The Mirage Hotel and Casino is a newly renovated tropically-themed resort located at the center of the Las Vegas Strip. The entrance of the resort is landscaped with palm trees, rich foliage and more than four acres of lagoons with towering waterfalls centered around a 54-foot high volcano that spews smoke and fire 100 feet above the water every evening at regular intervals, with flames that illuminate the hotel. Situated at the back of the hotel, next to the swimming pool area, is a Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat with two and one-half million-gallon pools. Also created for the Mirage by Siegfried and Roy is the White Tiger Habitat, a tropical location featuring the exotic cats.

Where soft, sunny days give way to passionate nights. You are invited to experience the Life Exotic. The Mirage’s visitor rooms feature rich hues and imported fabrics in a sophisticated ambiance of chic comfort. Wonderful views of the tropical pool, grandiose mountains or Las Vegas Strip. The exploding volcano erupts every 15 minutes from 7 pm until midnight, shooting fire sky-scraping. Inside the hotel’s front entrance is a verdant rain forest with palm trees, cascading waterfalls, meandering lagoons, and exotic tropical vegetation. A enormous aquarium buzzing with leopard sharks, puffer fish, and about 90 other species. The Mirage hotel has an outdoor Secret Garden, counting a dolphin attraction, including the white tiger display.

This is the resort to stay if you want to feel like a high roller without spending like one. Perfect, reasonably priced rooms are done with botanical prints and yellow, cedar, and cranberry hues; they all have old-fashioned looking custom made work desks, and suites are decked in imported silks and hand-loomed carpets. Bathrooms have marble accents and luxurious appointments. The salon features massage therapies, beauty treatments, hydrotherapies. Live entertainment includes the new performance by Cirque du Soleil: THE BEATLES LOVE; the show explores the content of the songs as interpreted by innovative performances from a cast of 60 international artists. A youthful, raw energy is channeled through aerial performance, extreme sports and urban freestyle dance. Mirage is as well home to singer-comedian Danny Gans, and touring headline entertainers.

The casino offers slot machines, poker tables, table games, a high-limit lounge, and a race and sports book with an overall atmosphere of sophisticated fun. The poker room has a planetary reputation for first-class action, low and high. The look is rain forest rustic: pits are distinguished by separate thatch roofs. There’s yet a verdant tropical garden leading into the main casino to clean your lungs with fresh air. The cumulative effect is completely vitalizing for a casino.

The Mirage sets a high standard for itself and for every other luxury hotel in Vegas. Its timeless beauty, tropical surroundings and exceptional service make it one of the most beloved hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.

There are many New Orleans Hotels but for a Boutique Hotel in the very heart of New Orleans there is one that holds a higher standard, The Bienville House on the edge of the French Quarter. It is a very distinctive property with style and grace.

The Bienville House has all of the unique elegance of a French Quarter Manor. A crystal blue pool is surrounded by a flagstone courtyard and is overlooked by many of the room’s wrought iron balconies. There are four sundecks for you to relax and savor the ambience.

This lovely hotel started as a grain warehouse but it has gone through many manifestations since then to become the boutique hotel it is today.

In the beginning it was Planter’s Rice Mill, then Thompson’s Rice Mill and Southern Syrup Manufacturing. Then, in 1985, the building was completely transformed into the North American Hotel. The original advertising stated it was a delightful summer residence for Ladies and Gentlemen. Unfortunately the hotels owners went their separate ways and the building was divided into a boarder’s hotel and a fire house. Then it was converted to 20 luxury apartments and started the rival of Decatur Street. In 1972, after surviving a fire from across the street, it was purchased by the Monteleone Family.

The location of the Bienville hotel on Decatur Street mixes the old and new of the charming French Quarter. With its lovely wrought iron balconies this intimate property is the closest to the French Quarter and therefore many attractions are close by. Some of them include Aquarium of the Americas, Canal Place Shopping Center (including Saks Fifth Avenue and Brooks Brothers), Woldenberg Park, IMAX Theater and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. From this New Orleans hotel you can be spellbound by the stars at the Hard Rock Caf while still enjoying the historic French quarter with it’s many famous eateries and scenery.

