All About Las Vegas: March 2013

Monday, March 11, 2013

Top 10 acts of escapism in Vegas

A Bible-toting Elvis kisses a giddy couple who’ve just pledged eternity in the Chapel of Love. A blue-haired granny feeds nickels into a slot machine while chain-smoking and slugging gin-and-tonics. A porn star saunters by a nightclub’s velvet rope. Welcome to Las Vegas – blink and you’ll miss it. Sleep? Forget about it.

Vegas is the ultimate escape. A few frenzied sleepless nights here can be more intoxicating than a week-long bender somewhere else. Let the everyday rules of behaviour slide a little, like a burlesque dancer’s feather boa. Be as bad as you wanna be, and make your most devilish fantasies come true. Sin City stands ready to give you an alibi: what happens here, stays here. Who can resist such seductive temptation?

Here are the top 10 ways you can have the most frenzied, fast-paced and fantastical time of your life in Vegas.

1. Dive into the free-for-all on the Strip

The sensory overload of blindingly bright neon lights signifies that yes, you’ve finally arrived on Las Vegas Blvd (aka the Strip). The infamous Strip has the lion’s share of hulking casino hotels and megaresorts, all flashily competing to lure you inside.

The opposite side of the Strip holds just as many distractions. Lean over the graceful bridges and balustrades of the Venetian and watch the singing gondoliers oar their boats through the mock canals of this Italianate casino.

2. Party with the locals on ‘First Friday’ nights

On the tattered fringes of downtown, hidden among the antique shops and vintage-clothing stores, is the city’s emerging 18b Arts District. Drive by it on any given weekday and you might not even notice pivotal landmarks like the Arts Factory. But on the first Friday night of each month, these rundown streets take on a carnival atmosphere as 10,000 art lovers, hipsters, indie musicians and hangers-on turn it into one giant block party.

3. Examine the legacy of the Cold War at the Atomic Testing Museum

During the atomic heyday of the 1950s, visitors downtown stared, mesmerised, as mushroom clouds rose from the desert behind Las Vegas. Over the next four decades, over 900 nuclear explosions were initiated at the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city.

Multimedia exhibits at the Atomic Testing Museum focus on science, technology and the social history of the Atomic Age. There’s also a cool scientific- and retro-minded museum shop, where you can buy your very own A-bomb fallout shelter sign or biohazard T-shirt.

4. Shop for one-of-a-kind gambling souvenirs

The kitschy age of old-school casinos and the heyday of outrageous theme hotels may be drawing to a close as the Strip’s casino hotels trade their gaudy Egyptian gods and faux European landmarks for more chic – but ultimately boring – high-class luxury.

Fans of Old Vegas can still pick up pieces of these old-school hotels at fun, funky shops such as Gamblers General Store that collect vintage casino souvenirs, from authentic gaming chips to your very own slot machine.

5. Marvel at the avant-garde circus exploits of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil’s circus shows rule the roost with the Strip’s longest-running spectacular (since 1993). Though founded in Québec, Cirque du Soleil seems tailor-made for Las Vegas, where spectacle is craved above all else. Whimsical multicoloured costumes, high-flying aerial acrobatics and giant-sized taiko drums add up to an electrifying atmosphere, and you can easily get caught up in the heart-pounding shows.

6. Refuel late-night at a retro hideaway Fireside Lounge

When it’s 4am and your feet hurt after shakin’ your booty all night long, where are you gonna go? Escape the other tourists at the Peppermill Casino’s 24hr Fireside Lounge. Hidden away on the North Strip, this pint-sized coffee shop with its candy-bright neon lights and faux flickering fireplaces is a beacon. The psychedelic decor and special-effects water fountains are as distracting as the cocktail waitress’s slinky dress.

7. Let it all hang out in downtown’s historic Glitter Gulch

When you’ve tired of the glitz of the Strip, ride the double-decker Deuce Bus downtown to Fremont St. There you’ll discover the city’s original hurly-burly casino row, nicknamed Glitter Gulch. This old-school gambling ghetto sprang up beside the railroad tracks back in 1905.

Although the downtown gambling halls aren’t glamorous like Vegas’ megaresorts, their proximity to one another is a real plus; you can easily stumble between half a dozen gaming joints here.

8. Make a pilgrimage to Liberace’s shrine of kitsch

Known as ‘Mr Showmanship’, the late, great entertainer Liberace has been honored by the creation of this outrageous museum, located off the Strip. While audiences enjoyed listening to Liberace’s exuberant keyboard artistry, they were also amazed and secretly amused by his outlandish style.

