Not that long ago, and on more than one occasion, I said some pretty derogatory things about Las Vegas – and a couple of commenters were rightly agrieved. I hadn’t been there of course and was basing my judgement on TV and movies and novels. Well – now I have been there and I can honestly say… it’s not quite what I expected. And yes, it’s a much nicer place.

Walking into any one of the huge hotel/casinos for the first time does come as a bit of a shock though. I always understood these halls of slot machines and gaming tables were big but nothing prepared me for huge. Actually, huge or enormous just don’t seem to be adequate words. I’m sure, having now walked its length that the MGM casino must be almost as big as Las Vegas airport including the runway!

I am not a gambling man but Mrs Yellow Swordfish (as she seems to want to be known) could obviously become quite an enthusiast as I learnt after she quickly squandered $3 into one of the machines before I realised where she was. It was a struggle to get her to leave it actually. $3 is how it starts you know. Then it becomes mesmerising and before you know it you’ve blown your holiday money. Then you blow your house trying to get it all back.

But seriously, Las Vegas has far more charm than I ever expected it to have and the fountains in front of the Bellagio Hotel are a sheer delight and wonder.

On a more awesome note, I spent my afternoon at the Hoover Dam. I have written before that I am easily moved by great works of man and can get quite emotionally overcome. I hadn’t expected the Hoover Dam to fit into that category but then I hadn’t expected the Hoover Dam to be that bloody enormous. it’s so big, in fact, that if you laid it on it’s side you could probably fit a Las Vegas casino on it’s surface and still have room for the Elton John show.

It is truly an amazing feat of engineering that has given the south-western states the water it needed to make it fertile as well as contributing much of the electricity that was needed back in the 1930’s and 1940’s – although that percentage has obviously declined as the population has grown.

I strongly recommend a visit to anyone finding themselves in the Nevada area – so remember to walk away from the Vegas casinos with at least $20 as you’ll need that to park and take the guided tour.