Steve, first off let's talk about Vegas and when I think is a good time to go. The "good" time of the year starts now and ends exactly never. No matter what the weather's like there's some remedy for it. If it's hot, get a drink and a lounge chair beside one of the man pools (my favorite is the complex inside the MGM Grand). If it's cold, grab a cocktail and a comfy seat at a blackjack table. If it's fair to middling, get a drink and walk around the shops. Rainy? Drink and craps. Sunny? Drink and chicken wings in a sports lounge. You get the picture.

While it does get very hot there in the desert, there's really no reason to fear Las Vegas weather. NASA doesn't run temperature control in the space shuttle as well as casino staff run the air conditioning. If Vegas is nothing else, it is an artificial environment. In fact, one could spend much of their vacation completely indoors or submerged in a pool… or both.

September is actually one of the better months to be there and outdoors. On the rare occasions you'd like to leave the comfort of a casino, the temperature is likely to be around 85 to 90 degrees — 29 to 32 degrees, for you. That may sound warm and sunny for clammy British skin, and it is, but the desert is very dry which makes the heat more bearable. It won't get too cold at night, maybe down to 60 or 65 degrees — 16 to 18 degrees for you.

Vegas casinos have no dress code. They don't care if you're in a tuxedo, a bunny outfit or your aunt's hot pants — as long as you're carrying cash they'll let just about anything slide. There's a small risk of feeling out-of-place in the high-end casinos if you press the "slobby casual" look too hard, and some of the ritzier clubs and restaurants require dress clothes — a nice button-down shirt, slacks and big boy shoes — but very little else in Vegas needs a fancy dress up.

Since we're on the topic of dry weather and clothing, let me repeat once again the unofficial FirstTimeLasVegas.com mantra, creed, slogan, words of wisdom and piece of advice we hammer into the heads of everyone who visits during summer: "Bring more underwear than you think you'll need." Sounds like a very Zen mystery right now, doesn't it? Trust us, it'll all make sense once you're there.

Finding free parking at a Strip casino is absolutely easy — just about every place has huge garages available for no charge (you may have to get a ticket validated inside, but that's not a problem; a garage attendant or pit boss can tell you where to get that taken care of). In fact, most of the large casino garages have free valet parking. Just remember to tip the guy a couple of bucks when you leave.

The casinos do their best to make it very easy for you to get to them — they want you inside spending money instead of outside circling, looking for a parking spot. Vegas traffic, on the other hand, is a bitch. No matter what time of day or night it is, driving to the Strip is going to be a hassle. You may prefer to just call a cab to take you from where you're staying to the casinos (remember you'll have to be at a hotel to hail a taxi for your return trip). It may run you $10 or $20, depending on where you want to go, but my opinion is it's worth it to avoid being behind the driver's wheel in such think auto and pedestrian traffic… plus I like to drink when I gamble, so that's always a consideration. The Las Vegas police department does not turn a blind eye to DUI.