Dozens of casinos allow public to enjoy party pools

The Las Vegas pool season officially kicks off Memorial Day weekend, with the party pools in full swing throughout the city. Unlike the days when you had to be a hotel guest to get into a casino pool, there are now 31 that are open to the public.

There’s usually a fee and drinks tend to be expensive, but these pools will be hopping all summer long as part of Las Vegas’ vibrant "Daylife" scene: Aliante, Aria, Artisan, Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, Cromwell, Downtown Grand, Encore, Flamingo, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock, Hooters, Luxor, M Resort, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage, Palazzo, Palms, Planet Hollywood, Rampart, Ravella, Rio, Rumor, Sapphire, Silverton, Stratosphere, Sunset Station, Tropicana and Venetian.

Rooftops: Two new players in the Daylife scene are the Downtown Grand and The Cromwell, both with rooftop pools. The Downtown Grand’s complex is called Picnic and features a series of summer concerts, while The Cromwell’s Drai’s Beachclub has more of a rowdy party-pool feel.

"Toptional": While it looked like the topless-pool trend might have been slowing down, that’s apparently not the case, with 11 Las Vegas pools classified as "toptional" compared with only eight last year: Artisan (Naked Pool), Caesars Palace (Venus Pool Club), Encore (European Pool), Golden Nugget (The Tank), M Resort (DayDream), Mandalay Bay (Moorea Beach Club), Mirage (Bare Pool Lounge), Rio (The Voo), Sapphire (Dayclub), Venetian (TAO Beach) and Wynn (Sunset Pool). Most charge admission fees for people who are not hotel guests.

Street dice: The Downtown Grand has debuted a new game called Street Dice. It’s a variation of craps that’s played outside with a special table designed to look like an alleyway wall. The game is dealt only on Fridays and Saturdays.

QUESTION: How has Nevada’s legal online poker done to date?

ANSWER: The results have been underwhelming, predominantly because the rules allow play only if you’re physically in the state. Play is expected to increase as deals are made to share players with other states.

For more information about Las Vegas shows, buffets, coupons and good deals, go to www.LasVegasAdvisor.com.