Guest post from Heather Harper and Mark Willett!

With gray days and cold temperatures, my husband Mark and I love to escape the winter doldrums in LA by heading to Las Vegas. We love the spectacle and indulgence of it all, not to mention the gambling, great food and wacky entertainment.

Las Vegas is all about “the show”, so it seems fitting that, especially in the last few years, there are more and more attractions that are tie-ins to the world of television.  Being huge fans of TV, we tried out several of these TV-themed experiences, and here are our favorites!

1. TV Themed Slot Machines

Every year we go there are always a new slew of TV-themed slot machines at the casinos, ranging from highly entertaining to the curious (Orange is the New Black and Breaking Bad were some of the biggest head scratchers). The one that I found the most entertaining was The Simpsons pokies machine, it’s extremely interactive, all the characters are involved, and really made us laugh out loud. 

Mark wants it to be known that he loves the Deal or No Deal game because  it actually lets you pick cases and play like you are on the show. The one that was surprisingly very lucrative was the Ellen penny slot machine, I sat down within 5 minutes had made 200 dollars. There are a few that are visually stunning (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Sex and The City, The Voice) but didn’t have great bonuses or produce any winnings that we experienced. Of course, your luck maybe different, so if you are a fan of any of these shows, take a chance.

2. Dining

If you are a fan of any celebrity chef, Las Vegas is the place to go. Just about every resort has at least one restaurant that is hooked to a TV chef, and more open up every year. We are big fans of Giada at The Cromwell hotel, Emmy-award winning Giada De Laurentiis’ gorgeous Italian restaurant with beautiful views and even better food. It is pricey, so definitely a “special occasion” type meal, but totally worth it. And now she has a café called Pronto at Caesar’s where you can get the Lemon Ricotta cookies (our fave) at any time.

Guy Fieri has a few places in Las Vegas, but we love Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho at The Rio Hotel and Casino. It has great Mexican food and good strong margaritas, but we go there for one big reason:  Trash Can Nachos. These are quite possibly the best nachos you will ever taste, they come to your table in a “trash can” (the size of a coffee can) and the server slowly reveals the stack of gooey, delicious nachos. Save your appetite, you can pretty much make a meal out of these.

The king of primetime chefs is Gordon Ramsay, and his Vegas empire is vast. We frequent two of his places, Gordon Ramsay’s Burger at Planet Hollywood and Gordon Ramsay’s Pub and Grill at Caesar’s Palace. Chances are, if you are a fan of Gordon Ramsay, it is from his TV series Hell’s Kitchen. I remember watching the first few seasons, just waiting until he called someone ‘donkey’ and threw their overdone scallops in the trash. Now, just over a year old, Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen is a hot meal ticket on the Las Vegas Strip; reservations for dinner are still recommended to be made well in advance.

The restaurant is modeled after the set from the TV series, and the head chef is the winner of season 17 of the TV show, Michelle Tribble. You can order dishes made famous from the series, like Beef Wellington, pan seared scallops, and risotto. It is the closest you can get without actually being on the show itself (where there is no guarantee you’ll actually eat!). While you don’t get to witness any drama go down in the kitchen, it looks like an amazing menu and I can’t wait to try it.

3. Zak Bagan’s Haunted Museum

We are fans of scary things, haunted houses, horror films, and anything in that genre. When we heard about how creepy this was from one of our friends (whose boyfriend was too scared to go with her), we knew we had to visit. Zak Bagans is perhaps most famous from his Travel Channel series, Ghost Adventures. He opened up The Haunted Museum in October 2017, showcasing a collection of “cursed or haunted objects and oddities” and macabre artifacts that often have a history hooked to serial killers or famous deaths.

When you go, you are taken around in a group (ours was 10 people total) with a tour guide, who leads you through a historic mansion that is now filled with over 30 rooms of horrific curiosities (many things from episodes of the series). We were really impressed by the high production value of the entire place, each room really having its own creepy theme, with surprises through-out. In a way, it is a celebration and an investigation into the paranormal, and it is not for the faint of heart.

4. Pawn Stars and Poppin Zombies

Las Vegas is a treasure-trove of reality television, and one of the biggest jewels is Pawn Stars. The show just began it’s 16th season on History Channel, and it follows the family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas, the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. The shop is on Las Vegas Blvd, and is free to visit, however there is now a “VIP Experience” where fans can get pictures and autographs from some of the stars of the show.

On Fremont Street (in old downtown Vegas) you can get caught in the zombie infestation in the Fear the Walking Dead Survival Attraction. This sounds like a mix of escape-room, laser-tag, and multi-media maze all based around the storyline of the hit AMC series. It is on our list for our next visit.

5. Television City at MGM

Maybe the purest celebration television can be found at the MGM Grand. Just up the stairs from their pool is Television City, where guests can watch a new show and participate in a focus group, even wear a heart monitor so they can see what scenes make your heart race. While the company operating the attraction is an independent marketing analysis group, CBS owns this attraction (so every series you watch will be CBS-produced). Part of the process of producing a pilot tv show is often getting viewer feedback to determine how the pilot will move ahead (rewrites and even re-casting can happen from this), so it is kind of cool to get to be a part of the process while you’re on vacation in Vegas! Also they have a fun shop with some great Star Trek merchandise.

Whether it’s dining on delectable dishes by well-known chefs or spinning reels to the sounds of your favorite TV theme song, the love for the small screen is going strong in Sin City!