Las Vegas Entertainment

Las Vegas is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week kind of town, and it comes as no surprise that it is the entertainment capital of the world. From the talented to the absolutely amazing, Las Vegas offers the best in magic, theatre, dance, song and comedy. Gambling draws the majority of tourists, and Las Vegas houses a variety of games at each venue, with the gaming areas themselves providing sufficient entertainment for many guests.

Nightlife

Nightlife is Las Vegas’ best-known pastime. The casinos and hotels may be open by day, but only under the cover of night does the city’s burst of lights set the atmosphere buzzing. Casinos, restaurants and bars are packed with tourists from all over the world, most in a friendly and genial spirit. Casino-hotels tend to house not only the best-known stage shows, but also the late-night bars, nightclubs and live music. Downtown Las Vegas offers smaller, sometimes more charismatic, venues, while the enormous hotel complexes of the Strip offer a wide variety of entertainment options at each individual complex.

Most bars in Las Vegas feature extravagant entertainment that rivals the largest nightclubs of other cities. Nevertheless, in Las Vegas, they are simply bars when compared to the lavish shows put on in the theatres and clubs here. The Bar at Times Square, New York-New York Hotel and Casino aims to recreate the feel of an old New York City pub, with polished wood floors and nightly entertainment.

Settled high-atop the hotel at Mandalay Bay, tourists and locals queue up in their street-chic attire for a chance to be seen at what is being touted as the highest and hottest nightlife destination in the city. Casinos include the Palms Hotel and Casino, the newest playground for the young and moneyed party crowd, and Paris Las Vegas, which imports a touch of European class and sophistication.

Theatre and music

Culturally speaking, Las Vegas is not exactly the world capital of high-brow art. It possesses a fine philharmonic orchestra and a ballet troupe, but these do not draw the visitors in nearly the same numbers that popular entertainment does. The city however continues to attract some of the biggest names in show business, with live theatrical shows, magicians, circus acts and dance.

The one major venue, the UNLV Performing Arts Center (tel: +1 702 895 ARTS/2787; website: pac.nevada.edu) contains various auditoriums including the Artemus Ham Concert Hall, where the Las Vegas Philharmonic (tel: +1 702 258 5438; website: www.lasvegasphilharmonic.com) performs, and the Judy Bayley Theater.

The Las Vegas Little Theater (tel: +1 702 362 7996; website: www.lvlt.org) and the Actors’ Repertory Theater at the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center (tel: +1 702 507 3863) are two of Las Vegas’ newest small theatres. Both put on more serious theatre than the hotel–casinos, be it classics, modern plays or musicals. The Nevada Ballet Theater (tel: +1 702 243 2623; website: www.nevadaballet.com) is one of Nevada’s larger cultural institutions, performing many of its dance productions at the Judy Bayley Theater, at UNLV Performing Arts Center.

Festivals

Las Vegas is crammed with music from late April to early August, with various annual festivals; the Las Vegas City of Lights Jazz Festival, Jazz Festival at Fremont Street and the Las Vegas Music Festival. Apart from the live jazz bands from all over the country that congregate under the arcade for a three-day festival in June, Fremont Street is also the venue of the Fremont Street Mardi Gras in early April and the Fremont Street Experience New Year’s Eve Party at the end of the year. Other hallowed Las Vegas festivals include:

• Festival of the Burning Man is one of the most unique festivals. This late-August annual festival is a celebration of art, creativity and humanity. It draws crowds of over 20,000 each year from all over the world, and unlike most other festivals, it has no commerce; no shops, no rock stars, no roller-coasters. Set in the Black Rock Desert, 2 or 3 hours drive north of Reno, festival-goers feel uninhibited and expressive. The emphasis is on community and people helping one another, and all who attend do so in friendship. On the last day, the bonfire of the Burning Man takes place, setting the skies alight while the community dances around. Website: www.burningman.com.
• World Series of Poker is the ‘granddaddy’ of all poker events. This annual poker championship has found a great following among both professionals and amateurs looking to strike it rich. The event is hosted by Harrah’s and begins in late June, with the main event, a multi-million dollar poker tournament, starting in August.
• National Finals Rodeo, referred to as the ‘Superbowl of rodeos’, sees cowboys and cowgirls from across North America work hard all year in the hope of being one of the top 15 to qualify in late November for the NFR and to compete for the prize money. Events include bull riding, calf roping, team roping, saddle bronco riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling and barrel racing. Website: www.nfrexperience.com.
• Fetish and Fantasy Halloween Ball is usually held at the last weekend in October. This dress up ball has become a notorious event that has continually had to change venues due to popular demand. This has become one of the must-go events in Las Vegas.