Water is intrinsically tied to the Las Vegas experience, whether you're drinking by the pool at Caesars Palace, soaking in a spa at the MGM Grand, riding the waves at Mandalay Bay or admiring the dancing fountains of Bellagio. Despite the elaborate fountains, pools, spas and other waterfeatures, water has become such a part of daily life that most folks forget they're really in a desert.

But this is Vegas we're talking about, the place where anything can happen, where bigger is never big enough and water in the desert is not only desirable, it's also a symbol of everything the city represents.

Aquatic wonders

All the newer, ultra-deluxe hotels and casinos offer multiple pools and spas, generally of epic proportions. Some even boast man-made lakes, rivers, lagoons and canals. Three shining examples on the Strip are the Bellagio Resort Hotel & Casino, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Venetian Hotel & Casino.

Each of these resorts celebrates water in the desert in its own way. But what sets this trio apart is the fact that in true Vegas fashion, they took the waterscape concept to new levels.

For example, the pride of the $1.6 billion Bellagio is its 9-acre, man-made replica of Italy's Lake Como out front. Periodically, the lake puts on a show and hundreds of fountain jets shoot water 200 feet into the air to the accompaniment of lights and music.

Meanwhile, the $1 billion Mandalay Bay revels in its tropical lagoon theme. The staff refers to the 11-acre waterscape as a "lush tropical water environment." Hotel guests will find, for example, a 1.6-million-gallon beach pool that generates waves up to 6 feet high and can accommodate some 3,300 people.

Not to be left out, the Venetian came up with gondola excursions that have proven wildly popular. The setting is the Grand Canal, a quarter-mile-long interior waterway traversed by four or five gondolas. Gliding past theme neighborhoods, the gondoliers regale their passengers with historical facts and songs.

That's just a sampling of the kind of aquatic wonders in today's Las Vegas. If you were to look around the Strip, doubtless you'd find that virtually every hotel/casino, regardless of its age, has been built or remodeled to include at least one large swimming pool and hot tub for guests--and most have spas or jetted bathtubs in each suite.

Vegas reinvents itself

Apart from aesthetics, this water-oriented mind-set may be traced to the bottom line: It's good business, plain and simple. Hotel/casino owners know people love sun 'n' surf, and if you can provide both, you've got a winner.

In a city built on winning, the lesson is not lost, and Las Vegas has eagerly repositioned itself in the leisure/recreational market.

As any longtime citizen or visitor knows, the city has a history of reinventing itself. In the mid-1960s, gambling became "gaming" and started the transition into legitimate business.

It wasn't until the late 1980s that Las Vegas made its next move to reinvent itself. At that time, serious steps were taken to clean up its swingin', naughty image. A prime example of the new look was The Mirage Resort Hotel & Casino with its tropical rainforest decor and sanctuary for the rare white tigers owned by Siegfried and Roy.

The next reincarnation occurred in the early 1990s as two design crazes hit the Strip. Suddenly, megaresorts and themed hotel/casinos were popping up everywhere. All eyes were on the Strip and the downtown area fell into a slump.

To counter that problem, city leaders came up with a plan to save downtown, not to mention the jobs of the 20,000 people who worked there. In a venture with 10 hotel/casino owners on Fremont Street, the city launched the $70-million Fremont Street Experience.

In 1998, the dawning of the billion-dollar ultra-deluxe hotel/casinos, such as Bellagio and Venetian, gave Las Vegas a high-class face-lift. The city's latest attempt to modernize includes a new $650 million monorail system that connects downtown passengers to the Strip in just 15 minutes.

It's working

Before 9/11, the efforts to transform Las Vegas seemed to be working. According to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, visitor numbers were on the upswing: from 30.5 million in 1997 to 35.9 million in 2000. City gaming revenues were on the rise as well: $4.9 billion in 1997 and $6.1 billion in 2000.

