Gullivers Gets Ready for the USA Sevens

08 Jan 2010 - In December 2009, Phil Dumbelton, Gullivers' RBS 6 Nations and IRB Sevens Project Manager, visited Las Vegas in preparation for the USA Sevens, which in February 2010 moves from the old venue, San Diego.

Hosted by the Las Vegas Convention Bureau and Virgin Atlantic Airways, Phil's inaugral trip to Las Vegas has left him even more excited about the USA Sevens coming to this fantastic city for the first time. Read Phil's report below for a taster of what's in store.

What struck me immediately was that the whole city is centred around entertainment, fun, eating and drinking, which is fine by me! It is completely glitzy and glamorous as you might expect but also very clean, well organised and it has a brilliant service culture. The weather was nice during the day (18-20 °C) with bright blue skies and cooler at night – you needed a coat. It will be even better in February for the Sevens.

Whilst Vegas is famous for its gambling, that's not the only reason to visit as there is so much more to it. Of course its shows are second to none and I watched Peepshow at Planet Hollywood and Ka, a Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand, which both come highly recommended.

There is an excellent choice of bars, some informal with a great atmosphere, such as BB King’s Blues Clubs at the Mirage and Mandalay Bay and uber cool clubs such as the Ghost Bar at the Palms. Restaurants choice is equally as varied and you really are spoilt for choice.  The food standards are very high, the portions huge (ideal for rugby fans) and the prices reasonable.  

The hotels in Las Vegas are something else – all absolutely enormous, just so slightly over the top and all with their own unique attributes and attractions, which include an erupting volcano in The Mirage, African lions in the casino at MGM Grand, enormous scaled replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe which make up Paris Las Vegas and incredible water fountain displays outside Bellagio and plenty more to write home about.

The Palms is an excellent base for the USA Sevens – modern and stylish and not so flamboyant as some of the hotels on the main Strip. It has a good choice of restaurants and bars and it will be easy to hook up with like-minded rugby fans here. It is also smaller compared to many of the hotels on the Strip - from the hotel entrance you can get to your room in a matter of minutes, compared to the larger hotels which have over 5,000 rooms and where you practically need a GPS equipped taxi to find your way to your room!

On one of the days we took a hot air balloon trip over the desert courtesy of Vegas Balloon Rides which was a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone - very relaxing with brilliant views too. And if you like shopping then be sure to visit the Premium Outlets shopping centre, a large but manageable shopping village which offer discounted high street brands at cheaper than UK prices.

The Sam Boyd Stadium, the venue for the Sevens is a fairly small college football stadium but quite modern and Gullivers' seating block will be in the heart of the action (Vegas style of course). In many ways Las Vegas is the perfect type of destination for rugby supporters and as there is so much to see and do and some great places to chill out in, it will be easy to visit time and time again and there is always somewhere new to see or new to go - as they say in Vegas, 'if you haven’t been to Vegas in the last 12 months, then you’ve never been to Vegas'!

It is easy to see the USA Sevens becoming a firm favourite on the rugby calendar and I’m confident that it will quickly grow in popularity. I absolutely loved it and if you're thinking about going, take the plunge, you won’t look back. Hope to see you at the Sevens.

Find out more about our tours to the USA Sevens, Las Vegas.