Vegas for High Rollers

If $40,000 a night seems excessive for a hotel room, then maybe Vegas isn’t your town. In a destination known for coddling big money players with complimentary everything, the current boom in luxury suites is also geared toward attracting celebs, sport stars and anybody with enough scratch to afford a 10,000-square-foot luxury loft overlooking the Strip. 

While some casinos don’t advertise their must luxurious rooms, reserving them exclusively for gamers, there are now dozens of $10,000-plus per night suites available around town, spots that with amenities like personal butlers, regulation-size bowling lanes and hydraulic beds. Although big gamblers are still given preference, if there is availability, and you an afford it, these digs can be yours.

High-end suites are nothing new here. During his 800-plus performances, Elvis Presley maintained a 5,000-square-foot suite on the 30th floor of the International Hotel (now the Las Vegas Hilton).  These days, even the King would be impressed with the most expensive penthouse in town – the Hugh Hefner suite at the Palms, just one of a litany of big-ticket sleepovers. The Palms celebrity cache is undeniable: dubious icons including Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan have all gone to dreamland in these over-the-top suites.

At MGM, the high tech Skylofts are among the newest uber-luxe accommodations in town, complete with their own music butlers and priority seating at all of the hotel’s restaurants and nightclubs.  Another hotel within a hotel, The Signature at MGM seems like a bargain, with 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom suites available from $510.  But what Skylofts, and to a lesser degree, The Signature, offers guests is that VIP, separate-from-the-masses experience, including private check in, a designated concierge and its own outside entrance.

The question of how much is enough play to rate one of these swank suites is one that nobody wants to answer. “They don’t even tell us that,” said Caesar’s PR manager Alyssa Bushey.  Caesar’s recently unveiled three penthouse suites designated solely for high rollers in its new Augustus Tower decked out with features like a 408-gallon fish tank, a Steinway grand and a media room complete with a 165-inch cinema screen.

“Anyone can be a high roller somewhere in Vegas, it just depends on the hotel,” said Ben Rafter, whose Las Vegas-based travel agency TravelWorm specializes in booking gaming getaways. “Downtown, it might be $25 hands of blackjack. At Wynn, it will be substantially more.  My take on it is if you’re gaming at a $100-a-hand table anywhere, you’re going to get noticed.”

Whether you’re a high roller, or you just want to eat like one, the Strip dining scene can satisfy. With its first Michelin dining guide due out in 2008, Las Vegas boasts astounding celebrity muscle in the kitchen. “Next to New York, it’s the most important food town in America,” said chef Tom Colicchio, whose upmarket Craftsteak holds court at the MGM.

Where else can you get a $5,000 Kobe hamburger, or splurge on a $20,000 tasting menu – both available at Fleur de Lys, chef Hubert Keller’s palace of good taste at Mandalay Bay.  The burger includes truffles and foie gras – as well as a 1995 bottle of Chateau Petrus, which GM Tobias Peach says accounts for about $4,975 of the total ticket price.  Spirits can rack up quite a bill around town, from the $1,300 bottle of aged Myoka-rangyoku cq sake at MGM’s Shibuya to the $3,000 Ménage a Trois at Tryst nightclub at Wynn, a trio of Cristal Ros, Hennessy Ellipse and Grand Marnier Cent-cinquantenaire, shaken with 23-karat gold flakes and sipped through a souvenir golden straw studded with a nine-point diamond.

The five-diamond Picasso in Bellagio is drop dead gorgeous—even before you notice the real Picassos adorning the walls.  Chef Julian Serrano’s restaurant, with its view of the dancing fountains, offers a $105 five-course tasting menu, paired with wine for an additional $45. But wine pairings can go to any price – depending on your budget and how much you’ve won, or lost, at the tables.  At nearby Michael Mina, a tower of caviar is one of the biggest ticket items, a parfait of potato cake, smoked salmon and either Siberian, Russian or Persian caviar, ranging from $175 to $295.

Perhaps the most decadent experience is a 16 course, $360-per-person feast at Joel Robuchon at the MGM, the first stateside foray for the ballyhooed Michelin-starred French chef. Paired with wines from the 740-label list, the experience is beyond the culinary pale. Figure in dessert by Kamel Guechida, named pastry chef of the year by Bon Appetit, and you’ll feel like a high roller, no matter what’s in your bank account.

Vegas If You Go

The Palms
www.palms.com (866) 942-7770cq
Priciest suite runs $40,000 a night.

MGM Grand Skylofts
www.skyloftsmgmgrand.com (877) 646-5638.
Splurge on the Diamonds are Forever Package, $20,000 per couple, for a two-night stay.

MGM Grand The Signature
www.signaturemgmgrand.com (877) 727-0007
New private-entrance suite tower, with two-bedroom suites from $510 per night.

CraftSteak at the MGM Grand
www.craftrestaurant.com/craftsteak_lasvegas.html (702) 891-7318
Kobe Beef Platinum Menu, $195 per person, $65 additional with wine

Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay
mandalaybay.com (702) 632-9400
Pop in for a $5,000 Kobe hamburger, or splurge on a $20,000 tasting menu

Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, MGM Grand
www.mgmgrand.com (702) 891-7777
Go for the ultimate, a 16 course, $360 per person feast.

Michael Mina at Bellagio
www.bellagio.com 702-693-7223
Indulge in a parfait of caviar, from $175-$295.

Shibuya at the MGM Grand
www.mgmgrand.com 702-891-7777
Order the $1300 bottle of aged Myoka-rangyoku sake.

Picasso at Bellagio
www.bellagio.com 702-693-7223 cq 877-2-DINE-LV
$105 five-course tasting menu, paired with wine for an additional $45 – although the sky is the limit.

For more information about visiting Las Vegas, 1-877-VISIT LV (847-4858) www.visitlasvegas.com