YOU watched the Bellagio fountains leap for hours to soulful tunes, stared at the sharks at Mandalay Bay Resort's reef for so long they seem to have aged before your eyes, circled New York-New York Hotel on its roller coaster so many times that even your kids are weary of it.
What comes next, Mom and Dad? Is there time for you now that the sun has set and the slots and shows on the Strip beckon?
A Mary Poppins-style sitter might be the answer. Depending on your needs, comfort level and budget, sitters are available to come to your hotel room to unleash you for an evening.
"When you think of dropping $50 on a table or $20 into a machine, then $12 an hour is nothing to have someone watch your children," says Sandy White, a mother of two from Escondido who booked a Vegas sitter for two nights in November. "It turned the trip around for us."
White searched Craigslist classified ads (www.craigslist.com) to find Lyndsay Fletcher, a full-time Las Vegas nanny who moonlights as a sitter for tourists. She has references but no specific training, background checks or liability insurance.
"I've never had anyone say they needed a background check or ask for more. I'd advise parents to speak with the sitter and follow your instincts," says Fletcher, 21. "If you don't feel comfortable, move on. Ask them the questions you'd ask another mother."
In the same price range, you'll find 77-year-old "Grandma Dotti" Brooks, a retired hotel waitress who works part time making change at slot machines. She has eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and runs a baby-sitting business.
"These little people depend on you for their lives and don't you ever forget it," Brooks says. She places the highest value on her sitters' experience with their own children too, but says all have had criminal background checks and some know CPR.
Brooks won't give references, though, because she considers that a violation of her clients' privacy. "I don't hire teens," she says. "If a kid swallowed his tongue or something, a 13-year-old wouldn't know what to do."
Haven't reached your comfort level yet? Hang on.
If you want a baby-sitter who is backed by six figures in liability insurance, has passed rigorous background checks, can handle an autistic child or a child who speaks only Japanese, Lexy Capp can help you.
