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USA - NEVADA - LAS VEGAS : IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO VISIT VEGAS By Doug English   Doesn’t anyone go to Las Vegas to gamble?Certainly not the folks I’ve talked to. They say they go for the shows, or to shop or visit Hoover Dam or whatever. Oh, they might drop something in the slots now and again, just to keep their tennis arm limber, but they most certainly don’t go to Las Vegas to gamble. The cynic in me always took such assurances with a kilo of salt. Not any more. I finally visited Vegas and returned believing you really can go there for something other than gaming. Good thing, too, because I’m not only leery about gambling, I’m uncomfortable just being in a casino. Imagine my discomfort at having to navigate a sea of blinking, whirring machines just to find the hotel check-in. Or seeing people still playing blackjack at 7am on my way to breakfast. It’s no surprise then that I spent three nights there without sticking as much as a nickel in the bubble gum machines. What really surprised me was how much fun I had doing other things. Expensive things, such as a helicopter ride to the floor of the Grand Canyon. Free things, such the illuminated fountains in front of the Bellagio hotel. The helicopter trip, with Heli USA, is in the big-splurge category — US$299 for a 35-minute ride each way and a half-hour stop beside the Colorado River for a picnic lunch and a glass of bubbly. It was my first ’copter flight and I was expecting the bouncy ride I’ve experienced in small planes. But we lifted off as though we were levitating, and the touchdown was feather light. Knowing Heli USA has a perfect safety record, and that we could land even if an engine failed, helped me relax. Earphones all but eliminated engine noise and allowed us to communicate with the pilot and other passengers and to hear commentary and taped music. We cruised much of the time at 500 feet, in clear, desert air, over extinct volcanoes, Joshua trees and old wagon train routes, a largely sere, brown landscape broken by Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. (Tip: Grab one of the two front passenger seats, beside the pilot). Then the Star Wars theme started pounding and we were hovering over the magnificent Grand Canyon. If a ’copter flight is too pricey, hire a car and drive to Valley of Fire State Park. We lunched at a picnic table shaded by an enormous boulder in a truly dramatic setting of Indian pictographs, sheer cliffs and hiking trails. Red Rock Canyon is also highly recommended. My visual highlight in Vegas was the Bellagio’s spectacular fountains. They shoot up every 15 minutes in the evening, and are programmed to reflect various pieces of music. In fact, a tourism contact confided that she prefers the fountains to one of the best-known and most expensive stage shows. In fact, I’d never been to Las Vegas until then. Never had any desire to go, either. But I knew it had a lot of repeat business, and now I know why: Vegas is like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Wander down The Strip, as I spent hours doing, and you risk whiplash from shaking your head in disbelief. Two sailing ships wage mock warfare in front of one hotel; a volcano erupts regularly in front of another. There’s a 50-storey replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas, and, as I said, illuminated fountains that "perform’’ to music. The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace have enough marble, gilt and giant-sized statuary to build a mini Rome. The elegant Bellagio hotel boasts formal gardens reminiscent of Europe. The Venetian, across the street, has a canal with gondolas. I heard such glowing reports about the Venetian that I went in and asked to see a standard room. They call them suites and, at 63 metres of living space, they’re in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest in the world. They’re also gorgeous, with sunken living room, marble bathroom and tasteful furnishings. "How much,’’ I asked the man who showed me around? "Well,’’ he replied, "you might pay $399 a night or you might pay $129.’’ A lot depends on whether there’s a big convention in town. He offered this tip on getting a good rate: Call six months in advance and ask for their best price for the dates you’ve picked. If it’s too high, call again in a month or so. That particular night, suites were going for $109 because it was the traditionally slow pre-Christmas period. Dining has moved upwards, too. According to a tourism contact, only 18 restaurants in all of the US have five-star Mobil ratings. Vegas has two of them – for Renoir, at the Mirage, and Picasso, at the Bellagio. My best meal was at Chinois, one of four restaurants owned by high-profile chef Wolfgang Puck and his wife, designer Barbara Lazaroff. Chinois, which serves a blend of Asian and French cuisine, is in Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace. There is always a line-up of blockbuster shows and events. Some show prices are into the stratosphere and are often sold out months ahead. But go to the box-office first thing in the morning, as they sometimes get tickets turned back. Blazing with lights and over-endowed with monuments to architectural bad taste, Vegas is like a midway on steroids. I thought it was a hoot! If you’ve been there, this isn’t news. But if you haven’t visited in a while, you might not realize how much Vegas has moved upscale. And as the lyrics from a never-before released song by Las Vegas icon Frank Sinatra says, probably "It's Time For You" to visit Vegas. Photo courtesy Las Vegas News Bureau
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