Time your visit to coincide with one of the free guided tours, during which no mention will be made of Liberace’s homosexuality or the more creepily bizarre rumors that he had his lover undergo plastic surgery in order to make him look more like Liberace himself.

9. Laze by the pool all day

Las Vegas’ pop culture of excess also applies to swimming pools. Bikini-clad goddesses proffer frozen grapes at Caesars Palace while the Golden Nugget’s waterslide shoots swimmers through a glass-enclosed shark tank.

The city’s most impressive (guests-only) pool complex at Mandalay Bay even has an artificial beach. Here, surfers can ride on 6ft-high artificial waves, rent a beachfront cabana or private villa to be treated like royalty for a day, or while away the hours gambling at the beachside casino.

10. Indulge in bodily bliss at a modern oasis

Seeking Hawaiian lomilomi, Japanese shiatsu or a Thai massage? Or perhaps a volcanic-mud or banana-leaf body wrap and a coconut-crème exfoliation? Or how about a lotus-flower bath and a soak in signature apothecary elixirs? Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace has everything you desire, and then some. Sweat out your hangover inside the aromatic cedar sauna. Take a dip in the Roman baths. Chill in the arctic room, where dry-ice snowflakes fall. Recline in the exotic tea lounge. In the ‘Men’s Zone’, bad-boy poker players can get a royal shave or have their sore muscles kneaded like they were victorious gladiators.

Discover life in the Nevada desert

Las Vegas lies at the edge of the vast Mojave Desert, in a bowl-shaped valley in the parched rain-shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The population of the city already numbers over half a million, and if you count outlying suburbs and independent cities, the total number of people in the metro area is fast approaching two million, more than double what it was just a decade ago. Interestingly, visitors outnumber locals nearly 20 to one.

Because Las Vegas is an artificial playground built in the middle of the desert, is it any surprise that the valley may drain its entire water supply by the year 2021? Air pollution is another serious problem: the sky above the Strip is sometimes so dirty that you can’t see the mountains for the haze.

The reality is that the sustainability of this fragile desert environment is a huge concern. We think Al Gore would agree – it’s an inconvenient truth that can no longer be ignored. But there’s hope. An environmentally conscious educational complex called the Springs Preserve is literally a breath of fresh air.

Spread over 180 acres atop the site of the original springs and las vegas (Spanish for ‘the meadows’), where Southern Paiute tribes people and Old Spanish Trail traders once pitched their camps, and where Mormon missionaries and Western pioneers later settled the Las Vegas Valley, this $250-million museum complex takes visitors on an incredible trip through historical, cultural and biological time.

If you want to dig beneath the hard-scrabble surface of this desert oasis, start with the OriGen Experience. The ‘Natural Mojave’ galleries simulate flash floods and expose the variety of native wildlife that calls this desert home, from Gila monsters to big brown bats.

The ‘People of the Springs’ exhibit traces the city’s obscure history, from Native American dwellings to the arrival of the railroad on the Western frontier and the construction of Hoover Dam. The ‘New Frontier’ rooms are stocked with kid-friendly interactive multimedia games that teach about conservation, the environment and life in the modern city. Who knew slot machines could be so educational?

The touchstone of the Springs Preserve is the forward-thinking Desert Living Center. Nevada’s first platinum-certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings stand proudly here, constructed of recycled materials and rammed-earth walls, with passive cooling, renewable heating, reclaimed water and solar-electricity panels, all harvesting clean energy. Inside the centre are classrooms, learning labs and public exhibits designed to inspire visitors to consider the future of the Strip’s neon jungle.

Emerging from the main buildings, outdoor xeriscaped gardens flourish with over 30,000 plants. Out back more than two miles of walking trails feature interpretive displays that piece together Nevada’s cultural and natural history; bring along plenty of water and don’t attempt to walk the trails in the blazing midday sun.

Afterward, stop by the nature-themed gift shop, which sells gifts, books, toys and brain-teaser souvenirs. Upstairs is the healthy, ecoconscious Café Wolfgang Puck. The Springs Preserve is also the future home of the Nevada State Museum.

While other green spaces inside the city limits are rare, a few casino hotels have gardens for making your escape from the smoke-filled gaming areas. Along the Strip, ride the monorail, a zero-emissions public transportation option. For excursions out of town, the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead and the Valley of Fire will satisfy your nature-loving soul.

