The Unofficial Guide(r) to Las Vegas 2003 [Paperback]

Bob Sehlinger (Author), Deke Castleman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Unofficial Guides | Publication Date: September 13, 2002

The Unofficial Guides? are the "Consumer Reports" of travel guides, offering candid evaluations of their destinations' attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, sports, and more, all rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors so even the most compulsive planners can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely. Each guide addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers, with handy charts that demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. Plus, all the details are pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan.

Las Vegas is one of the top destinations in the United States, attracting over 30 million visitors annually to its huge hotel resorts and casinos. The Unofficial Guide? researchers aren't seduced by all that glitz and glamour, though. Instead, we offer you the straight story about what's worth your time, how to get the best packages and hotel bargains, how to gamble like a pro, and how to get tickets for the top shows.

Also includes:

• Information that's candid, critical, and totally objective
• Each casino ranked and reviewed in detail, from the best values to the hottest slots, plus insider tips on casino gambling, with proven strategies for making the most of your betting dollars
• Where to find the best buffets -- plus detailed reviews of more than 100 restaurants
• What to see and do beyond the Strip -- plus where to golf, play tennis, or work out
• Advice on planning a productive and stress-free business or convention trip

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide® to Walt Disney World®

"A Tourist's Best Friend!"
—Chicago Sun-Times

"Indispensible"
—The New York Times

The Top 10 Ways The Unofficial Guide® to Las Vegas Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Information that's candid, critical, and totally objective
2. Each casino reviewed in detail and ranked, from the best values to the hottest slots
3. Helpful hints for getting the best room at the lowest possible rate — and the inside story on packages
4. Insider tips on casino gambling, with proven strategies for making the most of your betting dollars
5. Where to find the best buffets — plus detailed reviews of more than 100 restaurants
6. Tips for gaining easy access to the top shows and best evening entertainment
7. What to see and do beyond the strip —plus where to play golf and tennis or work out
8. Advice on planning a productive and stress-free business or convention trip
9. All the details on enjoying Las Vegas with your kids
10. Everything you need to plan the Vegas vacation that's right for you

Get the unbiased truth on hundreds of hotels, restaurants, casinos, attractions, and more in the Unofficial Guide® to Las Vegas — the resource that helps you save money, save time, and make your trip the best it can be.

About the Author

Bob Sehlinger is the publisher of Menasha Ridge Press and the author of numerous Unofficial Guides, including the Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas and the best-selling Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (September 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764566032
• ISBN-13: 978-0764566035
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,986,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award winning journalist, is best known as the creator and producer of the Unofficial Guide Series published by Wiley Publishing Inc. and sold worldwide.

He is credited with being the first to apply research techniques from the fields of operations research and statistics to travel guides. Among other projects, he was able to develop mathematical models that could save theme park patrons more than three hours of standing in queue in a single day.

Sehlinger and his research team (pictured) have had numerous adventures and developed some unusual methodologies. Here's a sampling from research for The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World:

"We've slept in every Disney resort multiple times and more than 80 Orlando-area properties. Only once did we wake up covered in bugs. (It was a non-Disney hotel.)"

"We test hotel room soundproofing using a sophisticated digital sound meter and a copy of The Who's Greatest Hits."

"The first time we did Orlando spa reviews, one of our researchers had an eyebrow burned off during a waxing that went horribly awry."

"We once logged more than 700 miles in one week on buses to test Disney's transportation system, and never left Disney property. The bus drivers got so used to us being on board that one forgot we were there and took us back to the bus garage when his shift ended."

"We test pillow fluffiness using a measurement process we invented. We intended to use a fake human head as part of the test, but worried about getting it through airport security. We settled on a gallon jug of water, which is about the same size and weight as an average adult's noggin."

"When we test counter-service restaurants, we order at least one of everything on the menu, and break up in to small teams to sample each thing. We've tried every counter-service food item in every American Disney theme park."

"Our crowd prediction models take in to account everything from the day of week and time of year, to the vacation schedules of the fifty largest school districts east of the Mississippi, to weather phenomena including temperature, rainfall and humidity."

