Strip Tips: Try art and wine, or wings and booze

The National Finals Rodeo wraps up this weekend, so get down to the Strip and party. Also, you have one more chance to play the sophisticated wine drinker/art aficionado, at least until the spring.

Oh yeah, chicken wings and booze. That is all. Isn't that enough?

Perfect pairing

Wednesday is the last day you can get your drink on at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. The monthly "Art and Wine: The Perfect Pairing" event is going on hiatus until the show changes out in March. If you like wine and art, and you like drinking wine and then looking at art, this activity was made for you. Bellagio's master sommelier pairs wines with artwork and then talks about it. It's highly subjective and fun to hear the reasons behind his selections. It's even more fun to hear the crowd disagree. In a sophisticated way, of course. Tickets cost $30 for gallery members and $38 for nonmembers. That gets you admission into the gallery and all the wine you can drink. The current show at BGFA is "A Sense of Place: Landscapes from Monet to Hockney." (693-7871)

Open bar

If you've been debating the merits of a college degree, here's a little item you can put in your "pro" column: an open bar. Well, for a small fee. PBR Rock Bar & Grill at Miracle Mile Shops in Planet Hollywood offers college students an open bar from 9 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays. Women show their college IDs and pay $5, while guys have to pay $10. If you go, be sure to raise a glass to higher education. (750-1685)

Dance and drinks

There's still time left to let your country-western freak out before the National Finals Rodeo wraps up Saturday. The Pub at Monte Carlo is hosting free line-dancing lessons from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. through Saturday. If you prefer eating and drinking to dancing, you can do that during the week. The Pub offers a happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Wings and sliders are $1, while some draft beers and well drinks are buy one, get one free.

Question:

"Why did The Cosmopolitan change their elevators so you can't go straight to the restaurants from the garage, but have to instead walk through the casino? I took my wife for a pre-birthday pig-out at Holstein's and discovered we would have to hoof it through the slot machine jungle. Can you get to the bottom of this travesty?" Jason from Las Vegas

Good question, Jason. The Cosmopolitan has tried to cultivate a following among locals by doing things that other properties wouldn't even consider, such as: allowing guests to take elevators from the garage right up to the third floor, bypassing the casino and everything in between. On the one hand, it was very convenient for locals who wanted to get to a restaurant and not even hear or see a slot machine on the way. On the other hand, that went against the casino creed, which has something to do with funneling people through the casino because you never know when they'll have the urge to try their luck on Megabucks (guilty!).

A Cosmopolitan spokesman said that the hotel has been trying a few things with "guest flow and optimization" for about a month. So, if you took an elevator from the east parking garage during that time, you could only access the first floor. Which meant you had to walk near or through the casino to get to the restaurants. Sounds like you were optimized and flowed, Jason. Luckily, as of Dec. 5, that restriction was lifted and guests can once again take one of the elevators up to the second or third floor.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.