Vintage Las Vegas

Wish you could swing back in time and experience the real Las Vegas? The Vegas of Sinatra and Elvis and mobsters and showgirls? The crooners may be gone but the spirit lives on – here are the best places to channel it:

Decades before garish LED screens presided over the Strip, handcrafted neon signs reigned as Vegas’ original iconic art form. While much of this neon art has been dismantled (and, unfortunately, trashed) you can view over 150 lovingly restored artifacts at the Neon Museum. A tour of the museum’s ‘Boneyard,’ full of retro signs dating back as far as 1930, is one of Vegas’ most fascinating strolls.

While you’re delving into the city’s storied history, you might want to get gussied up in a few vintage duds. How about a hot pair of cat-eye glasses, a Rat Pack-inspired suit, or a cocktail dress worthy of a femme fatale? Our retro shopping pick: The Attic.

It’s time to test your luck and possibly make your fortune. Follow the locals downtown to the original Glitter Gulch where the magic all began. We love Binion’s for its famous zero-limit poker with beginner-friendly $2 minimum hands. Home to the World Series of Poker kickoff in 1970, you can’t get more classic than this. If you’re in the mood for blackjack, head to the deliciously retro El Cortez. Not only is it the oldest continuously operating casino (going strong since 1941), it is one of the only joints in town where the slots are the real thing. If you hit the jackpot, you’ll enjoy the clatter of actual coins – none of that newfangled paper ticket nonsense.

While more than one Strip establishment has made a halfhearted attempt to recreate a vintage diner experience, locals know that that the most authentic lunch counter is hidden inside an unassuming drugstore. For cheeseburgers and malts at old-fashioned prices, head to Tiffany’s Café (inside White Cross Drugs, 1700 Las Vegas Boulevard S., 702-444-4459). This original 24-hour restaurant does not pretend to be a 1950s soda fountain, because it is a 1950s soda fountain.

Long before the Bellagio’s soaring water show drew legions of onlookers, the most awe-inspiring view in Vegas was something decidedly more provocative: mushroom clouds. Recalling an era when the word ‘atomic’ conjured modernity and mystery, the Smithsonian-run Atomic Testing Museum remains an intriguing testament to the period when the fantastical – and destructive – power of nuclear energy was tested just outside of Las Vegas.

Pay homage to Ol’ Blue Eyes at Sinatra in the spanking-new Encore, Steve Wynn’s newest showpiece casino-hotel. While home-style Italian classics in an upscale atmosphere impress, don’t miss the restaurant’s most wow-inducing feature. Check out Frank Sinatra’s gleaming Grammy and Oscar awards in a display case near the hostess stand.

There’s plenty of steak to be had in Vegas, with celebrity chefs and high-end chains all competing for diner accolades. So why not skip the competition and keep it old school? Serving steaks – along with tableside-prepared Caesar salads and Bananas Foster – since the 1950s, The Golden Steer has remained in a class of its own. Illustrious regulars of have included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and plenty of mobsters. For a scandalous story or two, head to the bar––bartender Johnny has been pouring martinis since the Rat Pack ruled town. Salty-tongued waiters charm you silly, but with no solicitous pretense.

Nevada has long welcomed starry-eyed couples – drunk, sober, or freshly divorced – into its wedding chapels. Witness a wedding at the historic Little White Wedding Chapel, once home to the 1950s nuptials that kicked off Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow’s doomed romance, as well and Paul Newman’s and Joanne Woodward’s famously lasting one. If you’re lucky, you’ll hear ‘Elvis’ serenade the bride and groom.

After a night of 21st century clubbing on the Strip, the most bewitching Vegas nightcap can be found inside the Fireside Lounge. Imagine a neon den of Swinging Sixties-era cool, where couples cozy next to the bubbling fire pit and strangers trade sultry glances over their Mai Tais. Groups should head to a booth and order a Scorpion, a giant fishbowl of a cocktail served with multiple straws. If you find it’s 5am and your craving for waffles has just hit, you’re in luck: the Fireside just happens to be inside the strip’s most outrageously fun 24-hour diner, The Peppermill.

Before you say farewell to Sin City, pick up a piece of Vegas history to bring home – say, an ashtray from the legendary Sands Hotel – from downtown’s Main Street Antiques. Pssst…you might want to nab a shot glass or a matchbook from the 1950s-era, Moroccan-themed Sahara Hotel and Casino. To the dismay of vintage lovers everywhere, it closed May 2011.

