Vegas DOs and DON'Ts

DO tip everyone! Everywhere! Your bell man, the maid, the blackjack dealer, the front desk clerk, your  restaurant hostess.  This is VEGAS, not Piedmont North Dakota. Money talks. (I can write a column on this one topic alone if you like. Yes??? )

DO bring the rockstar shoes! But also bring ballet flats or flip flops in your purse. Don't kid yourself, there is a TON of walking in Vegas. Your feet will hurt. ALOT!

DO make dining reservations. Especially with any restaurant named for a celebrity chef. Walk-in tables are rare. Use the iPhone app "Open Table" for last minute reservations in your area, and/or advance reservations without using the hotel concierge.

DO find a slot machine with an old fashioned pull arm. It's classic Vegas IMHO.  This is especially MUST DO if it is a crazy-oversized, cheesy, lobby machine. Just do it!

DO try things outside your comfort zone. Push boundaries even just a little. Bet $25 on one blackjack hand.... stay up to 2AM instead of rushing to bed at your normal time.  Push the steam button in the shower. Splurge on a piece of cheesecake for dessert. Book a seat at the Jay Leno show - see him live even though you've seen him on the Tonight Show for years. Try something new.

DO research your hotel before you book it. Don't expect to book your bachelor party at Paris, or bring your friends to a wine tasting at the Quad. LOL!  Just do the research and find the hotel suited to your tastes and desired activities and budget.

DON'T drag your toddlers around the Vegas strip at Midnight. What the hell is a matter with people who do this? Grrrrrrr..... Vegas is not for children, especially little children.  Little children need sleep, and routine and consistency. They do NOT need to see people screaming and drinking and stumbling about, half naked and unruly in the middle of the night.

DO NOT rock your child's stroller back and forth on the casino hall carpet with your outstretched foot as you pour money into a machine just inside the "over 21 only area." This is NOT keeping your child out of the casino games. This is a horrible act of borderline rule bending, bad parenting & insanity.

DON'T expect everyone at the pool to look like a movie star... even if they are. But that's ok. Perfectly, ok even. It's Vegas.

DON'T gamble more than you can afford to lose. If it's not fun, it's not appropriate.

DON'T expect to see everything in one visit. I could go back twice a year and never have enough time to see, do and dine everywhere on my list.

Restaurant in Planet Hollywood (PH HOTEL) and lined up out the door,  all day and night