Las Vegas

It's tough today for guys - we are told to still be bastions of masculinity, defenders of our families, and all those typically masculine roles we've always been responsible for. Unfortunately, but at almost every intersection we are also told we are to loud, too destructive, too fat, not caring enough etc. Today we are expected to be all the manly stuff, but without the testosterone fueled activities that go along with that. As a result, I feel like a lot of guys are lost but it doesn't have to be that way. Think about it this way. If you plan your life the way you would a trip to Vegas then that's really all you need to think about and the rest will just fall together.

One of the things I love about Vegas is all the amazing restaurants. It seems there is a never ending supply of creativity that is both pushing the culinary as well as architectural arts. What I didn't expect was to find an astonishingly awesome dinner at the top of Delano on the far south end of the strip. That's where Rivea sits and offers diners an unparalleled view of the entire strip. They say retail is location, location, location and this is absolutely true for Rivea. Luckily for us, the service and food was equally fantastic - making for one of the best dinners I've experienced in a long while.

Up until a last year I wasn't a fan of roulette, I preferred blackjack and slots. The game of roulette was too complicated. Then a friend (who happened to own a casino) showed me how to play. Since then, it's become one of my favorite games as despite the complexity it is really pretty fun and easy to play. This is why roulette is one of the most popular table games at both land-based and online casinos today. Simply put, it has an elegant pace and the anticipation of watching the ball skip by your numbers is almost mesmerizing. I also love the fact that there are so many ways to bet... and despite the fact that everyone has their own methods... there's really no "right" or "wrong" way to play roulette.

When it comes to visiting Las Vegas, you can't help but be drawn into the glitz and uber luxury resorts of the strip or the quirky fun of downtown but there's a lot more to this city than gambling resorts. Luckily, I'm here to help you explore that "other side" of Las Vegas and we're kicked it off with a visit to The Range 702, Las Vegas's largest indoor shooting range!

Having opened in 1993, Luxor is one of the icons of the Las Vegas strip and kicked off a decades long building boom of new mega resorts. While the strip offers a lot of unique opportunities - this is you only shot to sleep in a pyramid! While considerably smaller than the "Great Pyramid" of Giza (230 meters per side vs 183 meters), Kufu's designers didn't think to add a 120,000 sq ft casino, Carrot Top, Criss Angel Believe or "Fantsy" topless revue, so we're willing to accept that it's a bit smaller.

Old Vegas may have slipped behind the curtain over the past decade to make way for hipsters and people looking for upscale luxury experiences but below the surface there are still a few Vegas treasures that will transport you back to the golden age of Vegas when being a "celebrity" meant something more than just how many Instagram followers you have. 

Las Vegas has some of the best food in the entire country and whether or not you are here for a convention, a bachelor party, or simply just to partake in the thrills of "Sin City", you are sure to work up a heck of an appetite. Don't let your hunger ruin the moment though! Fortunately, Las Vegas is filled to bursting with excellent eateries ready to satisfy whatever urges you might have.

Seeing great bands that bring back memories of highschool are always great, but when they are free and you can enjoy not-overpriced booze, well... that's even better! I love Fremont Street so much, that I'm going to call it the Fun Side of Vegas from here on out. It's taken some time for Fremont Street to gain traction but it is absolutely on a roll now with some great hotels like The D, Golden Gate, and Golden Nugget as well as great free entertainment virtually every night. To extend things even further, the Fremont Street Experience launched Rock of Vegas Summer Concert series. We were there last week to see the Spin Doctors and Cherry Poppin' Daddies and had a blast!

Up until this year when it finally came true, I'd always dreamed about one day having a suite in Vegas and living like a high-roller. On the strip this can put you back thousands of dollars per night. Sure there are some incredible options but without an unlimited amount of money, I'd rather save my money for food, drinks, and entertainment. Downtown Las Vegas is a different story and I had the opportunity to check out three different suites that are all awesome options if you are planning a guys weekend or a bachelor party in Vegas.

If there's one thing that I miss from the first few times I visited Las Vegas many years ago it is the sound of coins plunking down out of the machine. Sure, today's modern slots have beeps and buzzers that signify that you won, but it's just not the same thing. Similarly, there's a sense of satisfaction walking around with a big heavy bucket full of quarters after a successful win that sadly has left this town. That's true except for a couple places that have clung to the past such as The D Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas.

