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A man drove slowly through the parking lot of the New Frontier Hotel/Casino. He had a beat-up car and a question.

"Sir," he asked me. "You want a three-carat men's diamond ring?" I'm not much for bling, so I waved him away and plodded onward into the air-conditioned rear entrance. I followed a corridor, past a surprisingly tranquil little garden surrounded by a tall atrium of hotel rooms and into a large, busy area, where a woman droned numbers while conducting the Strip's only bingo game.

Farther on, I found bars, a fast-food court, slot machines, gaming tables, restaurants - all in a dimness that defied the glaring sunlight out on the Las Vegas Strip.

Outside, at last, I could gaze up at New Frontier's retro-Vegas neon-lit marquee.

Not only did it boast the "only bingo on the Strip," the sign still had plenty of room to tout Gilley's Night Club and it featured "Bikini Bull Riding" one night and "Cold Beer Dirty Girls Mud Wrestling Live" on another.

New Frontier is an example of the Las Vegas establishment that doesn't change its style - although it may spruce up the guest rooms. Such places contribute their share to the 78,473 hotel units available, or available soon, on the Strip (counting Wynn Las Vegas' 2,700, due in April), but the old-timers are largely overshadowed.


Make way for big, big players

The big, big players, the really huge players, insist on churning out new stuff - restaurants, bars, towering additions, even changing identities - while talking merger and acquisition: MGM Mirage intends to buy out Mandalay Bay Resort Group. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. will buy out Caesars Entertainment. Those very big deals could take place next year after the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission finish their scrutiny.

The Aladdin Resort and Casino recently changed hands and now belongs to a group led by Planet Hollywood kingpin Robert Earl. After two years of renovations, plans call for Aladdin to shed its 1,001 Nights theme and re-emerge as the Planet Hollywood Hotel.

Even if the giants divide up most of the Strip, they can't rest on their almost-monopolies. Hotels must keep changing or risk losing value in the next round of buyouts. Besides, gamblers can find action almost anywhere in the United States. People come to Vegas for unique vibes, and they come again because they expect something they've never seen before.

Sprinkled among the behemoths, regulars still find casino hotels like New Frontier, Westward Ho, Casino Royale and Barbary Coast - unchanged, familiar, like old friends for those whose tastes run in that direction (and considerably cheaper than Caesars or Bellagio).

The old Las Vegas still lives on in their dark, smoky casinos and 99-cent margaritas.


Change is in demand

But big stars must always bring change - and not just the spending kind - to the table. That became clear during a tour of Bellagio led by Catherine Siefert, director of hotel training and guest relations.

We strolled through the noisy gaming area with its vaguely Italianate woodwork. Siefert cheerfully pointed out new details: a different carpet pattern, a big new restaurant called FIX ("wonderful, when you want something nice but not necessarily full gourmet"), gold sconces slowly giving way to sconces of brushed nickel.

We headed upstairs to look at refurbished guest rooms. Next year, Bellagio will open a 928-room Spa Tower. Meanwhile, crews have been gutting and outfitting rooms in the original tower, which opened in what Las Vegas progressives consider the Dark Ages: 1998.

Six years ago, Bellagio's then-owner Steve Wynn apparently was trying for a flowery, gilt-framed northern Italian ambience in the guest rooms. That look is fast disappearing. Siefert opened the doors on a couple of makeovers, revealing marble entryways, muted gray fabrics and dark woods, flat-screen TVs, subtle patterns, remote-control drapes.

As an MGM Mirage publicist explained, the redone rooms in the original building will match the decor of those in the new Spa Tower. "That way, no one can say, 'I want one of the new rooms,"' she explained. "All the rooms will be new.

"We're always trying to reinvent Bellagio for our guests - trying to make it new," she said. "There are so many properties that are remodeling or going up around us, so we want to make sure we aren't left behind."

