I’ve only been to Las Vegas twice – driving down the strip in a 1970’s lemon yellow Toyota Corolla with holes in the floor (but that’s another story) and touching down for a couple hours layover on the way home from Utah this July.

But friends of mine went this summer. They did the whole deal: hotel on the strip, Fremont Street Experience, day trip to the Grand Canyon, and getting engaged. That last one might usually read ‘being married by an Elvis impersonating officiant while loaded on prickly pear shooters’, but these are fairly conservative folk.

If you’ve got a hankering to try your luck at the casinos, wander for a bit in red rock paradise and, who knows, maybe come home wearing some bling of your very own, these are the days to go. Notices of off-season hotel sales and package discounts at places like Expedia and Travelzoo keep popping up, bound to tempt the wayward gambler with a bit of time on his or her hands.

Photo by K. Liivoja