LAS VEGAS -- Cougar fans are no strangers to Las Vegas and thisbowl city, which has been affectionately named LaVell EdwardsStadium South after busting all attendance records for the Las VegasBowl last year.
By some estimates, more than 80 percent of the sellout crowd forSaturday's matchup at in Sam Boyd Stadium between BYU and UCLA, willbe rooting for the Mountain West Conference champion.
Las Vegas is central to Southern California, Utah and Arizona,where the biggest population of BYU faithful in the country reside.
Aside from sightseeing at Hoover Dam, hitting the buffet lines,choosing a show or hitting the golf links, BYU fans have foundplenty to do in this entertainment capital of the world -- withoutdigesting casino life.
Tonight, both UCLA and BYU teams and coaches will gather at theESPN Zone, part of the New York, New York Hotel on the famed LasVegas Strip. There, both teams will be entertained, dined, andintroduced. The entertainment includes a lot of video game play --on the house for players.
The kickoff luncheon (ticket purchase required) is open to thepublic and features both teams and coaches in the Las VegasConvention Center from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday. A cheer clinic isplanned for the public at the Las Vegas Convention Center from 4 to6 p.m.
While Larry the Cable Guy just finished a weekend performance atThe Orleans, Johnny Mathis Holiday Show is scheduled Friday andSaturday at the Las Vegas Hilton. A Holiday Festival Freemont StreetExperience is planned through Saturday with a special Las Vegas BowlPep Rally and Buffet Bowl on Thursday night on Freemont Street. TheLas Vegas Classic Basketball Tournament is going on in The OrleansSaturday.
For shoppers finishing their Christmas lists, there are more than130 outlet stores in the Las Vegas Outlet Center, located at 7400 S.Las Vegas Blvd.
The Rio buffet is generally a favorite of BYU athletes andfeatures a wide variety of ethnic food. If you are a sports gamejunkee, the best sports TV centers to watch NBA, NCAA Basketball andother events are at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grande, Mirage, Palmsand Wynn.
The Titanic Artifact Exhibition is going on at the TropicanaResort and Casino. There are other interesting and educationalexhibits located at the Atomic Testing Museum, offering more than370,000 declassified documents and photos with five different movievenues and interactive computers and artifacts. The Liberace Museum,Lied Discovery Children's Museum and Nevada State Museum are alsopossible stops.
'Bodies, The Exhibition' is an innovative display of humanbodies, preserved in a revolutionary technique using liquid siliconerubber. Located at the Tropicana Resort and Casino, one display thatshows the lungs of a chain smoker has a bin nearby for discardingpackages of smokes, and it's always nearly full.
The FastKart Speedway is an 1,100-foot outdoor track that allows5-, 10-, 15- and 20-minute sessions so people can race up to eightfriends on go carts (121 East Sunset, Las Vegas).
You've got your Haunted Vegas Tour, the Vegas Mob Tour and theManhattan Express at the New York, New York.
If Elvis is your thing, USA Today says of Trent Carlina, theDream King, at the Sahara, 'You will not believe your eyes andears.'
Magic? Try Hans Klock, who might have Pamela Anderson on stage,at Planet Hollywood, BYU's team headquarters. There's also theAmazing Jonathan at the Sahara, David Copperfield at the MGM Grand,Lance Burton at the Monte Carlo and Mc King Comedy Magic Show atHarrah's.
Education?
Try The Da Vinci Experience at the Henderson Events Plaza in theWater Street District, a collection and copies of his experimentsand paintings, taken from his notebooks.
Shows include 'Mamma Mia,' 'Phantom of the Opera,' 'TheProducers, 'The Soprano's Last Supper' and 'Love,' a celebration ofBeatles music in the Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage.
Bowl goers will miss a concert by Van Halen Dec. 28 and 30 at theMGM Grand Hotel.
TAKE NOTE: There is plenty of parking on the grounds of Sam BoydStadium, so please do not park along the side of either TropicanaAvenue or Russell Road.
* Vehicles will be towed at owner's expense.
* Sam Boyd Stadium parking lots will open at 11 a.m.
* General parking will cost $5 per vehicle.
* Parking attendants and signs will direct you to the correctparking areas.
* The Sam Boyd Stadium box office and will-call window will openat noon.
* No bottles, cans, coolers, food and beverages, weapons, pepperspray, signs, or other paraphernalia may be brought into thestadium.
* Tailgate Extravaganza on the Star Nursery Field opens at 12:00p.m.
* Shuttle Services: Shuttles will be provided back to a locationon the Strip. Shuttles will be located inside gate No. 1. A fee of$10 will be charged.
* CAT Bus Route 201A will provide continuous 'loop' service fromnoon to 10:30 p.m.
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com
