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Adventuredome
Enclosed by over 8000 pink-glass panes, Circus Circus' indoor amusement park is packed with thrills. Must-rides include the double-loop, double-corkscrew Canyon Blaster and the Sling Shot tower ride packing a whopping four Gs of acceleration. Clowns perform free shows throughout the day.
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Arts Factory
Las Vegas' fractured art scene received an enormous boost in the late '90s. Although photographer Wes Isbutt hadn't set out to establish an art colony in Vegas, that's pretty much what he did. Inside his complex, you'll find hit-and-miss, but always intriguing, contemporary art galleries.
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Atomic Testing Museum
During the atomic heyday of the 1950s, gamblers and tourists downtown watched mushroom clouds rising behind downtown's Fremont St, and the city even crowned a Miss Atomic Bomb. Buy your tickets at the replica of a Nevada Test Site guard station outside this awesome 8000-sq-ft (743-sq-m) Smithsonian affiliate. Don't skip seeing the Ground Zero Theater, which mimics a concrete test bunker.
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Bellagio
The Bellagio's lobby features an 18ft ceiling adorned with 2000 hand-blown glass flowers in vibrant colors. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art showcases temporary exhibits by fantastic artists, and the massive artificial lake in front of this glam palace comes alive nightly with more than 1000 choreographed water jets.
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Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
Adjacent to the hotel lobby, itself adorned with a backlit glass sculpture of 2000 vibrant hand-blown glass flowers, the Bellagio's conservatory houses bizarrely ostentatious floral arrangements that are installed by crane through the soaring 50ft (15m) ceiling.
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Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
Opulent, yet elegant, the Bellagio was built to dazzle. Its Tuscan architecture and 8-acre artificial lake, complete with choreographed dancing fountains are riveting. The hotel's lobby features an 18ft ceiling adorned with a backlit glass sculpture composed of 2000 hand-blown flowers in brilliant colors. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art showcases temporary exhibits by top-notch artists.
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Circus Circus Midway
Free circus performances acts steal centre stage directly above this Austin Powers-era casino's main floor. Grab a seat at the revolving Horse-A-Round Bar made infamous by Hunter S Thompson's gonzo-journalism epic Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
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Commerce Street Studios
In downtown's Gateway Arts District, these eclectic artists' studios are ground zero for First Fridays, basically giant block parties for art lovers and hipsters held on the first Friday evening of every month, with gala gallery openings, live music, street performance art and more.
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Eiffel Tower Experience
How authentic is the half-scale tower? Gustave Eiffel's original drawings were consulted, but the 50-story ersatz replica is welded rather than riveted together. It's also fireproof and engineered to withstand a major earthquake. Ascend in a glass elevator to the observation deck for panoramic views over the Strip, Vegas Valley and mountains.
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Flamingo Wildlife Habitat
Step away from the gaming area into 15 acres of gardens, pools, waterfalls and waterways filled with swans, exotic birds and ornamental koi, where Chilean flamingos and African penguins wander around, and palm trees and jungle plants flourish in the midst of the Great Basin desert.
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Fremont Street Experience
The 1400ft (427m) canopy over downtown's Fremont St, between Main St and Las Vegas Blvd, is steroid-enhanced by 550,000 watts of concert-hall sound and a super-big Viva Vision screen. When the 12.5 million synchronized LEDs come on, cheesy sound-and-light shows are awesome enough to hypnotize every spectator (especially if you're drunk).
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Gameworks
Conceived by Steven Spielberg and developed by DreamWorks SKG with Sega and Universal Studios, this high-tech arcade inhabits a large underground space with a full bar, 75ft (23m) climbing wall, pool tables and loads of multiplayer virtual-reality games. It's only ever crowded - and fun - at night, when entry is restricted to over-21s.
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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is home to one of the world's most impressive collections of rock-and-roll memorabilia. The pool complex is a sexy, see-and-be-seen scene that's perfect for entourage wannabes.
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Imperial Dealertainers
Time your visit to the Imperial Palace to coincide with the evening shift change of the Imperial Dealertainers, celebrity impersonators who do double duty as blackjack dealers. Elvis, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani and others belt out hits between hands.
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King Tut Museum
Exquisite jeweled reproductions of the artifacts discovered in 1922 by English archaeologist Howard Carter on his descent into the fabled tomb of an obscure Egyptian dynasty are explained during a grandiosely scripted self-guided audio tour.
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Liberace Museum
For connoisseurs of kitschy celebrity shrines, this place is a must-do. The home of 'Mr Showmanship' houses the most flamboyant art cars, outrageous costumes and ornate pianos you'll ever see. There's a hand-painted Pleyel, on which Chopin played; a Rolls-Royce covered in mirrored tiles; and a wardrobe exhibit full of feathered capes and million-dollar furs, darling.
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Lion Habitat At MGM Grand
MGM owns many of the magnificent felines, all descendants of the movie company's original mascot, but only two are shown off in this multimillion-dollar enclosure at any given time. The big cats sprawl atop a see-through walkway tunnel, separated from gawkers' heads by only a sheet of protective glass - and a couple of feet of air.
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Little White Wedding Chapel
The Little White Wedding Chapel has welcomed thousands of couples since opening in 1946, and is a favorite spot for celebs to say 'I do.' You can have an Elvis impersonator officiate or have the affair broadcast over the internet. They'll marry you in a helicopter, an air balloon - you name it. Drive-through rates start at around US$40 , with full ceremony packages averaging US$800 .
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Luxor Casino
You can't miss this 30-storey pyramid fronted by a 10-storey high crouching sphinx. Inside is the world's biggest atrium, which is topped off by a beacon of light so strong it can be seen by astronauts. For a taste of Egyptian history, the King Tut Museum features exquisite reproductions of ancient artifacts.
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Madame Tussauds egas
By the Venetian's moving Rialto Bridge walkway is this unique interactive wax museum, where you can strike a pose with Elvis, play golf with Tiger Woods or put on Playboy bunny ears and sit on Hugh Hefner's lap (make sure you touch him - Hef's made of silicone!).
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Main Street Station
Throughout the neo-Victorian casino are notable objets d ' histoire , most keeping to the turn-of-the-19th-century theme. Look for an art nouveau chandelier from Paris and stained-glass windows from movie star Lillian Gish's mansion. Strangely, a graffiti-covered chunk of the Berlin Wall now supports the urinals in the men's restroom. Self-guided tour brochures are available at the hotel's front desk.
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Manhattan Express Rollercoaster
Feel your life flash before you on the Manhattan Express Rollercoaster, where a twist-and-dive maneuver produces a (rather violent) sensation similar to what a pilot feels during a barrel roll in a fighter plane.
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Marriage Bureau
Spontaneous weddings have always been a Vegas trademark. Whether it's a planned affair or a spur-of-the moment decision, Las Vegas offers more than 30 different places to tie the knot. There's no waiting period and you don't need a blood test. You just have to be at least 18 years old and show up at the Marriage Bureau. Once you have the certificate, it's off to the chapel.
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Mirage
This casino hotel was the first of the ridiculously theatrical palaces that define modern Las Vegas. A fake volcano erupts hourly after dusk, with flames rising out of orange-coloured water and a deep rumble threatening to break windows.
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Mirage Casino Hotel
This high-roller's casino is replete with a rainforest atrium under a 100ft (30m) conservatory dome filled with jungle foliage, meandering streams and soothing cascades. Woven into this waterscape are scores of bromeliads. Exotic scents waft through the hotel lobby, with its 20,000-gallon saltwater aquarium harboring five dozen species of tropical critters from pufferfish to pygmy sharks.
