But then someone asked, what about the rest of Las Vegas?

An excellent question, I thought. Of course a walking tour is impossible, so you’ll need a car for this one, but here’s a good day’s worth of entertainment, food, and gambling that will get you out into the slightly more real world outside the bounds of The Strip.

Start and End: The Strip and Flamingo

Approximate Time: 12 hours

Approximate Distance: Many miles

Best Time: Weekday

Start out at the intersection of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard, where Bellagio and Bally’s is located. There’s no real good reason for this other than the fact that it’s a place to start and your first stop is on Flamingo so there you have it. You’ll want to get an early start of it, say around 9am.

Travel east on Flamingo 1.5 miles to the Atomic Testing Museum located at 755 E. Flamingo (on the right). This well-run and fascinating facility examines the history of the atomic bomb, focusing mainly on the Nevada Test Site where they detonated many above ground nukes in the 50s. You’ll want to give yourself about an hour to get through the entire exhibit, so unless you’re lingering a lot you’ll be out by 10am.

Continue east on Flamingo 4.5 miles to the intersection of Boulder Highway. Just off to your right at that intersection is one of the major locals’ casinos Sam’s Town. If you’re looking to do some lower limit gambling or enjoy video poker and can’t find enough on The Strip this is one of three good options in the vicinity and has the second biggest casino in all of Las Vegas at more than 150,000 square-feet.

My preference for casinos in the area, however, is Boulder Station so hang a left on Boulder Highway and drive north 1.8 miles. You’ll see the train-themed casino-hotel on the right.

When you’re done wasting Billy’s college fund, get back on Boulder Highway and head south 11.3 miles to Clark County Heritage Museum at 1830 S. Boulder Highway (on your left). This is another terrific facility celebrating the local past including displays on everything from early Indian settlements to Vegas’ gambling heyday.

By now, if you’re doing it right, it should be around noon so let’s get you something to eat. Head north again on Boulder Highway approximately 3 miles to Lake Mead and hang a left. This will get you onto Interstate 215 heading west and you’ll take that about 6 miles to the Green Valley Parkway exit. Turn left at the end of the offramp and you’ll Green Valley Ranch resort and casino on your right. There are plenty of good dining options here including a fantastic buffet, a food court with a Fatburger, and much more. This is also one of the most beautifully designed hotel casinos in the area so it’s definitely worth a wander. Oh, and I have a tendency to do very well in the gambling area so it might be worth a small investment to see if my luck carries over to you.

You’ve had lunch but now it’s time for dessert, and there is no better place to find that in Las Vegas than at The Cupcakery. When exiting Green Valley Ranch, go to the street on the south side of the facility called Paseo Verde Parkway. Turn right and take a couple of blocks to Saint Rose Parkway and turn left. Follow Saint Rose about 1 mile to Eastern Avenue and turn right. You’ll travel on Eastern about half a mile and The Cupcakery, and its delicious treats are located on your right at 9680 S. Eastern Ave.

After you’ve stocked up, turn right on Eastern and travel north 6 miles to the Tropicana Avenue. Turn left and in just a few blocks you’ll be at the intersection of Tropicana and Spencer where you’ll find the Liberace Museum on your left at 1775 E. Tropicana. This is one of the wackiest shrines to all things bejeweled and should be on everyone’s must-see list when visiting Las Vegas.

Next we’re going to go explore a couple of spots on the west side of town so when you leave the Liberace Museum, turn left on Tropicana and take it a little more than 3 miles, past The Strip to Interstate 15. Hop on the I-15 south and go a few miles until you get back to Interstate 215, which you’ll want to take west.

You’ll follow the 215 about 11 miles (approximately) to the Charleston Avenue exit. On your right you’ll see Red Rock Resort, the city’s newest and my personal favorite hotel around. It’s beautifully designed with some stunning views of both The Strip in the distance off to the east and the mountains of Red Rock Canyon to the east. There’s a terrific casino and other entertainment offerings here so this is a good place to explore a bit.

By now you might be ready for dinner so there are two spots nearby to recommend. First would Hannah’s, located at 1050 S. Rampart. To get here, exit Red Rock Resort on Charleston and turn right, travel approximately 3 miles to Rampart and turn left. Hannah’s will be on your right on the corner. This terrific Asian-inspired restaurant won my vote as my favorite restaurant in all of Las Vegas for 2006 and it’s totally worth the drive to get there.

If steak is more your forte, head over to Austins Steakhouse at Texas Station. To get there from Red Rock Resort, take Charleston to Rancho Drive (about 9 miles) and turn left. Follow Rancho north about 3 miles and you’ll see Texas Station on your right. Austins is by far the best steakhouse in the city and is affordably priced to boot.

Finally, let’s get you back closer to The Strip with a stop at least one hotel and casino that weren’t included on the walking tours. Take Rancho Drive south about 4 miles to Sahara Avenue and turn right. Follow Sahara west 1.3 miles to Valley View Boulevard and turn left. Take that south 2 miles and you’ll be at the intersection of Valley View and Flamingo where you’ll find The Rio Suites on your left and the Palms, across the street to your right. Which one you choose is up to you and depends on what you like. For more gambling and free entertainment in the form of the Masquerade Village Show in the Sky or paid entertainment like Penn & Teller, choose The Rio. For gambling and the trendy nightclub scene, choose Palms and their ghostbar, Rain, Moon, and/or Playboy clubs.

Head east on Flamingo and you’ll be back at The Strip where you started, exhausted probably, but having seen a part of Las Vegas that most people never get to see.

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Question: What is the dress code for the shows and dinners? We are hoping to dress up for several of the shows... okay, I want to dress up more than my husband... but I need to justify all these new evening clothes somehow.

Answer: Well, Karen, you may want to hide this column from your husband, because the fact of the matter is that Vegas is a pretty casual place.

It wasn't so long ago that all the top restaurants required jackets and ties, and semi-formal wear was the standard at all of the shows, especially headliners.

These days, even the most expensive of restaurants has fairly relaxed dress codes. I mean, I wouldn't try to go into Picasso at Bellagio wearing cut-off shorts and flip-flops, but there's no need to go out and buy a formal dress for the privilege of dining there.

And the shows are even less formal than the restaurants. It's not unusual to see people in jeans and t-shirts at "O," one of the most expensive show in town.

The only exception is nightclubs, which often have very strict dress codes but they aren't about things that fall specifically into the "getting dressed up" category. It's more about no hats, no baggy clothing, no shorts, etc.

Having said that, it is also not unusual to see people in semi-formal wear at the high-end restaurants and shows. There are people, like yourself, that want to get dressed up to make an evening of it. You won't feel out of place if you decide to get gussied up and there won't be anyone out there who will stop you.

Except maybe your husband?

Have a great time!

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