Sin city again: Las Vegas is back to its flashy, adult-oriented self

By Ellen Creager
Detroit Free Press

	Sin is "in" once again in Las Vegas, as the Aladdin Resort & Casino introduces a hot new adult show, "X." The sultry X-Girls star in the over-the-top sexy show.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Related stories In Vegas, you can drop a lot while shopping Commentary: Las Vegas is not a family fun land

In a fake, plastic way, it is truly beautiful. And it is constantly changing.

Las Vegas has abandoned its brief effort to present itself as a family resort. Now its advertising slogan is "What happens here, stays here." Tabu lounge ads say: "You're invited. Your inhibitions aren't." While the rest of the world has grown more sober, Las Vegas is flaunting its flashy, X-rated self, overlaid with a high-gloss veneer.

So, what does happen here? I know you're thinking of Joe Average scoring $3 million at the quarter slots or librarians going wild at pulsing nightclubs. That stuff does happen. One cab driver said the first question a lot of tourists ask is "Where are the ladies?" Another said the first question is, "Where can I win?"

But for most people, what happens here mostly is this:

First, you get lost in your hotel.

Glamour and pretentiousness

My room at the Venezia Towers at the Venetian Hotel Resort Casino was so far from the main lobby that a sherpa guide could lose his way. The 4,000-room hotel is dripping with Italian marble, faux gold and massive murals.

Getting there: Taxi fare from Las Vegas McCarron Airport is about $15 to most hotels. Hotel shuttles make several stops but are free. Getting around: The strip is 2.6 miles long, but you can walk that far just getting to breakfast in your hotel. Beware deceiving distances; resorts may appear to be close on a map but may take 15 to 20 minutes of walking. To compensate, the city has many moving sidewalks, escalators, elevators and monorails. The city is also very accessible for people with disabilities. The 301 city bus runs up and down the strip; the 302 bus runs all the way to downtown. Taxis are expensive. Don't jaywalk unless you have a death wish. More information: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: 877-847-4858 or www.lvcva.com/

My room had a sunken living area and an alabaster bathroom.

But every time I wanted to go someplace, it took 10 minutes and two elevators to get there.

Was it still worth it? Yes.

The resort with the Renaissance Venice theme overwhelms you with glamour. At all the grand resorts in Vegas, size, sin and pretentiousness are in.

Most people, even repeat visitors, wander wide-eyed and slack-jawed through town. That's because Las Vegas keeps changing its appearance like a backstage troubadour. To keep 'em coming, the place is continually remodeling, imploding, rebuilding and revising. That ensures the city you saw last time won't be the place you see next time. Las Vegas is the fourth-fastest growing city in America and attracts 35 million visitors a year.

You can see the $2 billion Wynn Las Vegas resort rising from the dust of the old Desert Inn. It is the second-largest construction project in the world, due to open next year. Part of the project is building a mountain. In Las Vegas, mountain-building is no big deal. Up and down the strip, cranes and men in hard hats are working: The Aladdin hotel is morphing into the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. The monorail is being extended.

Some Vegas advice

	EUGENE GARCIA / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Couples can get married at any of the many wedding chapels in Las Vegas. Britney Spears did it — briefly.

Here's some free advice on Vegas, which can quickly separate you from your money.

Walking around is free. Some shows are free. You can get half-priced show tickets at a booth on the strip. Many resorts shower freebies on guests who gamble. And inexpensive weekend packages abound.

For good meals, skip the buffets and spend some money on decent food. Two buffets I tried were wretched. If you eat your big meal of the day at lunch, you can eat in a nice place for less.

If you're getting married in Vegas, the inexpensive places are nearly as nice as the most expensive. Last year, 120,000 marriage licenses were issued in Las Vegas.

Weddings at the Flamingo resort cost $600 to $1,400, depending on the package. The pastel chapel is pleasant. In truth, it looks not much different from the small wedding chapel at Bellagio. The difference? At the glamorous Bellagio, weddings cost $1,200 to $16,000.

	ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Elvis (Ron Hertel) entertains customers in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Look for hotel deals, but choose carefully. And beware of some rough areas of town off the Strip. I had planned to spend half my trip in a budget motel but changed plans when the smoky, rundown place was too far from anywhere and required guests to sign a release prohibiting drug activity, prostitution and stealing the TV remote.

Be prepared for a more risqué Vegas. To attract a younger, hipper crowd, the city is getting naughtier all the time. New adult night spots aim for the 20-40 crowd with lounges named Risque, Tabu, Ghostbar, Skin, Rain, V Bar and the Ice House. New strip clubs and lap-dancing are booming. The long-running "Bottoms Up" afternoon burlesque-style revue at the Flamingo is topless, and it looks quaintly tame compared to many clubs and shows.

For the art-inclined, Las Vegas is trying very hard to be classy, so look beyond the kitsch to find some masterpieces.

Rich Vegas moguls have sprinkled their resorts with high-end art museums. That means you can see a giant Elvis statue and a Picasso on the same day. For high-end, try the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at the Venetian or the Gallery of Fine Art at the Bellagio.

The gambling world

Gambling in Las Vegas — or gaming as they call it — looks pretty much like it does in any casino, only there are a whole lot more people doing it. Sure, I saw the clinking quarters pouring out of a slot machine or two, but not many shouts of joy were coming from those poker and baccarat tables.

	DETROIT FREE PRESS You might see just every attire imaginable when walking the Strip.

Taxi driver Skander Llulla says he always asks tourists leaving Las Vegas if they won. Almost everyone says no.

"This place is built to collect money, not to give it," says Llulla, an Albanian native who has lived in Las Vegas since 1994. "If someone asks how they can get lucky, I tell them, 'Keep your money in your pocket.' "

Out on the Strip, you'll find a throng of tourists as dumbfounded as you are. There are high-heeled women in designer clothes, dumpy couples wearing wrinkled shorts and sneakers (oh, wait a minute, wasn't that me?), guys with tattoos, others with smooth leather loafers.

I saw burqas. I saw rusty pickups and a red Mercedes and about a million limousines. I heard at least 10 languages. I saw a haughty poker dealer with hands so fast you never saw where the cards came from. I saw a man winning at blackjack and a pit boss staring at him very, very hard.

Nobody is that lucky and that honest at the same time, are they?

Maybe they are. Anything is possible in this town.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company