Peek out of the airplane window on approach to McCarran International Airport or survey the desert landscape from the top of one of Las Vegas’ many high-altitude towers and aeries, and you will see the impressive reach of the city’s expanding grid. Near and far within the wider 100-mile region, groups will find a similar but distinct universe of attractive destinations for meetings, events, excursions and more. True to the old adage, good things can always be found in smaller packages, as the following diverse group coordinates reveal.
Laughlin
Bordered by rugged desert and the Colorado River, this city at the southern tip of Nevada near Arizona and California offers a variety of conference facilities, resorts and outdoor activities.
Responding to competitive pressures from tribal casinos in neighboring Southern California, the resort destination, 90 miles south of Las Vegas, is focusing on large-scale special events to boost its profile.
“In Laughlin, the Colorado Belle and Edgewater casino-resorts invested $4.5 million to build the Laughlin Event Center, which has 9,000 permanent seats for concerts and special events,” says Dale Eeles, vice president of event development for Las Vegas Events. “With a shuttle bus transportation plan in place with Laughlin hotels, the success of these events is a credit to all the properties, representing some 11,000 rooms, working together to bring major events to town and supporting them through ticket purchases,” he says.
Opened in March 2014, this versatile outdoor venue is expandable for larger events and features VIP Skyboxes, state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and catering options. Easily transitioning from concerts to events, the venue hosts everything from headline entertainment acts and festivals to rodeo and extreme sports.
Comprising the six-story Bourbon and New Orleans towers, plus a riverboat, the Colorado Belle offers 1,794 recently (Bourbon) and newly (New Orleans) renovated rooms, plus more than 35,000 square feet of meeting space. The Edgewater (www.edgewater-casino.com), meanwhile, offers 1,053 rooms between the 26-story Sedona Tower and Santa Fe Tower, both newly remodeled, along with the E Center, a 27,000-square-foot indoor climate-controlled entertainment, convention and concert venue facility with superior acoustics.
Other resorts include the Golden Nugget Laughlin, which has added free Wi-Fi to its recently remodeled rooms. Opened by gaming pioneer and city founder Don Laughlin in 1966, the 1,405-room Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino has legendary appeal. As the city’s first casino and only family-owned and operated property, Riverside’s amenities include flexible space for a wide range of meetings and functions; a 42,000-square-foot bowling center; and 800-seat Don’s Celebrity Theatre.
For uniquely Western teambuilding activities, Pot a Gold Adventures offers guided horseback tours atop the desert ridgelines or along the river.
Mesquite
According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority figures, this growing community and resort destination on the Nevada-Arizona border about 80 miles north of Las Vegas experienced double-digit percentage tourism growth throughout all but December 2014.
Centered in the picturesque Virgin River Valley along the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, Mesquite offers an appealing business-pleasure mix of meeting resorts and facilities with recreation and entertainment options, making it an ideal destination for groups looking to get out of the big city while still enjoying big-city amenities and attractions.
Golf is a top draw in Mesquite, which served as the longtime home of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships and just last month, hosted the 13th annual Mesquite Amateur, one of the largest handicapped amateur tournaments in the nation. Eight available courses include Wolf Creek, Conestoga and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Coyote Springs.
“The goal for Mesquite is to support multiple golf events to showcase its collection of beautiful courses, along with having the local properties work together to host a variety of events that will introduce new customers to the area,” Eeles says.
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Among those hotels is the CasaBlanca Resort, a full-service property with an 18-hole championship golf course, as well as 70,000 square feet of meeting space, 450-plus deluxe tower rooms and suites, 24-hour gaming and a spa. There’s also live entertainment in the Skydome Lounge, and tribute acts at the CasaBlanca Showroom, including this month’s annual “Elvis Rocks Mesquite” competition.
Other group properties include Eureka Casino Resort, Highland Estates Resort Hotel, Virgin River Hotel and Holiday Inn Express and Suites.
Star Satellites
While bypassed by Interstate 15, Las Vegas Boulevard runs some 40 miles south to Nevada’s border with California, where affordable, action-packed Primm offers two Tom Fazio-designed golf courses and three Primm Valley Resorts properties offering flexible meeting space with full-service catering for a wide range of meetings and functions.
Opened in 1977 but much evolved since, the whimsical 777-room Whiskey Pete’s Hotel & Casino features the intimate 700-seat Whiskey Pete’s Showroom. Connected to the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas, Primm Valley Resort comes with 624 rooms and a 21,000-square-foot conference center. Famed for its buffalo-shaped outdoor swimming pool, the 1,242-room Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino also wows guests with headline entertainment at the 6,500-seat Star of the Desert Arena and thrill rides on the Desperado, one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in North America.
Some 10 miles back in Nevada on Interstate 15, Jean is another gateway destination featuring MGM’s Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall.
Northwest of the Strip near Summerlin, Bob Taylor’s Original Ranch House & Supper Club is a true time-capsule outpost for fans of vintage Vegas. Converted from a ranch in 1955, this classic Western-themed steakhouse originally had the desert to itself before being surrounded by suburban Summerlin, but it remains a popular local favorite and memorable choice for all manner of group events, with large parties welcomed. The house specialty is smoked prime rib over a mesquite grill. Once frequented by the Rat Pack and later, Siegfried and Roy, look for the John Wayne posters, saddles and a collection of spurs owned by Hollywood cowboys adorning the walls of the spacious cocktail lounge and bar.
About 20 minutes away, directly west of the Strip, the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa takes full advantage of its location near the entrance to the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation area. With 811 luxurious rooms, the property offers just under 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space for groups of up to 1,500, with many of the naturally-lit areas overlooking stunning red rock canyons and the resort’s three-acre pool.
Southeast of the Strip in Henderson, a trio of group sanctuaries in the growing Lake Las Vegas area provide elegant escapes for meetings and events. These include the Mediterranean-inspired Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, with 349 rooms and suites, plus 35,000 square feet of indoor space, and the unique Capella Di Amore, Las Vegas’s only over-water wedding chapel. The luxurious 493-room Westin Lake Las Vegas offers indoor and outdoor space for 15 to 2,100 guests, while the 347-room Tuscan villa-style condominium-hotel Aston MonteLago Village Resort includes 13,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
Henderson is also home to the new Cowabunga Bay Water Park, featuring 30 group-friendly attractions, including a 35,000-square-foot wave pool, and accommodating corporate events, family reunions and other activities. Groups of six to eight people can also reserve a private cabana, with food and drink service.
Famed as “the city that built the Hoover Dam,” historic Boulder City is just minutes from the National Historic Landmark wonder on the Nevada-Arizona border, which in turn contributed to the building of Las Vegas. Groups can arrange tours of the dam with a number of local operators.
Along with golf and hiking, other local attractions include the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum (www.bcmha.org), located inside the historic Boulder Dam Hotel, and the Nevada Southern Railway Museum. Groups can view the collection of locomotives at this outdoor venue, and also charter seven-mile roundtrip rail rides in restored 1911 Pullman coaches on the historic Boulder Branch Line, constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad to service the Boulder Dam project.
