What’s more terrifying than losing a bunch of cash in a Vegas casino? Standing at the top of the Stratosphere trying to summon the courage to try its three gut-wrenching thrill rides. Compared to Insanity, Big Shot and X-Scream, gambling a month’s wages on a game of Blackjack suddenly seems like the easy option.

We head up the 350-metre-high tower at the northern end of the Strip confidently enough. It’s just an afternoon at a theme park in the sky, we naively believe. It’s only when we reach the 108th floor, and see people leap off the building as they undertake the Sky Jump that the chills set in. That is a controlled descent from 261 metres, like a bungee but feet first and with no rebound. The horrified gasps of spectators says it all. I can’t imagine what’s going on in the heads of those kitted out in overalls and harnesses who actually dare to do this – but I hope they’ve got clean underwear with them.

We push on up in the next lift. Higher still. The nerves are really kicking in now. We take one look at X-Scream and swiftly rule it out. Riders sit in a green open-top car and are propelled back and forth along a single piece of track hanging over the edge of the building. Once the car gets to the end, the track tips downwards so it feels like you’re going to hurtle towards the ground. Even if Ryan Reynolds, my biggest Hollywood crush, promised to hold my hand and buy me a drink afterwards, there would be no convincing me to try this.

On the same level, over the other side, is Insanity. We deliberate over this one for a while. It dangles riders over the edge and spins them around. But by now the vertigo is really kicking in and when I see that riders are angled to face the ground, I decide anyone who volunteers to ride this one must indeed be insane.

So we’ve passed on three out of three. Surely going even higher to find the highest thrill ride in the world (329 metres) would be a futile move. Well, in the name of journalistic research we take a look. And somehow find ourselves on it. We’re in danger of losing street cred after all.

If your client is a theme park fan who suffers from vertigo (that’s me by the way and I don’t think I’m such a rare breed), this is the ride for them. Big Shot is a pneumatically powered tower ride with a rapid ascent. It delivers on views but because you’re fixed in the centre of the tower, rather than hanging off the edge, there’s no chance of looking directly down at the ground beneath you. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still terrifying, and I scream myself hoarse. But at a mere 40 seconds it’s also the quickest, so if you’re going on a ride to prove a point to yourself, this is the least amount of ride time to endure.

We’ve been up the Stratosphere more than an hour and spent most of that time feeling sick with nerves. So as the sun sets behind the mountains that ripple along the horizon we grab a drink and enjoy a fabulous sunset that turns the sky into a fiery purple and orange inferno. Slowly my heart rate returns to normal and I start to appreciate being on top of the tallest freestanding observation tower in the US.

Bargain hunting

Of course there are other ways for your clients to get their kicks in Vegas. Shopping being a prime example. There’s plenty along the Strip, in and among the hotels, but it’s also worth factoring in a trip to Las Vegas Premium Outlets. There are two versions – one each at the north and south ends of the Strip. North is away from the Strip behind the Stratosphere. It’s on a direct bus route however, and we felt the effort well worth it when we stumbled across a Kate Spade sale with 70% off handbags and wallets. The adrenaline kick from a thrill ride pales into insignificance when I smell a bargain like that.

Dining is another pastime where Vegas spoils your clients with its riches. We start post-flight with a plate of loaded nachos at Nacho Daddy, which can only be found in Vegas and in my humble opinion is worth the trip alone. We eschew the long queues for all-you-can eat brunches – and head to Pantry in the Mirage, where Frank’s Bagel Benedict is all I need to eat... for an entire day.

For an upscale experience we totter into Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro, which fronts the Palazzo hotel and has patio dining for a view of the Strip. Well, just Treasure Island really. Our wine is recommended and poured by the obliging maitre’d as we salivate over the menu, featuring steak, seafood and cheese. We opt for the more modest 8oz Iowa corn-fed filet mignon but there are 20oz steaks if you have stretchy pants and don’t plan to go out dancing after.

We do – and head on to Tao in the Venetian, dancing and waving glow sticks in the super-charged club as long as our heels will let us. In Vegas you generally have to reserve tables and purchase bottle service to have a place to sit for the night. If you don’t mind standing, there’s a silver lining in letting these tables bank roll the night, as we find when we are ushered in without paying and given a free drinks wrist band, which lasts the first hour.

A Grand experience

For all its glitz and glamour and music and bright lights, one of my very favourite Vegas experiences is one you get when you fly away from it – temporarily.

While eye-wateringly pricey (around £465pp), a Maverick helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon is worth every dollar. They pick you up from your hotel, check you in and you board an Eco-Star, the helicopter equivalent of a Rolls-Royce. Our pilot Matt shares a running commentary as we fly out to the Canyon. He gets to know everyone’s names and points out landmarks en route, including Boulder City, one of only two towns in Nevada that prohibit gambling, and Hoover Dam, an audacious feat of engineering, which incorporates enough concrete to build a 3,000-mile road stretching from one side of the US to the other.

Reassure clients that the pilots do their best to switch their passengers around inside these seven-seater helicopters so if they’re not in a prime seat to start, they will likely be by the end. And do encourage them to splash out on this. It’s a prime upselling opportunity. A short flight over the Strip is over in a flash. This gives you a much longer flight to enjoy the experience of being in a helicopter.

When we swoop between the jagged cliffs of the Canyon, the towering scene of ascending layers of sedimentary red and brown rock stretching for miles is a view that will stay lodged in my memory for years. Capped with a flawless blue sky, it is nothing short of perfection. Can you improve on perfection? You can when we land and pilot Matt turns bartender and pops the cork on a bottle of champagne.

Book it: Travel 2 has four nights’ B&B at The Encore at Wynn with British Airways’ Club World flights from Heathrow, a 40-minute Grand Canyon Sightseeing Heli Flight with Maverick and tickets to Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas from £3,899pp for departures from September 1 to October 31, 2017.travel2.com
Attraction World has a package offering unlimited Stratosphere rides from £32. attractionworld.com