The Venetian, almost equally posh, also recently opened a new tower, but management apparently has decided it doesn't need to touch its amazing reproduction of San Marcos Piazza and the canals plied by stripe-shirted gondoliers. But it has opened a new bistro, Bouchon, created by Thomas Keller, chef of the acclaimed French Laundry.

I spent a Sunday night at the brand-new wing of Mandalay Bay, called THEhotel. My $179 suite (higher on Friday and Saturday) confirmed that Bellagio was onto a trend. The decor featured similar dark wood furniture, muted colors and flat-screen TVs in the living room, bedroom and even the bath.

The gimmick at THEhotel is that it has no gimmick. It's modern glass tower of 1,122 suites would serve just as well in Manhattan. Of course, the Mandalay Bay casinos, a shopping mall cum bridge to sister property Luxor, and all sorts of restaurants, swimming pools and the famous shark tank aren't far away.


Watching your wallet

In shopping for a Strip hotel, there are days when a traveler wants to keep a firm grip on the wallet. I wasn't sure if I'd find anything new about Westward Ho, but I decided to spend one night there, about 45 minutes of which involved driving up and down ranks of two-story, motel-style units until I found my room.

Considering the price was only $44.22, including tax, the unit wasn't bad. From my second-story window, the view was limited to the back of Circus Circus. The TV provided 10 channels, most a bit snowy. Yet the room was clean and included Palm Latitudes Hazel Almond shampoo in a bottle, rather than a squeeze packet, plus soap that the plastic wrapper said was French milled.

All gaudiness had been lavished on the stand-alone Westward Ho casino, surrounded by purple canopies trimmed in gold and lit by the requisite Old Las Vegas marquee. This is the area, as the Strip approaches its northern end, where pedestrians holding coin cups still stroll along the sidewalks and some of the tinsel needs a good dusting.

Off the Strip, but not too far off, reasonable lodging can be found by visitors willing to forgo an in-house casino and the excitement of standing in a long line at a big-hotel buffet.

My off-Strip choice was the St. Tropez, a cluster of 10 yellow, adobe-style buildings on Harmon Avenue with 149 units surrounding a wonderful swimming pool. Some rooms have a view of the Brobdingnagian neon-trimmed guitars that adorn the Hard Rock Hotel and Cafe across the street. My windows framed a soothing vista of tropical garden and pool.

The "suite," which apparently means a room big enough for a couch and a whirlpool tub, was a study in beige and Southwestern pastels - a bit frayed at the edges, but serviceable. A free breakfast came with the $99 room rate - standard motel-style fare, but I didn't have to wait in line.

The big Strip resorts try to stay fresh by adding bars and restaurants, replacing those that might be a bit tired or less profitable. I tried a few.


A family resort no more

Adults may remember when Las Vegas believed it could be a family destination and appeal to kids as well as grown-ups. For example, when MGM Grand opened in 1993, it had a big theme park. Now that's reserved for corporate outings. MGM's broad hallways teem with restaurants, most of which exude sophistication.

At Shibuya, one of the newest kids on the block, the menu combined old Japanese favorites with creations such as Kobe beef tataki prepared with Shichimi onions and lemon soy.Our waiter brought a tasting of three sakes, Fukucho ("moon on the water"), Hatsumago ("original grandchild") and Gingashizuku ("divine droplets"). Each one was smoother than the next.

Rose-colored glass walls and partitions decorated with angled wood or bamboo slats raised the level of sophistication even higher.No kiddie menu, and it was obvious that the "what happens here stays here" naughty mindset has thoroughly taken hold.

Who knows what sort of impeccably high-fashion mischief might happen behind the brown-toned glass walls of Wynn Las Vegas, after it opens next April? Developer Wynn broke Las Vegas precedent with the refined and lake-fronted Bellagio. He sold out to MGM Mirage and is throwing all his efforts into what purports to be the most expensive resort ever built at $2.6 billion.

Wynn promises it will exude taste and tranquility with 2,716 rooms and suites, an 18-hole golf course, pools, gardens, exclusive boutiques, even a car dealership selling exotic imports.

