Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
animatronic displays (p. 125), and more and more and more. I'd say Caesars is a
“don't miss.”
As is the
Flamingo
5
, but not its cramped and old-fashioned casino area. Pass
through that as rapidly as possible and make your way to the lush garden at the
back, still one of the prettiest outdoor spaces in the city. Fifteen acres in total, it
ambles past swimming pools (that pretty much anyone can swim in; they don't
check keys) and aviaries where the hotel's signature pink Flamingos strut along
with Australian black swans, helmeted guinea fowls, and other rare birds.
From here, you may want to wander through
The Mirage
,
the first of the neon-
free Super Casinos built on the Strip, famed for the massive aquarium behind its
reception desk, and mini “rainforest” at its core. The Mirage paved the way for
today's big name Strip properties, but if you're running short on time, I think you
can skip it (it's been overshadowed by its descendants) and head instead for its
sumptuous neighbor,
The Venetian
555
. Full disclosure: This is my absolute
fave of the Strip enviro-tainments, maybe because I'm a sucker for the original as
well. It's another $1.6-billion wonder, and you'll see where all the money went as
you wander through. The exterior features a superb facsimile of the Doges Palace,
all slender columns topped by individually carved pediments (look for Roman
gods, animals, flowers) with the distinctive pink-and-white-marble diamond
checkerboard pattern of the original speckling the wall above. Venice's famed
campanile
(clock tower) stands to the left. Inside, you'll find grand halls with mar-
ble columns the width of redwood trees, intricately inlaid marble floors, and mas-
terful reproductions of frescoes by Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. Over 250
artists and art historians labored to get all the details right, from the architectural
elements, to the paintings, to the gold-leaf frames that enclose them. As in many
casino-hotels, the gambling is on the first floor, with entertainment above (yup,
they always want you to walk through the casino), and because entertainment
here means gondola rides, the casino also represents a tremendous feat of engi-
neering: The second floor had to be buttressed to carry a half a million gallons of
water (that's about 2,000 tons). The canals run through a series of streets, under
the “Bridge of Sighs” and up to a reproduction of St. Mark's Square. Above it all
is, of course, the requisite trompe l'oeil sky. In the squares, and wandering the
cobblestone streets beside the canals, are jugglers, living statues, and other street
entertainers dressed in Renaissance garb. The
Guggenheim
(p. 126),
Madame
Tussaud's
(p. 128), nightclubs, theaters, and a raft of terrific restaurants round
out the attractions here.
While other casinos use the great cities of the world for inspiration (Venice,
Paris, Luxor, and so forth),
Wynn Las Vegas
has taken a different—and I think,
deeply flawed, tactic—and simply copied another casino, a little ole place to the
south called the Bellagio. It's a weird strategy (what, they think people won't
remember they've seen these canopied gaming tables; lavish marble halls; water-
themed, Cirque-like, rip-off show; and other elements elsewhere?). Steve Wynn,
the founder here, was of course, also behind the Bellagio and the poor man is
nearly blind now. One can only imagine that he went with what he knew, though
the colors here are more deeply saturated colors than at the Bellagio. Fancy shops—
really museums filled with outrageously priced luxury goods—are the most inter-
esting sights, though just like at the Bellagio, there's a lush garden area, lots of
chichi restaurants, and a water spectacle (an odd show on a 150-ft. mountain that