Going to the chapel

There must be something magical about Las Vegas for lovers, because a blushing couple ties the knot there every five minutes. In fact, a jaw-dropping one out of every 20 marriages in America happens in Las Vegas.

Scores of celebrity couples have exchanged vows in Sin City, from Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu to Sammy Davis Jr and Swedish model May Britt to Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Why not you and your intended, too?

After all, the 50-50 odds of a marriage surviving ’till death us do part’ start to look pretty good in comparison to the chances of hitting a royal flush at the poker table. (You don’t have to be sober to get married in Vegas either – that helps some folks a lot.)

Choices for the perfect spot to say ‘I do’ are endless. Weddings are performed in gondolas at the Venetian or atop the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas. You can hire an Elvis impersonator to serenade you with ‘Blue Hawaii’, or you could dress up like Marilyn Monroe. Getting married after a dramatic helicopter landing on the floor of the Grand Canyon is also an option.

But to be truthful, the more Vegas wedding chapels you see, the less you may be inclined to entrust them with the happiest day of your life.

Many are pretty tacky: full of plastic flowers, fake stained-glass windows and doll’s-house pews. You may feel rushed, as these places crank out dozens of weddings every day. Expect to pay upwards of $200 for a basic service, including a chintzy limo ride to the chapel.

Before you get hitched at a wedding chapel, stop by the Clark County’s Marriage Bureau for a licence. Overseas visitors should check back home first if they’ll need any additional documentation to ‘make it official’.

It’s the low licence fee that attracts a lot of couples, as well as the no-wait period and lack of blood-test requirements that are often advertised. The services themselves range from a ten-minute drive-through with a streaming internet simulcast to a big function at a megaresort (more than two dozen casino hotels have wedding chapels).

Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Day are crush times for Vegas wedding chapels; if you want to say your vows at peak times, apply for a licence online, up to a year in advance. Make wedding-chapel reservations as far in advance as possible, too. Otherwise, civil courthouse ceremonies are performed from 8am to 10pm daily.

Several shops around Las Vegas rent tuxedos and wedding gowns for the occasion; some casinos have high-end jewellery shops that stay open late, even 24 hours. Many day spas and beauty salons offer beauty treatments and up-dos for the brides, and there are even bakeries that sell same-day wedding cakes and fresh flowers.

However, you don’t have to elope to find romance in Sin City. Steal a kiss over mega martinis atop the Stratosphere Tower, clasp hands as you watch the Bellagio’s dancing fountains or hide out with your paramour in a deluxe suite all weekend. Room-service menus feature champagne, gourmet chocolate and X-rated goodies to spice up your love life.

Top 5 luxury experiences in Las Vegas

Now more than ever, visiting Las Vegas is not just about gambling. A stopover in Sin City these days is all about the headlong, hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. Here are just a few of our top picks for over-the-top luxury, both on and off the Strip:

1. Elevate your spa rituals

The Strip harbors dozens of fantastically creative million-dollar spa oases. You can release everyday stresses with a Hawaiian lomilomi massage, an ayurvedic herbal bath or a chai-tea mud mask. Sweat out toxins in a California redwood sauna, a Turkish-style hammam or a Japanese salt cave. Afterward, chill in an arctic ice room where artificial dry-ice snowflakes fall. Romantic couples’ side-by-side spa treatments are guaranteed to bring bliss, while more adventurous spa offerings outdoors include rock climbing in Red Rock Canyon or kayaking on desert lakes. Almost all of the Strip’s spas welcome men as well as women, some upping the macho ante with high-end barber services, sports TVs in the steam room, and more.

2. Score the best seats in the house

All of the Strip’s a show, full of magicians, comedians, Broadway musical casts and leggy showgirls all competing for applause. For total escapism, let yourself be hypnotized by the artistry of La Rêve (The Dream), where surreal vignettes swing from romantic rendezvous to eerie nightmares. Aquatic acrobatic feats and choreographed underwater ballet by scuba-certified performers are the centrepiece of a custom-built theatre, which holds a one-million-gallon swimming pool. Alternatively, seek out a better-than Broadway show like Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular or one of Cirque du Soleil’s many acts – you can’t swing a cat on the Strip without hitting a troupe of whimsically-costumed acrobats. After the show, see out the wee small hours of the morning at one of the city’s hottest nightclubs – if you want the full treatment be sure to call ahead for bottle-service reservations.

