‘big night’. We always select a night to dress up (Tux) and do a combination dinner and show. The food at the Eiffel Tower is fantastic, ask for a table by the windows and you can enjoy the ‘Dancing Fountains’ show across the street at the Bellagio while you dine. The Eiffel offers French food (surprised?) It has an excellent wine list, top-notch servers, and an amazing selection of souffles that you can try for dessert.

As for the places to stay, it completely depends on your tastes and desires. In fact, we stayed off the Strip at the Orleans casino, which surprises some people. Why did we choose to stay with them? First and foremost is value, the Orleans offers very nice rooms with fabulous views of the strip and/or mountains. The Orleans has a very nice gym/gym, a very nice pool area and offers spa and massage services. The rooms are cheap compared to the strip and we generally spend very little time in our room anyway. The Orleans has a very good sportsbook where we do all our sports betting and a nice lounge where you can watch the games on several big screen TVs. The Strip is less than 5 minutes from Orleans and we don’t have to fight congestion and traffic on the Strip. We have tried other casinos, last year we actually booked Treasure Island but after a one night stay we checked out. We found that everything was much more expensive at TI, including a ridiculous $20 per person charge to use the gym (which is included in your Orleans room rates). In the end, we’d rather free up our cash flow for gambling, shows, and dining than spend it on a room.

Las Vegas is not for children, a few years ago they tried to turn the city into a ‘family’ resort, it is not! This is definitely an adult Disney world, but with that being said, it’s a great place to have fun. Enjoy Las Vegas, the happiest place on earth, for those with winning bets!