“Las Vegas is corcorate, it’s over-building, it’s all about bars and money, no one can afford to live here anymore, it’s just too much and can’t last the way it’s going,” said Monti Rock, III, a Las Vegas actor and comedian. I met him last year at a new Japanese restaurant on the far western side of the city, where new sushi bars, supermarkets, movie theaters, pool supply firms and single family homes on Flamingo Road were pushing even farther into the brown, rocky desert.

When I returned to Las Vegas this year, and saw the additional residential and business growth continuing at an even greater pace, I thought about Monti Rock’s comments and decided that he was both right and wrong about this neon metropolis that everyone either loves, or loves to hate. Yes, it is corporate, it is over-building, it is about money, but people can still find work here, can still afford to own a private home, and Vegas certainly finds a way to reinvent itself, to change its looks and personality, perhaps even its gender, every few weeks. Like the sharks that prowl the watery confines of huge aquariums at several Strip casinos, Las Vegas can’t stop moving. If it did, it would collapse under its own weighty reputation.

Away from the Strip, residential housing construction continues at a blistering pace. With two-year job growth predicted to reach 6.5 percent, one of the highest in the country, local firms such as Boyd Gaming, InfoGenesis, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos and Internet retailer Zappos. com are expected to hire thousands of new employees.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that during the period from 2000 to 2006 Las Vegas’ population grew by almost 30 percent, averaging almost 6,000 new residents a month. The country’s fastest-growing city with over 1 million residents, Las Vegas beat its closest competitor, Phoenix, by 6 percent.

Although trends have shown a slight decline in residential housing prices from past years, mainly because people in other parts of the country who want to move to Las Vegas are having trouble selling their present homes, the Las Vegas real estate market is still very strong, with only a few other cities (Houston, Sacramento, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham) showing a similar immunity to the national real estate malaise.

In Lake Las Vegas, 15 miles southeast of the city, prices for homes on or near a golf course, with views of the lake, start at close to $1 million, and in nearby Henderson, a proposed 126-acre, $2-billion development called City Crossing will include 100,000 square feet of retail space, 1.5 million square feet of office space, 2,500 residential units, and 17 acres of parks, trails and public spaces. Demand for new housing is so strong in Vegas that developers, already pushing the outer limits for commuters, are now eyeing golf courses in older, close-in neighborhoods as potential building sites. This past summer a developer purchased the Las Vegas National Golf Course, worrying residents who own 1960s-era homes near the course. Their pristine views of lush fairways could soon be replaced by hundreds of new homes.

Residential development is expanding farther into downtown as well, as high income residents in the suburbs grow frustrated by their increasing commuting time, and moneyed Europeans and Asians seek upscale apartments in new downtown skyscraper condominiums. The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino will open in late 2009 with residential apartments and a large casino, and Pinnacle Las Vegas, also scheduled for a 2009 debut, will provide two 36-story towers offering plenty of amenities for residents, including a spa and fitness facility, restaurants and boutiques.

In the past several months Clark County and Las Vegas planning boards announced many new development plans for the area, including what may be the biggest urban commercial development in the United States. A $9.5-billion complex, proposed by a Michigan real estate development company, would transform 85 downtown acres into a minicity of casinos, condos, shops and a 22,000-seat sports arena. This proposed development is even more ambitious than the $7.4-billion, 76- acre, MGM Mirage project called CityCenter already under construction. Other enormous mixed-use projects on the planning board include The Palazzo (Las Vegas Sands); The Plaza (Elad Group); Trump International Hotel & Tower (Trump); Echelon (Boyd Gaming); Fontainebleau (Fontainebleau Resorts); and Wynn Encore (Wynn Resorts). Folks outside Las Vegas, and some within, have been saying for years that the growth can’t last, yet the population and building surges have defied predictions of doom and gloom, and new multi-billion-dollar construction projects, like CityCenter, will create cities within the city, with glass needle buildings puncturing the deep blue desert sky.

