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See & Do
Guide to Sightseeing and Things to See & Do in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas didn't exist 100 years ago - today it is one of the
world's top tourist attractions. People come to participate in the
splendid illusion that life is a dream founded on the pursuit of
pleasure and sensory stimulation. In other words if you like gaming,
eating, dancing, and big-name entertainment then you've come to the
right town.
 Casinos
Las Vegas is the undisputed gambling capital of the world, and few
visitors return home without having at least ventured a crafty
quarter into a slot machine.
There are literally thousands of options for frittering your money
away, whether on the amazing fruit machines, some of which pay out
hundreds of thousands of dollars, to a few turns of the cards at the
blackjack tables, or a spin of the wheel of fortune on the roulette.
For the complete gaming experience, try the
Luxor with its amazing replica of the Sphinx and the Pyramids,
the MGM Grand or the
Bellagio, all of which can be found within the same part of "the
Strip".
Most casinos are open 24-hours a day, air-conditioned and few insist
on any real dress code. Casual gamblers are the bread and butter of
the casinos, and nobody will sneer at you whether you play for big
stakes or small beer.
Musical Entertainment
It's easier to list the musical greats who haven't played Las Vegas,
here Elvis really lives...
The big name entertainers here play regularly to packed out theatres
and stars who have made it big in Vegas range from divas such as
Celine Dion (who had an entire auditorium built specifically for her
show) to rockers such as Tom Jones, perhaps Las Vegas's most
successful crowd pleaser of all time (if you discount a thousand
Elvises). Countless other international bands and singers can be
found at any time along the strip.
No act is too big for Vegas but no act is too small either. Besides
the top of the bill stars there is a suppo rting
cast of thousands of smaller name acts either trying to make it big,
or on their way back down.
Some of the more respected venues include The Sunset Outdoor
Amphitheatre (1301 W Sunset Rd, Henderson), which has a wide bill
of rock and pop acts, while the
legendary Stardust Ballroom (3000 Las Vegas Blvd.) is a favourite
for jazz fans.
Showtime
Las Vegas entertainment is rarely subtle, but its most ambitious
attractions are undeniably impressive. The larger casinos such as
the
MGM Grand spend literally millions of dollars on their
entertainment, with massive sets, casts of thousands and the most
awesome sound and light shows found anywhere in the world.
The biggest Broadway musicals and their stars are always on
somewhere along the strip, while late-night adult revues see the
famous showgirls (and showboys) take to the stage. For people who
prefer entertainment more "abracadabra" than bra-less the strip is
home to some of the world's most feted magicians. Although the
"magic" is gaudily unsubtle, with sleight of hand often being
substituted for pyrotechnics, the most famous of them all, Siegfried
and Roy, have been wowing audiences for years. (Although one of
their Siberian Tigers proved a savage critic a couple of years ago
and mauled Roy on stage. Typically for Vegas, the audience applauded
it as part of the show.)
Top shows can cost over USD100 - often including dinner - but the
performance is invariably worth it.
Hotel Attractions
Vegas is the one place on the planet where staying in your hotel can
be as entertaining as getting out and about in the city. The hotels
comprise casinos, theatres and concert halls as well as standards of
service second to none. Constantly trying to outstrip each other for
design and ingenuity, no expense is spared on creating ever more
fabulous accommodation palaces.
The result is that there aren't many international landmarks that
can't now be found in Las Vegas - and touring the hotels along the
Boulevard is actually an entertaining activity in itself. The
Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, even the waterways of Venice
have been painstakingly recreated - and in some cases improved upon.
Hotels such as
New York-New York,
Paris and
The Venetian offer loving homages to the cities they are named
after.
The Bellagio is also worth a look - it is the most expensive hotel
ever built, costing USD1.6 billion.
Kings of kitsch
Depending on your tastes, getting married in Las Vegas is either the
ultimate in bad taste or the epitome of cool coupling.
If it's the latter, you join Elvis and Priscilla, Frank Sinatra and
Mia Farrow, and Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who all tied the knot
in one of the city's numerous wedding chapels. Indoors or outdoors,
in secrecy or with friends, with or without an Elvis impersonator,
the choice is yours. But you won't be alone... one couple gets
hitched roughly every five minutes in Las Vegas - that's over
100,000 per year.
For full details, contact the Clark County Marriage License Bureau,
at Las Vegas Municipal Courthouse, 200 3rd St.
High Roller Coaster
Las Vegas is home to what is technically the highest roller coaster
in the world, the High Roller - although it has a head start by
being already 909 feet above ground, atop the Stratosphere Tower.
The Tower also features the Big Shot, which propels passengers 160
feet into the air in just 2.5 seconds. The city of Primm, just 35
miles south-west of Vegas on I-15, is home to Buffalo Bill's theme
park, and America's steepest, tallest and fastest coaster, the
Desperado.
2000 Las Vegas Blvd S.
Practise your swing
With some 50 courses lying within two hours drive of Las Vegas, the
city is rapidly cultivating a reputation as a golfing Mecca.
Among the most famous venues is the Angel Park Golf Club (100 S
Rampart Blvd.), which boasts two courses designed by championship
great Arnold Palmer. The Las Vegas Paiute Resort (10325 Nu-Wav Kaiv
Blvd.) features two championship courses - Snow Mountain and Sun
Mountain - that take maximum advantage of the gloriously rugged
Nevada scenery.
Closer to the city centre, the Las Vegas National Golf Club (1911 E
Desert Inn Rd.) is located just two minutes from the Strip.
Liberace Museum
 Las
Vegas's finest museum, the Liberace Museum is a dedicated temple to
the impish high priest of piano camp and über-extravagant kitsch
that makes Graceland look like a Zen rock garden.
Ostensibly the mercurial performer made his fortune playing the
piano, although he was better known and loved for his opulent
lifestyle and child-like delight in spectacular material excess.
Testifying to this are exhibits of his finest pianos; ornately
decorated luxury cars and most spectacularly of all, in the Costume
Gallery, Liberace's absurdly decadent stage wear including the
memorable black diamond mink with 40,000 hand-sewn Austrian
rhinestones (worth USD800,000), and the King Neptune costume,
suitably bedazzled with sea shells and pearls.
1775 East Tropicana Ave.
Open: Mon-Sat 10h00-17h00; Sun 12h00-16h00.
Admission: USD12.50, adults; free for children.
 Hoover
Dam
Built between 1931 and 1936, the Hoover Dam is one of the 20th
century's most impressive feats of engineering. Designed to prevent
flooding of the Colorado River and to aid irrigation, the structure
measures 220m in height and 200m thick at its base.
Although touring a dam might not sound the most interesting of
activities, the visitors centre does a decent job of keeping the
exhibits interesting. Guides placed around the key points of the
tour indicate areas of interest, and fill visitors in on the inner
workings and history of this incredible structure. The most
impressive sight is undoubtedly the 200m long turbine generator
hall, dug out of solid rock in the wall of the canyon.
Lake Mead, which was created by the damming of the river, is a
popular resort for fishing, sailing and water-sports. Simply take
I-93 south-east out of Las Vegas and follow the signs; journey time
approximately 40 minutes.
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