Hotels are the major attraction in Las Vegas.

Leave behind all touchstones of normality.

"WHAT happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," the airport security official laughed after she had done the honours of checking me out in a la Jesus Christ style.

As often as you might have seen it on TV or in the movies, there is nothing that prepares you for the first sight of Vegas. If I were to close my eyes to recapture my first response to the proverbial sin city, the list would go something like this: a dreamscape of visual consumption; an example of hyperspace; a global pleasure zone; literal consumerism; the world's largest and most spectacular carnival; a glittering, neon-lit universe; a city that never sleeps (and makes sure you don't either).

In other cities, hotels are built around the major attractions. Here, the hotels are the major attraction. For, which other city has a skyline made up almost entirely of buildings from other cities' skylines?

Sensory overload

The skyline is a hyper-reality — a melange of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, a pyramid and a Sphinx, a giant lion and a volcano that erupts. You could be suffering from a sensory overload, where the shouts from Crap tables, the jingling crash of coins from the slot machines and the general roar combine to give you the greatest adrenalin rush of your life.

Vegas "re-creates" the world's historical, cultural, fashion capitals together on just a three-and-a-half mile strip. Paris impressed me with its Louis XVI architecture, it's cobbled streets and roadside cafes. A ride up the Eiffel Tower gives an overwhelming view of the city.

The musical extravaganza of Bellagio's fountains spring into a breathtaking performance. The visual water symphony with the waters playfully dancing in sync with classical, romantic music, spanning a 1000 ft, shooting up to 240 ft in the air can leave you ecstatic. Bellagio stands, like an elegant lady in all her sophisticated finery, with a casino that lures, the world class restaurants that dish out food to die for, "O", a show that's "forever", and an exquisitely landscaped conservatory.

Caeser's Palace replicates Rome — from David to Zeus, the pantheon of Roman Gods and Goddesses look upon you, replete with Corinthian pillars and finely detailed, carved structures. Here history fuses with the super-modern with suave ease. To see haute couture outlets of Armani, Dior, Valentino elegantly nestled in the pillared Forum shops, the blue skies above, towers, plazas and fountains gushing at every turn, you are already tipsy with the heady sights.

Each hotel is a veritable city, functioning on a gargantuan scale that requires a government to run them, offering employment to thousands.

Vegas is different

Vegas makes you leave all touchstones of reality behind. You watch your money grow or (more likely) shrink, see pirates fight the sexy sirens outside Treasure Island, spend hours jiving to soul-throbbing music at Coyote Ugly (an all-girls bar at New York-New York), or rock to live music at Cleopatra's Barge (Ceaser's), Studio 59 (MGM).

And when it lights up at night, "It still takes my breath away," says a long time resident. Everything is dressed in lights — stand still long enough, and they'll probably cover you in neon.

If you are a non-gambler and travelling with kids like I was, Vegas makes a perfect holiday destination. With Atlantic City and 31 other states legalising gambling, Vegas companies were forced to evaluate their strategic position. Circus-Circus, Ceaser's, Mirage, MGM Grand, Luxor, Paris, New York-New York, Venetian chose an expansion strategy adding resort-style entertainment to the casinos. Entertainment has gone beyond Hollywood-style shows; it is now based on themed amusement parks.

Themed parks

An exotic plants filled lobby at the MGM Grand is — grand. They have wildlife areas with white tigers, lions, and dolphins on show. Flamingo has its gardens spotted with flamingos, penguins and ducks where kids can frolic among them. The Excalibur takes you back to medieval times, the Luxor with its pyramid and the Sphinx transports you to Egypt. It is a hub for families looking for entertainment for kids with virtual reality, simulator rides and a museum based on their boy-king Tutankhamun.

