Less intimidating than the Strip’s more buttoned-down steakhouses, Brand is a popular pick for bachelor/ette parties. Open seating overlooking the casino floor at the Monte Carlo makes it feel more like an ultra lounge than a dining destination, but the 40-ounce “Ultimate Porterhouse Steak” for two people with dipping sauces is appetizing, as are side dishes like the loaded baked potato and the...

Down the colorful LINQ pedestrian promenade, which is smack bang in the center of the Strip (well, almost), Brooklyn Bowl is an antidote to so much of the Vegas scene. For starters, ticket prices for live shows are not prohibitively overpriced. Better still, the indie bands and big-name acts are quality musical talent, not just some has-been singer who is lip syncing...

One of the hottest restaurants on the Strip these days is an import from NYC. In a glamorous dining room with leather banquettes, chandeliers, and lipstick red curtains, this restaurant’s retro appeal is seductive. Even the soundtrack will transport you back to the 1950s and ’60s when Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack ruled the Strip.  On Carbone’s menu of Italian American classics...

Rising between CityCenter and Bellagio, the Strip‘s flashiest casino resort has upped the ante. Forget about stuffy casino hotels that lamely try to imitate the elegance of Old Europe. Cosmopolitan is aptly named; it’s sophisticated, young and ambitious. Here beauty has finally tamed the beast of the Strip. Whimsical contemporary art and priceless museum pieces are everywhere you look around the...

Another Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Las Vegas? Skeptics, take note: this is one of the most perfectly orchestrated steakhouse on the Strip. Imported from Beverly Hills to the Palazzo, Cut has a moneyed, mod California vibe, from the plants outside the door to the whimsical contemporary art on the walls and sofa-style banquettes that feel heavenly to sink into. Swing by the...

Starry-eyed newbies rarely make it this far north of the Strip along Las Vegas Boulevard. That’s quite all right with the blue-haired granny slot jockeys, cowboy poker players, hard-core bikers and college kids who all like to find cheap ways to amuse themselves along Fremont Street. Glitter Gulch is Las Vegas’ original gambling quarter, where sawdust gambling halls and brothels...

Even as it clings to the illusion of being a family-friendly casino hotel (watch out for the stroller parade!), Excalibur markets itself to a bad-boy crowd of twentysomethings itching to misbehave. Hit Dick’s Last Resort for an R-rated tongue-lashing by sarcastic servers (their motto: “the shame of the Strip”). Gorge on an all-day pass to the Excalibur Buffet or on fast-food chains like Johnny Rockets...

Hollywood legends aside, the Flamingo was not actually the first casino hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard. But mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel did jump-start the modern Strip with this pink neon–bedecked jewel, which opened in 1946. Despite its slightly bedraggled feathers, the Flamingo’s casino is always jam-packed with slot jockeys, craps players, and women of ahem, loose morals on the prowl. All so...

The Nugget is undoubtedly the classiest joint on the Fremont Street Experience. With the glittering high-rise Rush Tower, this casino hotel now has downtown‘s best rooms, lots of entertainment (from old-school crooners to lounge acts), top-drawer restaurants (Vic & Anthony’s steakhouse,  Grotto for wood-fired pizzas, and Chart House for seafood), plus a street-view balcony for boozing upstairs in Gold Diggers nightclub. Oh, did we mention the swimming...

Epic books have been written about the Grand Canyon, so we can’t begin to do it justice in a simple review. To find out more about this fascinating national park, check out Bindu’s full destination guide, Grand Canyon National Park and Flagstaff. What we can tell you (briefly) is that visiting this wonderland of geology carved by the Colorado River is...

The most popular day trip from Las Vegas, Hoover Dam is a don’t-miss stop en route to the south rim of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. At what was once the world’s tallest dam, guided tours drop you 530 feet by elevator into the Black Canyon of the Colorado River to visit the mighty hydroelectric generators. Back up top, take a self-guided walk atop...

What was once the kitschy Imperial Palace casino hotel has become a buzzing new place to be in the middle of the Strip. Renovated from top to bottom and rebranded as the LINQ, you’ll still find a few old favorites here, but much more stuff that’s brand new.  You’ve still got Irish-themed O’Sheas casino for low rollers, the gluttonous Hash House...

Opened in the 1990s as a casino hotel with a wacky theme, this jet-black pyramid with the Sphinx out front is still topped by a beacon that some say is visible by astronauts from space. Inside there’s less hieroglyphic kitsch and more naked sex appeal than ever before. Take a peep at Fantasy topless revue, then party all night at LAX nightclub. Also at...

Stuffed with ornate antiques and random salvage pieces from around the world, this lively downtown casino is worth a quick peek. Pick up a free self-guided tour brochure of the art and antiques in the hotel lobby, then gawk at the stained glass from old Hollywood mansions and the chandelier from Paris’ famous opera house. (Oddly, there’s a chunk of the Berlin...

M-Bay’s gold-tinted high-rise towers are like elegant exclamation points at the Strip‘s southern end. A posh casino is accented by two boutique hotels: the Four Seasons, a nongaming hideaway; and the modern Delano, splashed with contemporary art and a top-tier spa. Don’t miss the dizzying 64th-floor Skyfall Lounge reached via a glass elevator, or the equally sky-high Foundation Room. Also check out...

Formerly the world’s largest hotel, the MGM Grand still packs a punch. The football field-sized casino has a hot poker room and a race & sports book with VIP skyboxes. A roster of gourmand restaurants includes venues by “Chef of the Century” Joël Robuchon, Craftsteak by Tom Colicchio (of Top Chef TV fame), and Michael Mina Pub 1842 (lobster pot pie, oh my!). Shibuya holds...

Revolving around Planet Hollywood’s casino, this lotsa-bang-for-your-buck shopping mall feels endless. And with good reason: it’s 1.2 miles long, stuffed with over a dozen restaurants and 170 stores. Most are ubiquitous chains, but you’ll find a few standouts like the Tatyana boutique for retro pin-up and rockabilly fashions. The Strip side of the mall is towered over by two restaurants with bars that...

The Mirage will stop you dead in your tracks with its faux Polynesian volcano exploding out front. Tropical scents waft from the lobby aquarium and a domed tropical conservatory into the casino. The high-stakes tables are ringed by a handful of trendy eateries: hit Stack before clubbing, get Eurasian bites at Japonais, swill liquored-up milkshakes at BLT Burger, devour pastrami sandwiches...

It’s not exactly James Bond meets the French Riviera, but this Euro-esque casino hotel sits on prime real estate next to the CityCenter complex. Hotel 32 is the Monte Carlo’s unique boutique hotel-within-a-hotel, where top-floor studios, suites, lofts, and penthouses all enjoy VIP attention from personal suite assistants and a complimentary cocktail lounge. All guests at the Monte Carlo have access to the...

At the Palms, N9NE Steakhouse is the place to spy on A-list celebs who hide away here on weekends. It’s a hip, young party crowd that fills the banquettes. Clearly, no stuffed shirts are allowed. Nevertheless, N9NE is a serious player in the cut-throat Vegas steakhouse scene. The food is all aces, starting with the complimentary bread basket and rolling straight through...