The Adrenaline Junkie’s Guide to Las Vegas

You can find a wide variety of exciting, heart-pounding activities to participate in when you visit Las Vegas. From gambling for high stakes to riding roller coasters, Las Vegas has plenty for the adrenaline junkie .

This post offers seven suggestions for things to do in Las Vegas to get your adrenaline pumping.

1 – Play Craps at Any of the Casinos in Las Vegas

Craps used to be the #1 casino game, but real money blackjack and slot machines have eclipsed craps in popularity. Still, I don’t know anyone who gets the kind of adrenaline rush from blackjack or slots that they get from craps.

Craps is an adrenaline junkie’s dream for multiple reasons:

• For one thing, you’re playing at a table with a lot of other people, and most of the people at the table are betting the same way, for the shooter to succeed. This means that you get people high-fiving and slapping each other on the back as they win.
• The other exciting thing about craps is its streaky nature. It’s not unusual for a craps shooter to get on a hot streak and win several rolls in a row. You can wind up with a lot of money in action at once, especially if you try to parlay your winnings into a single massive win.
• On the other hand, you can wind up with a lot of money in action at one time that all gets wiped out with a single roll.

No casino game offers the same kind of agony of defeat or thrill of victory that craps does.

2 – Exotics Racing

If you fantasize about being a race car driver, Exotics Racing is probably the next best thing. You can drive any number of beautiful sportscars, including Aston Martins, Ferraris, or Porsches, among others. You watch a video and drive with an expert in the passenger seat who will help you avoid getting yourself killed at high speed.





They have over 40 different luxury sportscars to choose from, and the prices vary based on the car. When I visited their website, I saw that you could take five laps in a Ferrari for $299, or drive a Porsche for the same number of laps for just $199.

You might not be as excited about go-kart racing, but Exotics Racing has that, too. Go-kart races are $35 per race. A sleeker and cooler set of go-karts can’t be found.

Prices can change at any time, so visit their official website for the latest offerings and prices.

3 ­– The Stratosphere

If you’re unfamiliar with Vegas, you might not know what the Stratosphere is. They literally just changed the name of the hotel from the Stratosphere to The STRAT Hotel, Casino, and Skypod. It’s a huge tower casino hotel at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.

Tower probably doesn’t suffice to explain how tall this building is. It’s 1,139 feet, which makes it the tallest freestanding observation tower in the USA. It’s also the biggest tower west of the Mississippi River.

The observation tower is separate from the hotel and casino, which is also huge. It has over 2,400 rooms. The casino has 80,000 square feet of gaming space, too.

The reason the STRAT is an adrenaline-junkie’s dream property is the amusement park on top of the tower. The rides include the X-Scream, which shoots you from one side to other at lightning speeds. Insanity is another ride that spins you in circles.

The best ride, though, is the Big Shot. On it, you get to fly up into the air, 160 feet, at a speed of 45 miles per hour.

This isn’t a ride exactly, but the Skyjump is something else offered on the STRAT that you should consider. It’s a chance for you to leap from 855 feet above the Strip. You’ll fall at a speed of 40 miles per hour before decelerating.

This isn’t one of the cheap attractions in Vegas. The basic price starts at $129, but it varies according to which package you choose.

Also, that price could change any time between now and when you read this post.

4 – The Big Apple Roaster Roller Coaster at New York-New York

Want to get your heart pumping again?





Try the roller coaster at New York-New York. It goes up to 203 feet in the air and features drops of up to 144 feet. You’ll fly through the air at 67 miles per hour on the Big Apple Roaster.

It’s one of the most popular attractions in the city, and it’s not even that expensive. It only costs $15 to ride. If you have a Las Vegas Pass, though, you get free rides on The Big Apple Roaster.

As you might expect at a hotel-casino with a New York theme, the rollercoaster has a New York theme too—the subway!

It has an unusual element. It does a 180-degree spiral followed by a half-loop. The only other roller coaster in the world featuring this is the Mega Coaster at Hamanako Pal Pal Park in Japan.

5 – The Canyon Blaster Roller Coaster at Circus Circus

The New York-New York isn’t the only casino in Vegas offering a roller coaster. Circus Circus also has a roller coaster, the Canyon Blaster. The theme is entirely different on this one; instead of blasting through the New York subway, you’re rocketing through red rock canyons.

Another fun aspect of the amusement park at Circus Circus is this—it’s air-conditioned.

When you’re visiting a city that gets up to 110 degrees because it’s in the middle of the desert, you’ll appreciate things like air conditioning.

The name of the theme park in Circus Circus is Adventuredome. The biggest and best part of Adventuredome is this roller coaster, too.

Canyon Blaster has back-to-back vertical corkscrews and loops. The ride finishes with a huge helix inside the park’s mountain. The Canyon Blaster is the world’s biggest indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster.

The ride consists of two trains, each with six cars that seat four riders (two per row) in each car. It used to feature seven-car trains, but that was a long time ago now. The trains used to be dark purple, but now they’re green and white.

Arrow Dynamics is the company which built the Canyon Blaster, and it’s the second indoor roller coaster they created. The first was in Chicago.

6 – Vegas Indoor Skydiving

Vegas Indoor Skydiving offers packages at $75 that include two flights. That price includes training, the equipment, and the time spent in the wind tunnel.

You don’t need a parachute or an airplane for this kind of skydiving. The facility uses a 1,000-horsepower motor to generate enough air to fly you around. The wind blows at 120 miles per hour.

If you’re tired to just falling and zooming around on roller coasters, try Vegas Indoor Skydiving.

7 – Vegas Mini Baja Chase

This might be the least exciting item on the list, but if you have a significant other who’s more risk-averse, this might be your best bet to do with him or her. (Of course, the go-karts are another good option in that situation.)





The Vegas Minis Baja Chase is a chase through the desert in an ATV. And even though I billed it as being tamer than some of the other items on the list, it will still get your heart pumping.

You might have seen this on television, as it’s been featured in multiple programs over the years. The main thing to remember is that this is not a sight-seeing tour at all. It’s way more fast-paced than that.

Your goal is to drive a dune buggy and chase one of the expert dune buggy drivers on their staff. He’ll slow down to let you catch up if you fall too far behind.

The “mini” means that there are only seven cars in the event, but the company sometimes holds larger chases with hundreds of dune buggies participating.

This is in the desert, too, so you’re going to be driving over interesting and bumpy terrain. You’ll drive on trails and in washed out creek beds. You’ll drive on gravel and on sand dunes. You’ll go over hills and through valleys.

You’re required to wear a full-faced helmet and a harness. If you can drive a regular car with an automatic transmission, you can also drive one of their dune buggies. The controls are basically the same. Prices for this one start at $199.

Conclusion

You’ll find more ways to get your adrenaline pumping in Las Vegas than just about anywhere else. You can shoot craps, race dune buggies, drive sports cars, and ride roller coasters.

If you have a favorite adrenaline-producing activity in Vegas that I left off the list, please let me know.