WHEN THE BELLAGIO SWUNG open its swanky $1.6 billion doors in October 1998, the somewhat dimming strip scene was updated with a dose of dazzle, thanks to Steve Wynn's upscale crop of chefs, designer shops and an impressive art gallery (which will be doubling in size this month). The Bellagio is still a flashy attraction -- the sardine-packed lobby and booming botanical gardens can attest to that -- but a fresh handful of high rollers are hitting the strip, and even venturing out of bounds. With a bigger-is-better attitude buzzing up Las Vegas Boulevard, the most recent players seem to be out over-the-topping each other.

PARIS, whose 50-story Eiffel Tower surveys the strip like an obtrusive watchtower (with probably the best neon vista in Vegas), opens this fall near the old ALADDIN HOTEL, which is, itself, in the midst of a $1.3 billion makeover. How to outdo a petit Paris? Try rolling out a double dose of hotels and casinos, add an uber-entertainment complex, as the Aladdin plans to and hook David Rockwell into doing the design.

But THE VENETIAN'S founding father, Sheldon Adelson, seems intent on outstripping them all. Not the newest kid on the block, but certainly the most elaborate, The Venetian is the ultimate ode to Venice, ornately stocked with a Doge's Palace and gondola rides in a giant "grand canal" complete with singing gondoliers (which might actually fly in Vegas). Sophia Loren christened the first gondola when the suite-only super-hotel, which sits on the former Sands Hotel site, opened its palatial doors in May.

If Vegas developers aren't building, they're adding, updating or even just rearranging. MGM is developing a 6,000 sq.-ft, glass-encased lion habitat, plans are on board for a ship-shaped TITANIC hotel, and Peter Morton's

HARD ROCK HOTEL recently added a jazzy new wing with some of the slickest suites in town and a new club. The $100 million rock'n'roll expansion also hit on the HRH's Beach Club, with new pools, a swim-up blackjack bar, private cabanas with TVs and telephones and more than plenty of Morton's preferred palm trees. Meanwhile, THE DESERT INN, the rat pack's old digs and lair of Howard Hughes, is not quite the sleeper that some may think. In fact, with its quiet resuscitation in 1997, the styling "D.I." (with the only golf course on the strip)is playing to the big guys again. Here, the lobby is slot-machine free and the redone rooms are a classy alternative to some of its glitzy neighbors'. If you are feeling lucky, head for one of the 8,300-sq-ft. new penthouses -- they boast three bedrooms, a private pool, workout room and butler service, all for a mere $10,000 a night.

Anchoring the south end of the strip, sits CIRCUS CIRCUS' latest endeavor, MANDALAY BAY -- a $950 million giant glass structure that's a trip to the tropics, complete with a man-made beach, wave pool and jogging track. Opened last spring, with some of the best food on the strip, the hotel features House of Blues-themed rooms on the 34th floor, while a tram whisks visitors between Circus' other properties: EXCALIBUR and the Sphinx-headed LUXOR, next door.

The big lodging news -- on a much different scale, however --is the chic new FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, the first casino-less venture on the strip. If the constant sound of chi-chings are not your thing, this is your tranquil Shangri-La answer. Of course, if you find a sudden urge to play blackjack at 2 a.m., you can always slip through the discreet, unmarked doors which lead into Mandalay Bay's casino -- this is Vegas, after all. But non-gamblers love the Four Seasons' charming private pool, afternoon tea and quiet lobby.

Also in search of a casino-optional community -- or those who simply want to escape the strip's frenzy -- is the just-opened RESORT AT SUMMERLIN. This 54-acre mega-complex should have Scottsdale, Arizona squirming in its golf shoes. With its two intimate REGENT HOTELS, putting green, casino, and first-class spa, it sits within a mile of 165 holes of golf and is a healthy 25 minutes off the strip. It could be a whole new desert destination in the making.

sustenance

THERE'S A SCRUMPTIOUS IRONY to the fact that Las Vegas, home to the $5.99 buffet and greasy all-night kitchen, is a new epicurean center. Those who haven't yet bit may find the idea of Vegas as a culinary destination hard to swallow (fine dining in a mall?), but foodies and famous chefs are flocking to the desert like high-rollers to a private baccarat room. The city's new gourmet status is thanks to star restaurateurs like Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Prime), Sirio Maccioni (Le Cirque) and Charles Condy and Michael Mina (Aqua), who took a chance at Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio, proving it safe for the next wave to pour in.

Puck has just launched another POSTRIO (at The Venetian), after introducing TRATTORIA DEL LUPO last spring at Mandalay Bay. It is his fourth venture in Vegas, following Chinois and Spago, which are already in residence at Caesar's. At Mandalay Bay, New York chef Charlie Palmer has concocted a fabulous new version of his AUREOLE restaurant. From the high-styling signage to the decor by designer Adam Tihany, Palmer has made no mistakes here. His food is A+, and the stunt-pumped, glass-enclosed wine tower, which cost $1.2 million to build, is an attraction in itself. (The "wine angel" hoisting herself up a mechanical rope to pluck one of the 9,654 bottles is as good a show as any in town.) Across the way, Ephraim Kadish dishes up his creative Asian chow at a new slick CHINA GRILL and its more casual, techno-mod counterpart next door, CHINA GRILL CAFE. CB also manages the Russian eatery RED SQUARE that's nearby, a cool stop, even if only for a shot of frozen vodka on the solid ice bar-top.

As the Vegas theme now goes, there's something for everyone here, and you can nosh your way from a Brazilian-style BBQ at Mandalay Bay's super-hip RUM JUNGLE to some insanely delicious nouveau Japanese at NOBU'S happening new address (designed by David Rockwell) at the Hard Rock Hotel. Over at The Venetian, a whole new set of celebrity chefs have settled in, including Joachim Splichal with a La Coupole-inspired PINOT BRASSERIE, equipped with oyster bar, rotisserie and French flea market finds, Emeril Lagasse's DELMONICO STEAKHOUSE, Eberhard Muller's fine French LUTECE, and Pierro Selvaggio's Los Angeles favorite, VALENTINO.

Even suits will feel at home in Vegas today. There's a new signature green and white SMITH & WOLLENSKY for diehard steak lovers, that sits in a freestanding triple-story space on the strip. But if fine food is not your raison d'etre, you can always duck into the cultish KRISPY KRESGE, which opened last year about seven miles away for a sinful, delicious donut treat.

nights out

WHEN YOU HEAR THAT THE HOTTEST new hangout in town has walls of fire and water and lifesize bongo drums sprouting from the floor, you can't be too sure if that means kitsch, cool or just plain cheesy. After all, this is Vegas, where even the lounge lizards went back into their holes in recent years, and nightlife all but dried up, save for the up-till-dawn slot hounds, strippers and scotch drinkers. But RUM JUNGLE, tucked into Mandalay Bay, really is a swanky new attraction on the rising nightlife circuit, joining the ranks of the Rio Hotel's hip VOODOO LOUNGE and MGM's STUDIO 54, both of which opened two years ago.