Outdoor adventure plus Vegas glitz

LAS VEGAS — Ten miles from the bright lights of Sin City, nestled near the entrance to a scenic national conservation area, is the priciest off-Strip casino resort ever built in Las Vegas.

Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, which opened April 18, is hoping to lure people away from the Las Vegas Strip to an opulent vacation spot set against the western mountains.

Just like resorts in the heart of Vegas, you can gamble here, be pampered in a spa, indulge in a fine meal or party in a decadent nightclub. But unlike resorts in town, Red Rock also offers instant access to rugged adventures.

"We're really capitalizing on the great outdoors, being so close to Red Rock Canyon," spokeswoman Lori Nelson said. "By day, it's truly a resort experience. You hang out at the pool, get your spa treatments, go do some adventure hiking, and at night you have the excitement of Vegas."

The resort's offerings include an "Adventure Spa" with guided activities like horseback riding, hikes in nearby Valley of Fire State Park, mountain biking and rock climbing in Red Rock Canyon. Prices for the outings range from $59 for a vehicle tour of Red Rock Canyon to $175 for a raft trip.

Indoors, the resort — which is hoping for a five-star rating — is thoroughly elegant. The lobby is swathed in brown Macassar ebony wood, teakwood sandstone and Michelangelo marble. The shapes, colors and designs throughout the structure mimic the surrounding rocky, desert landscape.

The glitz of Las Vegas shines through 3.1 million pieces of crystal used throughout the property, including a 32-foot high chandelier in the rotunda and a waterfall column that appears to spill over the bar in the Lucky Bar.

Midge Zarling, 60, of San Diego, booked a room to enjoy the spa, pool, and to visit friends who live in Las Vegas. "I like it outside the Strip. It's a little more peaceful, a little more under control," she said. Her pooch Georgie was also treated to her own pet bed and dishes. "She loves it here. They've been very nice to her."

The resort has 414 rooms, a 35,000 square-foot spa, 62 table games, 3,200 slot machines and a 3-acre pool and beach area that has rental cabanas and outdoor dining.

Upstairs from nine restaurants, a poker room, a 16-screen theater and a sports book with three screens spanning 96 by 18 feet, guests will find rooms equipped with 42-inch plasma TVs and iPod-ready Bose stereo systems. Up to 850 rooms are to be ready by early next year.

At night, the operators expect to draw on the Los Angeles celebrity crowd to help fill its Cherry nightclub, owned by club magnate Rande Gerber, husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford.

Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa cost $925 million to build.

"Every time I think we've hit the limit, we go beyond the limit," said Michael Green, a history professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

"We've come a long way since the $6 million Bugsy (Siegel) spent for the Flamingo" built in 1946, he said.