Entertainment Overview

Las Vegas's nightlife has never been hotter, spicier, or, for that matter, more competitive. Fueled by the "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" advertisements (read: "All your sins here expunged completely once you pay your credit card bill"), nightlife impresarios on the Strip are dipping into their vast pockets in order to create over-the-top experiences where party-mad Visigoths -- plus, well, you and me-can live out some wild fantasies. The number of high-profile nightclubs, trendy lounges, and sizzling strip bars continue to grow, each attempting to trump the other in order to attract not just high rollers, but A-list celebrities and the publicity that surrounds them. Gambling? Why bother when you can lounge beside the pool by day and bellow at the moon by night while dancing half-clad at a cool club until noon the following day (when it's back into the pool you go)?

In the late 1990s, once the Vegas mandarins decided that the "family experience" just wasn't happening, Sin City nightlife got truly sinful again, drawing raves from "clubbers" worldwide. A wave of large dance clubs, such as the Luxor's Ra, opened their doors, followed by a trendy batch of cozier ultralounges -- lounges with dance floors -- like the MGM Grand's Tabú.

The game of one-upmanship has continued -- recent additions that have kept the city hopping include the sensational Tryst at the Wynn, the equally sensational Tao at the Venetian, and the ever-rocking Rainbow Bar and Grill. What's more, bawdy '50s-era burlesque lounges have made a comeback with a gaggle of clubs, including Ivan Kane's bump-and-grind Forty Deuce at Mandalay Bay and the ultrapopular Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesars, now dedicated to the art of striptease.

Few cities on earth match Vegas in its dedication to upping the nightlife ante. So with all these choices, no one -- not even the Visigoths -- have an excuse for not having fun, whether it's at a chic lounge, a dance club, or even a strip joint.