Vegas is an amazing place. Our tour guide told us that they were cleaning up their act and now offered something for everyone. Families included. I have to say that whilst I saw families there and young children being dragged along Las Vegas Boulevard into the late evening, it's not a place I would return to or ever take young children.

The neon lights and dark sky hide what is essentially a filthy city where men and women stand on the streets wearing tea shirts that proudly proclaim that they can get you girls in 20 minutes. And just in case you didn't notice them they flick cigarette cards at you (regardless of your gender) which end up strewn across the streets, sometimes soaking up the alcohol and vomit.

Street cleaning isn't a popular occupation in Las Vegas but goodness knows it should be. Street drinking, smoking, vomiting and even sexual acts leave Las Vegas Boulevard awash with sticky empty glasses, butt ends, vomit and unremarkably I guess, no condoms. Having seen a drunk couple trying to have sex on the street at 8 am in the morning I guess safe sex wasn't front of mind!

They say Brits abroad have a bad reputation but Americans in Vegas (especially those businessmen on conventions) outshine the Brits in almost every department. It seems the phrase, "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", was coined to give people a freedom pass to do whatever they can in as short a time as possible without a guilty conscience.

Las vegas, like the rest of the US, is fueled by all you can eat for $19.99 but in Las Vegas you get free drinks when you are betting at a table. Minimum bets start at $2 each in most of the main casinos but on average were about $10. It quickly goes on a few turns of the roulette wheel. If you don't want betting with your alcohol you can buy a 64 fl oz glass of Margarita and carry it around with you all night. That's if it lasts that long! Strangely though for the US, and most other countries, you can smoke anywhere you want in Las Vegas, so for the first time in years my hair and clothes smelt of stale tobacco whilst my eyes smarted at the haze around the poker tables.

The main strip is 6 miles long and I walked all of them. My hotel receptionist was horrified that I was walking and suggested I take the bus for which you can get a $7 all day pass. Our guide said the strip was safe to walk along but I felt anything but safe and saw few police officers other than squad cars pulling over drivers for traffic offences. People revealing their most private parts of their anatomy for passers by to take photos didn't seem to attract any blue lights.

This is Sin City. But the vastness of this Sin City really shocks you. People say you either love it or hate it. It's that Marmite thing. I know people who go back year after year and yet strangely I've met more people who dislike it as much as I do. It seems you just have to try it and make your own mind up. If you are a gambler then it's heaven. And the big shows look fabulous although I didn't have time to see any and if I did ever return it would be to do that. I highly recommend the fountain displays at the Bellagio which were just beautiful as the water danced to some awe inspiring music. The shopping is great too with all the top US chains and there doesn't seem to be anything you can't find.

But the ultimate aim of this city is to get you into the casinos and keep you there. Whilst on the outside the casinos are a marvel of modern engineering and architecture, once inside all the casinos looked the same and I had no idea which one I was in. And getting out is difficult! I had heard that there were no clocks so you had no idea what time it was, but there are also no windows. Was it day or was it night? Added to this there are no clear signs on to how to exit the place unless in an emergency. My friends and I became frequently disorientated and we would have cherished a map!

As I said it's Marmite City and people do return year after year, mainly to gamble or to catch a show. But if Las Vegas is on your list of places to visit then remember this. At either end of the Boulevard there are lots of pawn shops and they looked very well used. Las Vegas is Sin City where reality takes a check until your credit card bill arrives. You can be as sinful as you like here, but even in the land of the free, someone has to pay.