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What was your impression of Vegas before you first visited?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Snowbelle3, Mar 24, 2014.

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  1. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    I thought Vegas was full of drugs, sex and gambling. I thought it would be very seedy with almost naked folks walking around. I envisioned dark, dirty neon lights on a boardwalk-looking stretch. And everything looked like the world was wobbly and tinted a muddy yellow....

    BUT THEN! I discovered vegas for what it truly was on vegas.com. I find the strip classy relative to my initial idea of what I thought of when Vegas came to mind. And so happy I discovered it!
     
  2. weluvvegas

    weluvvegas Casino Countess

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    Pretty much my husband's impression too. glad he took a chance with me 13 years ago because now it's our special place :)
     
  3. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    I thought it was skeevy and gross and totally not for me. Boy, was I wrong. :haha:

    My first experience with Las Vegas was when I was 20. I had been on a trip all over Southern Utah and stopped for gas off the Strip somewhere on my way to Los Angeles. I remember looking up at a billboard for Nudes on Ice and thinking, "Gross."

    In 1995 my boyfriend (now husband) and I were dating long distance. He wasn't going to be with me for my birthday because he'd be returning from a mountain bike trip with some friends. He'd be driving through Vegas on my birthday, but not through San Francisco to see me. Then he said, "We could meet up for the weekend in Vegas." It was on.

    We made all the mistakes, including paying the AAA rate for a Circus Circus Manor Room. :) But I was in love. We have this video we shot out the window while we drove down The Strip at night and my commentary is unwittingly hilarious. I knew NOTHING about Vegas and thought the Trashy Castle was the greatest creation of all times.
     
  4. progrocker2112

    progrocker2112 Watch out for this guy

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    My initial and current view. I love it.
     
  5. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    My impression so far as i have not gone yet (16 days and counting) is that it is expensive. I am also under the impression that it is full of 3/4 nakid hot skinny chicks in pasties and g strings, or at least fremont is. I also have the impression that is how the pool scene is.
     
  6. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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    Before my first trip to Vegas, I thought it would be a waste of time, because I was really wary of gambling, I didn't care about strip clubs or topless shows (since this is the 21st century and you can see that kind of stuff any time you feel like it for free on the internet), and I heard that it was dangerous. I eventually went for a friend's birthday and I was completely blown away. This was back in the mid-2000s when it was even better than it is today too because the Hilton still had Star Trek: The Experience. I can honestly tell all my friends that I got wasted on Romulan Ale and Klingon Blood Wine in Quark's Bar on the Promenade of Deep Space Nine. Awesome.
     
  7. The Stig

    The Stig VIP Whale

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    Me and my wife had never been to the USA let alone Las Vegas, what we knew of Vegas was mostly watching CSI. We didn't know what to really expect and were both stunned to see what Vegas was really all about, although after two trips she said she had seen enough and I'm coming up to trip number 6 so I'm still enjoying it.
     
  8. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    I really expected to get rained on in comps for minimal (and I mean minimal) play. I thought the hosts would descend upon me and expected it to be just like that TV show Las Vegas. It wasn't anything like that, but I still managed to have fun. That was in the good old days when Bellagio still had nickel slots that were a max bet of 25 cents a pull!!
     
  9. SW

    SW Well-Known Member

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    I thought it was a vast playland of coin in, coin out slots, dark and smoky poker rooms, and endless supply of buffets at dirt cheap prices. I got there about 20 years too late.
     
  10. wpete

    wpete High-Roller

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    I expected it to be like the Indian Casinos we went to down in San Diego, but on Steroids. So, my expectations weren't that far off casino-wise. I think the length of the strip was what impressed me the most. I knew that there were many casino's lining the strip, but I think I expected them to cover a shorter distance than they do.

    Then again, I hardly remember what I ate for breakfast this morning.
     
  11. klawrey

    klawrey High-Roller

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    My impression before I ever visited was that it was expensive.

    Now that's I've been 6 times in 5 years, I've realized that it's the cheapest vacation you can find. I don't know anywhere else that gives comp rooms, free limo to and from casino, free drinks. Costs me maybe $700 for 3 nights in Vegas for flight, hotel and food if I have a couple nice meals (not counting gambling that's more like $2500-3000 haha), can't get that elsewhere.
     
  12. jackincols

    jackincols Guest

    My first trip (1977) I really had no pre conceived impression. With no internet to get info the little I had was word of mouth.

    Once I got there, my impression was the same as most first timers today. Jaw dropping amazement. And food, drinks and gambling available 24/7? That astounded me, and I've been coming back ever since.
     
  13. woodsie

    woodsie VIP Whale

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    I don't perfectly remember my original notion of Vegas but I do remember on my first trip thinking that it was one of the few places I've ever been where the actual thing far exceeded the hype. I had just come from Hollywood which was the exact opposite. What a dump!
     
  14. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    1976, I thought it was the classy and sophisticated playground of the Rat Pack and their cronies. In the background was the Mob, keeping things in order so that their kingpins, the stars and the very rich could have a good time gambling, partying and kicking back.

    I also thought it would have the greatest collection of babes in the world.

    Funny thing, I was mostly right!
     
  15. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Since I'd already been living in northern Nevada for some time, I expected it to be Reno, just much larger. I guess technically it is, but it was much, much more. I first visited in the late 80's just after The Mirage was opened. I became enamored with each subsequent property during the "boom"... amazed at the scale and "one upsmanship" that was going on... each property seemingly outdoing the last.
     
  16. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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    Originally, we had 3 thoughts ... gambling, showgirls, and buffets.
    Now days, those things are obviously still around, but the city has always been much more than that, as you learn & discover more & more things & places that are available.
     
  17. Persistent Cat

    Persistent Cat Tourist

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    I had always wanted to see Las Vegas. My impression before visiting was over the top hotels and casinos with moving walkways everywhere. I also thought the buffets would be cheap. A nice surprise was the world class level of shopping, I wasn't expecting that.
     
  18. Wolfman619

    Wolfman619 Low-Roller

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    You both nailed my initial (unrealistic) expectations, before arriving. I remember being really disappointed when a casino employee told me there weren't any 24 hr buffets.:cry:

    My first impression was that this place is expensive, but like an adult playground. I couldn't believe how freely the liquor flowed, and was floored that you could take it anywhere with you. I was also surprised at the amount of people everywhere, the traffic on LV Blvd, and the distance from casino to casino. Surprised at how dirty some areas were not far from the strip. One thing that didnt surprise me was the sex stuff. . .but then again, I had just spent a night in Tijuana prior to hitting Vegas the next night on our road trip. Perhaps I was jaded. . . .:wink2:
     
  19. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    My words to my buddy when he first mentioned
    "how about us guys going to Vegas ?"
    *
    Me : "Why would I wanna go to Vegas ?...I don't gamble."
    *
    That was about 25 yrs ago.....and 100 Vegas trips, ago !:evillaugh
     
  20. jackincols

    jackincols Guest

    ".....with moving walkways everywhere."

    They sure fooled ya there didn't they.:evillaugh AAhhhh, if only half of them worked. (speaking specifically of CP)
     
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