3. Taste the whole world on a plate

Literally you can eat your way around the world in Las Vegas, bouncing from high-flying French dining rooms to Japanese izakaya (gastropubs) to southwest American chilli-spiced kitchens. In fact, sometimes you can taste it all in the same place. At Mandalay Bay, Fleur by Hubert Keller (the first guest chef ever invited to the White House) is a sophisticated, worldly take on a tapas bar. Atlantic halibut cheeks, Iberico ham, Russian caviar and Japanese wagyū beef all rub shoulders on the inventive fusion menu of small plates. Red-curtained cabanas make dinner feel like a private star chef-catered party for you and your friends. After-dinner affogato brings Bailey’s ice cream dramatically mixed tableside – with liquid nitrogen!

4. Shop and drive like James Bond

Calling Las Vegas a fashion-forward city doesn’t do it justice. International haute couture purveyors on the Strip carry everything from catwalk fashions fresh off this year’s runways to diamond jewels. Why not pop in on Fred Leighton – many Academy Awards night adornments are on loan from the world’s most prestigious collection of antique jewelry. Unlike at their uptight NYC outlet, they might even let you try on finery that once belonged to royalty. After you finally hit that slot-machine or video-poker jackpot, take a flashy imported sports car for a test drive at one of the Strip’s luxury auto dealerships. Vroom, vroom! If you don’t have $100,000 to drop on a brand-new Maserati, you can still strike a debonair 007 pose while taking a souvenir photo next to one of these high-performance driving machines.

5. Fly into the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is the USA’s best-known natural attraction. At over 275 miles long, roughly 10 miles wide and a mile deep, it’s an incredible spectacle of Technicolor rock strata. Carved by the Colorado River, the canyon’s uncountable peaks and buttes and its meandering rims give access to fantastic views – and perhaps none better than from the seat of a helicopter. From Las Vegas, deluxe chopper tours fly byHoover Dam, an art-deco desert masterpiece, before descending 3500ft below the canyon’s west rim. Landing at a scenic viewpoint just above the mighty Colorado, your pilot will break out a bottle for a champagne toast. Attention, lovebirds: you can exchange your wedding vows at sunset here.

Leaving Las Vegas: top things to do nearby without a casino in sight

When you’ve tired of the ding-ding-ding of the slot machines, then it’s time to hit the road and grab some fresh air. Not so far from the Strip’s neon lights, here are five epic outdoor destinations, all without a smoke-choked casino in sight.

Red Rock Canyon

If you’ve only got an afternoon to spare, head west of the Strip out into the Mojave Desert. Red Rock Canyon is a 195,000-acre national conservation area was created when rocks laid down in a prehistoric ocean were pushed up through fractures in the earth’s surface. Today the canyon looks like a colorful geological layer cake. Sandstone cliffs are inscribed with ancient Native American petroglyphs, while out of sheer rock faces spring waterfalls that draw bighorn sheep and birds. The park’s one-way scenic loop is a 13-mile drive or cycling trip. Rock climbing and hiking are the biggest draws, with family-friendly outdoor activity programs offered by Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association.

Valley of Fire & Lake Mead

From the Strip, zoom north on I-15 past the city’s farthest-flung casinos, turning east toward dramatic Valley of Fire State Park. Here the rolling red-rock landscape epitomizes the cinematic beauty of the Southwest, as seen in Captain Kirk’s death scene from Star Trek: Generations and the Mars storyline in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall. Formed by ancient sand dunes, alien-looking eroded rock formations come in all sorts of zany shapes and sizes, with whimsical names like the Beehives and Duck Rock. Inspect Atlatl Rock for petroglyphs left by the valley’s ancient Puebloan peoples. Time your visit to the park for sunset, when the landscape glows a fiery red. But avoid the hottest dog days of summer – temperatures easily peak over 100°F. To escape the heat, dart east to the uncrowded sandy beaches of Lake Mead National Recreation Area nearby.

