Vegas is a city of fabulous fakes -- a fake volcano, fake Venice, fake pyramid. Rumor even has it thatcertain anatomical features of some cocktail waitresses are fake.
I have to admit that I like a lot of the fake stuff, even some of the kitsch. And I fail to see what the Luxor, for example, has gained from its "de-theming."
But my favorite fake thing in Vegas -- technically in Henderson -- is Lake Las Vegas. The "lake" is really a fake bay created by extending a fake lake, Lake Mead, the body of water collected behind Hoover Dam. But Lake Las Vegas is also a fake Italian Village and surrounding high-end residential developments.
The Village's lakeside downtown includes a nice hotel, shops and restaurants and a small but elegant casino, Casino Monte Lago. The casino reopened last year under new ownership after being closed for maybe a couple of years. It has a reasonable variety of video poker and up-to-date slots. Where the first incarnation of the casino had table is a collection of electronic table games -- blackjack, craps, roulette, Three-Card Poker and Ulitmate Texas Hold 'Em.
The decor is inspired by an Italian winery, with rows of barrel ends high on the walls, below wood and painted ceilings. There's an elegant and excellent small restaurant, Harry's, which is open until 12:30 a.m.; a sports bar; and a snack bar, Harry's Cart, that's open when the restuarant is closed. Above the casino floor is a sports bar that serves pizza and bar food. Across the street from the back of the casino is a small Chinese restaurant owned jointly with casino.
The owners of Monte Lago have an arrangement with the adjacent hotel, a former Ritz-Carlton now operated by a company called the Dolce Group, which runs some of the restaurants at the Hard Rock Hotel. The hotel, in turn, can arrange for customers to play the one golf course of the original three in Lake Las Vegas that remains open.
Lake Las Vegas has been hit hard by Vegas' economic and real estate woes, and the casino appears to be struggling a bit. I hope it can make it until the area rebounds. If I were a recreational gambler, I would likely do most of my playing at Monte Lago. It's a little gem in a lovely setting, a world away from the noise, traffic and banality of so much of the rest of Vegas.
I don't know how long the casino will last, so if you live in Vegas or are coming here soon, I urge you to check it out. It's only about a half hour from the airport. Just follow Interstate 215 east, continuing on Lake Mead Parkway to the entrance on your left. Follow the main road past the traffic circle and take your first right. Shortly, the casino will be on your left.
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