Celebrate Las Vegas' 100th birthday

By ROGER PETTERSON

updated 6:21 p.m. ET May 13, 2005

You'd hardly know it to look at the place, but Las Vegas claims to be 100 years old this year. Why not plan a little vacation trip to help them celebrate?

The big day is May 15, and you can learn more by going to the city's official Web site - http://www.visitlasvegas.com/ - and clicking on the red Centennial button. Next, go back to the main page and hit "Special Offers" to see what sort of hotel deal you can put together for the dates of your stay. If nothing grabs your fancy there, go to "Stay" for links to all the hotels, and check the maps to see where everything is located.

Once you've got the preliminaries out of the way, you need to click on "Play" for guides to the casinos, golf courses, shows, nightclubs and dining. Celine Dion is at Caesars Palace, Cirque du Soleil has a couple of shows around town, Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney have dates coming up in June at the Mandalay Bay and Elton John is on the calendar in July at Caesars Palace.

Shop around to see if you can find any other hotel deals that fit your schedule and budget at Vegas.com - http://www.vegas.com/ - which also advertises airline-plus-hotel combo packages. They'd like to have your business for booking everything from limos to Grand Canyon tours to golf course tee times. And yes, you can get married in Vegas; click on "Weddings" for links to chapels, caterers, florists, photographers and jewelers.

About Las Vegas _ http://aboutlv.com/ - claims to be the "guide to everything you should know" about the city, so take a look at their guide to The Strip, transportation around the city and local attractions, including day trips, thrill rides and free things to do. For travelers thinking of taking the underage crowd, be sure to consult their "Las Vegas for Kids."

If you can tear yourself away from the casinos, a trip to Vegas isn't complete without seeing the Hoover Dam - http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/ - the giant plug in the Colorado River that supplies electricity to the city and holds back Lake Mead. Check out "Tour Information" for essentials, including directions. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area - http://www.nps.gov/lame/index.htm - has information on what you do on and around all that water behind the dam.

For something a little more unusual than a big lake, point your rental car westward to Death Valley National Park - http://www.nps.gov/deva/ - but be sure to click on "Plan Your Visit" to get an idea of what the weather extremes are like.

If you need any more details on things to do outside the casinos, the Chamber of Commerce - http://www.lvchamber.com/visit/index.htm - has links to helicopter tour companies, restaurants (who knew Vegas had a Hofbrauhaus?), and other points of interest including Valley of Fire State Park.

The state Commission on Tourism - http://www.travelnevada.com/ - has more ideas for extended trips around the region.

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