Travel Guide – Las Vegas

My adorable little brother just graduated college (!!) so, naturally, we are all headed to Vegas with my extended family. My cousins, aunts and uncles love celebrating milestones with us but we hate asking them to come out and sit through a graduation ceremony so we typically do a trip of some kind when someone graduates and we’ve found that Vegas is the perfect place. I only really go to Vegas with my family, which sounds weird but we’re all really close and share a gambling and shopping obsession. I couldn’t even fathom going to Vegas with my girlfriends who don’t know the rules or proper gambling etiquette. We’ve been to Vegas a couple of times now just for quick weekend trips and I feel like we finally have the hang of it!

Must See Attractions:

Bellagio Gardens 

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Eiffel Tower – Paris Hotel 

‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ Sign 

Make sure to get here early to beat the lines…and the heat!

The Venetian

The Neon Museum (more details on this below!)

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Gambling Etiquette:

My cousin is a Las Vegas regular and goes there to gamble a couple times a year. Over the past couple visits I’ve learned the many unwritten ‘rules’ of gambling that you learn form experience.

• Place all cash on the table so it’s in view of the cameras, the dealers don’t accept cash handed to them. Also, don’t count your cash on/at the table, it’s considered rude.
• Don’t touch the cards that are face up. If cards are face down then you can touch them with one hand only. Also, don’t touch your chips after you place your bets.
• Give clear physical hand gestures at black jack. the cameras are watching you so verbal queues don’t count. Double tap the table to hit (if you want another card) and wave your palm across the table if you don’t want a card (stay).
• If someone’s sitting at a table with open seats, ask first if you can join. If everyone is getting goods hands then you sitting down will mess up the flow of the deck and people get annoyed.
• Tip your waitress and your dealers. I tip between $1-5, in chips. I typically tip the waitress $1 every time I get a drink and the dealer $1 every 5-10 hands, depending on how well I’m doing. Not only is it good etiquette but also good karma. You can ask the dealer to make change in tips.
• Take the dealers advice. They’ve been playing the game for a lot longer than you have and they know every rule and tip imaginable. If they tell you to hit, then hit, if they tell you to stay, then stay. At the end of the day, they want you to do good because it keeps you at their table longer and they have more potential tips.
• Know the rules before you play. If you’re new to the games then find ‘training tables’ they are offered at most of the smaller hotels.

Where to Eat:

Jean Philippe Patisserie: This is my all time favorite dessert place in Vegas, if we could eat here every meal we would! There desserts are to die to and the second I get off the plane and check into the hotel, I’m off to Jean Philippe. There are 2 locations in Vegas, one at the Aria and one at he Bellagio. I definitely recommend the Aria location, it’s a little bigger, less crowded and open 24/7. Their crepes and pastries are to die for and their croissants are super flakey (that’s how you know they’re good).

Bouchon Bistro: this quickly became one of my favorite places in Vegas because they have an amazing brunch. It’s a little more upscale but serves traditional french food. Thomas Keller was named ‘America’s Best Chef’ by Time Magazine and this place does not disappoint! It’s tucked away and hidden in the Venetian hotel so it’s not a gem you’ll just stumble upon, but it’s totally worth it. My favorite was the french onion soup. It’s so rare to find a place that does this soup correctly and when they do I can’t get enough!

Bardot Brasserie: If you can’t tell by now, I love french food. I love finding authentic french restaurants and this one comes very close! My favorite thing about this place was the atmosphere, I felt like I was back in a Paris restaurant.

The Neon Boneyard:

Typically we don’t venture off the strip, but this trip we decided to hit up the Neon Boneyard (or Neon Museum) to take pictures with some old Las Vegas billboards and signs. For this attraction, I recommend doing it first thing in the morning. It’s a one hour long guided tour with no shade!!! This was a bit of a let down because we really just wanted to go and take pictures and the tour is more of a history lesson. In a couple of the pictures below you’ll notice that we were carrying umbrellas, they hand those out to you before you begin the tour and these are a must, the sun is just beating down on you from all angles and it’s really hot. Even though we suffered through the heat, the pictures turned out surprisingly well and it was well worth the trip!

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Thanks for reading!