JourneysPhotograph

A Late Summer Weekend on the Las Vegas Strip

·Paradise, Nevada·#travel#las-vegas#nevada#summer-2019#casino
A replica of the Eiffel Tower, surrounding hotels, and a Ferris wheel rise above lush green trees under a clear blue sky.

We arrived in Las Vegas at the end of August 2019. The sky was a solid, cloudless blue, which made the surreal architecture of the Strip stand out even more. Seeing the replica Eiffel Tower against the bright desert sky is always a strange sight.

The main event for the afternoon was settling in to watch the first weekend of college football. We found a spot in a sportsbook where a massive, curved wall of screens showed multiple games at once. It's an immersive way to watch, surrounded by dozens of other people all focused on the action.

After the games, we wandered through the casinos. I took a moment for a selfie with one of the countless slot machines. As day turned to night, the whole city transformed. The signs, like the one at the Aria, and the lights from all the hotels lit up the street, turning the sky black.

We eventually found a seat at a bar for a martini. It's a classic Vegas experience to be able to play video poker right at your seat while you have a drink. The night ended with a walk back through one of the long, ornate hallways that seem to connect everything in an endless interior world.

A large, curved video wall displays multiple sports games watched by people in lounge chairs.A man with a beard takes a close-up selfie, with three other men seated in a lively indoor setting.A smiling bearded man takes a selfie in front of a "Crystal Forest" slot machine at a casino.Night cityscape with the illuminated Aria tower, red-glowing billboards, and traffic on a curved road.A night view of a cityscape with a lit Eiffel Tower replica, a Ferris wheel, and foreground foliage.Tilted shot of a martini glass with citrus slices on a casino bar counter next to a slot machine.A martini glass with lemon peels sits on a bar counter next to a shaker and casino gambling machines.A long hotel or casino hallway features colorful patterned carpets, a marble path, and many slot machines.