Las Vegas has become one of the premiere destinations for New Year's Eve in the past couple of years, with the size of crowds on the Strip rivaling the massive throngs seen in New York City's Times Square.

After the debacle of the millennium New Year's, where hundreds of thousands of people crowded the Strip and nothing special happened, the city has gone out of its way to provide a spectacle worthy of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Boulevard, from roughly Tropicana Avenue to Sahara Road, is shut down to traffic around 6 p.m. or so and the crowds start to gather in anticipation of what is billed as the largest fireworks display in the world. At a few minutes before midnight, a computer-sequenced show starts, with pyrotechnics blasting off from the roofs of hotels up and down the Strip, from Mandalay Bay to the Stratosphere. It all culminates at midnight with one big, final bang that usually leaves everything in the surrounding area bathed in a cloud of smoke. It really is a spectacular show, and if you're in Las Vegas on New Year's this is probably what you're going to want to see.

A few hints though -- if you aren't staying on the Strip or are planning to be elsewhere during the day, get to the area of the Strip early. By the time officials shut down the street, most of the parking lots will already be full and traffic becomes even more of a nightmare than it usually is.

There will be a lot of police and emergency people out and that usually keeps the shenanigans to a minimum, but realize that you are going to be standing in a crowd of several hundred thousand people. Many of them will be drinking and partying. Leave your valuables at the hotel and don't get so distracted by the fireworks that you aren't paying attention to what is going on right around you.

If you want to see the fireworks but don't want to be right in the heart of the throng, you could try getting to one of the locals' casinos garages (Palms, Rio, Orleans, Gold Coast). These high-up locations will give you a long-distance view of the Strip, but be warned that they fill up early. Some hotels even charge people to enter on New Year's because a lot of people do it.

Several hotels also have fireworks viewing parties from their pool decks or other areas that have good views of the Strip. Most notable are the multiple events happening at the Stratosphere including one on the pool deck for only $30 that includes a disc jockey, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. The pool deck, on the eighth floor above the casino, offers some pretty great views of the Strip. But if that's not enough of a view, you could go to the top of the 100-plus story tower for the $100 party in the indoor observation deck, the $125 party in the Top of the World Lounge, or the dinner parties at the Top of the World Restaurant, running anywhere from $100 to $500 per person.

There will also be parties at the Las Vegas Hilton, the Palms and the Rio, all of which will have terrific views of the festivities.

This Week's Trivia

Q: What was the average nightly room rate for all hotel and motel rooms in Las Vegas in 2002? ANSWER

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The Full Story

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• Tips For Watching Vegas' New Year's Fireworks
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In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

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Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors

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