I didn't get to spend much time there, but if you like milkshakes, Holstein's has the best (they even have alcohol in them, but you can't taste it), and the burgers are great as well.

Bacchanal buffet is a must.

HOF has more machines than they have listed online, with many newer machines. I could have spent multiple days in there alone :p (unfortunately Pinball Circus wasn't on to play [this past Monday]). I also discovered several machines with various issues, but it would be impossible for them to keep everything perfect all of the time with so many machines.

There was clearly more than enough to do in Vegas for a week without a prior plan.

Eat at Capos, Italian speakeasy not by the strip. There is another pinball place in Vegas I've heard of too, but I forget the name. The HOF is where I spent my time.

I would say a week in Vegas is too long. It is total sensory overload and you will be fried after a couple of days. Longest I've ever stayed is 4 nights, and by the last night I was ready to go. Chop off a couple days there and go somewhere else. Holstein's is indeed quite good and reasonably priced. Check out the Double Down if you like dive bars.

dupe post.

In-N-Out Burger.
Can't go wrong eating at this place.

I agree with Jeff, 4 nights or so in Vegas will probably be plenty. Where are you staying? We staying at NY,NY.. I wasn't a fan of the hotel, but there's plenty to do, so the actual hotel you stay at isn't very important, more so where it's located. It wasn't a big deal, but being on that one side of the strip, it took a lot of steps to explore the rest of the strip. Somewhere in the middle of the strip is probably the way I'd go next time, so I could go in either direction without overlapping so much.

I thought the PHOF was great. Go in with reasonable expectations, and just have fun!

Taxi cabs are also waiting outside at the major hotels. We found them to be cheaper and easier than renting a car. Tho your Grand Canyon trip would probably suggest otherwise.

I'll surely second the comment about that town wearing you down.... I'm usually in Vegas a few times a year (tech stuff, CES, etc.) - by the end of 4-5 days all you can think about is going to sit in that depressing airport to wait for your plane out.

There's something about the Vegas "everywhere you go should feel like a music video" disposition that is nifty for about the first hour.... after that you're totally over it.

O.K The max we stayed was 5 nights so 7 is very long. That being said during the 5 nights we rented a car and drove to Death Valley National Park, it was all day left about 8:30 (car rental) got back about 8 at night. I recommend this, also side trips to Red Rocks one direction and Hoover Dam another are about half day trips. Did go to the PHOF.Toss in maybe going to Grand Canyon (all day) you can see there are plenty of things to do. Normally 4 nights is the max for us.

During the day we mostly hang out at the MGM pool.

4 days is plenty, just like most all mention.
Take a visit at the Pawn stars shop,and don't miss going to Fremont street near there, especially at night, much less expensive for food and drink than the main strip.
Take the city buses to travel around town.
Chopper ride is fun, lasts about 1/2 if I remember.
Walk right past all the card issuing peddlers , like box elder bugs,hundreds at ea. corner advertising for escort.
Unless you can collect hundreds of them and sneak them into someones suitcase.

Hard Rock is a nice hotel but it's on a couple blocks away from the Strip. I would recommend staying on the Strip for the best experience.

Sky dive Las Vegas is an awesome experience, nothing like jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet to get your adrenaline going, we rented a car and went to the hoover dam and on the way back we stopped there, I went up but my wife wouldn't even take the plane ride up and watch me jump out, make sure you have them record it for you so you can show your friends and family

Yeah I live in Vegas and you DO NOT want to stay at the Hard Rock unless you plan on taking a taxi EVERYTIME you wanna go somewhere or you plan on just sitting at the hard rock pool and never leaving the property. The hotel is nice but it's waaaaay to far off the strip for walking back and forth.

It's not horrible, but it's definitely towards the south end. It doesn't look too bad from maps, but we found ourselves walking progressively further and further.. you walk past the same hotels every time, you've really got to get past Caesar's before you're on the other side of the strip. At least if you stay at or around Caesar's, you can walk one way or another without making the same walk every time. That's how I would do it if I went back (or stay at somewhere further North, since I missed a lot of that area).

Cruising the strip is always fun for first-timers, and most of the buffets at major casinos are awesome, but everything is absurdly expensive, so unless you've got deep pockets take that into account.

I missed the Pinball Hall of Fame on my last visit because my Dad went all Clark Griswold on us, dragging us to the Clark County Museum, the one owned by the guy who shows up on Pawn Stars a lot. Gotta admit it was pretty cool, all these vintage homes from the 50s, fully furnished with the latest technology of the time, along with a small museum of various pop culture stuff. Only a couple bucks to get in, and it's about 40 minutes from the strip.

