Popular with adrenaline junkies of the gambling and partying varieties, Las Vegas' growing array of extreme adventure offerings, from roller coasters to off-road driving to skydiving, is making the city a favored destination for thrill-seekers eager to satiate their inner daredevils.
In late March, President Obama's daughters, 13-year-old Malia and 10-year-old Sasha, joined the growing legions who have braved the scream-inducing rides atop the 1,149-foot Stratosphere hotel-casino. The first daughters rode the Big Shot, Insanity and X-Stream.
You can hear screams from blocks away as the Big Shot catapults riders from the 921-foot-high platform to a height of 1,081 feet at 45 mph. Equally daunting, Insanity extends 64 feet over the 900-foot hotel tower's edge and spins passengers at a 70-degree angle at speeds up to three Gs. Resembling a massive seesaw, X-Scream propels riders headfirst over the hotel; riders dangle over the Strip and then are pulled back and propelled again.
An admitted roller-coaster junkie, Julian Dugas, director of sports marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), said Vegas' array of roller coasters attracts even the most discerning extreme adventurers. Atop their must-ride list is Desperado at Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino in Primm on the Nevada-California state line, a little less than an hour south of the Strip. The roller coaster spans 5,843 feet, reaches speeds of 90 mph and features a high-speed dive down a 55-degree hill into a tunnel and a 225-foot drop.
"There are folks who like to travel and ride adrenaline-pumping roller coasters, and we get a lot of those folks coming here to Las Vegas," he said, adding that such adventure-seekers "are on the LVCVA radar. The average person who comes to Vegas has a limited amount of time here, and we're focused on showing them all the things they can do here. We realize that we're attracting a different type of individual, one who decides not to partake in the traditional Vegas offerings and who likes extreme adventures."
Abundant options
According to the LVCVA's annual visitor profile study, nearly 2 million visitors participate in adventure-based activities. There's kayaking at Lake Mead and Hoover Dam; whitewater rafting in nearby Marysvale, Utah; a rappelling tour at the Valley of Fire State Park an hour from Vegas; ziplining 20 minutes away at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City; extreme hiking and biking in the nearby mountains; and much more.
Josh Martin, director of marketing for Exotics Racing, the Ultimate Driving Experience at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has witnessed the growth of the adrenaline-fueled demographic.
Since opening in late 2009, Exotics Racing has satisfied 30,000 customers' need for speed. They come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and all parts in between to drive his Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Eighty percent of Exotic's customers are tourists.
"International visitors tend to stay longer and have more time and are looking to fill it with other activities," Martin said. "That's why they give us a call; they want a different Vegas experience. We get lots of interest online from people who are car enthusiasts, or people may see us in advertising or hear about us through a concierge."
Driver's ed
Before getting behind the wheel, customers take a 30-minute class where they learn seat and hand positioning; proper acceleration and steering; and specifics about the track. Next is a discovery lap with a driving instructor to put the newfound knowledge to work: navigating the turns, discovering the braking points and so on.
Customers drive a minimum of five laps but can add laps as desired. Of the 14 different types of cars, Martin said most patrons drive one or two cars. Packages start at $199 for five laps in a Porsche and $299 for a five-lap package for a Lamborghini or Ferrari. "Most people want to do more than five laps," Martin said.
Shoot to thrill
Of late, one of the most popular extreme activities is going to the gun range and unleashing your inner Rambo. It's not uncommon, Dugas said, for ranges to be booked solid during high-profile weekends, such as when there's a championship boxing match in town.
At the northern edge of town sits the 178-acre Clark County Shooting Complex. Its amenities include shotgun, archery and rifle-pistol centers.
At the 12-lane Guns and Ammo Garage, customers are matched with shooting hosts who use interactive, multimedia displays to showcase each shooting experience.
Weapons include an AK-47, Remington 700, M4 carbine, Uzi and a Thompson machine gun. Guests can fire a range of firearms, from those used by the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team Six during their raid of Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan to World War II-era firearms weaponry. Packages start at $40.
Billed as the world's first luxury gun lounge, Machine Guns Vegas features a variety of firearms, from modern machine guns and assault rifles to some of the most famous firearms from World War II as well a "gun lounge" for celebrities and groups, including two private firing lanes, a private waiting lounge with plasma TVs, iMacs, complimentary refreshments and a separate entrance.
The 10,000-square-foot, 16-lane facility also offers bachelor and bachelorette packages as well as a gift shop.
Off-road riding continues to be popular, with all-terrain vehicle tours through the desert and near Lake Mead and dune buggy treks through places like Nellis Dunes, located just under the flight path of Nellis Air Force Base. Dugas said Southern Nevada's topography draws dune buggy enthusiasts from throughout the Southwest. Others travel longer distances to ski and snowboard just outside of town.
"That skiing and snowboarding is available 45 minutes away from the Strip [at Mount Charleston] is a pretty powerful selling opportunity for us," he said. "Mount Charleston also has a good trails system for extreme hiking and hiking. Over in Boulder City, in Bootleg Canyon, we have one of the best mountain-bike tracks in the world; it's great for extreme biking."
Air to ground
Proximity to mountain ranges and the Red Rock National Conservation Area has created a rock-climbing industry, while the region's vast stretches of open space have bolstered the skydiving industry. Dugas said skydiving is popular with Europeans and bachelor and bachelorette parties. Hot-air ballooning is catching on, as is the Sky Combat Ace attraction, where customers fly with real fighter pilots.
Dugas is also high on Dig This, a company that lets customers operate heavy machinery such as bulldozers and excavators in what the company bills as a "supersize sandbox." "We had dump trucks as kids; we thought it would be pretty cool to drive those vehicles, and now we can," Dugas said.
Edward Mumm created Dig This after having an epiphany while building his house in Colorado; he was driving an excavator and figured there was a market for people who wanted to ride these big vehicles. And he figured there was no better place than Las Vegas to test his idea.
Dig This, which opened a year ago on a five-acre lot near the Strip, lets guests take 90-minute spins on the heavy machinery. Packages include the $249 Big Dig (driving a bulldozer), the $449 Mega Dig (driving a bulldozer and an excavator) and the $384 Dig and Destroy (driving a machine and shooting time at the Guns and Ammo Garage).
Company spokeswoman Cathy Wiedemer said response has been good, noting an expanding base of international customers (Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand, among other countries) and a rising number of corporate events.
"Folks like coming to Vegas and doing things they can't do anywhere else, and this is one of those things," she said.
As Las Vegas searches for ways to stabilize and fortify its economic recovery, Dugas expects the LVCVA to dedicate more marketing muscle to luring tourists eager for extreme adventures.
"It will become more a part of our messaging, the notion that you can do all these additional things when you come to town" outside of gambling, shopping, dining and entertainment, he said. "There's a huge number of people that haven't been here because they view the city through a certain viewpoint. We want them to know all that we have to offer."