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HOT LIST
Grammy winner Bruno Mars is booked to play Dec. 29 and Dec. 31 inside the Chelsea, the Cosmopolitan’s new vintage-style event space. Each celebration will begin at 9 p.m. and at the Dec. 31 show, Mars will count down and commemorate the midnight hour. The “Just the Way You Are” singer returns Feb.

RESORTS
If you’re tired of living like a peasant in a tiny hotel room, upgrade to a fabulous new MGM Grand Suite. Go for the Penthouse City View suite boasting 180-degree city views or, for the high-rollerest among us, the two-story Skyline Terrace Suite.

DOWNTOWN
In October, the modern-cool Downtown3rd district welcomed its newest hotel property to the area: Downtown Grand Las Vegas. One of the neighborhood’s major revitalization efforts, Downtown Grand Las Vegas is an “industrial chic” reinvention of the old Lady Luck Casino, with a unique spin on the Vegas hotel experience.

DOWNTOWN
Freemont Street Experience and the Nevada Barbecue Assn. will host the 2nd Annual Downtown Throwdown Barbecue Championships on Dec. 13 and 14. The public is invited to sample chili, ribs, chicken, brisket and pork and to purchase food from some of the best cowboy cooks around.

SHOPPING
This year’s holiday fashion could make any Christmas tree wither with jealousy. Forget the gift wrap, ornaments and lights. Adorned in plaid, leather and shine, the chicdressed revelers in Vegas are the real decorations. The best part?.

Shopping with the Big Fish
For instance, are you in the market for the perfect pearl? The creator of the world’s first cultured pearl, Mikimoto, will send a car to pick you up from your hotel and bring you to a private viewing room because, really, does the world need to know what you’re buying?.

DINING
Caesars Palace 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 702.731.7928 Price: $15–$51 Good to know: Named the No. 1 buffet in Las Vegas by USA Today, the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Weekly. Be prepared for long lines, as Bacchanal Buffet serves between 3,000 and 3,500 guests each day.

ALL YOU CAN EAT
The city’s many celebrity chef restaurants may get most of the attention, but no Las Vegas experience would be complete without visiting a lavish buffet. With so many scrumptious spreads to choose from, however, which smorgasbord is right for you?.

DINING
Elegant and opulent, with views of Lake Bellagio and the famous water fountains from every window, Jasmine at the Bellagio is one drop-dead gorgeous restaurant. Head here for authentic Cantonese cuisine made with the freshest ingredients — the seafood arrives live from Australia twice a week.

COVER STORY
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NIGHTLIFE
New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas is as big as it gets. The entire Strip shuts down to traffic, revelers take to the streets, and fireworks mark the stroke of midnight. There’s no shortage of ways to welcome the New Year, so don’t forget your party hat and glass of champagne.

NIGHTLIFE
Escape the megaclubs and hang with the locals at Blue Martini—a popular loungey club with a lively vibe. A combo nightlife hotspot and entertainment venue, Blue Martini has four bars, including one on the expansive open-air patio; bottle service and a dance floor for those seeking the club experience; plus a deejay spinning late-night tunes.

CULTURE
Two arresting installations by James Turrell, whose explorations of light and space are currently the subject of a retrospective exhibition at LACMA, grace CityCenter’s glitzy Crystals shopping center: a very public untitled creation above the...

Go-To Galleries
Las Vegas has literally dozens of art galleries, from the quaint and quirky to the grand and glossy. Here are five fine examples:.

Introducing Rotella Gallery
Seattle-based Art Wolfe has spent over 30 years lovingly recording rapidly disappearing wildlife, landscapes and native cultures on every continent. Robert Rotella, who also resides in the Pacific Northwest, captures breathtaking landscapes and stunning macro images of flowers.

Dancing Queen
Celebrate good times and shake your groove thing with “Dancing Queen” at Planet Hollywood. “Dancing Queen” is the all-singing, all-dancing spectacular with more No. 1-hit songs than any show in Vegas. A cast of 20 singers and dancers will take you on a fun and funky ride through the ’70s and ’80s at Vegas’ biggest disco party.

Aria Resort & Casino
AAA Five-Diamond rooms and suites feature plush bedding, modern technology and stunning floor-toceiling views, while Aria Sky Suites — the exclusive Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award-winning hotel-within-a-hotel provides an elevated level of luxury.

Giddy Up After Dark
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo not only rounds up rodeo’s greatest riders, ropers and wrestlers, but also steers a stampede of country music stars into Sin City. The world’s richest and most prestigious rodeo, NFR fills the Thomas & Mack Center with 10 days of competitive cowboy and cowgirl sports, Dec.

RESORTS
The award-winning Top of the World Restaurant, which rotates 360 degrees to offer unrivaled views from 800 feet above Las Vegas, is serving a scrumptiously seasonal Christmas Day spread.

SPAS
Holiday sweets can be dangerous to the waistline. But this season, it’s okay to indulge. Several Las Vegas spas are offering sumptuous services that let spa-goers partake in all the deliciousness of the season without worrying about shedding any extra pounds in the New Year.

OFFBEAT
Sometimes, a slice of cake just won’t cut it. And in Vegas — home to the biggest, the most expensive, and, yes, the sweetest desserts — it doesn’t have to. Whether you like your chocolate sprinkled with 24k gold flakes or a binge-vworthy treasure chest full of decadent goodies, you’ll find it here.

Winter Wonderland
For an insta-Siberian Sin City experience, huddle into Minus5 Ice Bar. Everything inside Minus5 is made of ice, from the walls and the bar to the seats and even the glasses in which its signature vodka-based cocktails are served.

Entertainment Listings
darby O’gill & The Little People HARD ROCK HOTEL AND CASINO 800.473.7625.

What Happened in Vegas
Every visitor to Vegas comes home with at least one good story – whether or not they ever tell it is another thing. Here are a few only-in-Vegas moments you may not have heard about..