Hoover Dam

Less than an hour’s drive from the Strip, on the way to the Grand Canyon, stands this art-deco dream in the desert. Built during the 1930s Depression era, it was once the tallest dam of its kind in the entire world. Designed to control flooding on the mighty Colorado River, Hoover Dam today generates power for over a million people. Take a tour and ride the underground elevators down to watch the giant turbines in action, or just take a walk across atop the dam, which straddles the Nevada/Arizona state line. Open since 2012, a new bypass bridge (open to pedestrians, if you’re willing to walk up a few flights of windy outdoor stairs) gives even more heart-dropping views deep into Black Canyon. For a close-up look at the dam from below, book a guided kayak tour with Boulder City River Riders and paddle downstream to hidden hot springs and waterfalls.

The Grand Canyon

More than any other natural attraction near Las Vegas, what everyone really wants to see is the Grand Canyon. Over 275 miles long and measuring over a mile deep and almost 20 miles across in some places, this natural wonder of the world will impress even jaded travelers. Although you can see the canyon on a very long day trip from Vegas, why rush? Stay overnight on the canyon’s rim at a rustic park lodge or pitch your own tent at a park campground. That way you won’t miss out on seeing both sunset and sunrise, when the play of light and clouds over this ancient river-eroded canyon looks like a 19th-century Romantic painting.

About 90% of Grand Canyon visitors head to the national park’s South Rim, a five-hour drive from the Strip. Then leave your car behind and hop aboard the park’s seasonal shuttles, which drop off at majestic viewpoints and canyon rim hiking trails. Or lose the crowds entirely by driving to the Grand Canyon’s more peaceful and remote North Rim, at the edge of the cool, pine-forested Kaibab Plateau. Slightly closer to Las Vegas, the North Rim is also convenient for making a bonus scenic detour through Utah’s Zion National Park, with its narrow slot canyons and green oases alongside the Virgin River.

Viva Las Vegas (on a low-roller’s budget)

Hey, big spender – think a weekend in Vegas means blowing your life savings at the blackjack table? The glittering Strip may conjure up images of slick card dealers, Dom Perignon, and Demi Moore rolling around on a hotel bed covered with hundred-dollar bills, but you can live it up in Sin City on a low-roller’s budget.

Cheap sleeps on the Strip

There’s no way around it – a suite at the Wynn Las Vegas or one of the impossibly hip hotel rooms at the Cosmopolitan Hotel will cost you. But right next door to the high-end resorts are affordable casino-hotels where ‘standard’ rooms are surprisingly spacious and come with above-average amenities from flat-screen TVs to soaking tubs. Our picks for value lodgings along Las Vegas Boulevard? At the family-friendly Flamingo, steeped in old-school Vegas history and featuring a gorgeous pool complex, high-season rooms range from $67-150 per night. Over at one of the largest hotels in the world, the MGM Grand, you can take advantage of the fact that the property is undergoing a multimillion-dollar style overhaul: just ask for an ‘unrenovated room’ and you’ll pay a mere $65 per night, plus tax and the dreaded resort fee (see below).

Savvy clubbing

Don’t be fooled by inflated cover charges: you don’t have to shell out all your hard-earned cash to strut your stuff on the dance floor at Vegas’ most happening nightclubs. Contact a club promoter like Chris Hornak of Free Vegas Club Passes by phone, text message or e-mail – depending on the night and the number of people in your party, he’ll arrange for free or discounted VIP passes and expedited entry for your party. Women in particular can benefit from the insiders’ know-how: clubs often run promotions inviting women to drink champagne for free from 9pm-midnight. Too dazzled by the neon lights to plan ahead? Keep an eye out for more club promoters hanging around the resorts’ casino floors – if you’re well-dressed, they’ll offer you free passes to the clubs they represent.

Downtown deals

You can always go downtown – especially if you’re looking to soak up some vintage Vegas vibes (and save some cash). Once glamorous and later a sleazy, booze-soaked quarter where you wouldn’t want to be caught after dark, Las Vegas’ downtown is making a comeback. In addition to the brand-new Mob Museum and the sustainably built Smith Center for the Peforming Arts, downtown is home to stylish but inexpensive ethnic eateries and budget-friendly hipster dive bars. After a stroll through the campy (and free) Fremont Street Experience, go for drunken noodles at the new Le Thai, then have a $5 cocktail at Fremont East’s fireplace-lit Griffin’s or the retro Beauty Bar. Hotels within stumbling distance include the sophisticated Golden Nugget, where rooms run from $49-159, and the charming Main Street Station, where rooms start at just $36 a night and Buffalo Bill’s one-time stagecoach is parked outside to help you get into the Wild West spirit.

