Lowbrow Vegas - Embrace The Cheese

A fun guide to things Vegas, divided into highbrow Vegas and lowbrow Vegas. Each has its charms. A few of the lowbrow highlights:

BIG ELVIS (Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon) A super-sized hunk of burning love, Big Elvis represents -- in fact, magnifies (he's much larger than Elvis ever was) -- the King's final years. Backed by a drum machine, and (when he's not seated on a massive throne), shaking like a bowl full of jelly, B.E. (Pete Vallee) masterfully croons and rocks his way through the legend's biggest hits. One lucky audience member gets picked to play "Little Elvis," which consists of strumming an inflatable guitar while wearing aviator shades and a bad wig. How lowbrow is that? Best of all, it's free! http://www.billslasvegas.com/

LITTLE LEGENDS (Harmony Theater at Krave) Simply put, little people impersonate a bevy of music's superstars (and Milli Vanilli). If you think it's just novelty, though, think again. The twins who take on Michael Jackson and Terra Jole, who belts out numbers by Alanis and Madonna (among others), are knockouts. A bit long on the snarky, standard-sized host, but even he grew on us.(702) 836-0836

ATOMIC TESTING MUSEUM No ironic space-age wackiness here. The Smithsonian's sober guide to the nearby Nevada Test Site (blasts routinely shook downtown) features techie science explainers, a great photo exhibit by L.A. filmmaker Peter Kuran and bomb-blast simulations in the Ground Zero Theater. http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/

LIBERACE MUSEUM Celebrities are so boring nowadays: None of them can hold a candle(abra) to Liberace, who didn't just tickle the ivories, he tickled them pink. The befeathered, jewel-laden costumes and customized luxury cars on display here still have the power to make jaws drop. But what really made him sparkle wasn't his bling, it was his 24-carat charisma, as the video footage of "Mr. Entertainment" on endless loop in the gift shop shows. And with an adult admission price of only $12.50, this museum is one of the best bargains in town. http://www.liberace.org/

THE TANK (Golden Nugget) You're flying through a long tube, mostly nude, as gambling tables flash past, then you drop through a mess of real 6-foot sharks and are dumped, squealing, into the drink. No, it's not another night at the poker table, it's this clever new three-story water slide and upscale strategy of the Nugget on Fremont Street. http://www.goldennugget.com/

BITE (Stratosphere Hotel) Topless dancing vampires! Need we say more? Bite has a plot, in the loosest sense of the word: A man in a puffy shirt lords over a coven of dancing lady-vampires with white fangs and sparkly thongs who dance to a lot of classic rock. Because vampires love Styx. Thoroughly embraces the cheese.http://www.stratospherehotel.com/

THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER (Excalibur Hotel) When you watch a chiseled Australian in a black banana hammock pour beer all over himself, leap onto a table full of screaming women, rip the glasses off of a mother's face and shine them provocatively on the front of his thong, you have to ask yourself: Why don't I go to male strip revues more often?http://www.thunderdownunder.com/