Many families think nothing says Thanksgiving like turkey, stuffing and Las Vegas. Yes, Las Vegas.
Flights leave Burbank Airport for Las Vegas about every hour, and it takes about an hour from takeoff to landing. And many anxious holiday revelers say that’s for the best since they don't have to waste any extra vacation days to go somewhere fun.
Traveler Amy Sorlie says she is going to have a good time: “Eat some good food, bet some money. You know, win some money hopefully.”
And that draw to the desert is widespread. Las Vegas is the number one destination for Southern Californians to travel for Thanksgiving, whether in the air or on the road, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Dahlia Griffin and her family first visits Los Angeles before heading east.
“The three of us live in Wyoming and they all live here,” Griffin said. “So we came to visit them first and then we are headed to Vegas.”
And despite what Vegas is notorious for, gambling is not the main attraction for holiday visitors, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority. Visits to Red Rock Canyon and the Hoover Dam spike during the Thanksgiving weekend, when hotel occupancy is estimated at about 86 percent.