Each time I go to Vegas it's a different experience and that's an amazing testament to the diversity of entertainment options available in that city. This time, I had a chance to check out two of the newest resorts on the strip - The Cromwell, and The Linq. Over the past few years, these properties have both gone through some significant changes but it seems that Caesars has finally got a concept that works.

When you think of a great Vegas buffet, chances are you think about the Bacchanal over at Caesar's Palace or Aria's awesome new buffet we plowed through earlier this year. What I WASN'T expecting was that Excalibur's buffet would be right up there, delivering a feast fit for a king. While the days of costumed knights and ladies is gone and so is the super kitschy medieval feast theme, what's replaced it is a super clean, light and airy dining room with an updated menu and easy navigation.

We're heading to Drai's Beachclub / Drai's Nightclub at The Cromwell next week, so we'll have more on this incredible club and one of the newer resorts on the strip. However, if you want to combine the high-energy EDM scene with an awesome cruise on one of my favorite ships (Carnival Inspiration) then you gotta check out The Groove Cruise. It's not for everyone, but this quote from the website about sums it up: "There’s no 2am curfew on this vessel! With nightly after-hours going into the early afternoon, there is no better way to leave the world behind."

The LINQ is one of the hottest new properties on the strip, so when we heard about their new pool opening, we got excited!

The new LINQ Pool Deck is exclusive to LINQ Hotel & Casino guests 21 and over, The LINQ Pool provides a cooling escape with spectacular views of the High Roller observation wheel and the LINQ Promenade. This center-strip destination features two pools, a 32-seat center bar lined with four plasma televisions and full of signature cocktails, draught beer, frozen drinks and poolside dining options from Nook Express. The main pool boasts a wet deck with lily pad daybeds available for rent, while the second pool is accessed from a standalone elevated deck with tables available for rent as well.

It's the tale of two cities in Vegas right now - while "The Strip" has gone full tilt towards high-end luxury and has literally stripped all the quirky stuff that used to be "Vegas", the downtown area has seen a resurgence. I've always been a fan of the Fremont Street area for it's cheap drinks an colorful people, but it has never EVER been a place that I would recommend staying. That seems to be changing now though with the opening of The D Hotel and the renovation of The Golden Gate by entrepreneurs Derek and Greg Stevens.

Last month I was joined by a group of other male bloggers to explore the best that the strip has to offer. This was a heck of a weekend that was filled with amazing experiences that I can't wait to do again. While every Vegas guys weekend is going to be different but here are our top 10 things to do on the strip.

I now know what it means to be a Vegas VIP - it is an experience unlike any other I've ever had the opportunity to experience and the best part was that I got to share it with 6 of my best friends and fellow bloggers!

We did a LOT of stuff in just three days, but this is the city where excess is normal and you can always recover once you get home. Our home base for the weekend was Aria but we also explored Mandalay Bay, Mirage, and Bellagio. 

The MGM Grand Las Vegas is the second largest hotel in the world by number of rooms and since it opened up in 1993, the hotel has transformed from the loose theme based on the Wizard of Oz into what I found last week - an AMAZINGLY COOL sports and entertainment themed experience that was about as awesome as you could possibly get for a Vegas guys weekend. It could have been that we happened to be there during the PAC 12 Championship basketball games and the contagious excitement from thousands of excited fans, alums, and players but I suspect that with their aggressive sports entertainment schedule including PBR, MMA, Boxing, and others that this vibe is not unique to the days we visited.

Each year it seems like Pi Day gets more and more elaborate as marketing folks, social media geeks, and the media respond to this mathematical occurrence of 3/14 or 3.14. That's the number Pi for those of you who don't remember high school geometry!

Anyhow, this year we are in Vegas for the #MenWhoBlogLVtrip with MGM Resorts and they have shared with us six ways that they are celebrating Pi Day across their various resorts. I'm looking forward to the Truffle Pizza Pie at FIVE50, what's your favorite?

Almost all hotels and resorts have pools, but in the ever competitive travel market, there are few resorts that take the concept of a resort pool a step further with extreme opulence or features you never even considered. The following are our top ten favorite ultimate hotel swimming pools.