Do You Have to Gamble in Vegas to Have Fun?

Is the Only Way to Have Fun in Las Vegas a Weekend with Tons of Booze and Gambling?

Las Vegas is associated with all of humanity’s worst vices, and with good reason. The town’s reputation for excess in everything is well demonstrated by its gigantic and overly ornate casinos, and the bright lights that you can see for miles before you reach the city.

If you’ve never been to Las Vegas before, you might wonder whether the town is worth visiting if you’re not a degenerate gambler who loves smoking, staying up late, and wandering the boulevards alone, in search of your next poker game. Can you just eat at the restaurants and ogle the lights?

Las Vegas has definitely changed a lot over the past half century, and it’s a lot more family-friendly than it used to be when all the old mob-run casinos were in play. These days, Las Vegas is almost like playground, from all the larger-than-life buildings to the colorful lighted exteriors. Some people just visit Las Vegas to visit the buffets and the restaurants.

But that’s not to say that Las Vegas is like Disneyland. There are more than enough ways for adults to keep themselves entertained, and most of the casinos are also filled with a thick layer of smoke, too, even though smoking has been banned in most establishments across the country for quite a while now.

Modern Las Vegas doesn’t look a lot like the old city, but most of its old vices remain. The question is: will you have fun in the modern Las Vegas if you’re not prone to gambling, drinking, and excess? Let’s take a look at my experience there, as someone who doesn’t drink or smoke and only lightly gambles.

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There Are Loads of Easy Low-Impact Gambling Options in Vegas

If you don’t otherwise have a moral objection to gambling (why would you go to Vegas if so though, right?), there are actually quite a few ways to recklessly lose a few dollars without doing any real harm to your wallet. There are the classic penny slots and nickel slots, as well as games that only cost a dollar to play.

My advice if you’re interested in having some fun with gambling but don’t want to get into any financial issues is to take a certain amount of cash out before you leave for Vegas and just play around with that money. If you “make” money gambling and return home with $40, having only taken $20 for gambling, that’s great! Or, maybe splurge on an extra dessert during one of your meals.

However, if you lose the entire $20 on slot machines, you’re not really doing any harm to yourself or your bank account. Playing the games is mindless and easy fun, and you can consider losing the $20 as the fee for playing. There are plenty of other ways that Vegas casinos will get you to spend money that have nothing to do with gambling.

And that brings me to my point: you can definitely visit Vegas and forgo gambling entirely and still have all sorts of activities available to you, from shopping to loads of restaurants to sight-seeing. Vegas is like a playground, and just a part of it is dedicated to gambling.

Try to Become a Night Owl If You’re Visiting Vegas in the Summer

One of the biggest factors that may influence your Vegas vacation is the temperature. Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert, and when you visit in the summer, you have to prepare yourself for sustained 100-degree temperatures (that’s Fahrenheit). What is that, close to 40 degrees Celsuis?

The one good thing is that everything indoors is air conditioned to the hilt, so if you’re sensitive to the sun and blistering heat, just make sure you avoid going outside whenever the sun is in the air. The temperature won’t even usually cool off at night, so when you head out of your hotel at night, it’ll still be broiling, but at least the sun won’t be there.

Las Vegas isn’t really designed as an outdoor playground anyway. You can definitely admire the strip from the sidewalks that line each side of The Strip, but activities like riding bicycles, hiking, and running are generally relegated to the cooler months.

Las Vegas can actually get quite cool in the winter, too, so if you’re a fan of the brisk weather of the winter, do bring a jacket. You’ll need it when you’re walking from your room at The Venetian over to Paris, Las Vegas for breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi with a view of the Bellagio fountain show.

I Don’t Drink or Smoke, But I Still Love Vegas

In some ways, Las Vegas does possess some of that old school attitude with the gambling and the smoke-filled air and people walking around all dressed up with nowhere to go. It’s more gaudy than you ever thought possible, and its whole focus is fun. There’s no educational value or historical sentiment here. It’s just fun.

And that’s part of the reason I keep returning, once or twice a year, for a few days. I just want time off from the regular grind (I have multiple day jobs in Los Angeles that keep me quite busy when I’m not traveling). I don’t have any responsibilities or cares when I go to Vegas. I’m just there to eat, gamble away $20 or $40, and see a show or two. I even came back with about $300 bucks once. Thank you, Wynn Casino digital

You absolutely don’t need to have the attitude of a hardened gambler with a gin & tonic in one hand and a cigarette hanging from your finger. Sure, you’ll end up having to walk through some clouds of smoke along the way, but it’s kind of a cool throwback to another era, especially in the United States where smoking is taboo in most places today.

And don’t assume you need to stay in the Bellagio or score a penthouse suite to have fun in Las Vegas either. Any of the casinos on the famous Strip offer excellent fun, food, and relaxation for your time away from work. Give the place a few days, and the almost comical level of gaudiness and the bright lights will win you over.

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