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Win a Free Trip to Las Vegas and Become a World Record Holder All at Once — What to Know

No specific talent required.

Although your time may have passed to become a world-class athlete, that doesn't mean you can't still break records.

Casino is looking for someone willing to travel to Las Vegas to attempt to break the 2017 Guinness World Record for the most casinos visited — and gambled — in a single 24-hour period.

According to Guinness, "The most casinos gambled in 24 hours is 74," a feat Americans Kimo Ah Yun and Gary Meyer achieved in October 2017. "Gary and Kimo decided to attempt this record again to better their previous attempt from 2015," the record book added. "This time, they gambled at an additional five casinos within the 24-hour time frame."

But Casino believes there's someone out there who can beat this number. And it's willing to bet on it.

The website is offering one lucky person an "all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas, the best night of your life, and the chance at glory" with its new World Record Contest.

As the site notes on its giveaway page, the selected winner will be flown to Las Vegas for a three-night stay and, during the trip, will attempt to gamble in at least 75 casinos to overcome the current record. If they do, not only will they get bragging rights for life, but Casino will also pay them $3,000. But again, you only get the cash if you indeed beat the record.

It’s important to note that the competition is only open to U.S. applicants. If that's you, then head to the application page, where you'll be asked to fill out a form answering "why you think you should be the record breaker." You can do so via a short essay or video submission. (Keep the essay to less than 300 words and the video under two minutes. We know you have a lot to say, but we're sure the contest judges have a lot to go over, too.)

The winner of the competition will be announced on April 9. And, hopefully, they'll be added to the new edition of the Guinness Book of World Records shortly thereafter.

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@BurlesquePrints National Baseball Hall

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@CatacayCataria Some designs, like the “spark orange”

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This Sustainable, Stylish South African Home Decor Brand Is Now Available in the U.S.

The homewares brand Mo’s Crib is well known in South Africa. Now available from U.S. retailers, it’s finding a whole new audience.

If you’ve stayed at the Silo Hotel in Cape Town or a Singita Lodge elsewhere in South Africa, you may have seen elegant woven baskets tucked discreetly under a sink or by a bedside. These are the work of Mo and Michelle Mokone, the sisters behind the Pretoria-based decor company Mo’s Crib.

This innovation paid off: the sisters won the market’s best new product award, which led to the launch of Mo’s Crib in 2016. Today, their laundry and storage baskets, place mats, trays, plant pots, and wall art — some of which are made from natural fibers like the sisal plant — are found in major retail stores around South Africa and online. In 2021, they began distributing in the United States through Crate & Barrel and, this past January, at Target.

Some designs, like the “spark orange” baskets, are a celebration of South Africa’s vibrant visual culture, Mo says. In contrast, the sisters’ signature black-and-white line — which they say represents different races coming together—is inspired by Ubuntu, a humanist concept that translates to “I am because you are.”

In September, the sisters will debut a new basket made from banana-tree bark at Crate & Barrel. But their ambitions don’t stop there. “We would really like to have our own retail stores,” Michelle says. “I want to one day look back and say, ‘This was a dream, and now it’s here.’ ”
A version of this story first appeared in the September 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "A Tisket, A Tasket."

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Maui’s Honokohau Falls and the Sea Cliffs of Molokai from the air

Maui Plane Rides

Taking a flight across Hawaii’s most dramatic landscapes will really make you sit up and appreciate the world around you. On this helicopter tour over Molokai and Maui you’ll see a panorama of cliffs, jungle, ocean, and volcanoes, perhaps interrupted by a majestic whale or two. Take in those massive sea cliffs and that serene North Shore bathed in sunlight—you simply won’t want to leave.

