I was Lucky enough to live in the best city in the world - Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas if you are staying in the biggest hotel in the world, in a year it won't be the biggest in Las Vegas. Of course, most of the entertainment in Las Vegas surround gambling, but because of the immense amount of tourism, there is a lot of other things to enjoy as well.

All of Las Vegas is lit up, I have heard stories from my ex wife, who was born in Las Vegas, about the whole night lighting up as you approach Las Vegas from the desert.

Las Vegas is a great place to visit in winter, it never gets very cold, and I don't believe it has ever snowed there that I am aware of. Las Vegas is a relatively small town that has the feeling of a big city. It is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States.

UNLV is a great university, and that is an essential part of any thriving community. Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains, and this provides a another opportunity for recreation, and the chance to see snow if you really want to.

Lake Mead is a short drive from Las Vegas, and this is the largest man made lake in the world, this is the lake made from the Hoover Dam, also just a short drive from Las Vegas. A word of caution though, Lake Mead is a lower elevation and this makes it about ten degrees hotter than Las Vegas, so it might not be a good idea to head there on an already hot day.

I like the fact that palm trees live there in abundance, I guess probably because I'm from Iowa.

Another good place to check out is Circus Circus, it is a casino, but it also has a year round carnival and they have a midway and carnival acts.

At 1,149 feet, the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel and Tower on the northern edge of the Las Vegas Strip stands twice the height of any other building in the city. It is the tallest building west of the Mississippi, and the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States.

It also has the world's highest thrill rides and a 360-seat revolving restaurant and cocktail lounge. There is a ride there called the Big Shot, which shoots riders 160 feet in the air in 2.5 seconds; or the all-new X Scream, a teeter-totter-like ride that tilts passengers 30 feet over the edge of the tower.

Wet and Wild is a water park that you can enjoy to cool of in the summer.

I know I am forgetting about a whole lot of things, so check out the web, and plan your next vacation for fabulous Las Vegas.

Learn more about this author, William Hamilton.
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