Shopping

Vegas is an international shopping destination. The square footage in The Forum Shops at Caesars alone makes it some of the most valuable retail real estate in the country; bankrolls are dropped there as readily as on the gaming tables. It's the variety that has pushed Las Vegas near the ranks of New York City, London, and Milan: you could send home a vintage slot machine or tote back a classic Hermès handbag.

Most Strip hotels offer designer dresses, swimsuits, jewelry, and menswear; almost all have shops offering logo merchandise for the hotel or its latest show. Inside the casinos the gifts are often elegant and exquisite. Outside, all the Elvis clocks and gambling-chip toilet seats you never wanted to see are available in the tacky gift shops. Beyond the Strip, shopping in Vegas can encompass such extremes as finding a couture ball gown in a vintage store and, in a Western store, a fine pair of Tony Lama boots left over from the town's cowboy days. Shoppers looking for more practical items can head for neighborhood malls, supermarkets, shopping centers, and specialty stores. Bargain-hunters seeking to avoid the stratospheric prices on the Strip, and not averse to traveling a bit, can usually find the same high-ticket items at discounted prices in the local or nearby factory outlet malls.