Destinations: Roll the Dice With Las Vegas
by John Hawks

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When's the best time to visit Vegas? Due to many years of money-is-almost-no-object promotion by local tourism officials and the major casino companies, Las Vegas is now a truly year-round travel destination. While other popular vacation spots like the Caribbean and Europe have clearly defined high and low seasons, it’s busy in Sin City almost every week of the year.

Another big difference between Las Vegas and many other travel destinations is that, because most of the attractions and activities that draw visitors happen inside the hotels, the outside weather isn’t a big factor. Average daily temperatures range from 44-50 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 84-91 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (though it can easily get much colder or hotter!), but you may never know the difference until you step outside your casino resort or hotel. Summer brings the most family travelers, given that school is out and slower travel patterns in June and July can lead to great hotel bargains. On the other hand, Las Vegas can feel very hot in the summertime, even though it’s what the locals call a “dry heat!” Meanwhile, the fall months mean the kids have returned to school, and the weather can be very pleasant. In the winter season, Las Vegas rarely sees snow, but nighttime temperatures can plunge dramatically, and some shows and attractions may cut back their hours to give performers a break. Las Vegas attracts spring breakers, but they don’t flood the town as they do in other parts of the country, and you’ll find nice weather outside (although it can turn windy and rainy with little warning).

Here's a very short list of Las Vegas highlights you might consider as you plan a trip for your clients:

Dining

• The Garden Court Buffet (Main Street Station): Hands down, this restaurant offers the best buffet in Downtown Las Vegas. You’ll appreciate its airy feel and Victorian setting, but the main attraction is a wide range of serving stations (from Chinese and Mexican favorites to a pizza oven and meat-carving tables) for a price that’s half what you’ll pay on the Strip for a less enjoyable meal.
• Triple George Grill (201 N. 3rd Street): Inspired by a longtime San Francisco landmark restaurant, this downtown eatery is big on comfort food – from chicken noodle soup and meatloaf to shrimp Louie, pot roast, and chocolate cream pie.
• Burger Bar (Mandalay Place Shops at Mandalay Bay): Don’t get distracted by the chocolate burger or the Kobe beef and foie gras options. For under $20, you can get skinny fries, a nice thick milkshake, and a Black Angus beef burger with all of the fixings on your choice of buns.
• Mesa Grill (Caesars Palace): This Bobby Flay eatery wins the race as perhaps the Vegas celebrity-chef restaurant that lives up the most to its promise. You’ll enjoy the warm, colorful decor as you dig into very creative Mexican and Southwestern dishes like fire-roasted lobster tail and 16-spice rotisserie chicken.
• Bouchon (Venetian): Like its sister restaurant, the famed French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley, Bouchon thrives on its menu of bistro classics served impeccably in the main dining room or beside the garden pool. Dinner at this restaurant is a splurge, to be sure, but not an outrageous one; while you can easily spend $98.50 for the Grand Plateau seafood selection, you can also enjoy roasted leg of lamb for $31 or pan-roasted trout for $26.

Cocktails

• ghostbar (The Palms): Try a ghostini (Absolut, Midori, and a splash of sour) in this 55th-floor chrome-and-glass lounge where you’ll pay a decent price to see and be seen. The indoor lounge is retro chic, while the outdoor skydeck includes a glass inset that lets you look straight down to the street while the music thumps around you.
• Napoleon’s (Paris Las Vegas): Elevate your sense of the bubbly with a stop in this bar that features by-the-glass selections of more than 100 different versions of Champagne, with great seating and light jazz in the background as you enjoy the tickle in your nose.
• Romance at the Top of the World (Stratosphere): This lounge sits more than 1,000 feet above the Strip, offering you tremendous views of the city through its floor-to-ceiling windows.

Entertainment

• Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat (Mirage): These iconic entertainers didn’t stop with the white tigers. For $15 (or $10 for kids ages 4-12), you can walk through their facility inside the Mirage to view families of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins frolicking in the waters of this 2.5-million-gallon habitat, with four connected pools and artificial reefs to simulate their natural ecosystem. Take the optional hour-long VIP tour, or schedule a session to work for the day as a dolphin trainer. (If you prefer dangerous to cute, another option is the 1.6-million-gallon Shark Reef exhibit at Mandalay Bay [$15.95 for adults, $10.95 for kids ages 4-12], North America’s only predator-based public aquarium filled with sharks, piranha, moon jellies, and rare golden crocodiles.)
• Fremont Street Experience: This five-block section in the downtown district – a section of the street closed off to serve as a permanent pedestrian mall – may qualify as the best free attraction in the city. Along both sides of the street, you’ll find shops, cafes, and kiosks for food and souvenirs. Five times every night, the 90-foot steel canopy overhanging the street comes alive with “Viva Vision” – a high-tech show animated by the canopy’s 12.5 million LED lights and a state-of-the art 550,000-watt sound system.
• Liberace Museum (1775 E. Tropicana Avenue): Can you say “over the top?” This homage to the quintessential Vegas entertainer bulges with exhibits toasting the flamboyant pianist’s extravagant taste –- from 18 rare and antique pianos (including a seven-foot Baldwin grand covered with 150,000 Swarovski crystals) to his mirror-encrusted Rolls Royce and a costume gallery filled with his stage outfits. It’s a fun walk down memory lane to see the way Vegas wowed the crowds in the good ol’ days.
• Any Cirque du Soleil production: If you’ve never seen this performing company’s shows in person, you can’t leave Vegas without experiencing one. You’ll be amazed at how a group of human acrobats, clowns, dancers, and gymnasts can bring the stage to life! Five Cirque shows are currently running in the city (Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mirage, New York-New York, and TI at the Mirage), with a sixth production slated to start in 2008 at the Luxor. If you’re a Cirque virgin, pick “Mystere” (TI at the Mirage) or “O” (the Bellagio). And, count this as a splurge, since ticket prices will start around $95 and go up from there.

Gambling

• New York-New York Casino: Yes, this place will satisfy your gambling yen, with more than 2,400 slot machines, 41 blackjack tables, seven roulette wheels, and other games of chance. What you’ll remember long after you forget the money you lost is the casino’s decor – from the floor sections built to resemble different areas of the Big Apple to the Yellow Cab-themed change carts.
• Hard Rock Hotel Casino: Another themed gaming den, this casino blasts rock music while you try your luck at the piano-shaped craps tables (or take a pull on the guitar-neck-shaped slot arms). It’s a fun atmosphere. If you stay here, don’t miss the chance to play swim-up blackjack in the hotel’s pool during the warmer months.
• The Rio Casino: This 100,000-square-foot casino adds excitement to the usual games of chance with its “Masquerade in the Sky” Mardi Gras-themed shows that take place above the casino floor. Seven times a day, a parade of floats suspended from the ceiling re-enact Carnavale above your head while you take a break from the tables or the slots.

Check OSSN's allied suppliers roster to find tour operators that offer Las Vegas packages, or check issues of the "OSSN Daily" for numerous specials each week offered by these travel packagers.

(Credits: Las Vegas News Bureau, MGM Mirage)