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The gondoliers sing as they pole their boats, and when not on the water they roam the casino harmonizing Italian arias.

This free show, staged at the entrance to the Treasure Island hotel, is a favorite with visitors to Las Vegas. The 23-minute crowd-pleaser showcases the beguiling and beautiful “Sirens of TI”, who tempt and lure a band of swashbuckling pirates. From lively sword fights and acrobatic feats of derring-do to dazzling pyrotechnics and a rousing song-and-dance finale, this show is a hit, drawing huge crowds to their evening performances.

Hop across Las Vegas Boulevard without playing traffic roulette, and enjoy marvelous vantage points of the mêlée below.

Fifty feet (16 m) tall, Vegas Vic is a survivor from the early casino days. In bygone days not only did he smoke and wave but he also talked, saying “Howdy pardner, welcome to Las Vegas.” Now, Vic’s voice box works only sometimes, but he still provides the backdrop for thousands of visitors’ photographs each year.

You may not be able to see forever exactly but, from the top of the tower on a clear day, parts of Arizona and California come into view. Count the 40 seconds it takes for the high-speed elevators to whiz up to the tower’s floor-to-ceiling glass observation floor, which is 900 ft (275 m) above street level. The tower is a tourists’ after-dark favorite for viewing the mesmerizing lights of Glitter Gulch and along the Strip.

These regal white tigers, extremely rare in their native Himalayan foothills, should be on every sightseer’s itinerary. The magnificent creatures live at the home of their trainers, Siegfried and Roy, whose show has wowed audiences at the Mirage for more than 10 years. When they are not training or performing, the animals can be viewed in their specially designed all-white habitat (it makes them feel camouflaged and secure), complete with waterfalls and palm trees.

According to the Guinness World of Records Museum, the enormous eight-reel contraption within the Four Queens Hotel-Casino is the largest slot machine in the world. Up to six players at a time insert from one to three-dollar tokens into the slot of the 9-ft (3-m) tall and 18-ft (6-m) wide machine; an employee pulls the giant-size handle; and everyone watching holds their breath. Winning combinations are posted on the machine. Should you be tempted to try, bear in mind that the more reels a machine has, the more difficult it is to hit winning combinations.