What to Do in Vegas If You’re Here for Business (2026)

Las Vegas is a Rorschach test, a depiction of the inner self turned outward by forces great, gaudy, and frankly ridiculous. It is a spectacle, a sham, a show, and a topic upon which no one is opinionless. Vegas divides and conquers, it captivates and disgusts, compels and repels us with equal and opposite centrifugal force. The way you feel about Vegas right now, in your mind’s eye, is a window into your very soul.

I spent my entire adult life ignoring Vegas, perhaps even lightly hating Vegas, until a couple of years ago when my older brothers—lifelong Deadheads and jam-band enthusiasts—induced me to attend a weekend of noodle dancing at the Sphere. To my own shock and delight, I had a good time—no, a great time, if I’m honest, between the food and the music and the fun and the almighty brain-scrambling out-of-body nonsense bacchanalia of the place itself. Now I keep going back for events, on vacation, for work, to play. Invite me to Vegas, and I’ll say yes. Something about the whole thing has just clicked: the permissiveness, the hospitality, the unrivaled surfeit of options and choices and places to eat and play and be entertained. It is one of America’s greatest food cities, and a truly remarkable place to spend a few days attending a conference or professional commitment.

Vegas has a long history of attracting travelers from the worlds of tech and science, and the city itself is something of a technological marvel. I’m not so sure this extends to the rather dated Convention Center; many of the hotels themselves offer comparatively upscale conference and hosting facilities. The Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES, is here each January, as is Enterprise Connect, the DEF CON hacker conference, and countless more. This long crossover association has helped establish Vegas as a tech town.

The most important thing about Vegas is that you have to give in. Don’t fight it. Go with the neon flow. In the guide below, I’ve outlined a tip sheet of my favorite places to stay, eat, play, and get caught up in the all-abiding Vegasness of it all, but it’s important that you let yourself stumble into doing 25 other things that aren’t recommended in the following paragraphs. Las Vegas is above all else a 24-hour discovery engine par excellence, the sort of place that makes you put your phone down in sheer overstimulation. There’s truly nowhere else like it on earth.

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - November 28, 2013: Sunrise view of the popular upscale Wynn Casino Resort on the Las Vegas strip.Photograph: Trekandshoot/Getty Images

3131 S Las Vegas Blvd., (702) 770-7000

If you need or want to stay on “The Strip”—the famed stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard upon which some 30 hotel casino complexes are located—this is the best place to do it. The Wynn emanates class and calmness from the moment you walk through the door, which is extraordinary, given the surrounding milieu. From check-in to room service to restaurants and bars, it’s a self-contained oasis of class and dignity in a city not necessarily known for either. You can party here too, of course, and go to bars and nightclubs, and eat tremendously well—see our restaurant recommendations below. The Wynn’s multiple shopping concourses put luxury brands to the fore, which makes for great window shopping, or celebrating if things went really well at the conference. Modern, sleek, spotlessly clean, safe, but still above all else human—like the real person taking your omelette order at 3 am—in a town with endless hotel options, the Wynn is something special.

Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

3355 S Las Vegas Blvd., (702) 414-1000

I go to The Venetian every visit to Vegas, even if I’m not staying there—this hotel has split the atom in terms of energy, excitement, popularity, and modern amenities, and simply being there is a tremendous amount of fun. Rooms are clean and spacious, often with expansive views, and no hotel in Vegas boasts more dining and shopping options. The Venetian’s whimsical, deeply kitsch Grand Canal Shoppes—complete with Venice-style gondola boats and a painted blue fresco sky—channels something absurd and entertaining that gets to the Vegas soul. If budget allows, look into springing for one of the Venetian’s club-level rooms, which gives you access to a lounge that’s stocked with snacks and drinks, and makes for a great place to huddle with coworkers or teammates before heading out to conduct business for the day.

2777 S. Las Vegas Blvd., (702) 678-7777

If you’re spending most of your time in Vegas inside the convention center, this is the closest, best hotel to that enormous facility. And now, thanks to a newly opened Boring Company Vegas Loop station, it’s even faster going door to door. Even if you weren’t in Convention Center purgatory during your time in Vegas, The Fontainebleau is pretty cool in its own right, with its soaring high ceilings, state-of-the-art everything, fine art collection, over-the-top wellness options (including an IV bar, spa, and spiffy fitness center), and assemblage of very fine dining selections. This hotel still feels brand new (it only opened in 2023). It cost 3.7 billion dollars to build, and looks it. If you can spring for a suite (or bug your boss to do so), it’s well worth doing so for panoramic views and stylish modern furniture.

