Headed to Vegas? You’re in luck.
The number seven has been seen as auspicious across time and cultures. A survey of 30,000 Brits once overwhelmingly showed seven as people’s favorite number, and that country’s most notable super spy is neither 006 nor 008. Studies have shown that seven is the largest quantity of an item that humans can determine without counting. Many religions regard seven as highly symbolic.
And there’s one place you can put all that good fortune to use: Las Vegas. You’re in luck, too. The NTA membership includes top-notch entertainment venues, sightseeing tour providers, casinos and resorts in the Las Vegas area.
We’ve compiled seven ways your fellow NTA members can help you round out a Vegas visit.
Contact John Meyer of the Las Vegas CVA or go to lasvegas.com for information on the city.
Cirque is a sure bet
Cirque du Soleil’s imaginative combination of theatrics, acrobatics and artistry have earned its shows recognition around the world. At its Las Vegas venues, audiences can choose from one of seven productions: “KÀ,” “Michael Jackson ONE,” “Mystère,” “O,” “The Beatles LOVE,” “Zumanity” and “Criss Angel MINDFREAK LIVE.” In addition to group rates and packages, Cirque du Soleil can also tailor programs to student groups, with curriculum assistance and opportunities for a Q&A with one of the organization’s professionals.
For more information, contact Jacinta Jose of Cirque du Soleil or go to cirquedusoleil.com.
A mob mentality
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, chronicles more than 100 years of organized crime in America.
“The Mob Museum provides an engaging and immersive experience through the stories of mobsters and the lawmen pursuing them,” says Ashley Miller, the museum’s senior director of marketing and sales. “Stories are told through high-tech theater presentations, hundreds of one-of-a-kind artifacts and interactive exhibits.” According to Miller, the museum covers provocative topics, including bootlegging, betting, drug trafficking and racketeering.
“Visiting the meticulously restored courtroom, which is the centerpiece of the Mob Museum’s historic building, is a must for every visitor,” says Miller. In 1950, the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce conducted hearings in the room. “The courtroom’s interactive presentation explores the history and drama behind these public hearings, which changed the way Americans thought about the Mob and led to the development of Las Vegas as a gaming and entertainment mecca.”
In 2018 the museum will debut several new exhibits and experiences. The Underground exhibit will capture life during the Prohibition era, and guests will be able to make cocktails and moonshine. The Use of Force Experience will look at the challenges law enforcement officers face when responding to emergencies, and a multi-sensory crime lab will provide hands-on activities to simulate forensic crime scene investigation.
To learn more, contact Sabine von Henning, director of sales for the museum or go to themobmuseum.org.
BASE is wild
BASE Entertainment specializes in inventive live productions, and its current offerings include four Las Vegas shows at three venues: “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace, “Magic Mike Live” and “The Voice: Neon Dreams” at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and magician Mat Franco at the Linq.
“The Voice: Neon Dreams,” the company’s newest production, features performances of popular music by former contestants from the hit NBC singing competition, and the live show will star a rotating cast of fan favorites from the series.
For more, contact Lindsey Hull or go to baseentertainment.com.
A different perspective
Travelers who want to see the lights of Las Vegas from a new angle, as well as the area’s natural scenery and man-made wonders, can climb aboard a flightseeing tour or Jeep excursion with these outfitters:
Maverick Aviation Group
Since 1995, Maverick has been offering helicopter tours of Las Vegas. Groups can enjoy flightseeing rides that showcase Hoover Dam and the neon lights along the Vegas Strip or red rock canyons in Nevada and Arizona. The company also offers departures from Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. maverickhelicopter.com
Papillon Helicopters/Grand Canyon Scenic Airline
For groups wanting to take in the desert landscape from the air, Papillon Helicopters provides a variety of flightseeing packages from its base in Las Vegas. The longtime NTA member soars above the Hoover Dam and the Strip on its daytime and evening tours. papillon.com
Pink Jeep Tours
Pink Jeep Tours welcomes guests aboard its eponymous vehicles for on-road and off-road adventures in Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park and trips to the Hoover Dam. Tour options in the city also cover the neon lights of the Strip with narration about its history and urban legends. pinkadventuretours.com
Visit Mr. Vegas himself
Singer Wayne Newton purchased five acres of undeveloped land four miles from the Las Vegas Strip in 1966, and he spent the next decades transforming that property into a 52-acre estate, including eight homes, two barns, 60 horses and many exotic animals.
Groups can tour the opulent estate, and packages include access to the grounds, Newton’s collection of luxury cars and the 13,800-square-foot Entertainment Museum, and a seat on board the singer’s private Fokker F-28 jet. Specialty tours include more in-depth access to Newton’s mansion, art collection, horse barns and animal sanctuary.
To learn more, email Kourtney Buck or go to casadeshenandoah.com.
Where to sleep … or not
These two NTA-member gaming and resort companies are unique to Las Vegas, and for corporate members who operate in the city, go to NTA Online’s member searches.
Four Queens Hotel & Casino
NTA Contact: Pamela Dreyer | fourqueens.com
Station Casinos
Joni Peru | stationcasinos.com
A bigger, better “Hangover”
Madame Tussauds offers a chance for its guests to brush elbows with famous figures from history, politics, sports, music, TV and film. “For some, our attractions are the best opportunity they might have to relive a part of history or have fun interacting with our incredibly life-like wax replicas of their favorite celebrities,” says Amirah John, trade sales coordinator for Merlin Entertainments, which operates Madame Tussauds.
The Las Vegas location will be debuting two new wax figures in 2018, and guests will also be able to enter the comic world of “The Hangover” movie series. “They will be doubling the size of their popular Hangover Experience and creating a truly transformative space, taking guests into the heart of the movie,” says John.
Madame Tussauds welcomes groups with dedicated reservation times and guaranteed entry. All of the locations provide scavenger hunts and behind-the-scenes educational workshops about the history of Madame Tussauds and the making of its wax figures.
For more information, contact Amirah John or go to madametussauds.com.
Top photo by Sam Morris/Las Vegas New Bureau