Happy hour

Instead of splashing out for full-price dinner or drinks, take advantage of generous happy hour specials at the resorts’ bars and restaurants. At Red Square at Mandalay Bay, for example, where a headless Lenin statue marks your arrival and the main bar is a huge block of ice, killer vodka cocktails and Russian-inspired small plates go for just $5 each during the ‘Five for Five’ happy hour (4-7pm Mon-Fri, 2-7pm Sat & Sun). Elegant restaurants nearby offer similarly wallet-friendly specials: at Aureole, cocktails are two-for-one in the wine lounge everyday from 5:30-7pm and at the poolside Verandah at the Four Seasons, Italian-inspired hors d’oeuvres and wines by the glass cost just $5 from 4-7pm daily.

Thrifty theater tickets

You came all the way to Vegas to see Cirque du Soleil, Penn & Teller, or – guilty pleasure – Celine Dion. But don’t drop your poker earnings on full-price tickets until you’ve stopped by one of the Tix4Tonight kiosks around town: the discount ticket purveyors offer same-day sales on most of the big production shows.

Extra tips for penny-pinchers

The bad news: on the Strip, resort fees run from $15-25 a night at most hotels. The good news: parking is free. Save further by opting out of pricey breakfasts and in-room internet access – you can’t go wrong with a $2 coffee and free wi-fi at Starbucks.

If you’re gambling, drinks are free: just be sure to tip your cocktail waitress, or she won’t come around again.

Visit Las Vegas with kids

Las Vegas half-heartedly sells itself as a family vacation destination. Because the legal gambling age is 21, many casino hotels and resorts would rather you simply left the little ones at home. Some high-end casino hotels even prohibit strollers from being on their grounds. State law prevents all minors from being in the gaming areas at all times.

But it’s not all bad news if you want to take kids to Vegas – the place is actually full of family-friendly attractions and activities. Here’s just a taste:

Casino hotels with children in mind

The only casino hotels on the Strip that specifically cater to children are Circus Circus and Excalibur. Acrobats and contortionists perform daily at Circus Circus, crowded with tots to teens.

Excalibur’s Tournament of Kings features real horses, battling knights and medieval damsels in distress. However, most casinos have virtual-reality and video game arcades, and many of the major resorts have fabulous pools, like Mandalay Bay’s wave pool, lazy river and beach. Note that children under 21 are not allowed in gaming areas.

It’s showtime!

Some of the Strip’s stage shows (including magic acts) welcome all ages. Kids can learn to do their own tricks at Houdini’s Magic Shop. For big productions, check out Kà, LOVE, Mac King, Mystère or Phantom. Don’t miss the nightly free Viva Vision light-and-sound show in downtown’s Fremont St, featuring 12.5 million lights under a four-block canopy.

Take your kids along for the ride

For high-speed thrills, head to Adventuredome at Circus Circus or New York–New York, where a roller coaster shoots out of the Coney Island Emporium. This four-minute ride includes lots of stomach-dropping dipsy-dos, high-banked turns, a 540-degree spiral and stellar Strip views, plus a heartline twist-and-dive maneuver, producing a sensation similar to the one felt by fighter pilots during a barrel roll. Teens will get a thrill atop the Stratosphere Tower and at Pole Position Raceway.

Sharks and lions

Despite billboards advertising a great white shark looking oh-so menacing, you won’t see any great whites at Mandalay Bay. What you will see in this 1.6-million-gallon walk-through aquarium complex is 2000-plus large and small sharks, jellyfish, moray eels, stingrays and crocodiles. There’s even a shallow petting pool for kids.

Get out of town

Red Rock Canyon (20 miles west of Vegas) and Hoover Dam (30 miles southeast) are perfect day trips from the crowds, while Grand Canyon National Park (275 miles southeast) is a multiple-day excursion.

A perfect day in Las Vegas

A slice of desert that has transformed itself into one of the most lavish places on earth, Las Vegas is a neon-clad metropolis where dreams come down to the turn of a card. But look beyond the lights of the Strip for local flare and natural beauty.

Morning

Start the day off in true Vegas fashion at Le Village Buffet (3655 Las Vegas Blvd S; Paris Las Vegas). French classics such as crêpes and brie cheese are served alongside local standards including peel-and-eat jumbo shrimp.

Before leaving ‘Paris’, take the elevator to the top of the mock Eiffel Tower for panoramic views of the Strip. Stay long enough to catch the quarter-hourly performances of the Bellagio fountains, a clichéd but quintessential Vegas experience.