The frenetic energy of Las Vegas draws many new businesses to the city. All the major chains are here of course, but so are the smaller companies, those looking to make their names known among the 2-millionand- counting Las Vegas residents who drive everywhere, eat out fourfive times a week, and are always eager to try something new. Fast food franchisees such as Extreme Pita, Spicy Pickle, Tropical Smoothie Café and Hurricane Grill and Wings, opening in stand-alone buildings in new development areas near shopping centers and office parks, have found the Las Vegas area, with its vibrant economy, to be a lucrative market. Even the British supermarket giant, Tesco, has chosen Las Vegas, along with San Diego and Los Angeles, for its first forays into the American market.

LODGING

MONTELAGO VILLAGE RESORT

This non-casino property located in Lake Las Vegas, a 20-minute drive from McCarran Airport and the Strip, offers 300 studio, one-, two-, or three-bedroom rental units, all with full kitchen, free underground parking, complimentary high-speed Internet, two swimming pools and a fitness center. The resort is located next to the Casino MonteLago and the entrance to Lake Mead National Recreation Area is just 10 minutes away. 30 Strada di Villaggio, Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, tel 866 399 2753, http://www.montelagovillage.com $$$$

RED ROCK CASINO, RESORT & SPA

This new casino is in the community of Summerlin, an older, upscale, masterplanned town 12 miles west of the Strip, in the shadow of the La Madre Mountains, and near the entrance to the stunning Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It attracts locals and out-oftown visitors with its red sandstone and rock exterior, a three-acre pool, 25,000- square-foot spa, nine restaurants, a 16- screen movie theater, and Rande Gerber’s stylish Cherry nightclub. All 800 guestrooms and suites come with plasma TVs and lots of high-tech extras. 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., tel 866 767 7773, http://www.redrocklasvegas.com $$$$

MIRAGE HOTEL & CASINO

Created by casino mogul Steve Wynn, and opened in 1989, guests enter this Strip property through a jungle rainforest complete with waterfalls, tropical flowers and a 20,000-gallon saltwater aquarium behind the front desk. Outside the hotel, the famous Polynesian “volcano” erupts hourly. The hotel’s name may be a misnomer, however, for the restaurants within the hotel are quite real, and very good, including Stack, Japonais and Fin. The hotel’s nightclub, Jet, attracts celebrities nightly. The 2,763 guestrooms are comfortable and high-tech equipped. 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd., tel 800 374 9000, http://www.mirage.com $$$

DINING

JAPONAIS

Yes, you have to walk through the Mirage’s rainforest atrium, but once inside Japonais’ main dining room, you leave the noise of the casino floor and milling crowds far behind. The room is bathed in a soothing red glow emanating from fire-red lampshades, walnut finshaped rafters line the ceiling and the walls are made of blue glass designed to resemble water. Opened in September 2006, the menu is pricey but the “progressive Japanese cuisine” is extraordinary, and includes special robata grill dishes such as smoked wagyu with ginger wasabi ponzu, and spicy chicken with shiso and mint leaf buds. The Mirage, 3400 South Las Vegas Blvd., tel 866 339 4566, http://www.mirage.com/dining/finediningjaponais.aspx $$$$

BISTRO ZINC

Bistro Zinc is owned by Joseph Keller, who opened Bouchon, in Yountville, Calif., with his brother, Thomas, in 1998. Like Bouchon, Bistro Zinc’s interior is French-styled, with a tile floor, handcarved mahogany oyster bar, velvet banquettes and an authentic French zinc bar top. Seafood, including shrimp, lobster, soft-shell crabs, P.E.I. mussels and Idaho rainbow trout, is flown in daily. The menu has French-Cajun influences, with items such as beignets, po boys, seafood gumbo and jambalaya on offer. 15 Via Bel Canto, Lake Las Vegas, tel 702 567 9462, http://www.bistrozinclv.com $$$

