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Las Vegas, Nevada: Here I am, again! It has been seven years since I last visited this desert city. I have always been in two minds about this town. Is it the ultimate escapist destination where reality is put on hold for a few glorious days? Or is the price for this fun and frivolity a little too high? Because like it or not, Las Vegas is and will always be a gambling town.

It is obvious even from the air that this city has changed a lot in just a few short years. With miles and miles of desert urban sprawl visible as we descend into land, it is not surprising to hear that the population has practically doubled from one to two million since last I last hit town.

More changes are apparent when we arrive on the strip, the main thoroughfare were the majority of the cities resorts, hotels and casinos are located. My calves still remember the pavement pounding from my last visit as I trekked from one casino to the next. To ease this burden, a monorail now connects the major casinos along the Strip, from the Sahara right through to the MGM Grand. Dominating the strip’s skyline is the newly completed Wynn Resort and Casino, dwarfing the neighboring Treasure Island, now labeled “TI”. While always an entertainment mecca, Las Vegas appears to have become the home base for Cirque De Soleil, offering not one but four spectacular shows to choose from.

There is still plenty that is familiar on the Las Vegas scene, with some refreshing updates. The night time light and sound spectacular in front of Treasure Island still clogs the pavement with eager spectators. The pirate show now has a raunchier, sexier feel with the warring pirates now pitted against a band of sirens. Amongst the crowd of onlookers I spot a matching bride and groom, he in a jauntily stripped cravat, she casually clutching a fresh new marriage certificate, a reminder that Las Vegas is still the home for the convenient, no fuss wedding.

Don’t despair if you arrive in town “groomless”. For the price of admission, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum conveniently provides slip-on gown and veil, a chapel and a perpetually smiling “George Clooney” groom, all the ingredients for a perfect Las Vegas wedding.

City dining still includes the endlessly all you can eat buffet, though the open, noisy layouts have been replaced with a comfortable more stylish dinning setting. TI buffet is a good example, for $20-00US, you can enjoy a 3 course meal (more if you are hungry!) and drinks in a relaxing and inviting environment.

For high end dining, with swans on the balcony and “wine angels” to retrieve a bottle of red from the unique 4-storey wine tower, Aureole at Mandalay Bay is the perfect blend of exquisite dining and sincere hospitality. For a funky, hip Asian inspired dining experience – try TAO at The Venetian.

While the “99 cent cocktail” and “$8.95 surf & turf” special can still be spotted, they are rare and appear to be dying out, along with signs leading to “Live Mud Wrestling” and “Bikini Bull Riding”.

In their place is a range of family friendly and resort-style attractions. The casino “Circus Circus” has added to its carnival themed games and now include 4D experiences and roaring rollercoaster rides all within the amusement dome. Families can swim and play poolside under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower (based on the designs of the original but half the size!) at the Paris Casino and kids of all ages (and the odd scientist!) can thrill to the “real life” experience of being on the deck of the Enterprise at the Hilton’s “Star Trek Experience”.

Like all good resorts, elegant and luxuriating day spas are standard offerings in Las Vegas. At the Wynn Casino and Resort, the grown-ups can escape with some Feung Shui-inspired massage and body treatments, or enjoy a soak in the garden-themed Jacuzzi.

This bizarre city is starting to grow on me, particularly as during this trip I have time to explore attractions that, on offer in any other city in the world, I would seek out as “must dos”.

In London, Madame Tussaud’s would be a “gotta see”. In Las Vegas, Tussauds at the Venetian reflects the big stars that are attracted to this city. In town during my visit were Pitt and Clooney, to make the latest “Oceans” blockbuster and Welsh crooner Tom Jones to rock the house. While I didn’t get to hang with the real deal, it was with gleeful joy that I got to sing with “Tim McGraw” and strike a pose with “Madonna”.

In San Francisco, the works of the renowned photographer Ansel Adams would be compulsory viewing. At the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, a retrospective of Adams’s work is showing that includes some of his most famous images of Yosemite and New Mexico. These are coupled with personal mementos, diaries and letters that give an insight to this astonishing artist.

What would be a “blockbuster” exhibit in any gallery in the world, the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at the Venetian latest showing is a Rueben/Van Dyck exhibit on loan from the State Hermitage museum in St Petersburg.

So am I glad I gave Las Vegas another look see? Absolutely. Much has changed and there are definitely some welcome additions to be enjoyed.

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