The spirit of Elvis is alive and well in Las Vegas.
He looks down from billboards, winks at you from elevator posters, greets you at the airport, even struts down the street in his rhinestone and fringe jumpsuit. Elvis is the patron spirit of the Big Bling, aka Las Vegas.
Elvis the man would never recognize the city he crooned about with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas."
Back in the King's day, Las Vegas Boulevard was a short strip of casino resorts with names like Flamingo, Sahara, Aladdin, Frontier, Stardust, Dunes, Sands, Tropicana and Caesars Palace. Of these, only Caesars, Tropicana and the Flamingo remain. And even these properties have gone through so many facelifts, management changes and expansions that they are legends in name only.
On the north side of town is Fremont Street, the strip locals call "downtown" and refer to as "the real Vegas."
Vegas Vic, the huge, mechanical, neon-clad cowboy, hovers over Fremont, welcoming visitors to such legendary casinos as the Golden Nugget, the Four Queens and the century-old Golden Gate.
Free well drinks still flow to gamblers at all of the Fremont casinos, and you can still find 99-cent shrimp cocktails and other specials.
Fremont Street is not just a street anymore, it's an experience. Five blocks of Glitter Gulch were covered by an electronic light canopy in 1995, and it now boasts the world's largest light and sound extravaganza. The Fremont Street Experience offers five light and laser shows nightly, updating the shows regularly with contemporary music and new light treatments.
Big-Name ActsIn the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s, Las Vegas was to grown-ups what Disneyland was for kids -- a giant playground of entertainment and action. It still is.
Even before Elvis made Las Vegas his domain, people flocked to the desert to see the likes of the Rat Pack -- Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Peter Lawford.
Each generation has seen its stars light up the Vegas nights, and today it's not uncommon to take in Elton John at Caesars, Jay Leno at the Mirage, or Rod Stewart, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the MGM Grand.
Over on the edgier side of Vegas, the likes of the Sex Pistols at Hard Rock's Joint and Rancid at the House of Blues can be seen.
Casinos or MallsEntertainment may rock Las Vegas, but gaming rules.
The electronic age has overthrown the one-armed bandit that Elvis sang about in "Viva Las Vegas." Slot machines no longer take coins, rather, they accept credits purchased on player cards.
You don't pull the arm of the bandit, you punch a button. The exciting clatter of coins as they cash-out a win is replaced by electronic bells and sirens. Card rooms, roulette and craps are pretty much the same, hosted by humans who wear nametags with the name of their hometown. Everyone in Vegas seems to hail from somewhere else.
Some Las Vegas visitors choose to spend their bucks in malls rather than casinos.
The Fashion Show Mall at the north end of the Strip is home to some of the swankiest stores and boutiques, joined by a myriad of upscale stores in just about every casino. The Fashion Show Mall even has a runway where showgirls and models display the latest designs from Paris, Milan and New York.
North and south of town are outlet malls with great designer shops offering bargain prices.
Who's Who of Cooking
Las Vegas is a center for celebrity culture of all kinds. The latest phenomena is the celebrity chef.
You'll probably recognize the names Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse, but there's also many restaurants in Las Vegas that boast celebrity chefs who the average person has never heard of.
Still, just as sports fans worship pro jocks, gastronomes from around the world seek out these chefs for autographed menus and cocktail napkins, and photo ops. Puck alone has five different restaurants in casinos up and down the Strip. Dining in Las Vegas is no longer just buffet heaven.
Lavish, Large HotelsIt's probably not a surprise to anyone that Las Vegas is home to the largest hotel in the world. The Venetian/Palazzo complex boasts 7,128 sleeping rooms and suites.
In fact, 19 of the top 25 largest hotels in the world are on the Strip, and four of them are in the top five.
The lavish design and upscale ambience of the Mirage revitalized the mystique of the Strip, which had been flailing in the 1980s. Opened in 1989 by Steve Wynn, the self-made impresario of the Strip, the property footprint is one of the largest and most extravagant.
Its magnificent volcano water feature stopped traffic on the Strip when it opened and continues to do so when it explodes with smoke and lights every half-hour.
The resort also features the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, home to several Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, as well as, Siegfried and Roy's Royal White Tigers, Magical White Lions, panthers and leopards.
The swimming pool is set in a tropical rainforest with palms, waterfalls, islands and bridges.
Beatles, Elvis in ConcertElvis might be the King of rock 'n' roll, but the Beatles are the Fab Four. They performed only two shows in Las Vegas, back-to-back concerts at the Las Vegas Convention Center during their 1964 tour.
Vegas is a city of tribute and has more active Cirque du Soleil troupes than anywhere else. So naturally, Cirque du Soleil joined the Beatles' own Apple company to produce the spectacular three-dimensional Fab Four tribute called "Love." The show includes a soundtrack created from original Beatles studio tapes.
Cirque du Soleil is bringing Elvis back, too. Inspired by the Beatles tribute, the Cirque du Soleil creative team is working on a new production of live music, lights, dance and acrobatics in a multimedia extravaganza that will run at MGM Mirage's City Center complex, which is under construction. The show and complex will open in late 2009.
source: http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_elvis15.2917373.html
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Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:29 am
What a fab place - have always left wanting to return. 