Photograph: Bruno Coel Hopt/Getty Images

1 Main St., (702) 386-2110

Downtown Las Vegas is a blast—a little grittier than the strip, a little more retro, but quite a lot of fun, and home to some of my favorite hotels in the city. I really love The Plaza, which sits at the front entrance to world-famous Fremont Street and on the site of the original Las Vegas train station. The Plaza has been open since 1971, and it wears that ’70s era of bygone flashy glamour proudly–even if you don’t know the hotel by name, you’ve seen it in films like Casino and Back To The Future II, where it stood in for Biff Tannen’s Pleasure Paradise. (It’s also featured prominently in the 1997 music video for Mase's “Feel So Good.”) The hotel underwent a mega-millions renovation around a decade ago; rooms are modestly priced and unfussy. But it’s everything else about the property to love: the smoke-free casino area, the single-zero roulette tables, the glorious retro bingo parlour, the 1970s time warp wedding chapel, and the epic retro glass bubble dome dining room at Oscar’s Steakhouse. You’re not in Vegas to gamble—this is a work trip, remember?—but if you do fancy a bit of a flutter, the Plaza has the rep for being where the players play, with favorable odds on table games and generous slot promotions. Don’t believe me? Just ask Vegas Pauly C, the city’s premier Instagram gaming influencer (“I must gamble for medical reasons”) and a Plaza regular.

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 11: Circa Resort & Casino is viewed along the Fremont Street Experience on January 11, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas is the 26th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is a internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)Photograph: George Rose/Getty Images

8 Fremont St., (702) 247-2258

This hotel and casino is so much fun. The Circa opened in 2020, making it the newest hotel in downtown Vegas by a considerable margin, and it’s famed for having a positively epic stadium-style sportsbook facility, one of the best places in the city to watch a game or enjoy a staggering array of prop bets, futures, and other assorted nodes of sports betting. Rooms feel new and clean, and the hotel is home to a famous permanent guest in the form of Vegas Vickie, the iconic 25-foot neon “cowgirl” who once towered over Fremont Street. In-room tech at the Circa is particularly cool and thoughtful, with smart temperature control, touchscreen lighting, and tablet ordering for bell services, wake-up calls, and room service.

Courtesy of Red Rock/Station Casinos

11011 W Charleston Blvd., (702) 797-7777

Let’s say work has you in for weeks, not days—maybe you’re stringing conferences back to back, or you’re on the setup team for a big event. Red Rock is widely regarded as the discerning “locals favorite” casino and hotel for people who live and work in Vegas year-round. It’s far from the strip—around 11 miles away—and feels even further in terms of vibe and clientele. The restaurants, bars, and lounges are all high-level, and the circular pool and cabana complex is classy and chic. If you’re not going the short-term home rental route for an extended stay, Red Rock Casino is a great option.

6795 S Edmond St., (702) 444-1111

Innevation is a vast, 65,000-square-foot coworking space and event venue near the airport. The complex was founded by Rob Roy, CEO and founder of the tech and data center company Switch. This place is a hub for the Vegas tech industry, and its intentionally misspelled name—"Innevation” as opposed to innovation—is because Roy & co. aim to “take ‘no’ out of innovation,” which all feels very Gavin Belson, but I digress. What you’ll get here is multiple floors of conference rooms, workspaces, lounges, game rooms, lockers, hydroponics, and limited-energy appliances, all of it buttressed by screaming-fast Wi-Fi and modern design schema. If you’re in need of a group working space or meeting space, and want to do so well away from the casino and hotel scene, you have found your ideal candidate—so long as you are willing to innevate.

1001 Shadow Lane, (702) 847-5308

IncuBase is more of your classic coworking setup, also close to the airport and easily accessible from the Strip. Incubase offers small-, medium-, and large-group-sized office spaces, day passes, desk memberships, ample parking, and a broad range of amenities including a private rooftop with epic views and full facility buyout options. It's even got a partnership with Alliance Personal Offices that allows you to establish a business mailing address for registering your company or opening a US bank account, and the ability to hire a live receptionist. You can work here for an hour if you want, or run an entire business out of the facility, and like pretty much everything in Vegas, no one’s asking too many questions.

6675 S Tenaya Way, (702) 462-6265

Tastefully appointed and community-oriented, Bottega Exchange serves as an “office away from the office” for the Las Vegas tech and small business community. Coworking spaces like this can be a great way for short-term visitors to plug into the local scene, and for what it’s worth, this spot clearly has the nicest interior design, couches, chairs, and overall aesthetic vibe of the LV coworking scene. Monthly memberships and private offices are the order of the day here, which makes it perfect if you’re looking for a recurring setup for a longer project or plan to host several meetings in a given month. The space also specializes in event hosting, from small groups to 200 folks or more.

Inside the Venetian

Located inside the Venetian Grand Colonnade, a rather fancy hallway that connects the check-in area to the main casino, sits a little outpost from the San Francisco bean-to-bar chocolate brand Dandelion. You can enjoy some fancy chocolate there, yes, but I go every time I’m in Vegas for what might be the best shot of espresso on the strip, featuring coffee from another San Francisco brand, Ritual Coffee. This place is an oasis of calm amid the Venetian madness, and you can linger at a big communal table with your laptop or phone if required.