Agreed. Meant to add that in my post.

Hoover Dam, PHOF, Pawn Stars, Clark County Museum, Atomic Bomb museum, aquarium in Mandalay Bay Resort, a visit to the old town on Freemont Street, the volcano show, the pirate ship show - all fun, at least for a first timer!
Milo's in the Cosmopolitan for the best greek food you will ever eat! Expensive for dinner, but much more reasonable at lunch.
Be prepared to walk 5-10 miles per day if you plan to walk the strip and see everything. You can't go directly from point a to point b. There is a lot of climbing stairs to get to a crosswalk over the road, followed by a walk across and down the stairs, followed by a 1/4 mile walk through the resort's expansive lobbies until you get in to the casino or whatever you went to see, followed by the long walk back to the street, followed by another climb up to a crosswalk a few blocks farther along. Repeat over and over until you collapse or give up and take a bus or taxi!
You can rent a car at every hotel in town, and it is very feasible to rent for one day and see most of the attractions mentioned above that are not right on the strip. If you want to tour the inside of the Dam, order your tickets early in the day, or they may well sell out.

Last time I went to vegas, I spent 4 hrs a day for 4 days in PHOF. perfect vaca for me.

Strippers. Thats pretty much all I remember when I went.

I highly recommend a rental car. I got a full size weekly rental for $215 including fees at Alamo recently. Rental cars are cheap in Vegas. Ellis Island is good for a cheap, but good steak and egg breakfast. I've done 2 day trips to the Grand Canyon. Both times I've wished I had made plans to stay the night. It is a lot of driving. I wasn't real impressed with the Pawn Stars shop, but American Restoration is right around the corner. I met Rick my first visit. Just opened the door and there he was. They give a pretty good quick tour and you'll see people from the show actually restoring stuff.

I was just there with family in oct, took kids to Cawabunga bay water slide park it was fun, no lines in oct. Fremont street to see freak shows walking around, container park was cool, Forum shops statue show, Belagio fountain show at night. Make sure to see shows, if you go to some of those booths on strip you can get half price if your not picky about seats, we had a good time at Blue man show, cirque du soleil, and excaliber jousting/food show. and get a rental and just bounce from casino to casino and valet it, its free just tip them $2 or so. That way you can see all the casinos.

They have strip clubs for guys who bring their wives. They are called shows

My wife knew I went, I went with a friend of mine that has a lot of money. He booked us a room for 2 hours. I had flash backs of that night for months.

Make sure to visit Flipperspiel Wunderland which will be opened at their new location by then http://www.vegaspinball.com

If you have ever wanted to shoot automatic weapons go to Battlefield Las Vegas - http://www.battlefieldvegas.com
They were very good to us and our whole group voted it the most fun thing we did (and we did a lot)
It can be a little pricy but they are right behind Circus Circus and super friendly.
You can get package deals- shoot 4 or more different automatics.
Plus you add on the barett 50 cal. That was our favorite.

Cafe and the HRH are two separate entities. Don't waste your time at the cafe.

Go to the Flamingo and Ride the High Roller the World highest Observation wheel (At 550 feet) Travels at 2 revolutions an hour.
Best done in the daytime. You can see all the way into Arizona on a clear day.
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Oh, and between the front of the Flamingo / Harrahs and the High Roller is a street area with shops, bars, restaurants and The Polaroid Museum. Has a neat exhibit on all things from Polaroid. There's even a mock up model for the first SX-70 camera.

fyi,

Here is a follow up, stay in vegas 3-4 days. Rent car visit Grand Canyon (north or south rim) , also you have Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon national parks all take at least a day to see. Toss in Death Valley etc you will see a lot of cool things and have a blast.

if you like Polaroids make it by the Las Vegas Camera Club - and if you go that way, head all the way downtown to Fremont East and the Container Park area - pretty cool and different from the Strip for sure! (not the Fremont Street part, but beyond that). Good Thai food, nice chill bars and open air

Are there any parks or museums geared towards fossils? I know Pioche is famous for trilobites, but I think it is a bit far away.

Also, most of you will laugh, but we love to play nickel slots. We've only ever found them at NYNY. With a good hostess, I can get pretty sloshed, play the max bet for hours, and totter back to my room without losing too much money. Do any other casinos near or on the strip have nickel slots?

If you are looking for something more old school and affordable, Ellis Island is worth looking into. Great brewery and ribs. A couple of blocks off the strip, but easy walk from the monorail station.