Question of the Day - 04 April 2009

From winning Harley-Davidsons to seducing showgirls, from scalping Bon Jovi tickets to hanging out with Sammy Davis, Jr., you regaled us with some fabulous memories of your visits to our fair city when we ran the answers to that poll (if you missed it, click here).

With the biggest vote going to the "Other" option and lots of you writing in to embellish upon the specific suggestion we offered that you'd picked, there just wasn't space to do justice to your feedback. And even now there isn't room to reproduce all of your responses, so please don't be offended if yours isn't here -- we're simply endeavoring to give a broad flavor of the "best of the rest." And thanks again to everyone who took the time to write in -- we read every single answer and enjoyed them all.

• "Going to see Dean Martin & running down to the lounge just before his show ended. I was lucky enough to to be there when Dean, Frank, & Sammy came in to do their thing half the night in the lounge. P.S. Dean barely drank, but the other guys, let's say, loosened their whistles." (Judy H.)
• "In 2007 my wife got sick and I went on our vacation to Las Vegas by myself. I stayed at NY-NY for the first time. I made some new friends Denver and we stayed up all night going from casino to casino playing craps." (Jim)
• "The fall after I retired I was fortunate to hit a $15,000 royal progressive jackpot (royal on the dealt hand) on a three-hand quarter video poker at Bally's. This is not a great amount by some standards, but made for a fun memorable trip." (Dave from Ohio)
• "Cab drivers and escort ladies, 1975 -- that was a Great Night! After winning at single-deck blackjack (back when you could), meeting a cab driver who knew women with certain moral values..." (Norm S.)
• "Vegas has a lot more to offer than gambling. A friend of ours, who lives in Vegas, took us sightseeing when we first started going to Las Vegas in the early eighties. We spent four days of our ten-day trip visiting all the parks and Hoover Dam, but the best trip was to Death Valley in August. We were so surprised to see people could live in this kind of heat (118 degrees). You really learn to appreciate water. We are from the east coast so it was kind of hot for us. Anyway, we have been coming back every year since."
• "At the risk of sounding like a momma's boy, there were two great times involving my mother. The first, I turned 21 and my Mom gave each of us kids the option to accompany her to Las Vegas on our 21st birthday. I am from Minnesota and we left for Las Vegas in January where it was 8 degrees below zero, (with the wind blowing, -35 degrees)! We arrived at night, I saw palm trees at McCarron airport. We were dressed in short sleeves, the locals were bundled in jackets and shivering...In 1989, Vegas was still Vegas: I experienced the 60 degree weather, the free coffee cups, the coupon collecting, Sands, Dunes, Caesars, I don't even remember all of the old casinos - it was fabulous! I knew nothing about gambling. I won a few hundred on a dollar video poker. I thought it was a quarter machine. I put a $20 in and played one line and got ahead. Then, I played max and got a 4-of-a-kind! I cashed out, I thought I was in trouble!

  "The second time was in 1996, with my Mom, brother, and sister. Mom knows Las Vegas now. She knows the shortcuts, the deals, places to gamble -- she still goes 2-3 times per year. We visited all over the city, drove to Zion Nat'l park, experienced a storm in the mountains, came back to Sam's Town... Been there many times myself since then. Love it every time I go!" (Scott, Minneeesoata)

• "We went last April for a friend’s surprise 40th birthday party. From the moment he got into town, he was on a people scavenger hunt that started at the airport and took him from hotels to restaurants, casinos, and pools. There we
  
  40th birthday
  True Vegas bride
  Happy couple
  Boys weekend