Of course, in the months following 9/11, the city suffered a steep decline in tourism, and the Las Vegas Sun reported that monthly gaming revenues were in decline for most of 2002. Only recently has gaming and tourism begun to rebound, approaching the city's 2000 highs, as the nation comes to terms with life after terrorism and returns to its usual habits.

But Las Vegas is a resilient town with seemingly endless opportunities, whether it's gaming and show business or real estate and pool building.

In fact, Las Vegas Valley is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States.

In the city of Las Vegas alone, people are moving in at a rate of 4,000 to 7,000 per month, due in large part to the hotel/casino construction frenzy. Over the past 1 1/2 decades, the population has doubled, going from 268,330 residents in 1990 to 535,395 in 2003.

This population explosion has inevitably caused a housing boom. Mirroring the trend on the Strip, many new homes in high-end developments are expensive and loaded with amenities, including fountains and pools. In 2003, city pool permits were up 54 percent from 10 years ago. The Los Angeles Times reported that some condominium complexes even have themes: A luxury condo project in the suburbs is modeled after the Grand Palace of Versailles in France.

In that way, residential Las Vegas stands as a great example of how the same ideas used for commercial themes can be used in residential settings. It also provides a lesson to the rest of the country that pool and spa professionals already know: Water, whether in the desert or not, has the power to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Top 10 Las Vegas resort pools

For pool builders, Las Vegas resorts can be a good source of inspiration. From lazy rivers to swim-up blackjack tables, you won't find most of these amenities in your average backyard pool--or at your average hotel, for that matter.

But which resorts have the coolest swimming holes? Here, Pool & Spa News rates Sin City's hot spots:

1 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

Bar none, the 11-acre beach compound at Mandalay Bay offers the Strip's most comprehensive pool package. Part waterpark, part tropical paradise, the hotel features a 1.6-million-gallon wave pool capable of generating 6-foot swells, a lazy river ride, three additional dipping pools, 24 private cabanas, nine bungalows--and a shark reef, to boot. At Mandalay's Moorea Beach Club, there's even a secluded topless pool and VIP area, which doubles as a nightclub. With its own performance stage jutting into the water, the wave pool plays host to the resort's Beach Concert Series during the summer season.

2 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

In the hotel's own words, the 4.7-acre pool grounds at the Hard Rock are dedicated to the pursuit of "hedonism." An underwater sound system pipes everything from Motown to modern rock through the two Tahitian-style pools, making it the wildest pool party in town. Other amenities include 35 bamboo shacks, palm-shaded beaches, waterfalls, a babbling brook and swim-up blackjack tables under the Palapa Hut pool bar, which seems to float on the water. But before you go flashing the bartender, be warned: you might get caught by one of the hotel's four pool Web cams.

3 Bellagio Resort Hotel & Casino

Old World elegance and Italian villa charm distinguish the pool courtyard at Bellagio, the chicest megaresort in town. Set against a Mediterranean backdrop, it includes five outdoor pools and four spas, bordered by lush citrus and flower gardens. But the well-appointed cabana service sets the Bellagio apart. Each one comes complete with a private patio, plush lounge chairs, ceiling fans, a wet bar, misting system, cable television, complimentary fruit platters and more.

4 Tropicana Resort & Casino

The 12,000-square-foot main pool is the centerpiece of the Tropicana's Poolside Garden Oasis. Next to the swim-up blackjack tables, a sliding glass door partitions off the indoor pool for year-round enjoyment. Koi ponds and an 800-square-foot, adults-only lagoon surrounded by towering rocks, cascading waterfalls and 60 botanical varieties add to the island atmosphere.

5 The Mirage

In 2003, the Mirage finished a $7 million pool renovation that revitalized its quarter-mile of shoreline. Deep reds, yellows, hot pinks and oranges color the Polynesian landscape. By night, dazzling LEDs and fiberoptics light up a picturesque labyrinth of pools and lagoons, replete with cliffs, streams and a 150-foot Hurricane Slide.

6 Caesars Palace Las Vegas