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Forsyth Park: Savannah, Georgia

Forsyth Park

The thirty-acre site of Forsyth Park, dating from the 1840s, is one of the most iconic spots in the city of Savannah. The park’s fountain is probably its most recognizable landmark, and the benches and Spanish moss-covered oaks that surround it have helped make it a romantic focal point for photography. Outside the park, TripAdvisor reviewers particularly love Savannah’s historic churches and cathedrals, this museum dedicated to the history of Prohibition, and sites like Bonaventure Cemetery, nestled on the bluff of the Wilmington River and famous for its old tree-lined roadways and historic architecture.

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This Gorgeous New Ship Is the Only Cruise in the World Sailed by Hand

The new Sea Cloud Spirit will sail the Caribbean this winter, and then cruise the Mediterranean for summer 2024.

Watching the tightly choreographed deck crew scale the riggings, swaying slightly in the breeze, to hoist the sails on the fully rigged windjammer a few miles off Nice, France, I felt my stomach knot up.

An avid sailor, I have never ascended higher than the boom, let alone strap myself in with mountain climber–like safety gear and step up through ropes to “set the sails.” The sails on Sea Cloud Spirit, a three-mast, square-rigged tall ship, measure a whopping 44,100 square feet. It takes 22 professional square-rigged vessel seamen and deckhands around 45 minutes to raise all 28 sails.

According to Sea Cloud Cruises CEO Daniel Schäfer, this Malta-flagged ship, custom-built in Vigo, Spain, and launched in 2021, is the only sail-powered cruise ship in the world that is “hand-sailed.” That’s with the exception of electric-powered winches, which tighten the sheets (or the ropes that trim the sails). It’s a glorious sight to see and a key reason passengers choose to cruise with Sea Cloud.

“About half of our passengers are sailors or have something to do with the water,” Schäfer told me.
Dennis Carbocci had done his homework before booking back-to-back cruises aboard Sea Cloud Spirit. I met him and his wife, Pamela, on their second week-long Mediterranean cruise, this one tracing the Italian and French Rivieras before schmoozing into the Balearic Sea under the warm October sun.

“This is, like, real sailing. With all the sails up and heavy wind, it really is exhilarating,” Dennis said.

Sea Cloud Cruises isn’t new to boutique luxury sailing. The small Hamburg, Germany–based company has been around for more than four decades and prides itself on its sophisticated European hospitality.

Christoph Mayer, an occasional sailor, has previously sailed on Sea Cloud II, while his parents have taken five or six cruises on the elegant vessels. It was his first time sailing together with them, along with his girlfriend and aunt.

But Sea Cloud is the flagship; the one that started it all. Wall Street broker Edward Francis Hutton commissioned the vessel in 1931, the world’s largest private sailing yacht at the time, and allowed his wife, businesswoman and philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post, to furnish the interiors with lavish antiques. With a long and fascinating history, the 64-passenger ship is still sailing the high seas and has ardent devotees. 

At 452 feet and a 136-passenger capacity with 85 crew on board, Sea Cloud Spirit is the largest of the company’s three vessels — but it still has an intimate feel. More spacious than Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II, it retains classic windjammer lines and lacquered timber finishes throughout.

One afternoon, the wind picked up, reaching around the mid- to high-20 knots, and the skies turned overcast. I watched in amazement as Katia Jarosławowna Plewińska, one of two female deck crew, fastened the lower sails.

Like every bonafide sailing yacht, Sea Cloud Spirit heels (leans) when the sails are up. This makes for a smooth ride, even in choppy seas. All you hear is the water gliding beneath the hull. Powered by two silent diesel electric engines, the only noise is the engine’s generators, which operate intermittently.

Here, everything you need to know about Sea Cloud Spirit — and what it was like to be one of the first on board.

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@LeahStarryEyes Hotels and Resorts

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Celebrity Cruises Just Delivered Its Newest Ship, Which Sails the Caribbean This Winter — and I Was the First to See It

Celebrity Cruises just delivered the fourth ship in its Edge-class series: the Celebrity Ascent. I was the first to see it — take a look inside.

