can really get away," Cohen says,
showing off the chic spa and
'Aediterranean-style pool area with six
shallow pools flanked by formal gar-
dens. "What it boils down to is there's
nothing for a child to do here" amid
Bellagio's tony shopping promenade
(Armani, Hermes, Fred Leighton,
Chanel, Tiffany, Prada, Gucci,
Moschino), refined restaurants
(including Picasso and Le Cirque),
and sea of well-ventilated gaming
tables and slot machines.
And that's not ro mention Bellagio's
$300-million art gallery showcasing
works by Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso
Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse and other
masters handpicked by gaming impre-
sario Stephen Wynn. Nor its huge,
domed conservatory with seasonally
changing
horticulture displays —
0
/Tended by 115 garden department
employees — from the resort's own
2-acre greenhouse.
On the entertainment front, Cirque
du Soleil's "0" is drawing crowds to
Bellagio's theater. It's an aquatic
extravaganza of acrobats, contortion-
L ists, high-platform divers, synchro-
nized swimmers and fire-eaters per-
forming in and around the stage, a
/1.5-million-gallon pool of water. And,
) outdoors, on the resort's 8-acre man-
made lake, visitors flock day and night
to view the free, dancing fountains
spectacle — a $30-million water ballet
1 with more than 1,000 spewing nozzles
choreographed to Puccini, Sinatra and
Broadway showtunes.
But in this land of wretched excess
and one-upmanship, Bellagio's reign as
new kid on the block didn ' t last long.

Not To Be Ms
' sed

Don't miss the women's restroom at the
Harley Davidson Cafe on the Strip.
Striking in black and red tiles, its a ver-
itable drug store/pharmacy thoughtful-
ly stocked with aspirin, antacid, Band-
Aids, Q-tips, dozens of designer per-
fumes, gum and even a bowl of candy.
Also worth checking out is the
ladies room at the All Star Cafe (it's a
locker room lookalike), along with
the Andre Agassi Room, where the
tennis star's ponytail, clipped from
his head, is displayed in a case and
insured for $30,000.
In the same Showcase complex,
next to the MGM Grand Hotel, visi-
tors can travel up a 100-foot-tall glass
Coca-Cola bottle to wander through a
museum dedicated to the popular soft
drink and taste various international

Right: Cirque du Soleirs performance "0" is drawing sell-out crowds to the theater at the Bellagio Hotel.

In March, the spotlight shifted to
the South Seas-themed Mandalay Bay,
with its 3,700 rooms, 11-acre tropical
lagoon and sand-and-surf beach,
including a wave-making machine
whose giant, 6-foot swells host real
surfing competitions.
Beyond the casino dotted with fer-
tility-god statues, 15 eateries beckon
high-rollers. Hottest is Red Square, a
hip, Russian-inspired restaurant with a
frozen-ice bar: guests don sable coats
and hats and perch on chairs of ice
while nibbling caviar and sampling
more than 100 varieties of vodka. Not
to be outdone, wine stewards at
Charlie Palmer's Aureole strap them-
selves into a harness to scale a four-
story wine tower and pluck their selec-

versions (try Costa Rica's Tutti Fruiti,
Mozambique's ginger beer and Japan's
presumably healthy Vegita Beta,
mixed-fruit with beta carotene). If you
have kids in tow, they'll love the sweet-
smelling candy/gift shop and interac-
tive experience at M&M's World, also
in the Showcase complex.
Night-time action is hot at the
Voodoo Bar in the carnival-therned
Rio Hotel & Casino, which also boasts
a Masquerade Village Show in the Sky
with giant floats filled with party-
hearty revelers who've paid to don cos-
tumes and ride. Another, pricier enter-
tainment option is Caesars Magical
Empire at Caesars Palace, where
groups of 24 guests, led by a Roman
guard, wander through catacombs,
dine in a private room and view several
interactive magic shows. L
— Susan R. Pollack

tions from the 9,000-bottle cache.
Elsewhere in the resort, China
Grill's Cafe and Zen Sum introduces a
robotic dim sum delivery system;
Wolfgang Puck presides over a trendy
Italian trattoria; and gourmet Mexican_
fare is dispensed beachside at Border
Grill, courtesy of TV's "Too Hot
Tamales," Mary Sue Milliken and
Susan Feniger.
There's also plenty of big-name
entertainment: Luciano Pavarotti
christened Mandalay Bay's 12,000-seat
events center; the Broadway musical
Chicago is playing in its theater; and
well-known groups perform at the
House of Blues, adjoining the casino.
And in an unusual twist, the Four
Seasons-Las Vegas, self-contained on

five floors high within the resort, is
gambling on not offering gambling or
star-studded entertainment in a 24-
hour town where adrenaline flows
overtime and the line blurs between
day and night.
"We're in a different business, we
want you to stay in your room," says
general manager Randy Morton, of his
424-room boutique hotel, which
emphasizes superior quality, service
and privacy — its entrance and eleva-
tor are separate from Mandalay Bay's
— while touting the first in-room
mini-bars and afternoon tea in Las
Vegas.
Not surprisingly in this playground
of extremes, the new Venetian — billed
as the world's largest hotel-convention

The Mandalay Bay Hotel opened in March.

8/20
1999

Detroit Jewish News

81