New Year's revelry won't come cheap

Today is Independence Day, the perfect opportunity to grill burgers, swill beer and reflect on our nation's liberation from the tyranny and bad teeth of the British.

But it's much, much more than that, of course. The real significance of today is that it marks the just-past-halfway point of 1999. That means a measly 180 days now separate us from the birth of the 21st Century -- be gone, naysayers who claim 2001 as the true starting point -- and more importantly, one helluva millennium party.

Or in the words of Rob Powers, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: "All eyes of the world will be on Las Vegas because this will be the hottest place for New Year's."

And don't think hotels don't know it. To be sure, New Year's revelers can count on plenty of cheap thrills and spilled booze as they carouse alongside the other 800,000 or so people expected to clog Las Vegas Boulevard Dec. 31.

But while tourists and locals eager to celebrate millennium mania with a Strip show or a night at a megaresort may indeed find the experience priceless, Mastercard still won't accept happy memories in lieu of payment.

Hotels throughout the city want big money for rooms and event tickets on New Year's Eve. How big? Earlier this year some folks gasped when they heard that Caesars Palace would charge $2,000 to $2,500 for a room on Dec. 31, then defiantly predicted prices couldn't possibly go any higher.

Gasp again. Those rooms sold out, and now Caesars only has rooms available for $3,000 to $3,500 a night, with the cost based on a required minimum stay of four and three nights, respectively.

Caesars spokesman Phil Cooper conceded the prices are, well, pricey, but pointed out that the resort gives most of its New Year's rooms away to its best year-round customers. As for guests willing to pay $3,500 a night, Cooper said demand dictates the cost -- a cost, it should be noted, that includes no perks: no show tickets, no free meals, no extra pillows.

Still, the price represents a chance to ring in the new millennium in the town that Cooper refers to as "Times Square West," a nod to Las Vegas joining New York City as ground zero for New Year's Eve.

"This specific event -- the turn of the century -- will focus the entire world on Las Vegas," Cooper said. "We're called the entertainment capital of the world, and this will be like a confirmation, almost a knighthood bestowed upon Las Vegas."

Proof of that comes in the form of New Year's Eve rates for the more than 100,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas. The Bellagio and Desert Inn top out at $2,000 a night. The Mirage wants $1,500 a night, and the Orleans, with rooms going for $1,899 to $1,999, has already sold out.

Cheaper rooms can be had at Treasure Island ($899 a night), the Tropicana ($750), Palace, Sunset and Texas Station ($750) and the Luxor ($649-$899). Bargain hunters also might try Circus-Circus ($499 a night), the Riviera ($450) and Boulder Station ($250). One word of caution: Most hotels require a minimum stay of three to four nights.

The crown for most expensive New Year's Eve show easily goes to the queen of stage fright, Barbra Streisand, who will perform at the MGM Grand Garden. Like fears over the Y2K bug, the Babs fest -- with a top ticket price of $2,500 -- may have people withdrawing their entire life savings.

Six months before Streisand's concert the "cheap" tickets, starting at $500, are already gone. Fans who want to see the notoriously stage-shy songstress will need to cough up at least $1,500 for the privilege. MGM Grand spokeswoman Shelley Mansholt expects they will.

"It all has to do with the millennium. This is not a normal New Year's Eve. More people are willing to go the extra mile to put together a really special occasion for themselves," she said.

Other holiday events include an Elton John and Tina Turner concert sponsored by Caesars at the Thomas & Mack Center. Ticket prices for the Dec. 30 show range from $101.50 to $601.50. Rod Stewart will perform New Year's Eve at the Rio ($400 to $1,000), and Robert Goulet will play the Flamingo Hilton ($225).

More frugal types can pay $90 to $100 to gain entrance to the Fremont Street Experience and catch REO Speedwagon, Starship, The Guess Who and Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Or they can just hang for free on the Strip, which may feature live entertainment and possibly a fireworks display, Powers said.

No matter where the throngs choose to go, law enforcement will try to keep them from flipping out -- or flipping cars, as it were.

Some 400,000 people jammed the Strip last New Year's Eve, resulting in 94 arrests. Three people were stabbed, numerous fights broke out and hopped-up revelers overturned a car, tore down traffic signals and damaged statues in front of Caesars Palace.

Metro Police deployed 700 uniformed officers on the street last year, about 500 of them on the Strip, department spokesman Steve Meriwether said. About 800 to 1,000 officers will be on the job this New Year's Eve, and the Nevada Highway Patrol and the North Las Vegas and Henderson police departments will provide support. As occurred last year, Metro will close the Strip from Sahara Avenue to Russell Road at some point during the night, he added.

Despite the anticipated crush of twice as many people on the Strip this year, authorities voice little concern about a breakout of what might be termed Complete and Utter Chaos.

"A couple of years ago on New Year's they decided to implode a hotel (the Hacienda) -- who else in the world would do that?" Meriwether said. "We're certainly aware of what to expect because we've done so much of this in the past."

Neither Metro nor the Highway Patrol will allow personnel to take time off around New Year's. The Highway Patrol, with about 100 troopers in the area, may pull in others from the rest of the state to help, spokesman Scott Flabi said.

The Highway Patrol, which earlier this year ceded jurisdiction of Las Vegas Boulevard to Metro, reported 36 arrests near the Strip last New Year's, including 23 on drunken-driving charges. As for what will happen this year, the past isn't necessarily prologue, according to Flabi.

"It will absolutely be unlike anything we've ever seen before. We're talking about the millennium. And we're not just talking about the people who like to go out and party. You're going to have the on-the-edge doomsayers and they're going to be talking about ushering in the end of the world," he said.

"We're trying to prepare for anything that might happen."

Including a revolt against high prices.

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