This week, I was one of the first to see the brand-new Celebrity Ascent as it was delivered from the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It's the fourth ship in Celebrity Cruises' Edge class and will sail the Caribbean this winter. On the same day, the cruise line announced that Edge-class ship No. 5, coming in 2025, will be called Celebrity Xcel.

Saint-Nazaire, a small coastal city in France, is one of the few places in the world where cruise ships are born. Cruise ships aren't built by cruise lines themselves, but rather by specialized manufacturers. In Saint-Nazaire is the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, established more than 160 years ago. They've just completed construction on Celebrity Cruises' newest vessel.

The day started quietly with the simple act of signing paperwork, which transferred control of Celebrity Ascent from Chantiers to Celebrity. Then, the fun began. More than 1,000 crew had already taken residence on board to prepare the ship for its departure from Saint-Nazaire, and they were joined by VIP guests, including government officials, Celebrity executives, and of course, the captains of the ship: brothers Dimitrios and Tasos Kafetzis. We all gathered on the sun deck to witness the traditional changing of the flag, from the French flag representing Chantiers to the American flag representing Celebrity.

"We have a lot of ceremonial affairs in our business, some of it superstitious in nature. The ability to kind of celebrate events like this is very special to us," said Jason Liberty, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, in an interview with Travel + Leisure.

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@BaRaHo0neRos Do on Grand Turk

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The Longest Hiking Trail in the Caribbean Has an Even More Beautiful Sibling Trail at Sea — and I Explored It by Kayak

A major marine trail in the Caribbean offers travelers a chance to swap hiking boots for water shoes

Dominica’s 115-mile national hiking trail, which opened just over a decade ago, traverses the island’s mountains, passing sulfurous hot springs and dramatic waterfalls. Now a sea-kayaking trail has been created to mirror its inland sibling. In fact, the two trails share the same word: Waitukubuli, the name given to the island by its first inhabitants, the Kalinago.

“We wanted to honor the original paddlers when we created the trail,” said Wes Moses, the owner of watersports tour agency Soufrière Outdoor Centre and the founder of the Waitukubuli Sea Trail, which officially launched in January 2023. The marine trail’s 14 segments stretch 32 nautical miles from Scott’s Head, in the southwest, to Capuchin, in the north. The route, which can be paddled in six days from south to north, takes in some of the island’s most famous attractions, including the frothy Champagne Beach, where small bubbles rise from the volcanic seafloor. But even a two-day paddle promises spectacular scenery. Last spring, I joined Moses on an overnight journey to tackle the trail’s final two sections.

Batalie Beach to Portsmouth

We got an early start from Batalie Beach, where we’d spent the night at Sunset Bay Club Beach Resort. It may have been the shots of lime punch and spiced rum we drank with the hotel’s owner the previous evening, but my first few moments of paddling felt incredibly strenuous. Thankfully, we took our time, hugging the calm waters near the shore and making stops for a dip near the villages of Colihaut and Dublanc.

Past Dublanc, we saw coastline that was undeveloped for miles. I scanned the water for fish skimming the surface and peered down at sea sponges on the ocean floor. But the most memorable moment was getting a glimpse of Morne Diablotins, Dominica’s highest peak. The 4,747-foot mountain seemed to epitomize the name waitukubuli, which means “tall is her body.”

After snorkeling around an arched rock formation at Secret Beach, we pulled up to the town of Portsmouth and checked in to the Picard Bay Cottages, a serene property with 18 seafront cabins. Before calling it a night, Moses suggested we walk up the street to grab lamb wraps at Kenan Shawarma King.

Portsmouth to Capuchin

After a fairly gentle first outing, I got a taste of real ocean kayaking on our second day. Moses told me we had two open-water crossings before we reached the trail’s end at Capuchin (continuing to hug the shoreline was an option, but would take much longer). Glassy waters soon turned to challenging whitecaps as we moved across Prince Rupert Bay. I dug in and pushed forward, focusing on each stroke of my paddle.

