Luxor

In a city of superlatives, Luxor must be the most unusual hotel/casino along the Strip, and one of the largest - with well over 4,000 rooms it is third only to MGM Grand and the Venetian/Palazzo. Over half the rooms are contained within the main building, a 350 foot high pyramid entirely covered in black glass except for the apex, where at night the world's most powerful searchlight sends a vertical beam several miles into the air - said to visible on dark nights from places 100 miles or more distant. At the front of the pyramid stands another Egyptian replica, the Great Sphinx, which straddles the main casino entrance. Inside, the Egyptian theme, once quite prevalent, has been toned down over the years as the resort seeks to appeal to a more adult market; the one main item remaining is a museum about Tutankhamen.

The interior of the Luxor Pyramid has an interesting design as the guest rooms & suites, all with exterior walls slanting at 39 degrees, line the fascia of the building while the center is hollow (forming the world's largest atrium), containing the casino and various other attractions. These include nine bars & lounges - biggest is the two storey, 26,000 sq ft LAX, eight main restaurants plus a food court, two French-style wedding chapels, the Nurture Spa, a seven storey 3D IMAX screen, and 36 shops in the Mandalay Place arcade (linking with Mandalay Bay next door). Luxor's five acre pool complex has a quiet location at the rear of the hotel, and consists of 4 pools, 4 whirlpools, 12 cabanas and plenty of sunbathing space. Meetings/event space is a relatively modest 20,000 sq ft (about 1% of that available at Mandalay Bay).

Live entertainment at Luxor centers on three big shows. Top of the bill is the latest production by Cirque du Soleil, in conjunction with Criss Angel - Believe features a haunting mixture of magic and illusion. The other two are Fantasy, a topless dance revue, and the quirky humor of Carrot Top.