I'm taking my 3 sons to Vegas for 3 days between Christmas and New Year's. Boys' ages are 19, 16, and 14. I've read the threads on pros and cons of taking kids to Vegas, and am up for trying it. Looking for suggestions on where to stay (seems like MGM is poular choice for teens), and what to do - especially interested in side trips out to desert or other suggestions. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

With only 3 days, just walking the strip will be about all you have time for. Side trip to Red Rock Canyon would be nice, or Mt. Charleston/ Mt. Lee if you want to ski. All are within an hour.

Flamingo is the only hotel I know of that doesn't charge $25 extra for each teen in the room, but that policy might have changed. If pool is important you might want to check as some are not year round. I imagine that at least one of the MGM pools is year round.

I second, the Red Rock Canyon day trip idea.

I 3rd it. My son was 13 when we went to Red Rock and he really liked it. Better than Hoover Dam, although older teens may like the "Dam tour", LOL.

On hotels, MGM looks like a good choice and also NYNY in the South Strip.

Red Rock is usually a nice day trip - just remember that it will be cold. You probably won't want to be outside for a long time in December.
MGM Grand probably has the best location for kids their age. There is the roller coaster and arcade across the street at NY/NY.
I would suggest taking a trip down to Fremont Street and the Fremont Street Experience. The 14 and 16 year old will probably think it is really cool. The 19 year old may or may not.
As Tracy2 said, you could probably spend all of your time just walking the Strip.

Take Care,
Mark

Our son enjoyed buying a magic trick from one of magic shops. They take you into a back room and then teach you how to do it. We loved Red Rock Canyon - but were there in March so I guess was warmer. I didn't really see the attraction of Hoover Dam. It was a long drive and well, a bunch of concrete. Yes, I'm aware it's an engineering marvel but I could have done without this.

We were in Red Rock, in March also. A nice time for Red Rock.

Red Rock is nice, so is Valley of Fire, about 45 minutes outside of Vegas (in the opposite direction of Red Rock though). Gameworks is right near the MGM, this will be popular with your boys also! Fremont Street would also be a safe bet, they have Julians (more games), they also have a movie theater and tons of cheesy souviner shops. The light show is good, and I think they would enjoy it. Ride "the Duece" down there, it is a double decker bus that you can take from the Strip to Fremont St. They may like going up top the Stratosphere and riding some of those rides, if not for nothing it is a nice view up there.

We visited, but didn't stay, at the Luxor. There was a large video, etc. game floor for kids/teens. There is also Gameworks which is 4 stories of video games, etc. My son loved it! (he was 14 when we went)

The Luxor is across from MGM, and is budget-friendly. There's a vegas pool website (it was here a few days ago) if you want to try to find a place with a heated pool that's actually open!