I'm of the opinion that, if given the opportunity, everyone should visit Las Vegas at least once in their lifetimes. It's a place that is completely over-hyped, and yet it lives up to all expectations. It looks and sounds and feels almost exactly like it does on television and in the movies, but it also defies explanation. You have to see it and experience it in person to really understand what it's like.

Only in Vegas are the lines between reality and fantasy so fuzzy. Hotels that look like castles, casinos that look like the New York skyline, a pirate ship in the middle of The Strip - only in Vegas would that seem normal. Day and night, wrong and right, up and down - in Las Vegas the answer is never very clear. The rules are temporarily thrown out the window.

So I was pretty happy when my brother-in-law decided to celebrate his birthday there. Having already been to Las Vegas half a dozen times, I had a fairly good feel for what to expect as I looked forward to his birthday weekend. But, in true Vegas fashion, my expectations were met and exceeded in ways I hadn't anticipated.

Las Vegas is a city of many faces, and the version you see depends on the make-up of your entourage and its stated purpose. The bachelor and bachelorette parties - the single-gender hordes, often adorned in brightly colored boas, in aggressive pursuit of alcohol and strippers - can be easiest to spot. The serious gamblers can be found glued to their favorite blackjack table at all hours of day or night. Our group - of both genders, marrieds and unmarrieds - could be best described as vacationers in search of sun, food and drink. And Las Vegas certainly delivered.

Though some of my favorite memories of Las Vegas include an all-night hot streak at a $5 craps table in Caesar's Palace and a surprisingly strong showing at a Texas hold 'em tournament at the Luxor, I was happy this weekend to forgo the gambling. My money was happy to sit safely inside my wallet instead of being risked on games I was likely to lose at. In my wise old age I decided to "take it easy" and lay by the Bellagio's luxurious pool. But Vegas, in all of her infinite wisdom and cunning, wouldn't let me lie quietly. She delivered frozen umbrella drinks, and juicy one-pound hamburgers, and (the best invention since Jell-O shots) "grown-up" milkshakes. She brought the people-watching to the next level as I spotted eight brides, three Elvii, and five people hobbling around in leg casts, determined not to let their recent injuries hamper their visits to Vegas. She made me go clubbing until 3 a.m. where we had bottle service and our own VIP area where we danced to a lot of songs I didn't know and one song I'd heard a million times on the radio on my drive from San Diego to Las Vegas. And just when I thought I was finished, Las Vegas made me stuff myself silly at an elaborate brunch buffet the next morning. Boy, was I satisfied.

In the end, my expectations were met and exceeded. Every trip to Vegas is a little different. But on each occasion I've gone home happy.

BILL ZUCK is now a lover of grown-up milkshakes. You can reach him at wcz78@yahoo.com.