One of the joys of living in Las Vegas is the sheer volume of shopping options the city has to offer. With more than 36 million visitors coming to Vegas last year, retailers have found the city ripe for every level of shopping experience. And shoppers who want the high-end experience certainly have a plethora of options.

When local Las Vegans want to lounge by the pool, they invariably turn to DayDream Pool Club, which opens for the season May 1 at the M Resort in Henderson. The M, which opened in early 2009, may be a bit off-Strip, but the beautiful setting gives you views of The Strip looking north, and the pool puts you front and center for those picturesque moments.

The running joke in Vegas is that we have no history because everything has been imploded. The Aladdin, Sands, Dunes, Stardust, Hacienda, El Rancho, Landmark and Desert Inn all met their fate at the hands of dynamite. If implosions didn’t do the job, we flooded them with the waters of Lake Mead, as was the case with The Lost City, an ancient pueblo village. Or fire ravaged through, as happened with the Moulin Rouge, the first racially integrated casino in Vegas.

You already know what tapas are, those small plates you can order in groups and share with friends. Julian Serrano takes tapas to a new level as he creates dishes from his native Spain at his new eponymous restaurant at Aria at CityCenter.

One of Las Vegas’ biggest epicurean events is about to unfold. Vegas Uncork’d takes place May 6-9 in Las Vegas over Mother’s Day weekend. The four-day culinary and wine fete features new events, new chefs and a diverse and richly enhanced program with the ultimate who’s who in the food world, celebrating the status of Las Vegas as an international gastronomic destination.

Back in 1989, Vegas was just a gambling town, but didn’t have the glitz and glamour it has now. That is, until Steve Wynn came along with the Mirage. When it opened, it was the most expensive hotel and casino ever built at $630 million. Aside from shark tanks in the lobby and a pair of tiger taming magicians, it ushered in an era of luxury hotel accommodations as the standard all other hotels had to meet in Vegas.

A staple of the Los Angeles social scene makes its debut at the Hard Rock Hotel. Skybar, the sophisticated lounge with a day-to-night pool, brings a quiet haven to the party resort known for Rehab and Vanity nightclub.

By day, sun-seekers can worship their tans on the upper deck. By night, Skybar transforms into a lounge scene under the stars.

While being dubbed the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas isn’t known as a hub for high-brow culture. But hidden within the neon and glitz of the Las Vegas Strip you can find a works of art, theater and dance all worthy of the international stage.

Even though visitors don’t flock to Sin City to take in these cultural attractions like they do show such as “The Lion King” or Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka,” these institutions keep the culture in Las Vegas.

Gamblers who lose at the tables may want to climb up to the top of the Stratosphere and take a nosedive from the observation deck. On April 20, their dreams will come true, only they’ll live to tell the story.

The Stratosphere opens SkyJump Las Vegas, a thrill ride described as a controlled freefall. Riders plummet 855 feet at a scream-inducing speed of up to 40 miles per hour.