Las Vegas: Haute Cuisine And High Rollers

A cruise down the Las Vegas strip these days is like a whirlwind Grand Tour, as Sin City tries to remake itself into, well, Old Europe. There's the imposing Italianate palazzo that's the Bellaggio, a 3,000-room edifice that would do a Medici proud. Across the street is a demi-Eiffel Tower, squished right up against L'Opera and a counterfeit Arc de Triomphe at the Paris Las Vegas. Farther along comes the Venetian, anchored by a Doge's Palace that's just one column shy of the original. Where are St. Mark's Square and the Grand Canal, you wonder? Up the escalator and to the right.

But behind all of the ersatz facades is a different kind of replica. Almost overnight, Las Vegas has cloned many of America's most celebrated restaurants. They are expensive--sometimes very expensive--but they're not just for the high rollers. Las Vegas hoteliers have reset their sights on visitors more interested in cuisine than craps: conventioneers with expense accounts and well-heeled travelers who fly in for superstar concerts and title boxing bouts. For the first time, visitors to Las Vegas are spending more on entertainment than on gaming.