Casino Capers

Sure, you dream of fabulous jackpots as you head for Vegas. But you probably figure, too, that this is your chance to take a peek at all the new casinos you’ve been hearing about. Unfortunately, the neon city doesn’t make sightseeing any easier than it does winning big at the slots. But don’t be discouraged. I’ve recently discovered a great way to take in the best of the famed Strip, without spending a penny: a self-guided “inside cruise” of the casinos. My route also spares you a lot of weather--hot or cold--and it might work for avoiding the New Year’s Eve crowds expected to throng the Strip.

Every new hotel on the Strip seems determined to out-dazzle its predecessors. And for the visitor, gambler or not, this means a grand and gaudy show that’s full of fun and nonsense. At the entrance to Bellagio, splashing fountains dance to show tunes in an eight-acre lake. Just across the street, the Eiffel Tower--a replica, that is--soars in front of Paris-Las Vegas. You can watch gondolas glide through the canals of the Venetian or ride a looping roller coaster high above the Brooklyn Bridge at New York, New York.

But making a circuit of all the showiest places can be difficult. The biggest and flashiest new gambling palaces sprawl along the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard) for more than 1 1/2 miles, a daunting distance on foot for most visitors. Public buses and trolley tours ply the Strip, but they’re often packed, and you have to wait outside in the heat or cold. Taxis are easier, but the fares mount. And traffic makes driving a hassle.

You can beat all this on the “inside cruise,” a mostly air-conditioned amble from one casino to the next using the trams, monorails, moving walkways and pedestrian bridges that link at least a dozen of the newest showplaces.

The cruise takes you from Treasure Island at the northern end of the Strip’s latest construction boom to Mandalay Bay at the southern end, and back. In a rush, you can probably make the loop in a couple of hours. To explore each casino as you go, give yourself more time. And be sure to wear sturdy shoes.

My wife and I spent most of one enjoyable day making the circuit. Along the way we stopped for lunch at the jazzy Wolfgang Puck Cafe at MGM Grand, shopped in the Forum boutiques at Caesars Palace and left a buck or two in the slot machines of several casinos. But these extras aren’t obligatory.

I dubbed our day’s outing the Casino Capers. As far as I could tell, nothing in the local tourist literature mentions the “inside cruise.” Not much of a gambler, I discovered it when I deserted the gaming tables to go exploring, which is my kind of fun. Here’s the best-of-the-casinos route I’ve mapped out:

Begin at Treasure Island, where each evening starting at 4, blazing cannons erupt in the Buccaneer Bay Sea Battle, a free, live-action show with an 18th century Caribbean theme. From here, board the old-fashioned, trolley-like elevated tram that carries you to the Mirage. In the lobby you can take a peek at one of the rare white tigers from the venerable Siegfried & Roy magic spectacle.

Leave the Mirage by the moving walkway at the southern entrance. At the walkway’s end, immediately step onto another moving walkway entering the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, where the ancient city of Atlantis sinks beneath the waves hourly.

From Caesars, follow the garden walkway to Flamingo Road. There an escalator will carry you up to the pedestrian bridge leading to Bellagio and its dancing waters.

Bellagio, named for the northern Italian village on Lake Como, stretches for nearly two blocks. So if the weather is less than fair, you’ll be happy you’re hiking the distance inside, rather than on the sun- or wind-blasted sidewalk.

Catch the sleek elevated rail line to the Monte Carlo hotel, two blocks to the south across a dreary parking lot. From the Monte Carlo, you have to venture out onto the Strip, but only briefly as you cross an intersecting street and step onto the Brooklyn Bridge at New York, New York. Ahead are the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

A mezzanine walkway above the East River leads across Tropicana Avenue to Excalibur, a fairy-tale castle of turrets, towers and crenelated walls where dragons and wizards hide. Proceed along the walkway to Luxor, the re-creation of an Egyptian pyramid, then on to Mandalay Bay, where “the beach” features a giant wave pool.

At this point, reverse direction to tour the casinos on the opposite (east) side of the Strip.

From Mandalay Bay, another modernistic tram carries you back to Excalibur. Retrace your steps across Tropicana Avenue to New York, New York and then cross the Strip via a pedestrian bridge to MGM Grand. Inside, you might find diversion at the hotel’s huge Adventures Theme Park, which includes a white-water rafting ride through a mini-Grand Canyon.

A monorail glides north from MGM Grand to Bally’s, an old-style casino where gambling takes precedence over pizazz. Get on Bally’s moving sidewalk to the Strip, stroll a few steps to your left, and you’ll find yourself in Paris--the Las Vegas version, that is.

One more showplace not to be missed is the Venetian. To reach it, cross the Strip to the Bellagio, retrace the inside cruise to the Mirage, and cross back over the Strip again to a splendid replica of Venice’s Piazza San Marco.

What a show! Venice, Paris, New York, Egypt, Rome, the Caribbean, Hollywood and the Orient: On this inside cruise, you’ll have seen Las Vegas at its goofy, flamboyant best.