The third annual event occurs on March 27, 2010 at 8:30pm local Las Vegas time and will see hotels on The Strip dim or extinguish their exterior, non-essential lighting for one hour. Every major property on Las Vegas Boulevard and several others around the city are scheduled to take part in the event, which is designed to call attention to climate change. It is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.

In addition to the Las Vegas Strip, U.S. landmarks such as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, Sea World in Orlando, New York’s Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral, California’s Santa Monica Pier and the Space Needle in Seattle are among the hundreds of sites that will turn off non-essential lighting for the hour. Globally more than 800 cities in 80 countries are expected to turn the dimmers to low.

Chief among them is the notorious "resort fee," a nightly surcharge that ranges from $15-25 depending on the property and covers things like Internet usage, access to the gym or workout facility, and newspapers among other non-essentials. The fee is tacked on top of the nightly rate and is usually not highlighted when making reservations.

Hotels are required to disclose such fees but this is exactly the kind of thing that "fine print" was invented for.

The practice is not a new one. Several of the off-Strip properties have been charging these resort fees for years, but the practice is becoming more widespread as the struggling global economy has driven down tourism in Vegas and room rates along with them.

To be fair, if you are a regular user of the things that are included in the fee, it's actually cheaper than paying ala carte. Internet access in most Vegas hotels will run you about $12-15 and gym usage another $20 or so on top of that per day. But if you don't surf the web or work out you still have to pay the fee.

Another even more heinous (in my humble opinion) fee is being tacked on if you want to talk to a real live human being to make your reservation. Several hotel companies are adding a $10-15 "convenience fee" if you make your booking over the phone instead of on the Internet. This is not a nightly charge - you only get hit for it once when you make your reservation - but it isn't something they broadcast up front so you often don't know about it until everything is all done.

Other fees include charging extra for things like turn-down service, valet parking usage, and breathing the oxygen inside the casino. Okay, I made that last one up but who knows what the future holds?

So how do you get out of paying the fees? Well, for the most part you can't. The resort fee is not optional although it is one of the first things you can usually get kicked off your bill if you are have spent a goodly amount of money in the casino. But if they charge it, you're paying it whether you like it or not unless you pick a hotel that doesn't have a fee.

The telephone surcharge is easier - just make your reservation online. Generally speaking you'll get lower rates through the hotel websites anyway, but there is something to be said for human interaction when you're setting up a week-long vacation to Sin City.

But as with everything in Vegas, the best way to keep your costs down is to shop around. If you call, asking about the phone fee should be your very first question. If they say that they are going to charge you for the privelege of using one of their employee's vocal cords, consider hanging up the phone and calling somewhere else. And whether you are calling or booking online, be sure to check all of the fine print for those "hidden" extras that could turn a $100 a night room into a $150 one very quickly.

But spring is almost here and with it comes the official opening of the Las Vegas pool season. So forget about those mounds of snow outside your window, let's talk about the best places in Vegas for splashing around and soaking up the sun.

The places I have listed below are my opinion of the best pools in town. My qualifications for best are the size and quality of the facilities, the amount of lounging space and shade, and the number of pretty things to look at, be it lush landscaping or hard bodies.

In alphabetical order: