Recommend January 2013 - (Page 117)

premier cultural destinations on The Strip,” says Tarissa Tiberti, executive director of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Tickets are $16, and children 12 and under are free. After a re-launch, the Mob Attraction Las Vegas is back at the Tropicana with upgraded special effects. Live character actors and 3D holograms of mob movie icons like Frank Vincent reveal the history of organized crime and stories of famous mobsters with photos, videos and artifacts, combining elements of both entertainment and museum. Admission is $33 for adults and $18 for children 6 to 11. For more mob history, visitors can head over to the Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, for an interactive museum showcasing the history of organized crime and Las Vegas. Located downtown in the former federal courthouse and United States Post Ofﬁce, the $42 million museum opened last year and features artifacts and exhibits about both sides of the law—with photos donated from the IRS and law enforcement weapons, as well as the barber chair Albert Anastasia was sitting in when he was murdered. “Set in an authentic historic setting, the museum is highly modern in its storytelling and exhibitions bringing true stories of Mob history to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and iconic artifact displays. An important part of the Las Vegas and the nation’s history, no other place in the world covers this topic in the same depth and accuracy and brings both sides of the story to life,” says Ceres Hill, director of marketing and public relations for the Mob Museum. This year, the museum will feature a new exhibit called “Fabulous Downtown,” showcasing downtown Las Vegas as it was in the 1950s, through photographs of hotels, local businesses and storefronts. Museum admission is $19.95 for adults and $13.95 for children ages 5 to 17. Sin City is known for its neon lights, so it’s ﬁtting that there is also a neon museum dedicated to preserving a collection of signs from the 1940s to today. The museum’s collection, the largest collection of neon signs in the world, features three parts: the Neon Boneyard, the Downtown Gallery and the Las Vegas Signs project. The Boneyard offers tours at its 2-acre outdoor museum featuring over 150 donated and rescued un-restored neon signs dating back to the 1930s from businesses, motels and resorts throughout Vegas. The Downtown Gallery at the Fremont Street Experience and the Las Vegas Signs Project showcase 15 restored signs as public art downtown. Tickets are $18 for general admission. Downtown Las Vegas will receive the world’s ﬁrst poweredlaunch zipline this year, called SlotZilla. The 2-level thrill ride will take riders—lying ﬂat in a harness—on the upper four lines up about 1,700 ft. (from about 100 ft.), under the Fremont Street Experience canopy. The lower four ziplines will go up 800 ft. (from about 70 ft.) to a mid-point landing platform. “Vegas is a very versatile destination,” LVCVA’s Spitz says. “We just have so much more to offer than gaming. Whatever your taste of life, you can ﬁnd that here.” She also says it’s one of the more affordable destinations, with accommodations for different price points and types of travelers. The city has seen a steady growth over the past two years, up almost 2 percent over 2010, and in the interview we held with Spitz late last year, she mentioned they were hoping to hit the 40 million visitor mark by the end of 2012. shopping, dining? your client’s pick In addition to the hotels, restaurants and attractions, Las Vegas also draws visitors with its fabulous shopping. According to Spitz, the amount and variety of shopping—ranging from outlet stores to high-end shops like Chanel—is one of the main draws for international visitors. And set to open in 2014 along with the SLS Las Vegas are seven Fred Segal “retail experiences” inside the new SLS, the ﬁrst time the luxury retailer has opened shops outside of Los Angeles. Caesars Entertainment is combining a bevy of elements at The LINQ, an open-air retail, dining and entertainment district in the heart of The Strip, with the world’s tallest observation wheel, the High Roller. Opening in late-2013, the area, which spans more than 300,000 sq. ft., will feature brands like Sprinkles Cupcakes and Yard House. “It’s exciting to see new life brought to that area,” Spitz says about the project. For new dining experiences, there’s the 2-story steakhouse Gordon Ramsay Steak that opened last year at Paris Las Vegas—making it the ﬁrst in Vegas for the award-winning chef. Ramsay also opened two more causal restaurants late last year— Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace and Gordon Ramsay BurGR at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The pub will serve lunch and dinner and offers a “rustic” menu of typical British pub fare, while BurGR will transform the classic burger, fries and milkshake combo with gourmet recipes and ingredients as the only gourmet burger joint on The Strip to cook its patties over an open ﬂame fueled by hard woods. Also new at Caesars Palace is Central 24/7 by James Beard award-winning chef Michel Richard, a 24-hour restaurant serving American dishes with a French ﬂair. And this summer, “Top Chef” head judge Tom Colicchio will open a new steakhouse at The Mirage, located inside The Atrium. The focus of the 250-seat restaurant is meat prepared over an open ﬂame, with woodburning ovens and charcoal grills. Archived related articles (available on recommend.com): Striking Gold With Vegas’ Golden Gate (August 2012) contact information Bellagio: (888) 987-6667; bellagio.com Caesars Palace: (866) 227-5938; caesarspalace.com The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel: (702) 388-2400; thed.com Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority: (702) 892-0711; lvcva.com The Mirage: (702) 791-7111; mirage.com Nobu Hotel: (800) 727-4923; nobucaesarspalace.com The Palms Casino Resort: (866) 942-7770; palms.com Paris Las Vegas: (877) 796-2096; parislasvegas.com Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino: (866) 919-7472; planethollywood.com SLS Las Vegas: slshotels.com/lasvegas Tropicana Las Vegas-A DoubleTree by Hilton: (702) 739-2222; troplv.com; troplv.com/landing/travel-agents The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa: (702) 567-6000; westinlakelasvegas.com january 2013 117 http://www.recommend.com http://www.bellagio.com http://www.caesarspalace.com http://www.thed.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.mirage.com http://www.nobucaesarspalace.com http://www.palms.com http://www.parislasvegas.com http://www.planethollywood.com http://www.slshotels.com/lasvegas http://www.troplv.com http://www.troplv.com/landing/travel-agents http://www.westinlakelasvegas.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2013

Editor's Note
Hotel Desk: The Westlake Village Inn
Tour Talk: Brendan Vacations' Boutique Journeys
Four Cheers for River Crusing
A-ROSA Silva
Delta Air Lines' 2013 Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America Travel Guide
China Remains a Time-Tested Destination
What's Hot in Vegas for 2013
Back to the Gulf
Authentic Morocco in An (Argan) Nutshell
Festive Europe

Recommend January 2013