going to Vegas in Jan - need places to visit ;)

As stated, I am going to Las Vegas in January for a trade show for a week.

I was hoping that I could get some places listed that I should visit, or activities that are fun out there.

I am looking for a decent outdoor store, shooting range, nice store with lots of lights, decent place to rent a Mtn Bike, etc.

Also, if anyone near Vegas wants an AElight 24 Watt HID, I can bring it to you for $250 I want a microfire K500R.

Thanks for any input.

Tysonb

Several years ago, I went to "The Gun Store" there, which was a pretty ordinary gun store with an indoor range. We rented some sub-machine guns to fire, H&K MP5s. They had a guy go with you into the range to assist you. Not too much rapid fire, they said - gets the barrel too hot. No going nuts - it's just an indoor range after all. I have no idea if they are still there - 2900 E. Tropicana. We took a cab from the strip.

I've ordered from this place a few times and they carry just about everything a "tactical" junkie could want, at good prices to boot.

http://www.islandtactical.com/index.asp?PageAction=CONTACTUS

Not much information there, but you'll note that it says the retail store was set to open Dec 1, 2005. I guess you could drop them a line and see if they are open for buisness.

There are LOTS of Vegas things to do. If you haven't been before, you can spend a couple of days just checking out the various casinos built/remodeled in the past 10 years or so- Mirage, Belagio, Stratosphere, Venetian, Caesar's, MGM, NewYorkNewYork, Luxor, MandalayBay. See below for bigger list of Vegas stuff.

There are at least 2 indoor shooting ranges that rent full auto, but if you want to do much shooting it can get expensive. Check the phone book.

My wife likes slot machines and doesn't like for me to watch, so one trip I searched the phone book for gun and knife shops, and drove around visiting them. I found one good knife shop but the gun shops were fairly average or below average.

There are some good places to visit that are a short drive away- drive up Charleston Mountain and see the forests and snow, drive to Hoover Dam and look around or even take the tour, Drive through Red Rock state park. If you have enough time, you can drive to the Grand Canyon or Zion National Park.

More Vegas stuff-
Mirage- white tiger exhibit, secret gardens (small zoo) behind the casino
Belagio- fountain show in the lake in front of the hotel
Stratosphere- go up in the tower at night and see the view
Venetian- see the lobby, the indoor canal and shopping mall, all the way to St. Mark's square
Caesar's- see the large shopping mall, including a store with at least a dozen exotic cars
MGM- see the indoor Lion exhibit
Luxor- see the inside of the pyramid, plus they have a great buffet
MandalayBay- see the aquarium
Mirage, MGM and Mandalay have great pools (or rather pool complexes)
Downtown the GoldenNugget is nice, and at night you can see the light show nearby, called the Fremont Street experience
At the top of the ImperialPalace parking garage they have a great automobile museum.

Gents,

Thanks for the replies. It looks like we are renting some bikes for the week, heading to the red rock park, the Dam, at least 1 outdoor range, the tactical place mentioned above, and for sure the seafood buffet at Rio.

chime in if there are anymore good ideas.

Thanks,

tysonb

You can find out about the casino stuff all over the web (though I recommend the boat ride inside the Luxor, it's amusing).

There are (were? I was there about 6 years ago) several outfits that would take you out for a trail ride, prices weren't bad and it was just like being in an old Clint Eastwood movie.

Go see Red Rock Canyon, take a camera. The Dam is amazing, the lake itself is...well...a lake so I don't have much else to say about that.

you have to go to the water show at the billagio, and you could also visit the hoover dam ( a little while a way). Also, I think it is obligatory for you to go to the strip.

-David

In addition to the water show , check out the Dale Chihuly glass installations inside the Bellagio. Chihuly's crew does amazing things with hot glass

I LOVE the Venetian: Couple of years ago I got a very rare permission to photograph the entire place (except for the casino floor, of course) I was the first 'outsider' to get to photograph the inside of the new wing. Great artistry and craftsmanship around every corner.

Here is just one section of the ceiling... Only posting a link, because I don't want to slow down the thread, it is pretty big file size
VENETIAN CEILING segment

I'm from Vegas, and besides the nudie bars (HEY I got in for free when I drove a taxi!) there's THE STAR TREK EXPERIENCE, unless that's been closed in the past year. It's at the big Hilton.