From this splendid location you can find antique shops, New Orleans’s signature Jazz Clubs, famous restaurants, beautiful historic buildings, voodoo shops, museums, the wharf and more. Just blocks from the exciting 24 hour Bourbon Street, you can find spectacular antiques and art galleries on Royal Street.

AAA has awarded it the coveted Three Diamond title and the Bienville is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. This boutique hotel consistently works hard to go beyond the standards that are demanded of that title.

They have a restaurant, the Louisiana Heritage Caf that also serves as a school of cooking. In its casual setting it offers seafood, pasta, soup and salads in the New Orleans tradition. Some of Chef Faroldi’s dishes include Seafood Beignets with Remoulade Sauce, Blackened Catfish topped with Crawfish Etouffe and the famous Rajun Cajun Omelets. It is located on the first floor of the hotel and serves three meals a day.

The culinary lessons at the Louisiana Heritage Caf can be for individuals or groups. Anyone can attend these lessons. The delicious fare is typically Cajun and Creole and while the chef is preparing the dishes he offers historic stories that will compliment his presentation.

For the business person Bienville House Hotel has a charming space for small meetings or parties for up to 100 guests. In the board room, which will hold 12, you can see the historic roots of this New Orleans Hotel in the exposed brick from the 1800’s. Within this board room you will find all of the amenities, like a wireless internet, and a wide range of AV equipment. The Vieux Carre room has 1,318 square feet available for larger meetings. All catering needs will be met by the staff at the Louisiana Heritage Caf.

After your business meetings, the location of the Bienville House will delight your fellow attendees. With attractions like Bourbon Street, Jax Brewery, Jackson Square, the Mississippi Riverfront, Harrah’s Casino and the Canal Street and St Charles Avenue Streetcar lines your peers will have plenty of things to occupy them. With it’s proximity to New Orleans Central Business district the Bienville House Hotel’s prestigious address it’s a natural for any business person.

They have what they call The Corporate Executive Option to give all business travelers a satisfying experience. Then, after a successful day, the business traveler is mere steps from the city’s greatest restaurants, jazz establishments and shops. This plan offers the best rates with superior accommodations and many amenities. In your room you will find plenty of space to work with large desks, phones with data ports and cable TV. Included in this option is express check-in and check-out. You can count on the staff’s support to help arrange a small meeting or a corporate reception. You couldn’t do better than these elegant surroundings with state of the art equipment.

When you are thinking of taking a trip to Las Vegas, consider the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. It has everything you would expect of any Las Vegas Hotel. There is world class dining, plenty of entertainment and lots of casino action.

In the rooms you will find warm comforting tones and hardwood furniture. They have all the amenities, high speed internet access, hair dryers, irons and cable TV. There is an amusing room called the Turret with a castle theme. In the other standard rooms they offer either a king size bed or two queen sized beds. The luxurious spa rooms have a spa built for two, which is not only relaxing but romantic to boot. In a parlor suite you will find a full living room, dining area, a guest bathroom, a refrigerator and a marble spa and shower.

In this Las Vegas Hotel you will find everything you want in a fun and friendly atmosphere. At this castle you can take pleasure in slots or table games, a poker room, race and sports book service and round the clock Keno. There are many slots and electronic games ranging from one cent to one hundred dollars. The table games are Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Baccarat and Mini-Baccarat. In the Race and Sports room you can bet on horse races, dog races, or your favorite sports team.

For Entertainment you can choose The Tournament Of Kings dinner show with jousting and dancing maidens. Or how about Thunder from Down Under with the hottest hunks from Australia. If you need a good laugh catch Louie Andersons show Larger Than Life.

In this Castle naturally the buffet is King. There enough entrees to please everyone. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and don’t miss the Champagne Sunday Brunch. The Steakhouse At Camelot has won awards from Zagat for it’s food and service. They offer the most tender beef and fresh seafood that is flown in everyday. You can arrange to have a private dining room.

At Sir Galahads, order their prime aged beef that has been seasoned in rock salt and ground pepper. It is then slow roasted and sliced right at your table. Here too, there are private rooms available.

