Kids / "Young Adults"

Alright - my turn to play the "I'm taking my kids to Vegas - what do I do with them" card ?

I booked the girlfriend and I - 5 nights / 5 days Mandalay Bay Late May.

Talk talk talk, do we then take the kids on a second vacation later in the year? Do we just take them to Vegas with us? blah blah blah

a 16 year old (boy acts like he's 30) and a 20 year old (girl acts like she's 15).

Not old enough to drink or go to a bar, but old enough to be left "alone"

So the 1 night I'd like to go to a night club with the girlfriend and a nice dinner just us - what do I do with the "kids" ?

Being stuck in their room is gonna suck and... their not gonna stay there.

Pools are closed past 5pm ish

Any arcades? Places they can go hang out and I can keep an eye on them via Find my Friends? Trust them to not get in trouble?

(how strict are clubs / bars on fake IDs ? lol...)

Every other day - fine. Spend the day at the pool, got dinner, go to a show, go sit at a lobby bar and we can have a drink / they can people watch - I can find things for all 4 of us to do. 1 day, I'll take him on a car tour or race track and she can take her to a spa day or something.

Just this 1 night just the girlfriend and I, what do I do with the kids? lol...

 

Can I buy them tickets to a show like Carrot Top (does he still have show?) and as long as the 20 year old is with the 16 year old, they'll be ok to enter or ?

 

This sounds loosely like the plot of “Vegas Vacation”.

 

"Age Requirements
You must be 16 years or older to attend. Anyone 18 years or younger must be accompanied by an adult. Must show ID."

This was taken from the Carrot Top show description on Luxor website.

 

They can go to Carrot Top. Ride the roller coaster at NY-NY. There are arcades at Excalibur and NY-NY. Have dinner somewhere like Dick's Last Resort or a food court place or something. There is an e-sports arena at Luxor now that I don't know anything about, but maybe that's an option. Walk around the Shoppes at Mandalay Place. Seems there would be plenty for them to do for an evening within the vicinity of Mandalay Bay. I do think that's the more "family-friendly" area of the Strip.

 

Knowing her, that's probably what will happen, lol...

Another doh! moment, lol... (I can look these up, haha)

So I'll have them make a list of stuff they might want to do - give them cash or buy tickets in advance. So long as the 20 year old stays with him, he / she should be ok for the night.

Thanks everyone.

 

I think they'll be fine! Probably a good idea for them to stick together, though.

Hope y'all have fun!

 

Yup have them stick together and stick with crowds.
There’s actually a ton of stuff 16+ kids can do in Vegas (especially first timers)
If you trust your 20 year old, you could rent a car and they could go around site-seeing. (Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire, Springs Preserve)
If no rental, then definitely they can walk the strip and take in all the spectacle. Plenty of free things to see and cool places to eat.
As others have said, Pinball HOF (if either of them are into that)
On the arcades, I’d say NO..I’ve been coming to Vegas since I was 16, and I never went to an arcade. (Too much other cool stuff to see and do)

 

On the other hand, some people really love arcades, no matter their age. My husband and I made our first trip to Vegas when he was 31 and we've gone to a few game places (including Pinball Hall of Fame!) over the years....

 

My husband doesn't care about gambling but LOVES playing the midway games at Circus-Circus lol

 

How about a movie and theme restaurant or nice buffet for them. Then circus has the adventure dome with some decent rides

 

There is no longer a movie theater on the Strip (it's been gone for a while). To the OP - I think they are old enough to do quite a few things including the Carrot Top show (which is hilarious) or even spend hours finding ways to spend all your money at a place like The Fashion Show Mall (that should keep them busy for hours). You do realize that, being kids, they will probably try to sneak in some gambling when let loose on their own, so I would advise you to make sure both are wearing very comfortable running shoes in case casino security spots them

 

Had to look that up - it closed in Jan 2018, so not that long (to me - I guess maybe that's an eon in Vegas ;-)

 

It's almost a year, so yes, in Vegas that really is an eon. Think of how many changes you find if you miss going to Vegas for just a year - it's like a whole new place!

 

Its a Walgreens now.

I have nothing of substance to add but I hope you all have a great trip. The only thing I can think of is to save some of the shopping for them, like MM. Coke and hersheys down at that end of the strip.

I think that if my kids were that age I would make sure that the "find friends" app was working on their phones so I could track them.

 

I mean - what'd they (the hotel) gonna do to them if they catch them playing some slots or whatever aside from not letting them keep the winnings?

I'd assume first offense / parents staying on property - nice slap on the hand and let go?

Or should I really make it a point to them - DON'T GAMBLE - lol

(I'll bet they have no problem scoring some weed, now that it's legal...)

2nd issue now that I found out tonight - I got a pretty sweat deal when I booked our room - 3 nights comp over memorial day weekend - something $535 including tax and resort fees (5 night stay) - not bad IMO considering saturday was almost a $400 (got it for 200) night. BUT - now I need 2 rooms. Called reservations - got transferred to VIP - told them - I need a 2nd room now and I'd really like the same deal I got for my room. Same dates, same type of room, same comp. Got a strait up No. So - I've got say 4 months to wait for another email with a offer like that and we're both playing myvegas to score some stuff - could score a couple comp nights to drive the price of their room down a bit.

Can a host help with that? (I don't have one). I probably can't get a host cause I don't really gamble? 'Been there 4 times; seen a dozen or so shows; pretty much eat / shop at MGM resorts exclusively. So I'm Pearl status (i know, nothing special) and "VIP" but no high roller by any means...

 

Well, what the hotel actually could do (If the family is staying in that particular hotel) is immediately evict them from the property and ban them for life. It is not just an "oops, my bad!" moment - a casino can get hit with serious fines and have their gambling license put in jeopardy if someone underage is caught gambling there. If the family isn't staying there, the casino can still ban them (at least the parents, not sure about the kids). Casinos are considered private property and they reserve the right to ban anyone at any time for any reason, and if anyone enters the premises after being banned, they can be arrested.

 

I get that. I didn't mean to make light of them gambling - obviously, doing so is bad for them and the casino.

I guess I was trying to say - A couple of teenagers trying to gamble in Vegas while with parents is not a 1 off thing happening. It must happen all the time; especially at a kid friendly hotel.

The casino must be "used to it" / have a civil way to deal with it.