Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

TRAVEL INSURANCE 21
December
National Finals Rodeo. This is the
Super Bowl of rodeos, attended by
close to 170,000 people each year and
offering nearly $5 million in prize
money. The top 15 male rodeo stars
compete in six different events: calf
roping, steer wrestling, bull riding,
team roping, saddle bronco riding,
and bareback riding. The top 15
women compete in barrel racing. An
all-around “Cowboy of the Year” is
chosen. In connection with this
event, hotels book country stars in
their showrooms, and there’s even a
cowboy shopping opportunity—the
NFR Cowboy Christmas Gift
Show, a trade show for Western
gear—at Cashman Field. The NFR
runs for 10 days during the first 2
weeks of December at the 17,000-
seat Thomas and Mack Center of the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
(UNLV). It usually begins on the first
Friday in December and lasts through
the following Sunday. Order tickets as
far in advance as possible (& 702/
895-3900). For more information,
see www.nfrexperience.com.
4 Travel Insurance
Check your existing insurance policies
and credit-card coverage before you
buy travel insurance. You may already
be covered for lost luggage, cancelled
tickets, or medical expenses. The cost
of travel insurance varies widely,
depending on the cost and length of
your trip, your age, health, and the
type of trip you’re taking.
TRIP-CANCELLATION INSUR-
ANCE Trip-cancellation insurance
helps you get your money back if you
have to back out of a trip, if you have to
go home early, or if your travel supplier
goes bankrupt. Allowed reasons for cancellation
can range from sickness to
natural disasters to the State Department
declaring your destination unsafe
for travel. (Insurers usually won’t cover
Las Vegas Bowl Week. A championship
football event in mid-
December pits the winners of the
Mid-American Conference against
the winners of the Big West Conference.
The action takes place at the
32,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium.
Call & 702/895-3900 for ticket
information.
Western Athletic Conference
(WAC) Football Championship.
This collegiate championship event
takes place the first week in December
in Sam Boyd Stadium. Call
& 792/731-5595 for ticket information.
Ticket prices range from
$15 to $100.
New Year’s Eve. This is a biggie
(reserve your hotel room early).
Downtown, on the Fremont Street
Experience, there’s a big block party
with two dramatic countdowns to
midnight (the 1st is at 9pm, midnight
on the East Coast). The Strip
is usually closed to street traffic and
hundreds of thousands of people
pack the area for the festivities.
There are, of course, fireworks.
vague fears, though, as many travelers
discovered who tried to cancel their
trips in Oct 2001 because they were
wary of flying.) In this unstable world,
trip-cancellation insurance is a good
buy if you’re getting tickets well in
advance—who knows what the state of
the world, or of your airline, will be in
9 months? Insurance policy details vary,
so read the fine print—and especially
make sure that your airline or cruise line
is on the list of carriers covered in case
of bankruptcy. For information, contact
one of the following insurers: Access
America (& 866/807-3982; www.
accessamerica.com); Travel Guard
International (& 800/826-4919;
www.travelguard.com); Travel Insured
International (& 800/243-3174;