Taking the 'Sin' Out of Sin City

WSJ.com - CHRISTINA BINKLEY

With Las Vegas bawdier than ever, Our reporter offers a G-rated guide

Take a stroll down the Strip here, and you're immediately confronted with G-strings, slot machines and handfuls of photographic flyers from entrepreneurs like "Kira -- 36DDD, No Silicone."

Doesn't exactly seem like the place for a family vacation.

Remember Las Vegas's family-entertainment push back in the mid-1990s? Well, sin is back in the Sin City in a big way. Consider Las Vegas's famous advertising slogan these days: "What happens here, stays here." And they're not talking about kid stuff.

But armed with some knowledge about the hotels, restaurants and G-rated entertainment that allow guests to circumvent the city's naughtier offerings, it's more than possible to navigate with kids.

As The Wall Street Journal's longtime gambling reporter (currently on leave writing a book about the Las Vegas casino business), I visit this city about twice a month. I'm also a mother of two kids, ages 3 and 6. Taking them to Las Vegas has provided some of my most searing memories as a parent -- like the time my son, then 2, got lost along with his elderly babysitter amidst the sprawl of Mandalay Bay.

In the years that I've been coming here, I've seen the city go from playing down its vice to playing up its vice again. Treasure Island, once a big draw for children, has revamped its sidewalk pirate battle into a steamy spectacle with sexy sirens. The MGM Grand has torn down its theme park and created a show called "La Femme" where the female cast appears, if you can imagine it, in strapless G-strings. Nearly every casino has installed some sort of topless show and slapped up billboards to market it, making the Las Vegas streetscape so racy that local mothers began complaining.

Still, some 10% of visitors to Las Vegas last year brought children under age 21, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The majority (56%) came with children between 6 and 12 years old. Las Vegas is one of the biggest convention venues in the world, and many attendees try to turn these events into family vacations by inviting their spouses and kids along.

Some families find the city, with its ubiquitous sexual innuendo, a bit too challenging with kids. The Laytons came from Melbourne, Australia, with their three kids expecting Disneyland with gambling. But they found themselves weaving through slot machines on the way to the pool at their hotel, and dodging street barkers handing out risqué pictures of women.

"There are no toy stores," says Janelle Layton, who wound up booking a side trip to the Grand Canyon one day.

The Laytons, like other tourists, had read about Las Vegas's push in the 1990s to offer more entertainment options for families. The centerpiece of that effort was a $2.1 billion development spree (which included Treasure Island's pirate ship and MGM Grand's theme park). The city since has mostly abandoned that strategy, in large part because of concerns about legal liability stemming from allowing children to be in the vicinity of the casinos.

For families, the key to making it work is knowing where to go -- and where not to go. Take the new Wynn Las Vegas resort, built by the city's most famous casino developer, Steve Wynn. Mr. Wynn discourages child guests by banning strollers from the property. But the exclusive South Tower of his hotel has its own lobby, pool and restaurants. It's possible to spend a weekend there and never see a slot machine. You'll pay in another way, though: A room in the South Tower might cost an extra $100 or so a night at the already-pricey resort. (Enter through the south entrance off Sands Avenue, not the main entrance.)

There are other oases from the onslaught of adult fare. The intersection of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, for instance, has some of the best outdoor attractions along the Strip: the Bellagio fountains, which are choreographed to music; the Paris Las Vegas Eiffel Tower (best at night for the views); and several sidewalk cafes at Paris and Caesars Palace. Stop in the Bellagio art museum gift shop for packets of temporary tattoos based on works by Picasso and Monet.

Paris Las Vegas has a sweet children's store called "Les Enfants" with clothes and toys -- and you can avoid the casino there by entering from the self-parking garage. There's no way to avoid the smoke and slots at Excalibur, but it's the place to buy costumes for little knights and damsels. Farther north, but within walking distance, the Venetian offers gondola rides on its canals. The painstaking replicas of Venice are worth a gander.

Like Wynn Las Vegas, THEhotel, part of the Mandalay Bay complex, has a slots-free lobby. But the real value is that all of its suites come with actual separate bedrooms so parents (or babysitters) aren't left sitting in the dark after bedtime.

As for child-friendly entertainment, any of the Cirque du Soleil shows except "Zumanity" are probably fine for kids older than about 5. Lance Burton has a great magic show with doves at the Monte Carlo. His assistants are pretty sexy -- but nothing more than you'd see on the fashion magazines at your local supermarket.

If you're unsure about whether a show or attraction is appropriate for your tykes, call ahead and ask. Be careful with guide books and Web sites, as they can be out of date or just plain wrong: Some guides have failed to recognize the risqué repositioning of Treasure Island, for instance, and one kid-friendly Web site recently included a link to "Splash," a topless show at the Riviera.

Another option is to get away from the Strip altogether, with side trips to places like Hoover Dam, the 1930s-era gem. You can also drive 30 minutes into the Nevada desert -- via Lake Mead to the east or Red Rock Canyon to the west -- for a memorable look at southern Nevada's lunarlike landscape.


VEGAS FOR ADULTS

If you decide to leave the kids at home, here are some of my favorite things to do:
Where to Eat: Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace -- try the oysters, if he has them. The Country Club Grill at Wynn Las Vegas is one of those rare places in Las Vegas where even the view -- of trees and a golf course -- is lovely. The french fries should be mandatory at this fresh take on a steak house.
There's a great buffet at the Bellagio that nimbly covers the world, from Asia to down South. But avoid Spago, at Caesars Palace -- it's like eating in a mall.
What to Visit: If you harbor any nostalgia at all for the Las Vegas of yore --like, of 1990 -- head to the Neon Museum Bone Yard. This collection of bygone signs, such as the famous silver slipper that once stood outside the Silver Slipper hotel, sits in a semisecret location to protect it from vandalism. Visits require a private appointment and a tax-deductible donation of $50.
For an out-of-town day trip, drive to Hoover Dam via the Lake Mead National Conservation Area. Stop for lunch at the Lake Mead Resort Marina (homemade meatloaf sandwich, $6.95) and feed the swarm of 18-inch-long carp. Dare to stick your fists in their maws. Then take the tour of the dam. It's a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas; the entrance fee to the park is $5.
Shows to See: "Zumanity" at New York New York. This cabaret by Cirque du Soleil mixes eye-popping acrobatics with R-rated -- OK, maybe X-rated -- acts. It's sexy and funny: Bet you've never seen two nearly nude swimmers dive into the same martini glass. Or, see the late showing of "Avenue Q" at Wynn Las Vegas.
"La Femme" at the MGM Grand is one of the classier skin shows, based on the famous Crazy Horse in Paris. Technically speaking, they're not nude. You figure it out.
--Christina Binkley