Vegas still a draw for fun- and sun-starved Canucks.

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At least one casino is offering US dollars at par with our loonie.

      The iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign has greeted visitors outside the city’s southern limits since the 1960s.

 

The nearly naked man is standing about two metres behind me. He’s wearing a glittery cup over his nether regions, a cowboy hat and sunglasses on his head and he’s gleefully waving at people walking by in Old Las Vegas. As he’s offering to pose for pictures to shock the folks back home, I glance up to see people fly like superman on a zip line.

Just a regular afternoon on Fremont Street in downtown Vegas.

Casino lights are blinking, music is playing, and people are rubbernecking the length of the Fremont St. Experience — the original site of sin city.

Back in 1931, Fremont had the first legal casinos and the first traffic light in Las Vegas; today, it’s lined with casinos, hotels and restaurants. A 1951 neon cowboy, Vegas Vic, waves from his perch and people weigh themselves on a scale in front of Heart Attack Grill where “350 Pounds Eat for Free.” There’s also a giant canopy that runs 30 metres above the street with the zip line just below. At night, the canopy becomes the “world’s largest video screen” with a light and music show that transforms the street into a giant street party.

But at only five blocks, this is bite-sized Vegas.

On the strip, everything is supersized. You can walk all day — gawking at a pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, a mini New York City and fountains performing water ballet at the Bellagio — and still barely see half the sights.

It’s fun exploring the nearly seven kilometres stretch, provided you bring comfortable shoes. And big appetites. Vegas restaurants are world-renowned.

You can stretch your gambling budget at the Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino until the end of March. Canadians can buy up to $500 USD a day at par with the loonie for slot play. 

Not a gambler? Stroll through the casinos and watch people cheer around the craps tables, hear the ding-ding-ding of a slot machine that’s paying off and admire the quick dexterity of dealers flipping cards at Black Jack.

And then go to a show. There are dozens to choose from — from the dazzling acrobatics of various Cirque to Soleil shows to musical icons including Celine Dion and Donny and Marie. There’s burlesque, strippers, zombies and magicians — sometimes all on one stage. And after the show, Vegas nightclubs offer a whole other kind of theatre.

As always, Las Vegas is one of the best places on earth to people-watch. From the nearly-naked on Fremont to the fur-lined Chewbacca on the strip, from Elvis to Hello Kitty — Vegas has something for everyone. 

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