We headed for the peninsula of Cabrits National Park. Upon arrival, we were rewarded with a quick, sheltered respite from the wind and waves before our next ambitious crossing of Douglas Bay. We paddled over Split Rock — a stunning crack in an underwater rock that is a popular dive site — and past steep cliffs, then turned inland to the oasis of Toucari Bay. Spent, I had lunch at Keepin It Real, then took a quick swim and rested on the beach.

Setting off from Toucari, the final hour on the water was extraordinary. As it came into view, the northern tip of Capuchin rose from the sea in a palm-surrounded spire. Moses told me that this was the place where the Caribbean Sea meets the channel between Dominica and its northern neighbor, Guadeloupe. Upon landing at Capuchin, we celebrated at a roadside bar with an ice-cold Carib beer, then headed to a nearby park to view the island’s craggy tip from below. Looking down at the water from where we’d come, I felt salty, sore, and exulted.

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@CatacayCataria Bay was just $170,500

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This Dreamy Caribbean Island Is the No. 1 Trending Destination for U.S. Travelers

Americans are trading in their fedoras and scarves for sandals and piña coladas.

It appears Americans want something different out of vacation this year. Asia is out, as is Europe. Instead, Americans are looking for white sand beaches, tropical climates, and low-stress holidays closer to home. According to Skyscanner, which examined user travel searches over the course of a year, six of the top 10 trending destinations are island hot spots, with the Cayman Islands coming out on top.

The Cayman Islands, which saw a 483 percent increase in searches from the same time period the year prior, was the notable standout. The three Cayman Islands, which are south of Cuba between Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea, are just an hour by plane from Miami and have nonstop flights from most major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, and Denver. English is the official language and U.S. dollars are widely accepted, as is the local Cayman Islands dollar.

The three Cayman Islands include Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The former is known for its luxury resorts and the iconic Seven Mile Beach, while Cayman Brac is popular for deep-sea fishing and the Little Cayman is considered to be a diving community mecca.

“It's clear that U.S. travelers are craving island adventure, particularly the tropical climate and white sands of the Caribbean,” said the Skyscanner report.

So what will Americans do once they arrive at these island hot spots? Skyscanner says historical tours and sampling local food top the list of vacation activities, with a whopping 45 percent of users selecting a destination based on its culinary offerings, along with attractions and weather.

Following the Cayman Islands was French Polynesia with a 227 percent increase in searches, year-over-year. The ranking then included two destinations in Japan — Osaka and Tokyo — before listing the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, St. Maarten, and Oranjestad in Aruba. The only European destination to make the cut was Bucharest, Romania at No. 6.

Cayman Islands
French Polynesia
Osaka, Japan
Tokyo, Japan
U.S. Virgin Islands
Budahrest, Romania
Bermuda
Taipei, Taiwan
St. Maarten
Oranjestad, Aruba

The report reviewed searches from the U.S. between July 8, 2022, and July 8, 2023, and compared them to the same time period the year prior. The top 10 destinations reflect those with the biggest year-over-year increase in searches.

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@guustavinho_s Welcome to Carbondale, IL! Just five hours from Chicago, this university town is a great starting point for exploring the Shawnee National Forest and local wineries. Set up camp and let the adventures begin! #Carbondale #SouthernIllinois #RoadTripEssentials

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@guustavinho_s Check out these bold little newts strutting their stuff in the wild! #animals #newts #wildlife #nature #beautifulanimals 🦎🌿🌟

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@guustavinho_s into a world where the only limit is your imagination and every show is a work of art in progress! Let's go!

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@guustavinho_s Ready to swoon over some Impressionist masterpieces at the Musée d’Orsay? This former train station is a must-see for art lovers.

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@dandelion54 Explore Le Marais and its culinary offerings on our food and wine tour! It's like a playground for your taste buds. Cheers! 🍷🥖 #Paris #FoodTour