Las Vegas - Shopping

If the hotel bills and the gambling floors don’t suck up all your money, then there’s quite a few ways to spend your cash in town. Sure, they’re all big and glitzy, but inside, they’re air conditioned and there are no poker machines to be seen anywhere!


Probably the best place to shop on the Strip is the Fashion Show Mall. As the name suggests, it’s mainly clothes shopping. All the big American brands are here – Abercombie, Gap, Banana Republic etc. If you’re into these type of shops, then this is a one stop destination.

There are also several large department stores here – Macy’s and Nordstrums. In addition, there are a few boutique type shops, but it’s mainly dominated by the large chains. There is a large stall selling Crocs shoes though, if you favour comfort over fashion! Best of all, the Tix 4 Tonight booth is just outside, so it’s a very convenient place to shop.

If you don’t want to actually leave a casino to do your shopping, Caesar’s Forum at the Caesar’s Palace casino is another large shopping mall. It features all the premium clothes brands at the Fashion Mall, but not the same department stores. The main difference, is that the mall is themed as a Roman forum. Translated, this means it’s dark, with a ceiling painted like a sky and funky painted cement on the ground. I think the Fashion Mall has a better selection of stores. It’s also not as busy.

In a similar vein, is the shops at the Venetian hotel. These are definitely specialist shops though. In fitting with the up market image of the hotel, these shops are not for the hoi polloi. Rich shops and shoppers only. The theming is much better than Caesars. It has the same ceiling painted with clouds, but the bridges, canals and gondolas create a better atmosphere. On the other hand, there’s very little I actually wanted to look at or buy in the Venetian.


If you're into check tourist tat, and how isn't, then you should definitely visit Bonanza. The sign says that it's the world's largest souvenir store. I'm not sure about that, but it is full of a hell of a lot of junk. The tourists seem to love it, but I was not convinced. There's about a million items with the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign on it. There's bound to be something you like, unless you have some taste and dignity that is...

Then there’s all the other stores. The ones not designed for rich, lazy gamblers. As you’d expect, there’s the full range of Walmart, Cost Co etc. on the edge of the city. Get a car and go have a look. You’ve always wanted to see what a 50 pack roll of toilet paper looks like!

Coming from London, where everything is hugely expensive for no good reason, shopping in Vegas is a real treat. Clothes in particular, are much cheaper, as are electronics. Compared to New York though, which has no sales taxes for most clothes, it’s probably dearer. It’s a hell of a lot more fun though in Vegas!