Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

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CHAPTER 7 . WHAT TO SEE & DO IN LAS VEGAS
$25 gets you $35. Alternatively, you can purchase a block of time ($20 for 1 hr.,
$25 for 2 hr., $27 for 3 hr.; or if you get there at opening or closing you get 2 hr.
for $20), which goes on a debit card that you then insert into the various
machines to activate them. But you do get value for your money, which makes
this a viable alternative to casinos, particularly if you have children (though it’s
clearly geared toward a college-age-and-older demographic). Children probably
should be 10 years old and up—any younger and parents will need to stand over
them, rather than go off and have considerable fun on their own. Note: If you
don’t like crowds, come here earlier rather than later when it can get packed.
In the Showcase Mall, 3785 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 702/432-GAME. www.gameworks.com. See game prices
listed above in the review. Sun–Thurs 10am–midnight; Fri–Sat 10am–2am. Hours may vary.
Guggenheim/Hermitage Museum When two branches of the famous
Guggenheim opened in Vegas, it was seen as a sure sign that Vegas was on its
way, or at least had an actual chance, of becoming a real city with real culture,
and not just a glittery tourist trap. No one has said much now that the first
branch, the one built for special exhibits, closed after just one show. The second,
and perhaps ultimately better reviewed and regarded, remains in operation, so
maybe there is hope yet for Vegas’s cultural significance. That museum, the
Guggenheim/Hermitage, is the first co-venture between the Guggenheim and
the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The State Hermitage in St.
Petersburg has one of the finest encyclopedic collections in the world, but few
have had a chance to experience any of it. Unfortunately, the exhibit here at
press time was of American pop icons. We’re not really sure how the Hermitage
collection figures into that, fond as we are of that particular moment in modern
art, so we do rather hope that future exhibits feature more of those masterworks
rarely, if ever, seen outside of Russia. After all, price-wise too, we note again that
both the Louvre and the Vatican come considerably cheaper (well, once you pay
to fly there) and offer quite a bit more.
In The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 866/484-4849. $15 adults, $12 seniors and Nevada residents,
$11 students with ID, $7 children 6–12, free for children under 6. Daily 9:30am–8:30pm.
King Tut’s Tomb & Museum This full-scale reproduction of King
Tutankhamen’s tomb includes the antechamber, annex, burial chamber, and
treasury housing replicas of the glittering inventory discovered by archaeologists
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in the Valley of Kings at Luxor in 1922. It
was all handcrafted in Egypt by artisans using historically correct gold leaf and
linens, pigments, tools, and ancient methods, and all items have been meticulously
positioned according to Carter’s records. It’s hardly like seeing the real
thing, but if you aren’t going to Egypt anytime soon, perhaps checking out
reproductions isn’t a bad idea—and for a Vegas fake, it’s surprisingly enjoyable.
A 4-minute introductory film precedes a 15-minute audio tour (available in
English, French, Spanish, and Japanese).
In Luxor Las Vegas, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S.& 702/262-4000. Admission $5. Sun–Thurs 9am–11pm; Fri–Sat
9am–midnight.
Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix Kids Finally, after all our yammering about
how Vegas isn’t for families and how most of the remaining options are really
overpriced tourist traps, we can whole-heartedly recommend an actual familyappropriate
entertainment option. Part arcade, part go-kart racetrack, this is
exactly what you want to help your kids (and maybe yourselves) work their ya-ya’s
out. The arcade is well stocked, with a better quality of prizes than one often