Down the Strip from there, the formerly kid-enchanting Treasure Island, which opened in 1993, bagged its playful skull-and-crossed-swords sign and replaced it with one that identifies the resort only as TI. In the cove that fronts the hotel, the pirate show involving full-sized sailing ships has evolved into a spectacle where scantily clad "Sirens of TI" lure pirates to their lair with song, dance, acrobatics and double entendre ("who you calling ahoy?").

To get the best view, I went through the new Tangerine nightclub, where tube-topped lady bartenders mix drinks and - later in the evening - a stripper performs. The patio offers a front row peek at the "Sirens." Neither the show nor the stripper revealed all that much.

The new Isla Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar at TI features decor that mixes pre-Columbian prints with bright colors and innovative takes on burritos and tacos.

MGM Grand has come up with a new Mexican place of its own, Diego, specializing in traditional Mexican fare and saving the tequila for unusual drinks like fresh fruit sorbet tequila shooters and a frozen margarita on a stick.

Not to be outdone, Mirage has deviated from its George of the Jungle casino decor just enough to carve out a new buffet called Cravings - shiny with chrome and gold and sporting au courant orange translucent acrylic tables.

Offerings reflect tastes from around the world, the food cooked right where people grab it, rather than from a far-off central kitchen. Lines are long, but abundance and quality justify the $18.81 (including tax).

As fate and work schedules would have it, I ended up in Vegas three times within a year. That may be too much for the average visitor, but even when trips come that close together, I have to admit there was something new every time.

What happens in Las Vegas might stay there, but it doesn't necessarily stay very long.

IF YOU GO

Searching for a cheap date in Vegas?

As most people know, airline passengers often pay wildly different amounts for the same ride, because the fares seem to change minute by minute.

On any given day in a Las Vegas hotel, occupants could discover similar disparities.

One couple might have snagged a package deal with air fare thrown in. Another likely caught a special hotel promotion, or found a last-minute bargain or lucked into a complimentary perk. Any of those circumstances can make a room less expensive than any reserved by telephone or Internet. Rates spin up and down nearly as fast as the wheels on a slot machine.

When a preferred arrival dates is less than a month away, room prices might change every few hours. One day in late September, for example, I checked the Mirage Hotel Casino online for the cost of a "deluxe" room - the lowest-priced unit - for Oct. 24. It was selling for $209, plus 9 percent tax. When I checked a day later, the price had gone up 50 bucks. (All prices mentioned here are according to the Mirage Web site on the last two days of September.)

But certain pricing principles prevail all over town.

Summer rates tend to be lower, even though in the last few years summer visitors have been streaming into town in greater numbers. A lot of the summertime crowd, however, includes vacationers, presumably with tighter budgets than the conventioneers who prefer to gather in great numbers during the cooler months. A stay in the cheapest Mirage room from July 10 through 12 in 2005, for instance, is projected to cost $129 a night, plus tax.

All things being equal, a room on the weekend will cost more than a room on a weekday - which includes Sunday. For instance, when the International Consumer Electronics Show comes to town Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005 - bringing 115,000 show-goers - the same room that went for $129 on weekdays in July is slated to cost $299 the first night and $359 a night over the next two nights. On Sunday, Jan. 9, it goes back down to $299. Supply and demand.

Prices typically rise during long holiday weekends and on holidays. Huge conventions or major events also push rates up. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the daily rate on that same room is $189.

A slack period might engender a promotional rate. For instance, earlier this fall Mirage offered Dec. 19-23 for $69 a night, whereas the rack rate on the hotel Web site was $89 a night for the same time span. The low prices reflect the fact that visitation goes way down in the week or so just before a big holiday. There are few, if any, conventions then, and people are gearing up for the yule, which, come Christmas Eve, might involve waiting for Santa in that now-$189 room.

Make way for big, big players ~ Las Vegas ~ David Harrison Levi

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David Harrison Levi

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David Levi Communications, Inc. All rights reserved Copyright 2005
Beverly Hills, California 90210 USA