5 Things To Do In Vegas That Don’t Involve Gambling

A trip to Vegas without the gambling wouldn't be complete without a trip to the legendary Hoover Dam. It's huge!  Breathtakingly so.  But while the Dam tours are incredible, the history of what went into it's creation is truly amazing.  It's worth the trip.

I group these two together because they're all about the classic Vegas neon. Once hotels have overstayed their welcome, they are imploded, or go through complete name change overhauls. But their signs are held onto at the Neon Museum.  It's quite the interesting sight that has shown up in various Vegas movies.  Some hotels keep going, as is the case with "Old Vegas" or the "Freemont Street Experience".  Before Vegas had it's current "strip", this was Las Vegas, complete with the still in operation "Golden Nugget".  And with the roof overhead with plenty more neon, it's a fun way to experience the history of Vegas.

Many of the major hotels have some upscale malls, like the Forum Shops at Caesers, the Fashion Show Mall on the strip, the Grand Canal shops of the Venetian, Crystals at the Vegas CityCenter, and the Miracle Mile Shop at Planet Hollywood.  There's also the fun, and huge, M&M store or Heshey's Chocolate world.

Vegas is not only known for it's gambling and stage thrills, it's also known for its thrill rides.  There's the tame rollercoaster at New York, New York, but also 4 intense thrills waiting at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel, 1,000 ft. up in the air: "Insanity" which dangles you over the edge,  "Big Shot" which propels you to the very top of the spire, "X-Scream" which is the equivalent of a giant teeter-totter over the edge, and finally "Skyjump", where you literally sky dive off the 108th floor. Has your heart stopped yet?

You're already going to see Kelly, but there's plenty of other great shows to check out. Cirque du Soleil has so many jaw dropping and fun shows along the strip. (I personally recommend "O" at Bellagio.) There's the magic shows like David Copperfield or Criss Angel. There's also Penn and Teller, Terry Fator, Blue Man Group, the Jabbawockeez, or Jeff Dunham. Then there's the resident concerts like Britney Spears.  And you never know what comedians might just happen to be in town.  But don't also forget the free shows, like the Bellagio Fountains, Volcano eruption at the Mirage, the Fall of Atlantis show at the Forum shops, the Wildlife habitat at the Flamingo, and the aquarium at the Silverton. (Sadly, the pirate show at Treasure Island was cancelled a couple years ago.)