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Spare yourself the seven deadly sins. Spirit sought out four adventures that don’t need to stay in Vegas. Prepare to hit the jackpot.
By Mike Darling
 ![]()
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY A, YOU ARE A:
Thrill Rider
The 1,149-foot tower of the Las Vegas Stratosphere might be the closest I’ll ever come to sitting on top of the world. It’s the tallest tower in the United States and just one of many reasons why adrenaline junkies consider Sin City a must-see.
I get only a few seconds to admire the view before my seat launches me 160-feet above the tower. I hang in the air experiencing negative-G’s for a second—or maybe it’s two; who can tell up there?—before rushing back down. I’ve just taken a whirl on the Big Shot, the world’s highest thrill ride, and all I can think is how badly I want to do it again.
When I’ve regained my equilibrium—not necessarily my sanity—I head for Circus Circus , home to the Canyon Blaster, the world’s only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew coaster. On the ascent, I get a perfect look at the Adventuredome—the casino’s five-acre spread of rides and games—before plunging into a Gordian knot of steel track that snakes through pitch-black caves at 55 mph.
After the Blaster, I wrap up the afternoon with a stop at Indoor Skydiving , the first facility of its kind in the United States. Waiver signed, baggy gray jumpsuit zipped up, I flop into a 120 mph vertical wind tunnel. With an assist from an Indoor Skydiving staffer, within minutes I’m flipping around beneath the relative safety of a padded roof 20 feet over my cranium. After the Big Shot, that seems just high enough.
Fast Times
Conquer the Las Vegas Speedway—virtually—while chowing on all-American grub like steak and pizza at the Nascar Café. saharavegas.com/NASCAR
Strap into the Roller Coaster at New York-New York, one of the Strip’s best all-around thrill rides. nynyhotelcasino.com
Soar on a zipline about a thousand feet above terra firma in Bootleg Canyon, about 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas. bootlegcanyonflightlines.com
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY B, YOU ARE A:
Sea Breezer
I’ve discovered an ocean in the middle of the desert. I’m flat on my back inside of something called a cavitosonic chamber—that’s spa-speak, I learn, for a room that mimics the soothing sensation of lying on the beach. I’ve volunteered for the Sea-Esta treatment at Canyon Ranch SpaClub, the world’s largest spa, with more than 134,000 feet of saunas and lounges, as well as a climbing wall.
My masseuse, Tia, holds forth on the negatively charged ions that fill the tiled, black-lit space. She gestures toward a bowl that emits a steady cloud of bacteria-free vapor thanks to a stream of ultrasonic waves aimed at the H20.
I suspect the over-sell of a bored copywriter—until I inhale. The effect is like getting a whiff of a mild smelling-salt. My head clears almost instantly while Tia wraps my feet with a pack of warm sea mud to a soundtrack of ethereal music.
Tia places a couple of warm sea stones over a towel, and works a few knots out of my shoulders, legs, and arms. She tops everything off with a cool peppermint moisturizer that she massages into my scalp.
I can feel my skepticism starting to melt away—or maybe that’s just the sea mud. Or it could be the negative ions, the sea stones, or the piped-in sound of crashing waves now competing with the music. The nearest ocean may be hundreds of miles away, but when I’m at Canyon Ranch, I’m on a private island. canyonranch.com
Rest Stops
Stroll from Venetian-based Canyon Ranch to your room when you book at the hotel. venetian.com
Serenade your significant other on a gondola ride across Lake Las Vegas, about 15 miles from the Strip. gondola.com
Savor chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne while observing the acrobatics of Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas. wynnlasvegas.com
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY C, YOU ARE A:
Trail Blazer
Early in the morning, the Valley of Fire looks almost apocalyptically barren. Our group—a guide on an ATV, two women on another ATV, and me in a dune buggy—pulls under a jagged sandstone cliff and stops a few feet away from a 3,000-year-old Indian petroglyph. The etchings depict what looks to be a primitive hunt: a four-legged animal and a spear. Fifty miles from the bright lights of Vegas, and we’re looking at the origins of human civilization.
