A Jewish Guide to Las Vegas and The International Surfaces Event

I've been to Las Vegas three times, I think.

2019, 2023, 2024, I think.

In 2022 I visited when the Kitchen & Bath, Flooring, and Builders conference were all scheduled for the same time.  I think one of the Jewish cabinet companies rented and entire floor of the Trump hotel and converted it into a shtiebel and gourmet dining facility.  It felt like an exclusive club I somehow stumble upon.

When I returned in 2024 for the Kitchen & Bath conference was not meeting.  So, I was left to fend for myself as I attended The International Surfaces Event.  Now I am planning my return for the 2025 Surfaces event, and I'd like to put some time into planning my trip.

I'm a featured speaker at the event, so I don't think I really need to be there for more than my talk.  That means I have about 3 days in Vegas, with only about 1 hour of booked time.  I plan to make myself available for meetings, but I need to eat, and I'd really like to visit red rocks canyon. 

After three visits to Vegas, I'm ready to give up on finding anything really interesting to do on "the strip".  It all just seems like a HUUUUGE tourist trap with faux versions of things that would actually be interesting in a different context.  

Anyway, I'd like to plan out where to eat, where to daven and how to arrange a day to do something off the strip.  I'm arriving on a Monday night about 12:00 AM (I guess that's actually Tuesday morning).  I'm speaking on Tuesday late afternoon.  So, I want to find someplace to daven and to eat on Tuesday.  

Let's start with geographical requirements: the good people of Informa are making my hotel arrangements.  So, I will most likely be staying at the Mandalay Bay (if I'm lucky) or at the Exacalibur (more likely).  

So, let's think about where to daven if I'm praying at the Excalibur and where to daven if I'm staying at Mandalay Bay, then I can think about transportation and food.

Where to Daven Near the Excalibur or Mandalay Bay Resort

Well, the room seems like an excellent idea.  But if you prefer to daven with a minyan (and I do) here are some options:

Young Israel Aish Hatorah  9590 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89117, United States
about at 20 min drive from the Excalibur, but as of this writing (13 Jan 2024), there is no minyan listed for Shachrit.  So that's off my list.

Worth noting, that if you're planning to attend The International Surfaces Event, the folks from Kane Carpet seem to always have a minyan at their booth at the end of each day.

I think I'm going to try ChatGPT now. 
My question: 

Where can I find a minyan for shachrit near the Excalibur Hotel

Amazing: ChatGPT answers to go to Chabad of Southern Nevada (love Chabad):
https://chabadlv.org/

Okay, in fact, their website seems to be a remarkably great guide to Jewish Las Vegas.

Okay, I'm liking the 7:00 AM Shachrit.  Seems imminently doable.  

Also, since they are more likely to keep their restaurant and grocery guide up to date, I'm linking to it here: Kosher Restaurants and Supermarkets in Las Vegas.

Next question is do I rent a car, or do I take lyft's etc.  Truth be told, I'm tired of the Lyft's in Vegas.  I feel like I spend way too much time and. money on them.  So, it looks like I'm paying $20 per trip with them.  But, I'm probably going to need to pay $20 per day to park at either place.  So basically, I'm looking at $20 per day at the hotel, $20 per day at the convention center + gas.  So max cost is $40 + rental.  Probably about the same as the uber, but a lot more freedom and just kind of peace of mind, plus the ability to get to Shachrit and red rocks, assuming weather is okay.