TABLE 34
Located in a somewhat out-of-the-way neighborhood near the airport, this unpretentious restaurant serves great contemporary American cuisine. You’ll see more locals here than tourists, the décor is spare — polished wood floors, clean earth-tone colors, good local artwork displayed on the walls — and Executive Chef Wes Kendrick’s food is comforting and creative. The rack of pork with chipotle mashed potato and hardcider glaze is a specialty, but the herbroasted chicken and the seared Idaho golden trout are delicious as well. 600 E. Warm Springs Road, tel 702 263 0034, http://www.usmenuguide.com/table34.html $$$

INFO TO GO

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) is one of the 10 busiest airports in the country. Its two terminals are located only 15 to 20 minutes from the Strip, and serviced by taxis, limos, airport shuttles and public bus. The Las Vegas Monorail, which opened in 2004, will eventually extend to the airport, but that is still several years away. The airport has combined all the car rental agencies into one huge pick-up/drop-off center, located a few miles from the terminals, and provides efficient shuttle service day and night. Give yourself plenty of time before flights, however, as the airport is always busy, especially when big conventions are in town. Enjoy the slots, free WiFi and people-watching while waiting for your flight home.

CASINO ADVANTAGE

Las Vegas has a long history as an entertainment and gambling mecca and one of its earliest attractions remains a driving force in “Sin City” even today. Harrah’s Entertainment, which owns or manages casinos and resorts on four continents, traces its roots to 1937 Reno, Nev., when Bill Harrah opened a bingo parlor. Harrah’s Las Vegas properties include Harrah’s Las Vegas and O’Shea’s Casino. The company, in conjunction with AEG, an entertainment site developer, recently unveiled plans for a 20,000-seat arena. Set to open in 2010, the arena will be capable of housing an NBA or NHL franchise team Another big player, Wynn Resorts, operates Wynn Las Vegas, a luxury hotel and destination casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip. Wynn Las Vegas features 2,716 guestrooms and suites, an 111,000-square-foot casino, 22 food and beverage outlets, an onsite 18-hole golf course, 223,000 square feet of meeting space and 76,000 square feet of retail space. Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas is the only casino resort in the world to earn both 5-star and 5-diamond distinctions.

DIVERSIONS

The Atomic Testing Museum (755 E. Flamingo, tel 702 794 5161, http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org), part of the Smithsonian, contains information, exhibits and artifacts relating to the 1950s era when southern Nevada was a testing site for atomic bombs.

While many of the casino hotels have permanent art galleries (Bellagio’s Gallery of Fine Art; Venetian’s Guggenheim Hermitage Museum; Luxor’s King Tut Museum; Wynn’s Wynn Collection), the Las Vegas Art Museum (9600 W. Sahara, tel 702 360 8000, http://www.lasvegasmuseum.org) presents its interesting exhibitions with a focus on the art of the Southwest.

If you’re into thrills, and have no fear, the world’s highest ride is 110 stories above the Strip, on the top of the Stratosphere Tower (2000 S. Las Vegas Blvd., tel 702 380 7777, http://www.stratospherehotel.com) where “Insanity” spins riders over the edge of the building in a terrorinducing, unforgettable experience.

When you’re downtown surrounded by Las Vegas’ mega-hotels, it’s easy to forget that there’s an extraordinary desert landscape just beyond the lights. To appreciate the grandeur of southern Nevada, there are two spectacular desert environments — each a short drive from downtown — that you should visit. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (tel 702 515 5367, http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org), 15 miles west of Las Vegas, can be viewed by car along a 13-mile scenic loop ($5 toll), by rented mountain bikes or on guided bus tours that depart daily from area hotels. Valley of Fire State Park (tel 702 397 2088, http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm), 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, was established in 1935 as Nevada’s first state park, and its red sandstone formations and ancient Indian petroglyphs are incredible. Short walking trails through the park lead to areas of immense beauty and quietude.