What are unconventional things to do in Vegas?

October 5, 2011 5:41 PM

What are some unconventional things to do in Vegas? I've done just about everything obvious. Halloween activities could be especially fun.

I'm going there for my birthday and have been about 15 times. I recently discovered some hidden gems (such as the oldest mechanical horse racing game in MGM) and would like to find more. Think I'll try the machine gun range but what are some other things I could do off the beaten path? Abandoned towns? Would have loved to go to Star Trek bar when it was open.

posted by JJkiss to travel & transportation around Las Vegas, NV (12 answers total)

You've been to the pinball hall of fame, right?
posted by lizjohn at 5:47 PM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hoover Dam Hard Hat Tour?
posted by Runes at 5:51 PM on October 5, 2011

Jubilee! showgirls backstage tour?
posted by emkelley at 6:09 PM on October 5, 2011

If you're looking for abandoned towns, I'd drive out to Ryholite. It's about 120 miles northwest of Vegas, just outside of Beatty, but it has some fun sights to see.

As someone who was born and raised in Vegas, when I return, I only want to see three things: Red Rock (the hiking area, not the casino), Pinball hall of fame (as previously mentioned), and Frankies Tiki Room.

Also, give downtown a shot. At Las Vegas Blvd. and Fremont, there are some fun times including The Griffin and Insert Coin(s). Insert Coin(s) is a bar with arcade games! Though, original Donkey Kong is 50 cents a game for some reason...
posted by hammerthyme at 6:32 PM on October 5, 2011

The Erotic Heritage Museum.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:52 PM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Dig This: Heavy Equipment Playground.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 7:46 PM on October 5, 2011

Have you been to the Atomic Testing Museum?
posted by pointystick at 8:24 PM on October 5, 2011

Have a Schlitz and an ass juice at the Double Down Saloon.
posted by Gilbert at 9:23 PM on October 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

The former Star Trek bar is still totally worth visiting. It's possibly even more wonderful now that it's been defunct for a few years — it's creepily empty with many remnants of the old decor, including a former warp core, obviously handmade astronaut suits with spray-painted greebles, great 90s-style scifi walls, glowing lights set in the floor, etc. It's like being in a TV set, in a semi-abandoned spaceship, and in a Las Vegas casino all at once — a wonderful experience if you're into Baudrillard/simulacra/hyper-reality! (Seriously, what order of simulation is a defunct Star Trek bar? It's multiple complex levels of real and fake all at once together. Whee!) My friend and I just wandered around looking at it for a while, interpreting the artifacts and taking photos (here's one).

And seconding the Atomic Testing Museum, an interesting museum with good displays, including many chances to exercise your propaganda-interpreting muscles.

We also wandered into random conference center in hotels on the Strip and chatted with the people running the conferences, just curious about what was going on.

(And Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant was pretty good, especially since there's no Ethiopian food within any reasonable distance of my home. Firefly tapas is a standard.)
posted by dreamyshade at 3:14 AM on October 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Isn't there a junkyard someplace with discarded casino signs from days of yore? That always looked fun.
posted by Afroblanco at 8:09 AM on October 6, 2011

The neon boneyard museum is what you're referring to? Never been, but looks fun.
posted by Cwell at 8:25 AM on October 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Definitely the Double Down, the Griffin, and Frankie's Tiki Room (assuming you like a good bar, that is.) Avoid the Griffin after 11 on weekend nights though, unless you like packed crowds of hipsters.
posted by coolguymichael at 10:29 AM on October 6, 2011