Holidays: LAS VEGAS UNCOVERED - My American excess

NOTHING prepares you for Vegas in all its neon glory - it's the craziest city I've ever seen.

The gambling capital of the world is a nine-hour flight from the UK. The legendary Vegas Strip - home to lavish hotels and casino "palaces" - is not far from the airport, but the traffic is hellish and crawls at a snail's pace.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing as it gives you time to acclimatise to the wacky world of Vegas, where showbiz stars like Tom Jones are top attractions and thousands gamble their hard-earned cash on the spin of the roulette wheel.

Eventually I got to the hotel where the lobby was a mass of slot machines and green baize gambling tables that seemed to stretch into infinity.

I waded my way through all the gamblers to get to my room - one of thousands in the vast hotel.

The over-the-top decor of the room matches the colourful characters you meet in the city.

There are plenty of brash, overbearing businessmen trying to make a quick buck, while the standard look of the women is big hair, mini- skirts and stilettos.

It takes time to adjust to Vegas, so just go with the flow even if the pace reminds you of a rollercoaster ride.

It's tacky but fantastic - and the experience becomes addictive and leaves you wanting more.

The top hotels are "themed" on famous locations and moments in time.

There is Paris complete with an Eiffel Tower and pavement cafes, Egypt with a glass pyramid and Tutankhamun's tomb, and New York with subway signs, Broadway shows and the Empire State Building. There are also hotels styled on medieval Britain where the guests are dressed as lords and ladies, ancient Rome where the cocktail "goddesses" wear togas and Venice where gondoliers from Kansas romance you through microphones.

Vegas is for 24-hour party people, providing visitors with all they desire in order to part with their cash. It is normal to party all night and crash out all day. If sophistication is what you crave alongside the neon attractions then the Bellagio Hotel is elegant and stylish with an art collection that wouldn't look out of place in an upmarket New York gallery.

Further up the infamous Strip the Guggenheim Museum houses Impressionist paintings.

If the "all you can eat" buffets are not to your taste, then splash out in the growing band of five-star restaurants with world- renowned chefs.

And if you insist on spending your casino winnings, then Vegas's shopping arcades include some of the most exclusive designer boutiques this side of Monte Carlo.

However in this city expect to lose all control of your senses - fast. Your taste goes out the window and, without realising it, you begin to grow fond of the tackiness.

Vegas is as addictive as the gambling tables and slot machines.

From seeing it as a city I loved to hate, very quickly I started to crave the magic glitter and glitz at the heart of this home of gambling dreams.

FACT FILE

-AIRTOURS (0870 191 3704/ www.mytravel.com) have a choice of 15 hotels in Las Vegas. One week's room-only at the Best Western Mardi Gras costs pounds 739 per person (Sept 18-Oct 9), with flights from Manchester. Car hire is included. Two-centre packages are also available including Hawaii, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

-FOR further information call Las Vegas Tourist Office on 0870 523 8832 or log on to their website www.lasvegas freedom.co.uk where you can order brochures online.

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