If you feel like Italian food, go to Regale Italian Eatery. They have all the usual food you would find in an Italian Restaurant. You will find, pizza, pasta and lasagna along with their specialties like shrimp scampi, chicken and veal. Try their famous Family Style Dinner while you are there.

Then there is the Sherwood Forest Grille and the Village Food Court both with more affordable prices. Perfect for when you just want a quick bite.

The Royal Treatment Spa is the place to be if you want to feel like a King or Queen. It has 13,000 square feet and overlooks the pool area. It is a world class spa and will pamper you with its wide variety of treatments. You can work out in the fitness center or get pampered in one of its eleven treatment rooms.

If you want a Fairy tale wedding, the Excalibur is the place to go. Their Canterbury Wedding Chapel will celebrate your wedding in a beautiful, traditional setting that you would expect at a castle. They have wedding coordinators that will help you with your photos, rehearsal dinner, flowers and the reception. It will create fond memories for you to cherish for a lifetime.

Excalibur’s full-service catering staff can help you plan any kind of special event from small meetings to grand galas.

For other activities other than gambling or eating, there are 17 shops on the Castle Walk, a gaming arcade, a gorgeous pool and plenty world class golf courses to choose from.

The Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a Las Vegas Hotel that will cater to all of your needs.

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Gambling is one of the human race’s favorite vices, the perfect way to fly in the face of the moral majority while walking the tightrope of rags to riches at the same time. Like all good vices, it has existed since the dawn of time, or at least since homo lazy us thought of a way to participate in games without actually playing. Inevitably, betting 4 chickens on how many rocks it would take to finish off a shoplifter at the local stoning grew into a worldwide money-spinner with grand casinos and million dollar bookmaking businesses raking it in across the globe. Equally inevitable was that industry getting swallowed whole by the Internet, just barely recognizable by family and close friends.

Betting culture kicked off unluckily and, like pretty much everything else you could think of, in Ancient China. The fact that it predates legal tender suggests what we’ve all been thinking; that money was invented solely to stop early gamblers putting their wives up as a stake. Since the beginning, wagering on games of chance has been a moral black spot and nearly every religious text has an ambiguous passage the good and evil of baccarat in there somewhere. The US have a well-publicized love/hate relationship with the pastime, giving rise to hotbeds of ‘slot tourism’ like Las Vegas while next door in Utah your Average Joe can’t even bet on an NFL game.

Fast forward to Q1 of the 21st century, gambling industry is growing into something bigger than any of those Ancient Chinese philosophers could have imagined. Online poker turned what was a sexist, elitist posing competition causing drunken arguments at kitchen tables across the English-speaking world into an inclusive and civilized pastime for those quiet nights in at home. You can even make an honest living from it if you’re prepared to stay up all night living purely on coffee and take away pizza. Better yet, our streets are free of old ladies as they swap the bingo halls for web sites, leaving our towns bereft from the screeching cackle of the elderly.

Sports betting has been a huge institution in Great Britain since records began, with none of the same restrictions as experienced in the USA, but betting on ‘soccer’ doesn’t have great appeal to Americans. Since the move to online has happened, global betting habits are converging and commercial gambling on sports like American football is finally getting the attention it deserves. There is nothing more satisfying than putting your short-term financial future in the hands of a man who could eat your weight in chocolate pudding, unless they introduce the aforementioned event in the 2016 Olympics.

As well as a new level of variety, online gaming is a much safer prospect than the bookmakers of the past; no longer will we have to scour dank alleys to put USD 50 on the spread, or have to use the words “PLEASE DON’T BREAK MY LEGS, I HAVE KIDS TO FEED” again. The majority of sites are fully licensed, accepting all types of legitimate online payment and most importantly you don’t have to leave the warm fuzzy glow of your computer screen. Although I prefer my living room, some purists may want to take their laptop or tablet down a questionable back street or get their spouse to hang them off a tenth floor balcony demanding payment.

The history of gambling has been long and colorful, fraught with glory and misery in equal measure, but not since the first brick on the Las Vegas strip was laid has there been such a significant development as online betting. With more bookmakers to choose from, amazing innovations like betting in play and competitive deals like free stake money on sign-up there has never been a better era for the humble gambler than now. Good luck to all of you and remember, the house always wins but unlike the house, you might just get laid too!