What Are the Worst Tourtist Traps in Las Vegas?

Ah, Las Vegas, the City of Sin, one of the most traveled to vacation destinations by both Americans and foreigners. What is the big draw to Las Vegas? Is it the gambling or is it something else? It's not only gambling, but it's all the tourist traps that exist in Las Vegas. Just like any vacation destination, Las Vegas has the places that everyone thinks that they need to see. The problem is, they aren't all really worth seeing.

For instance, one of the biggest tourist traps I found from living in Las Vegas and playing tourist are the "free" slot pulls and games. They use these to get you into the casino and onto the gaming floor so that you put your money into the machines or on the tables. The majority of these free pulls will not win anything more than some silly souvenir item or a few dollars. They are meant to get you interested in gambling, pulling in those who can't just stop after one quick pull or game. Why is this a tourist trap when Las Vegas is about gambling? Not everyone goes to Las Vegas in order to gamble, they go for conferences, business meetings or just some general fun, so the casinos need to use some sort of tactic to get these people onto their gaming floor.

Another of the worst tourist traps in Las Vegas is the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. You pay $16 to gaze at a giant fish tank tucked into the corner of a casino. Why? There are other great aquariums around the country and there are definitely better things to do in Las Vegas, including visiting the gardens at the Bellagio. These sharks are out of their natural habitat, so they don't act as they would in the ocean making them almost tame. Sharks need to be feared, not watched like they are a dolphin. There are so many shark attacks around the world, so why trap a few in an aquarium so that people forget about the fear and ignore the warnings when there is a shark nearby where they may be swimming, surfing or boating on their beach vacations.

One of the worst tourist traps that I never got to see is the Stratosphere tower. I never could justify paying $10 to go to the top of a tower and look over the city when you can do that from the top floor of just about any parking garage. If you have a top floor hotel room on the strip, you also have the same view, so why spend more money to get just a little bit higher? You don't get anything from it, not even a souvenir photo, just the bill for the price of the elevator ride up. Take your pick of parking garages or hotels and get your own view of the city for free. Take the $10 you saved and buy yourself a souvenir, something that will last forever because, to be honest with you, the view from the top of the Stratosphere will fade from your memory about as quickly as the view will change.

These are only a few of the tourist traps in Las Vegas, the ones that I found to be the worst of them. Instead of spending your money and time on one of the tourist traps, take in a free show instead, put the money in a slot machine, do something that will stick in your memory forever. Enjoy your time in Las Vegas, but be careful and gamble smart. Make the most of your time in Las Vegas and have fun!