A Taste of L.A. at New Vegas Resort

Let’s see, there’s a House of Blues club, a Border Grill and a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. Sound like Los Angeles? Actually, they’re all part of the $1-billion Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, opening March 2 on the Las Vegas Strip.

In a city with a “fake” New York, and later this year adding Venice- and Paris-themed lodgings, the 3,700-room Mandalay Bay mega-resort bills itself as “tropically themed,” but it might call itself L.A. East. Its 60 acres will include a “sand-and-surf beach,” a variety of pools, a jogging track and a 30,000-square-foot spa--plus Vegas touches like 122 gaming tables and 2,400 slot machines.

“We’re looking at what is cool for 50-year-olds,” Glenn Schaeffer, president of Circus Circus Enterprises Inc., which built the hotel, has been quoted as saying.

There will also be 15 restaurants (13 opening March 2; Border Grill and Puck’s in April), a 1,700-seat theater (opening March 3 with the musical “Chicago”) plus a 12,000-seat sports and entertainment complex (opening April 10 with a concert by superstar tenor Luciano Pavarotti). Adding a surreal touch, erstwhile anti-establishment singer Bob Dylan will open the resort’s House of Blues March 2.

Room rates at the hotel start at $89, depending on the date; call toll-free (877) 632-7000. In addition, a 424-room Four Seasons hotel will occupy five floors of the 43-story hotel building.