Bob Sehlinger is founder and co-owner of Keen Communications, a book publishing company that includes Menasha Ridge Press in Birmingham, Alabama; Clerisy Press in Cincinatti, Ohio; and Wilderness Press in Berkeley, California. The author of twenty-seven books, Sehlinger is a past president of the Publishers Association of the South, and has served at the invitation of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Information Service on educational missions for publishers in Hungary, Romania, and Russia.

Before becoming involved in writing and publishing, Sehlinger was CEO of SAGE, inc., a wilderness arts teaching and expeditional company that produced courses in kayaking, rock climbing, survival, and backpacking (among others) for high schools and universities in a 7-state area. During this period Sehlinger served as president of the Eastern Professional River Outfitters Association. Sehlinger makes his home in Birmingham, Alabama where he continues to be an avid river runner and mountain biker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Las Vegas Book You Need!, April 19, 2000

By 

Kris Wilder (Greenwood Village, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2000 (Paperback)

The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas, 2000, is the only book you'll want to read when planning your trip. It goes into great detail about all the hotels and casinos, what their rooms are like, what the hotels offer, what the casinos offer, and lots more. It tells you how to obtain "comps" and how to play the games, with easy to understand rules and diagrams. With their 100+ pages of Dining and Restaurant information, you know where to find the best food and the best prices. The Hotel Information Chart in the back is extremely helpful because you can compare hotels without having to flip through a lot of pages. Chapter 5 talks about shopping and the sights around Nevada, in case you plan on doing more than gambling. The Unofficial Guide gives you the pros and cons of each show so you can decide wether or not it's worth 100.00 a person, to see Siegfried & Roy at the Mirage. There is also a little section that tells you where you have the best odds of winning at each game, and at which casino. Another great thing about this book are the maps of The Strip and of Downtown. It lets you know how far you are from point "A" to point "B", because hotel properties are deceiving in their size. A walk from your room at the Venetian, to Caesars Palace may take 20 minutes or so. All 544 pages are packed full of helpful and accurate information. The Unofficial Guide made planning our trip extremely easy. I highly recommend this book, and only this book, to anyone planning on going to Las Vegas!

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Buy it if you do not have a recent version, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 1999 (Serial) (Paperback)

We originally bought the 1996 version of this book before our first trip to Las Vegas. We used it as a bible of sorts. We found its reviews to be on target. The authors are not afraid to give advice on where not to go and what not to see. It rates hotels, casinos, restaurants, shows and about anything else you could want rated. It also provides the basics of gambling and even gives tips for planning your trip. We have since made Las Vegas our adult vacation spot, a place we go without the kids once a year. We always bring the book and read it ahead of time. We decided to get the latest 1999 edition prior to the trip we are taking in about a month. The book has only minor changes since 1996 and does not have much of anything on any new hotels which opened after New York/New York. The shows information is pretty much identical to the 1996 edition, save a few new shows. My suggestion is to buy the book if you do not have a fairly recent edition. It will more than pay for itself with excellent advice. It also helped us save about a hundred dollars by giving suggestions on booking the trip. If you have a 1996 edition or newer, you really don't need it unless you have worn your other copy out.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to DO Las Vegas, August 16, 2000

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2000 (Paperback)

Like the rest of the "Unofficial Guide" line, this book tells you how to visit, rather than just what to visit. That is, in addition to fairly encyclopedic information about transportation, hotels, restaurants and attractions, it provides a good deal of useful information about how to get the most out of your vacation.

For example, rather than just providing a guide to hotels, it prefaces the detailed listing with a section discussing the pros and cons of different accomodations. Motel or hotel? Small casino or megacasino? Downtown, the Strip or further out? Similar help is available for picking what games to play and where to gamble, what shows to see (and where to sit), and so on.

This guide provides the sort of "I wish I'd known that" information you gather on your first trip to use on your next trip. This lets you avoid many of the common mistakes your first time out. Obviously a lot of this is subjective, and you won't agree with their assessments every time, but overall their evaluations are fair, and their tips are exteremely useful.