We’re here thanks to Sun Buggy Fun Rentals, the only tour agency approved to take buggies through the Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest state park. That means four-wheeled visitors have to tread lightly to keep the historic park looking pristine.
During the break I wander over the rocks, gazing up at the imposing, 500 million-year-old formations where at least a few men have boldly gone before. (The original Star Trek shot episodes here.) The Mars-like terrain seems at once alien, unforgiving, and majestic—the perfect setting for sci-fi.
After the break, I strap back into my buggie and haul off in pursuit of our guide, who instructs us to keep an eye out for bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and gila monsters.
He leads us to a clearing where we go full-throttle, catching several feet of air. After a few rounds, we cut the engines again and sit side-by-side in the middle of the Mojave, waiting for nothing in particular to happen. Just the way it should be. sunbuggy.net
Park Places
Hike or bike a 13-mile scenic loop in Red Rock Canyon. redrockcanyonlv.org
Pack an extra sweater for a weekend at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort. skilasvegas.com
Kayak the waters below the massive Hoover Dam with Boulder City Outfitters. bouldercityoutfitters.com
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY D, YOU ARE A:
Card Shark
Life is all about second chances. So I see no reason why that maxim shouldn’t also apply to my first game of “21 to the River” at Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel, the original host of the World Series of Poker.
The new card game grew out of a simple epiphany: Blackjack and five-card poker are the two most popular games in most casinos, so why not combine them?
Of course, if you have a gambling problem, you should go to gamblersanonymous.org, not to Binion’s. If not, lay your money down.
I start the game with separate bets on blackjack and poker. Glenn Casale, director of casino operations, deals the king that puts my blackjack hand—a 10 of clubs and two of hearts—over the top. If I had won the hand, we would have kept playing blackjack. No such luck this time. But here comes the twist.
“We take that king—the card you busted on—and slide it over to play out a hand of five-card poker,” Casale says. “In other words, it becomes the first card dealt.”
We play out the poker hand and, in the biggest stroke of luck I’ve had all day, I wind up with trip aces: three of a kind. That’s enough to take the pot, a 3-to-1 payout on my $20 bet. But my second chance doesn’t actually pay off: We’re playing with Casale’s spare casino chips, not the real stuff, so I walk out of the place empty-handed.
Second chances, in gambling and in life, have their own limits. In fact, you can bet on it. binions.com
Side Pots
Learn to up the ante with free poker lessons Monday through Friday at the Luxor. luxor.com
Trade your poker cards for bingo cards at the 780-seat Gold Coast Casino and Hotel. goldcoastcasino.com
Beat the spread while devouring a super-sized bacon cheeseburger at ESPN Zone. espnzone.com
Lay of the Land
Get There
Fly In: Arrive at McCarran International Airport (mccarran.com ), less than a mile from the Strip.
Get Around: Use The Deuce, a double-decker bus that travels along the Strip. The route goes by the Vegas thrill rides at the Stratosphere, Circus Circus, and Indoor Skydiving; the Canyon Ranch Spa at the Venetian; and Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel. Fares start at just $1.50 for one ride or $7 for an all-day pass.
Get Away: July 3 Ooh and ahh at the annual Night of Fire fireworks show at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. lvms.com
Do There
July 1–15: Double down with Johnny Chan and other high rollers at the World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. worldseriesofpoker.com
July 25: Jam with Aerosmith and ZZ Top at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. ticketmaster.com
Big Winners
1) Jackpot. A software engineer from Los Angeles won $39.7 million—the largest amount ever from a slot machine—on a $100 bet in 2003.
2) Time Out. The world’s largest watch store at the Tourneau Time Dome in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s keeps more than 8,000 watches in its inventory.
3) Grand Opening. The MGM Grand is the largest hotel in America, containing 5,034 rooms.
4) Gold Standard. The Golden Nugget, fittingly, owns the world’s largest golden nugget, a 61-pound, 11-ounce rock from Australia.
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