Whats with all the replicas of the world's architecture? Those who’ve seen the real thing will think it’s pointless to look at them; those who havent will be unimpressed. Do you really want to waste your money flying out to Vegas to look at all that crap? It’s like looking at a poster of the Mona Lisa instead of the real thing; yes, the image is the same but it’s still a replica.
You want to see statues of Neptune and fountains, go to Greece or Italy;
Want to see pyramids, go to Egypt or Mexico; forget the Luxor with its replica Egyptian pharaohs and hyrogliphics all over(translation anyone?) The light from the top at night wasn’t half bad though.
Want to see NYC's skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty, go to New York;
Want to see the Eiffel Tower, go to Paris;
Want to see Venice’s canals, go see the real thing. The Venetian expanded the food court on the 3rd floor, so no reason to see the boats up there. Downstairs aint much to see as it is.
No imagination whatsoever. Yes, some gardens were nice, décor and facade in a few theme hotels was worth checking out. The rides on top of the Stratosphere are higher than at 6-flags and the view is better.
The circus acts at Circus Circus were pretty awful. The Russian juggler dropped the pins 3 times.
The fountains at The Bellagio failed to impress, water is shot up, and then it falls... whoopeedoo! Its conservatory had nothing but pumpkins and some strange looking tree-men, those glass flowers on the ceiling were cool.
The flamingos and other birds and huge fish at The Flamingo hotel are a must see.
The sharks at The Golden Nugget were cool, but not possible to photograph.
The girls in mini-skirts with their boobs half exposed walking around the strip are a must see as well.
The buffets cost too much and I couldnt eat half the food.
There was no pirate show nor volcano as both were being repaired.

Vegas at night lights up, but most places are dim. You either need a tripod, which will interfere with pedestrians, or high ISO(400 ) to go above 1/25sec.
The city bus, the Deuce, gets you everywhere, but stands at busy spots for 1hr while those who do not apprende Ingles figure out if they want to pay $2 or get a full day pass for $5.
There are 2 trams. One goes to several hotels off the strip for $5, but you have to walk thru the hotels to get to it, and then walk back to the strip; pointless waste of time and $, either take the bus or a taxi.

The other tram just makes 3 stops for free. Well, looked like some folks didnt get that info and were stuck going back and forth.

Now for Freemont st. Nothing but drunks. Pointless and simply lame. The original decor and scenery is ruined by that stupid screen and speakers. Modernism and high tech just doesn’t work there.
The laser show on Freemont was childish, noisy, and pointless. I wish they would go back to 1950’s style. When Frank, Dean, and Sammy were playing Vegas it was definitely a different look and time. I surely don’t think Vegas has changed for the better.

Overall Vegas fell below my expectations, and all the hype is undeserved. The strip gets tiresome after a while, and is way overrated. Don’t go now, wait for all the construction to be done on the strip. Try to avoid bike week, and other festivals that attract undesirables.

The Grand Canyon gets 5 stars; absolutely magnificent. Do not bring a DSLR when the wind is high.
Go to Nevada/Arizona for the nature, not the casinos.
Las Vegas as a whole gets 2 stars(1/2 extra star for neon lights at night).