Midday

It’s time to walk off the extra calories. Head over to the CityCenter Las Vegas (3730 Las Vegas Blvd S), a collection of modernist hotels, residences, malls and casinos that is the Strip’s most luxurious offering to date.

Brushed metal, sparkling glass and polished stone accentuate the dramatic architecture of the Aria Resort & Casino. High limit tables lure in the serious punters, while swish lounges swarm with buzzing socialites.

Afternoon

Slide behind the steering wheel of a rental car, and drive 35km west of the Strip to Red Rock Canyon (1000 Scenic Loop Dr). This conservation area protects a rugged escarpment that rises 1000m into the desert sky.

Beyond the intensely photogenic red rock, the conservation area is home to a 22km scenic driving loop that also provides access to a network of hiking trails. Watching a pastel-hued sunset wash over the canyon is the antithesis of the Strip’s artificial glare.

Evening

Before heading back to the Strip, mingle with the friendly locals at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country (9151 Las Vegas Blvd S). Friday and Saturday has $20 all-you-can-drink draft beer and free line dancing lessons from 19:30-20:30, not to mention a mechanical bull.

There are hundreds of shows to choose from in Vegas, but Cirque du Soleil gets top billing. Long-time favourites include Bellagio‘s aquatic show O (3600 Las Vegas Blvd S) and the MGM Grand‘s pyrotechnic-laden Ka (3799 Las Vegas Blvd S).

Late night

Vegas caters supremely to the nocturnal lot. Start off with cocktails at Ghostbar (4321W Flamingo Rd; Palms Casino Resort), a 55th floor outdoor patio with industrial chain-mail drapes and an otherworldly glow.

Clubs wax and wane in popularity, but Bellagio‘s Bank (3600 Las Vegas Blvd S) is a perennial favourite. Personalised service and an upscale vibe are what set this place apart, especially if you spring for VIP treatment.

Dawn

Around-the-clock steakhouses are a time-honoured Vegas tradition. Before calling it a night, tuck into a seasoned cut of prime rib at The Victorian Room (3595 Las Vegas Blvd S, Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon), and wash it down with the obligatory mimosa or two.

Practicalities

South of the Strip, McCarran International Airport (LAS; 5757 Wayne Newton Boulevard) has flights to major cities in the US, Canada and Europe. Major car rental agencies operate booking counters in the arrivals terminal.

Luxury hotels are cheaper here than almost anywhere else, and Internet specials can sometimes knock up to 50% off the price. Steve Wynn’s Encore (3121 Las Vegas Blvd S) is classy and playful without being overbearing.

The Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas (3752 Las Vegas Blvd S) offers its signature brand of Asian-inspired minimalism. THEhotel (3950 Las Vegas Blvd S; Mandalay Bay) is an all-suites boutique hotel with a contemporary urban vibe.

History Facts of Las Vegas

Contrary to Hollywood legend, there was much more at the dusty crossroads than a gambling parlor and some tumbleweeds the day mobster Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel rolled in and erected a glamorous tropical-themed casino, the Flamingo, under the searing sun.

Speared into the modern era by the completion of a railroad that linked up Salt Lake City to Los Angeles in 1902, Las Vegas boomed in the 1920s thanks to federally sponsored construction projects. The legalization of gambling in 1931 then carried Vegas through the Great Depression. WWII brought a huge air-force base and big aerospace bucks, plus a paved highway to Los Angeles. Soon after, the Cold War justified the Nevada Test Site. It proved to be a textbook case of ‘any publicity is good publicity’: monthly above-ground atomic blasts shattered casino windows downtown, while the city’s official Miss Mushroom Cloud mascot promoted atomic everything in tourism campaigns.

A building spree sparked by the Flamingo in 1946 led to mob-backed tycoons upping the glitz ante at every turn. Big-name entertainers, like Frank Sinatra, Liberace and Sammy Davis Jr, arrived on stage at the same time as topless French showgirls.

The high-profile purchase of the Desert Inn in 1966 by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes gave the gambling industry a much-needed patina of legitimacy. The debut of the MGM Grand in 1993 signaled the dawn of the era of the corporate ‘megaresort.’

An oasis in the middle of a final frontier, Sin City continues to exist chiefly to satisfy the needs and desires of visitors. Hosting over 39 million a year, Las Vegas is the engine of North America’s fastest-growing metropolitan area and a fabled destination for countless people seeking their fortune.

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