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IF LEONARDO DiCaprio is your screen idol, the Light at The Bellagio in Las Vegas will be where you want to boogie.
The Titanic star is said to frequent the posh club along with a bevy of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, who sprinkle their stardust periodically on some of the dozens of nightspots on The Strip.
Overshadowed by over-the-top architecture, highly decorated chefs and multi-million-dollar Cirque du Soleil shows, clubbing in Las Vegas is one tourist attraction that has been overlooked.
I visited half a dozen clubs in this glitzy city recently, and a colleague, who was with me, remarked that Singapore's clubbing scene is nine years behind.
She was probably right.
Singapore is embracing mega clubs now, with the new Ministry of Sound and the upcoming St James Power Station.
So is Las Vegas, except that big dance halls had already made their debut in the last decade.
This time, they are making a comeback after having made way for ultra lounges and smaller, intimate setups about three years back.
Ultra lounges, a new term to me, are chi-chi clubs with smart dress codes and designer decor. Their patrons have been described as those who want the action as much as the conversation.
In one, MGM Grand's Tabu, models are hired to dance on top of square coffee tables.
Seated, eyes level with their legs, you could swig your US$6 (S$9.80) beer or US$10 cocktail and sulk over your less beautiful body.
In Las Vegas, clubs are built in the casino resorts, which tease the last bucks out of restless drinkers who spill out into the gambling areas in the wee hours of the morning.
About one new club opens every month.
DJs are preferred over live bands, music ranges from house to fusion to hip-hop, and the parties start after midnight.
Last November, I went to the opening night of Tao at The Venetian.
As a welcome gesture, the offshoot of a New York club had naked women taking a soak under floating rose petals, in two rows of porcelain tubs flanking the entrance walkway.
Inside the club, the centrepiece watching over the dancefloor was a 6m-tall Buddha.
Past the Buddha and in the private rooms upstairs, I was told, there were more models. Nude, and full of va va vroom.
For a club to confuse Taoism with Buddhism, and to have taste so crass, it was Las Vegas without a doubt.
The folks here do not mean to be disrespectful, though, said one local resident. They just worship money.
However, like the casinos, clubs there do try to be good corporate citizens. Most establishments set aside one day a week when the cover charge - which ranges from about US$20 to US$40 - is waived for the local men.
Tourists pay but local women always enter free - thanks to the adage that where the girls go, the boys follow.
Which means, yucks, that I had to cough up to enter too.
8 THINGS TO DO IN LAS VEGAS
- Celebrity chef dining: Famous chefs of the world congregate here. A friend said he had the chawan mushi of his life at the Okada restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas.
The best part is that not all the fine establishments here are stiff upper-lip affairs. I had the grilled angus beef burger with cheddar cheese, onion marmalade and french fries at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio at The Venetian. The price? Only US$14 (S$22.80).
- Catch the circus: Watch Ka, the latest Cirque du Soleil show on the Strip, and you can boast to others about its stage, which operates on hydraulics and weighs as much as a Boeing 747.
The US$165 million stage has actors sliding off like sand on a dustpan in scenes where it stands erect.
The Strip is the only place in the world where you can catch a host of residential Cirque extravaganzas - Ka, O, Mystere and Zumanity. They are a different league from the travelling Cirque shows. Tickets range from about US$100 to US$150.
- Shop: A friend made off with two pairs of Marc Jacobs ballet flats that were on sale at US$80.
Prices do not always come cheap and variety does not match up to New York, but you get decent stuff, from Abercrombie & Fitch to Manolo Blahnik.
I recommend The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace: This mall with about 200 stores makes the most money per square foot of retail space in the United States. Shop assistants are friendly, and free performances take place inside the mall every hour or so.
My 71-year-old mother went home with two free condoms when she bought a pair of earrings from a grinning shop assistant.
- Hotel hop: You should not leave Vegas without having seen the dancing fountain outside The Bellagio, the gondolas at The Venetian and, if you have an eye for beautiful interiors, the newest Wynn Las Vegas.
If you have time, see lions prancing in their glass enclosure next to gamblers at MGM Grand and take a ride (US$7) on the Circus Circus roller coaster, which will have you flying right next to a skyscraper.
- Gamble: I set aside a sum - say, something I may spend on a blouse - to get near Lady Luck. I have never won money, but the experience lets me hold court at parties.
Vegas may be the only place that tolerates tourists fumbling with five-dollar chips and pooping the chances of everyone else at low-betting tables.
- See the Grand Canyon: The tour agent tells me that people occasionally die encased in the propeller-driven planes that take them there. If you survive, there are trophy shots of nature's awesome wonder: red rocks and more red rocks.
The Grand Canyon Tour Company offers tours from US$110. Call 1-800-120-4019.
- Stretch in a limousine: A colleague called another colleague a country cousin when he snapped photos while they were inside the limousine. Then, she fished out her Konica and asked for a shot.
It is okay to be crass when you are in a car that is longer than two of you laid in a line. Vegas is the place to do this over-the-top ride at a down-to-earth price (from US$35).
- Get married: I have not tried this, but Vegas is the city famous for its drive-through weddings. It is as easy as ordering burgers. Pull up by the window, scan the menu and place your order.
The marriage certificate (not legally binding - another plus for some people) is US$10, champagne flutes are US$25 while the Just Married bumper sticker costs US$2.
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