It is not without reason 35 million tourists visit Vegas every year. It is not just the beauty and plush surroundings of the hotels, the lure of money at the casinos, the gastronomic pampering of the taste buds; it is the magic of the Vegas shows. With "O" reigning supreme, Celine Dion rocks. For the modern taste, "We Will Rock You" is a throbbing musical. "Les Folies Bergere" and "Jubilee" can leave you speechless with their phantasmagorical stage sets, and stunning choreography. Comedy shows are popular as also the variety shows that pack in magic, acrobatics, hypnosis and jugglery. George Wallace and Danny Gans are the reigning stand-up comedians.

Once you strip away the outer skin of Vegas, you find a very interesting anatomy. At the epicentre is found the person's egocentric self, covered with a self-indulging epidermis, whose 11th Commandment for the time he is in Vegas is "bigger the better". But remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

David Copperfield has made a career out of dazzling people

Magic seems to be one of the eternal arts.

It's older than Merlin, newer than Harry Potter. It's been used to dazzle, amuse, perplex; it's also, in centuries past, been used to trick people into losing their money.

Around Michigan (see list, Page 7), magic's history is showcased in the cozy little towns of Colon and Marshall. Its current state ranges from the intimacy of table magic at Champps to the spectacle of David Copperfield, who has four Wharton Center shows this weekend.

Copperfield, his people say, holds the records for the most magic shows performed, the most tickets sold, the most money made. In fact, he holds the Guinness record for holding the most Guinness records.

On TV, he seemed to walk through the Great Wall of China. He also made important things - a jet, an elephant, people - seem to disappear.

The hardest stunt to set up was making the Statue of Liberty vanish, he said back in 1989. "It took two years to set it up and a half-million dollars."

At the Wharton, he'll downsize only slightly. Copperfield plans to make 13 audience members disappear. (They will, apparently, re-appear.) In one stunt, he'll seem to float through steel; in another, he'll shrink and fit in a shoe box.

Chances are, all of these will be done with a movie-like flair. "I love film," Copperfield said in 1993. "I watch as many shows as I can. I'll rent out the theater during the day, so the whole crew can go."

There also will be some intimate magic involving an African scorpion. The intimate stuff was what he did first.

That started when he was 8, showing off his first trick. "I make a ring vanish from someone's finger," Copperfield recalled in 1992. "Then I make it turn up, tied to my shoelace."

By 10, he was working birthday parties. His price rose from $5 to $7.50 to $35.

He was David Kotkin then, in Metuchen, N.J. His parents encouraged him, but also had old-world values.

His dad, who managed a men's clothing store, was the son of Russian immigrants. His mom was born in Jerusalem; both wanted him to go to college and into a profession.

The college part lasted exactly three weeks, until he landed a key role under his stage name.

"Copperfield culled fine reviews in 'The Magic Man,' a song-and-dance show produced in a small theater in a bank in Chicago," Harry Blackstone Jr., wrote. He "went on to perform in nightclubs and in Las Vegas. ... His programs always surround the magic with comedy skits, music and dance - all done by Copperfield."

It was a fresh take on an ancient art.

The earliest references to magicians go back to 1700 B.C., Blackstone wrote. The Iliad mentioned conjurers; Marco Polo raved about them.

The claims were often outrageous. In the 1720s, Isaac Fawkes said he had an apple tree that could bear fruit in a minute. Josephine Giradelli put boiling melted lead in her mouth; Blaise Manfre swallowed water and regurgitated a choice of red and white wine.

It was all probably impressive, Copperfield said in 1992, but flawed. "They weren't very honest about it a long time ago. They used their illusions to attain power. They became Merlins, trying to control people."

Some magicians used their craft to peddle phony medicines. One actually managed to affect world events. In the 19th century, Blackstone wrote, Algeria wanted to be independent; Napoleon III countered by presenting his best magician. "Robert-Houdin totally convinced the tribal leaders of his - and France's - supernatural powers."

Robert-Houdin was a master showman and self-promoter. Ehrich Weiss - born in Budapest, raised partly in Appleton and Milwaukee, Wis. - paid tribute to him by changing his stage name to Harry Houdini.

