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Las Vegas
Entertainment Guide
From the talented to the absolutely amazing,
Las Vegas offers the best in magic, theater,
dance, song and comedy. The gaming areas
themselves provide sufficient entertainment
for many guests. Gambling draws the majority
of tourists and Las Vegas houses a variety of
games in each venue. Every casino is vying for
the tourist; to set themselves apart, the
casinos build creative themes that dazzle your
imagination.
One of the first casinos to use its
architecture as a billboard was Caesars
Palace. While impressive during the day, this
building is stunningly lit at night to accent
its Roman columns and beautiful fountains.
Next door, you will find the Mirage, which
boasts a towering, exploding volcano. Then
there is Treasure Island where the Buccaneer
Bay Pirate Show plays each night and you can
watch a British frigate sink and be
resurrected every hour. Combine music and
water and you have the breathtaking
performance of the Bellagio Fountains.
It is a small world in Las Vegas, so visit the
New York-New York Hotel and Casino complete
with a scale model of the Brooklyn Bridge and
Statue of Liberty. Or visit the Venetian and
take a Gondola Ride along the canals. Travel
to ancient Egypt with the pyramid-shaped Luxor.
If you want to go to France, try the Paris Las
Vegas and take a trip to the top of the Eiffel
Tower. If you are a fan of towers in general,
ascend the 1,149 foot Stratosphere Tower for
an excellent view of the city, day or night.
Many of the first hotels in Las Vegas were
located on Fremont Street and built too close
together to allow for the addition of flashy
new themes. The Fremont Street Experience was
devised to draw tourists to this older but
still vibrant area of the city.
The attractions do not end at the door. The
Excalibur Hotel and Casino invites you to be
King Arthur's guest for dinner where you can
eat with your fingers and enjoy the Tournament
of Kings. Julius Caesar is not to be outdone,
so one of the most amazing shows on the strip
is found at Caesar's Magical Empire. Many of
these stages are technical wonders, but none
can compare to the presentation area for "O",
a 1.5 million gallon tank of water used by the
performers of the Cirque Du Soleil.
There is always entertainment for music buffs
at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The House
of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino
presents great entertainment in an intimate
setting. The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, located
adjacent the Las Vegas Convention Center,
offers a trip to where no man has ever gone in
Star Trek - The Experience. Perhaps you came
to Vegas with a need for speed. Head out to
the Las Vegas Motor Speedway either to watch a
race or to get behind the wheel of one of
those rockets yourself.
Las Vegas has worked hard to reinvent itself
as a family destination, so bring the kids
along. There are lots of great entertainment
venues built with them in mind. The first
child oriented hotel-casino was Circus Circus,
complete with a Circus Midway full of carnival
games and trapeze acts. The Circus Circus
Adventuredome is a theme park built under a
large (pink, of course) dome, so that the kids
can ride the roller coaster year-round in
climate-controlled comfort. For educational
fun, visit the Southern Nevada Zoological and
Botanical Park or the Gilcrease Nature
Sanctuary and Orchards. You will find a
petting zoo at Bonnie Springs Old Nevada where
the kids can walk the Wild West and meet up
with some mean hombres.
History is kept alive at the Las Vegas Natural
History Museum where the dinosaurs move and
sharks swim up to greet you. For hands-on
education, the Leid Discovery Children's
Museum can not be beat. Kids will love
learning about science, medicine and math by
doing it. Las Vegas history extends further
back than the flashy casinos. Visit a slice of
early history at the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort
Historic Park, the first non-native American
structure built in the city. The Clark County
Heritage Museum has rotating exhibits that
change every season. This museum houses old
buildings from the dam-building era, including
the newspaper offices, a livery and several
homes. An antique train is also part of the
exhibit. Modern Las Vegas history was built on
neon advertising. The Neon Museum provides a
look at some of those historic signs. Not to
be forgotten are the great performers who made
the city famous. To that end, The Liberace
Museum houses a large collection of the
performer's personal effects and outlandish
stage props.
The arts have always been an important part of
this city's culture. The Donna Beam Fine Art
Gallery shows local artists as well as
national figures in the art world. More
contemporary pieces can be found in the Las
Vegas Art Museum. For live theater, check out
the oldest running small theater in the
valley, the Las Vegas Little Theater.
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Las Vegas
Entertainment