Las Vegas Entertainment

Each of Las Vegas' monster hotels is much more than a mere hotel, and more too than the casino that invariably lies at its core. They're extraordinary places, self-contained fantasylands of high camp and genuine excitement that can stretch as much as a mile from end to end. Each holds its own glitzy variation of showrooms and swimming pools, luxurious guest quarters and restaurants, high-tech rides and attractions.

The casinos want you to gamble, and they'll do almost anything to lure you in; thus the huge moving walkways that pluck you from the Strip sidewalk, almost against your will, and sweep you into places like Caesars Palace. Once you're inside, on the other hand, the last thing they want is for you to leave. Whatever you came in for, you won't be able to do it without crisscrossing the casino floor innumerable times; as for finding your way out, that can be virtually impossible. The action keeps going day and night, and in this windowless, and clock-free, environment you rapidly lose track of which is which.

Every resort has at least one continuous-run show, and many have several of them. Not all have the venue for large limited-engagement shows though. The places that routinely offer big-name limited-engagement acts are Bally's, Mandalay Bay, Paris, and the MGM Grand.

The resorts sell advance tickets for their continuous-run shows anywhere from three days to three months before the show date. Some resorts sell these tickets on their Website, holding them for you to pick up at the box office when you arrive in town. A lot of the shows do sell out so figure out which show or shows, you'd like to see and buy the tickets ahead of time instead of waiting for the day of the performance. However, tickets for limited-engagement shows will typically be sold well in advance of the show date, and are available from the resort's box office, and may be available from places like TicketMaster.

If you want to see a traditional Vegas-style show check out Jubilee at Bally's. Viva Las Vegas at the Stratosphere and Bottoms Up at the Flamingo have afternoon shows where admission is the price of an expensive drink, around $4 to $6, with some requiring a coupon or as part of a lunch buffet package. Any available coupons can typically be found in the What's On magazine. If you can't find a coupon try checking with the hotel's concierge.