Each night, the brightest spotlight in the world shines straight into the Nevada sky from the top of the black pyramid of the Luxor.With the Egyptian-themed hotel-casino´s location near the southern end of the Strip, the ray acts as a great landmark. But in the spring, the light also attracts hundreds of thousands of moths, an insect cloud reminiscent of three of the 10 Biblical plagues that befell the ancient Nile River country.As my plane approached for landing one weekend in late June, the light was one of the first things I noticed, a beacon in a sea of lesser lights. The city itself could be compared to a big bug zapper in the desert, planes circling Las Vegas McCarran International Airport full of passengers who are most likely going to leave a lot poorer than they came. But there´s no place where it´s more fun to lose than Sin City.Las Vegas is a near perfect caricature of contemporary America. Its unique blend of lavish capitalism, and the opportunity to do pretty much anything you want as long as you´ve got the money, make it a great outlet for escaping without thinking too much. It´s even better than TV.Pick many of the main hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard, known as the Strip: Even if you never left their doors you could hit all of Sin City´s main attractions: gambling, shows, shopping, dining and drinking. Multiply this by the two dozen or so hotels and casinos along the main drag and throw in a few hours downtown over the course of three or four days. You´ll soon realize there is more to do than you´ll have time or energy for before you get neon fatigue and lose your last quarter to a slot machine.Las Vegas is one of those places you´ll want to see before you die, but like the vodka they serve out of a push-button nozzle at one of the bars at the Luxor, you may find it´s best only in small doses."They say New York. No, this is the town that never sleeps," Sharyland produce broker Ward Thomas said. "There´s no better shopping. There´s no better food. There´s no better nightlife than here. There´s no better entertainment. The whole world is here. Everything within four miles. This is America´s playground."On the Sunday evening of my weekend in Sin City, the Vegas veteran and a friend sat with me and a colleague at one of the tables at The Range Steakhouse at Harrah´s, where my 8 ounce-filet mignon with gorgonzola onions cost $32.99. The wonderfully creamy five-onion soup, served in a hollowed-out yellow onion for a bowl, was $6.99.I asked Thomas what keeps bringing him back."Where else can you do this?" he said, gesturing out a window of the restaurant. Outside, people walked along the Strip. Taxis passed. I could see The Forum Shops and Harrah´s sign, lit with red, yellow, green, purple and white lights.Before his flight left McAllen-Miller International Airport for Vegas, Thomas had said he planned to "gamble, plunder and pillage" on his weekend trip. On this Sunday before dinner, the 42-year-old sat at a baccarat table at Harrah´s casino, where luck wasn´t on his side. "I´ve been plundered and pillaged," he said. But it was all in fun and Thomas seemed in a good mood.The dealer at his table was Paul Hutchison. "I came out on vacation, and I´ve been trying to get back for 20 years," the 55-year-old dealer from Butler, Penn., said. He´s been in Vegas since 1977. He had friends in the area, came for a vacation and came back six months later. He took odd jobs at first and then took a six-week course at a dealer school, and has been dealing cards for 27 years. Dealers at the casino typically earn about $55,000 a year.The minimum bet at his table when I joined Thomas was $50, the maximum $5,000. (The manager, at Thomas´ behest and because of the amount he was betting, later agreed to lower the minimum to $25 temporarily so I could play more than one hand.) "We don´t get a lot of high rollers here," Hutchison said.One man sidled up to the table and laid down $4,000, which Hutchison neatly counted out into rows of $100 bills.My gambling philosophy was: I´m going to spend $50 and that´s it, just money I can afford to lose having fun. So I did, but I was sorely tempted after I won a few rounds of baccarat. The gleam of easily gotten gain started to roar in my head, and for a first-time Vegas gambler it was exhilarating. I can see how people develop serious addictions. Thomas got me away from the table when I was doing relatively well -by that I mean with less than my original $50; but I was starting to win it back; my luck was changing; I swear- so I could leave on a kind of high note.Some of the hotels allow you to trade in relatively small-denomination chips from another major hotel at their casinos, so later that night I did that at the Luxor and promptly lost the rest of my $50."This town has a lot to offer and a lot to lose," Thomas said. There are a lot of superstitions that go along with the games. For example, some people think luck is contagious and try to attach themselves to people who are winning. So, if you find yourself on a streak, watch out, there could be clingers-on, wanting to bum money or chips or just play near you thinking the luck will rub off. Also, at the baccarat table where Thomas was playing, there were spaces for seven players, but the numbers for those spaces went to 8. Space No. 4 was missing because that number signifies death in some Asian cultures and is considered unlucky.Hotels including the Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and Harrah´s have sports books where you can bet on everything from baseball, horse racing and boxing and watch the events on big screen TVs while reclining in chairs with drink holders.Another of the vices Las Vegas is famous for isn´t really in Sin City. In most of Nevada´s counties, brothels are legalized and heavily regulated, making the state unique in the nation. However, Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, is not one of those counties and brothels are not allowed to advertise in counties where prostitution is illegal.The $25 cover charge is well worth it for entrance into the Mix Lounge on the 43rd story - it´s really the 64th floor, but many numbers are left off the elevator´s count for the same reason the No. 4 space is left off the baccarat table - of the THE hotel, the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.The view of the Strip at night is incredible. You can sit back, sip a drink and look out over the next door Luxor, past the mammoth MGM Grand and on down the mesmerizing neon wound glaring up at the dark desert sky. There´s even a view when you take a bathroom break. Saunter up to the main deck´s glass - it´s low enough so you can flick cigar ash over the side and feel the night air on your face - gaze out and pretend you´re famous. It´s like if you squeezed New York into a sleazy, sequined dress and turned up the voltage.That´s at night. But Vegas in the day is like Paris Hilton in overalls. The glamour tends to wash out in the bright Nevada sun, when the intense dry heat makes walking the Strip a chore. This is a great time to take advantage of the air-conditioned shopping in any of the city´s multitude of high-end retailers, including those at the Fashion Show Mall and the stores that connect the Luxor and Mandalay Bay hotels.Be warned, the shopping can be as addictive as the gambling. A Valley woman I rode back on the plane with wasn´t much into the gambling scene but spent thousands of dollars on clothes.