Question of the Day - 09 September 2007

Vegas isn't only the wedding capital of the world. With its plethora of all-night drinking opportunities, gentlemen's clubs, and cheap hotel rooms, it's a natural choice for bachelor parties. A quick Google for "Las Vegas bachelor party" returned almost two million hits. Yikes!

But what of the ladies? You'll be happy to hear that although Sin City may not cater quite as extravagantly or specifically to the bachelorette party as it does to the male equivalent, there are still plenty of options, depending on what kind of experience you're looking for on your last night of freedom*. Sorry, we mean on the eve of eternal nuptial bliss. (*We hope it's not literally your friend's "last" time out – don't go too crazy! And her husband-to-be will probably let her out every now and then, even once they're hitched.)

The first few pages returned if you search for Vegas bachelor/bachelorette party include plenty of companies offering to organize the event for you. It's an option, of course, if you just don't have time to do it yourself, but as far as we can tell, they're basically just charging you a fee to arrange for things like limos and line passes to clubs (sometimes a dozen or more, which seems somewhat excessive). You can probably do the same quite easily on your own and save some extra dough for the party. What you need is a plan.

So, do you want to hire a private room in a nice restaurant for you and your girlfriends to indulge in a drunken fiesta of champagne and fattening desserts? If that sounds too sedate, then how about pandering to your inner diva with some wild Karaoke performances? Does she want to indulge her final fantasies as a single woman by cruising the hottest clubs in search of male eye-candy? Or have muscular oiled macho dance for her while removing their clothing? Does your party want to do all (or at least some) of the above in the comfort of a stretch Hummer or party bus? And then recover the next day with a lavish spa treatment? You got it.

• The dining option is easy. Just figure out what kind of cuisine you'd like and how raucous (or not) you'd like the venue to be, then take a look in our "Eat" section for somewhere that grabs your fancy and suits your wallet. We're guessing you'd like somewhere pretty lively, so here's a suggestion: Café Martorano at the Rio serves great Italian food (huge portions) and is noisy and fun. The heavily tattooed owner is often there in person, either in the kitchen or DJing – the restaurant has a distinct nightclub feel to it and the music's more foreground than background (good disco soundtrack for a girls' night out). It's periodically paused in favor of classic scenes from various mob films at full volume on the numerous flat-screen TVs scattered around the place.

  If that sounds up your alley, consider making a whole night of it at the Rio. You can get in the Carnivale mood by taking a ride in one of the Masquerade Show in the Sky floats, which circle above the casino floor ($12.95 per person to ride, free to watch). Follow it with an early dinner at Martorano's (no reservations taken – open till midnight or later daily except Monday), then catch the Chippendale's (the theater's just outside the restaurant on the same level and tickets start at $47.25 per person). Or do it the other way around and work up an appetite at the show, then head over to Martorano's for some of their famous meatballs. If you still have energy left, head on up to the VooDoo lounge to party the rest of the night away with stunning rooftop views of the Strip.

  Other suggestions:

• If the male-revue option appeals, there are several alternatives. At Luxor you can catch some rippling Aussie flesh in Thunder From Down Under, with tickets starting at $47.45. Plus, two of the gentlemen's clubs in town also cater to ladies: The OG (opposite the Stratosphere) features the Men of Olympus, a male review, Wed.-Sun. 9 pm-1 am; Fri. & Sat. 8 pm-4 am ($30) a

Café Martorano, the somewhat raucous Italian joint located close the Chippendales theater at the Rio, has launched a special "Bachelorette Menu." Priced at $85 per person, it's described as, 'a lighter menu selection with appetizers, entrées, dessert, and a champagne toast." It's available only to bachelorette parties (girls only). 10/10/2007 An interesting article just appeared in the Toronto Globe and Mail (10/06/07) regarding how Las Vegas has become so female-friendly of late. A club operator, who chose to remain anonymous, confessed that the unofficial policy on nightclub entry here is two women for every man, while specific girls-only options cited included the Venetian's bachelorette packages, which start from $219 a night, and girls' night out packages at Bellagio, the Mirage, and TI, which begin at $55 per person and incude a three-course dinner at Fix, escorted VIP access to your nightclub of choice among the properties, and daytime entrance to the topless-optional Bare Lounge Pool (open seasonally). Apparently the packages are so popular that the Light Group, the nightlife group that organizes them, employs two full-time concierges just for ladies.