Vegas Baby, I'm going to Vegas

congrats matty! i can definitely relate, as I took the plunge on April 1 to my fiancee (we'd been together 5 years as of April 1, and got married on that anniversary).

never been to Vegas ('cept for the normal stop over flying to and from Cali), so i'm of no help there...

April Fools - Do I even want to ask how you guys met?!

To never forget your aniversary - just remember. Sean Taylors birthday!

Congratulations, Matty!

Tourist Attractions:
- Redrock (already mentioned by redrock)
- Lake Meade & Boulder Dam (aka Hoover dam) 45 minutes away. rent a car and go yourself or take a bus tour (ask the concierge at your hotel)
- I'll be in Vegas in August, and plan to hit the grand canyon by bus tour. Takes all day, 80 bucks a ticket, 8 hours of driving round trip, 3 hours spent at the canyon.

Shows:
- If you want to see an expensive show, go with "O" at the Bellagio. It's a cirque-du-soleil type experience, with magic and acrobatics and pyrotechnics. Will wow you, for $120 a ticket.
- I suggest the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. $45 a ticket gets you dinner & a show. Dinner is a cornish hen, soup, broccoli, and bread served medeivel style (no utensils, eat with your hands). The show is just like the scene from Cable Guy. Root for your knight to win the tournament, cheer him on.

Buffets:
- The top-ranked Vegas buffets are
1) Spice Market Buffet at the Aladdin Casino (huge assortment)
2) the buffet at the Paris casino (varied cuisine, french specialties)
3) the buffet at the Bellagio
4) the buffet at Mandalay Bay (seafood galore)

Reviews on the Bellagio's go either way, some love it, some say it's way overrated. I liked it. All of them are $20 or so per person for all you can eat. For a cheaper one, DEFINITELY hit The Orleans off the strip for their cajun style food. Only $9.99. Try to go on steak & crawfish night.

Getting Around:
- Free tram behind Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, and the Bellagio connecting them.
- Monorail behind MGM Grand running just about the entire strip, $2 per ride.
- Bus rides up and down the strip, $2 per ride.
- To get off the strip, gotta take a cab.

I'm not a bar & club guy, but I hear the top of the Stratosphere is a sight to behold.

Cool things to do for free:
- Fountain show in front of the Bellagio, every night just after it gets dark
- Pirates of the Caribbean pyrotechnics show in front of the treasure island, every night just after it gets dark
- Shark tank at Mandalay Bay, open anytime
- Walk the canal at the Venetian (pay to ride in a gondola)
- Art galleries at the Venetian & the Bellagio (they might cost something, I dunno)
- Casinos you must at least walk through: Bellagio (especially if you like Ocean's Eleven), the Venetian (those Caesar looking statues aren't statues, look closely), and Paris (the ceiling will wow you)

Inexpesive Things to Do:
- Rollercoasters at New York New York, the Stratosphere, and the Sahara
- $1 blackjack at the Sahara

And congratulations!

April Fools - Do I even want to ask how you guys met?!
Actually, a friend of hers went to school with me...and our first date was April 1, 2000...which just happened to be a weekend we were both free. So we decided to get married on our 5 year anniversary...that, and it was a date i could already remember.

besides, it allows us to play practical jokes on each other for our anniversary!