By Brian Carstens

Las Vegas! We had read about it, seen pictures of it and heard numerous stories about it, but nothing could prepare one for actually experiencing it first hand.

We drove from Phoenix, Arizona, to Las Vegas, crossing the Hoover Dam, said to be one of the seven engineering wonders of the world - and it certainly is. The lake is called Lake Mead and it is huge, but right in the desert, no green, just sand, rocks and regular little "Karoo bossies".

When you cross the dam you enter Nevada and within a couple of kilometres you see your first casino - you are now in the gambling capital of the world.

However, all the major hotel and casino resorts, such as Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM, Paris, Venetian, Belgadio, Circus Circus, Treasure Island and Stratosphere, are located on the Strip - basically one long street lined with these huge hotel and casino resorts on both sides of the road, each with their own theme.

The Luxor has an Egyptian theme and is topped by a light shining up into the sky, so strong, they say, that astronauts can see it from space. Paris has replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, while New York New York replicas of the Empire State Building and other buildings in New York.

It also has a huge roller coaster, the highest and the fastest in Las Vegas, but you won't catch me on it.

We stayed in the Luxor and when we entered we were bewildered, even intimidated. Booking into the hotel was quick and our room beautifully decorated. We spent the afternoon walking until we had blisters, visiting most of the hotels on the Strip and curio shops selling anything from t-shirts to very expensive paintings.

The following day we went to Freemont Street in downtown Las Vegas. This street is lined with hotels and casinos such as the Golden Nugget and 4 Queens as well as curio shops. The street also has a canopy of lights that is quite dazzling at night. It's like walking into a tunnel of light.

Circus Circus must certainly rate as the best family hotel with free circus acts throughout the day and a huge theme park with a roller coaster and other rides all under one roof - a good idea for Ratanga Junction in Cape Town, which has to be seasonal.

Stratosphere has, in my opinion, the scariest ride in Las Vegas, called Ex-Screamer. It's right at the top of the Stratosphere Tower, nearly 400m above the ground level. Visitors get into a car on a rail. Then it shoots forward and stops just before it reaches the end of the rail, hanging over the edge of the tower. This is another one I won't do, not for $5-million. However the view from the top of the tower is out of this world.

And Las Vegas is not Las Vegas without wedding chapels where you can get married or renew your vows in minutes. We also saw drive-in wedding chapels. Some chapels are beautiful, some downright tatty, but ultimately everything comes at a price and pricey it certainly is.

Ironically, a number of law firms were also very prominently advertising cheap divorce rates - about $200 (about R1330) - to get divorced in minutes.

Las Vegas has unsuccessfully tried to market itself as a family destination for a couple of years. However, there is a definite move back to more adult entertainment. While walking the Strip after dark we were bombarded with fliers advertising escort agencies and the shows are becoming more and more daring.

Even Treasure Island Hotel recently changed a free show depicting pirates fighting on a ship to one with a more adult theme - females, scantily dressed as pirates, mockingly fighting male pirates.

Talking about free shows - each of the major resorts has them, enticing visitors to visit them and spend money. The best free shows we saw were the mock pirate fight and the circus acts at Circus Circus. Each hotel also has lots of slim, beautiful girls, scantily dressed in the theme of the casino, selling drinks.

Las Vegas by day is very grey, just another huge city in the desert, but at night the city lights up spectacularly, with hundreds, even thousands, of visitors from all over the world everywhere to be seen. Interestingly enough, the casinos on the Strip were relatively quiet.

Most gamblers visited Freemont Street where it is rumoured slots are "looser". Then there are the poker tournaments with hundreds of gamblers trying their luck at poker tables. It left me wondering what type of occupations these gamblers must have to be able to sit there and gamble away thousands of dollars.

We did not gamble much. After about $50(about R332) we realised that the slots are a waste of time. Do not go to Las Vegas to make a fortune - the casino owners are waiting for you and will reel you and your hard-earned money in.

This also explains why accommodation in Las Vegas is so cheap. You can stay at a major resort for as little as $39 ( about R260) per room per night because they know you will spend money in the casino.

Las Vegas is not Las Vegas without its shows and extravaganzas. The most expensive show currently running is Celine Dion at Caesars at about $200 (R1 330) per ticket, depending where you sit. I would rather buy her CD for about $12 (R80).

After three days we left Las Vegas a bit poorer. Our impressions of Las Vegas: dazzling, and impressive, but also very artificial.

Service is generally poor - we got the impression that Las Vegas is like a fast food restaurant. They take your money and say move on - next!

Even with all the razzle and dazzle that we experienced, the Palace at Sun City with Pilanesberg National Park on its doorstep and Atlantis in the Bahamas, with its spectacular beach, still remain our favourites.

It is my honest opinion that not one of the resorts in Las Vegas can compare with those two.