For large chunks of the 20th century, Houdini and the senior Harry Blackstone were major pop-culture stars. They showed up in movies, radio shows, even comic strips. When Blackstone retired in 1960, his son wrote, "he was seemingly the last of an age of charismatic magic personalities. It was several years before the emergence of any new magic superstars."

They would come, however, with the help of TV. Doug Henning, Lance Burton and David Blaine (who has an ABC special next month) had modest success; Copperfield scored big.

That has been done with non-stop touring. Copperfield was on the road constantly, doing more than 500 shows a year.

"I love it," he said in 1990. "I absolutely do. At this point in my life, it's what I want to do."

Often, it's been at the expense of everything else. With the exception of an engagement to supermodel Claudia Schiffer, which ended after five years, he has shown no signs of a personal life.

For a time, Copperfield didn't have a steady home base. He got one in Las Vegas; that's where he often performs - and where he established the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts.

The idea started in 1991 when Copperfield bought a massive Los Angeles magic library. He's gone on to buy other collections and individual items.

Now Vegas is a prime source of magic artifacts. Others include the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and - open only on weekends - the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, near Battle Creek.

Copperfield owns devices created by Robert-Houdin and owns about half the Harry Houdini collection. He has the rifle that may have killed Chung Ling Soo, when his bullet- catching stunt failed; he has the Wyman the Wizard coins that seemed to pass through Abraham Lincoln's hands.

He has more than 15,000 magic books, including the first one. That was Reginald Scot's "The Discoverie of Witchcraft," in 1584. It told magicians' secrets, out of self-defense: It was better to be considered a fake than to be executed as a wizard.

So tricks were revealed. Try to remember that this weekend at the Wharton Center, when people float or shrink or disappear. It is (probably) only a trick.

Siegfried and Roy joined California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver at the 10th annual "Power of Love" gala on Saturday, February 11, 2006 at the MGM Grand. The charity celebration was a remarkable night, raising over $20 million for the Lou Ruvo Alzheimer's Institute, which will break ground later this year in Las Vegas.

Siegfried & Roy were on hand to support both this great cause and Maria, their close friend, who was honored that night along with celebrated architect Frank Gehry.

Elton John, dedicating "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" during Saturday's show at Caesars Palace to Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, who were in the audience with Lynette Chappell and Darren Romeo, February 20, 2006.

The 2005 event drew a record 440 players. Tournament director Matt Savage, the most familiar face in televised poker tournaments in the world, believes that this week's event will reach the projected 500 figure.

The winner of the tournament will receive a one million dollar check and a seat in the World Poker Tour Championship event in Las Vegas later this year. One feature that draws a strong field of potential millionaires is the bounties portion of the tournament.

Each table will have one player designated as a 'Star.' When a Star is eliminated from play, the player who caused the player to be eliminated wins an immediate bounty payout of $5,000. Savage noted that in previous Shooting Star events, players were able to earn several bounties during one tournament.

The Stars are featured poker professionals, although some spots are reserved for players who are more recognized through film careers than in card games. James Woods, Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth are planned as Stars. Nguyen, along with World Poker Tour champions Gus Hansen, Doyle Brunson and Antonio Esfandiari, will begin play as Stars.

Based on the large field of play, the tournament staff has divided first-round play into two groups. The first half of the field will begin play at 11:15am on Monday, the second half at the same time Tuesday. Poker continues Wednesday at 12 noon, with play to continue until 36 remain.

The fourth day of play, to begin at 12 noon Thursday, will have six tables of six players, with play to continue until six players remain. Those six will be at the Final Table at 5pm Friday March 3 as part of the World Poker Tour televised series on The Travel Channel.

Bay 101 is hosting a World Series of Poker Shooting Star Event Sunday Feb. 26. Entrants posting $2,000 will play for a $110,000 first prize. The event, with 220 players, is sold out. The top three finishers will receive a $10,000 seat at the 2006 World Series of Poker main event in July at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Now she and Rene want to have another child -- or even more.  She has been very open that she has a frozen embryo in New York, and that she hopes in vitro fertilization can help her become pregnant again.