Best Bets: An Insider's Guide to Vegas

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At the Barbary Coast Casino, they have Big Elvis, a 500-pound Elvis impersonator. I took my mother to this show and to Elton John's, which was $250 a ticket. Elton was fabulous, but guess what? She liked Big Elvis better.
barbarycoastcasino.com

Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com

Tony Hsieh, 33, runs Zappos.com, an online shoe retailer with annual sales of close to $600 million. Hsieh moved the headquarters from San Francisco to Las Vegas three years ago for the low taxes and deep pool of customer service talent.

The Best…

Place To Grab A Beer

Go to Hofbräuhaus, a giant German beer hall, full of people singing and dancing. You sit at long tables drinking out of humongous steins. It's rowdy, noisy, and fun.
hofbrauhauslasvegas.com

Dinner Spot

Alizé, at the top of the Palms Hotel, has the perfect combination: a friendly staff, great food, and an intimate atmosphere that makes you feel welcome. It also has the best view. If you have a reservation, there's never a wait.
andrelv.com/alize

Deal In The City

The $7.77 Gambler's Special at Mr. Lucky's 24-7 restaurant in the Hard Rock Casino. It comes with steak, shrimp, salad, and potatoes, and it's not on the menu. You have to know to ask for it.
hardrockhotel.com

Racing

The Fast Lap--it's an indoor track. We had a vendor take us there and, well, you just drive around in go-carts, which is kind of an insane amount of fun for a grownup.
fastlaplv.com

After-Hours Club

Drai's in the Barbary Coast Casino. If you get there at midnight, you're way too early. It gets busy at 2 or 3 a.m., and peaks at about 5 a.m. They play great music at high decibels.
draisafterhours.com

Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, Chris Wink, Blue Man Group

The three founders of Blue Man Productions--Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink--still live in New York City, where they originally performed the long-running Off-Broadway show Blue Man Group. These days, managing their growing blue empire means regular visits to Las Vegas. Their Vegas show has given close to 4,000 performances since its opening in 2000, and is now the largest of the five Blue Man Group productions in North America.

The Best…

Show That's Not Céline Dion

Besides Blue Man Group? We're big fans of Penn and Teller's show at the Rio Casino. They have a hilarious, creative show. It's a great experience you'll never forget.
pennandteller.com

Roller Coaster

Speed, the NASCAR ride at the Sahara Casino, but only if you do it three times in a row. You go in a loop at 70 miles per hour. Then you do it in reverse.
saharavegas.com

Bowling Alley

We like late-night "Cosmic" Bowling at the Gold Coast Casino. They play crazy music, and there's colorful lighting. It doesn't matter if you're not so great at bowling because there are plenty of distractions.
goldcoastcasino.com

Place To Meet People

The Hard Rock Casino is a very social place. A lot of celebrities hang out there and, in general, the people who go there are fun and hip.
hardrockhotel.com

Places To Avoid

If you can help it, don't drive the Strip or I-15 on Friday nights. They're like parking lots. Also, try to avoid Mccarren Airport on Tuesday mornings. The security lines are extremely long.

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