Showcase Mall

Just a hop, skip and a jump from the MGM Grand, the Showcase Mall entertainment and retail complex combines great shopping, good eating (M & M's World, Ethel M) and fun and games (United Artists, GameWorks).

The multilevel mall is very family-friendly, and its proximity to MGM, Monte Carlo, New York-New York and their south-Strip neighbors make it a tourist's dream.

The main attraction here is the delicious M & M's World, which offers plenty of chocolate-themed fun. Various props throughout the store feature Red, Yellow, Blue and their counterparts hawking T-shirts, ties, calculators, magnets ... you name it. The "I Lost My M in Las Vegas," a 3-D featurette, plays on the third floor with a free admission to the M & M Academy (Here, students are led into a classroom by a wacky professor and have the chance to be part of the movie). And don't forget the chocolate -- you'll find a rainbow of colors at the first floor's Colorworks.

If video games are your bag, try the multimillion-dollar Gameworks, located in the basement of the mall. Developers Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks SKG, Sega Enterprises and Universal Studios teamed up to create multisensory games based on Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Twister, in addition to old-fashioned pinball machines and Pac-Man. Sports-minded folks will get an audience while trying the 75-foot rock-climbing wall that begins in GameWorks and makes its way into the mall's center.

The World of Coca-Cola is devoted to the joy of cola. With signs and slogans, a history of the soft drink and colorful murals adorning the walls, the World of Coca-Cola carries thousands of items, including souvenir bottles, home accessories and clothing. The second floor houses a café that serves various flavors of the syrupy concoction.

The other major retailer in the mall is adidas, which offers its first Performance Center in the United States. The 19,719-square-foot, two-story store features a plethora of apparel, footwear and accessories for every sport imaginable for both men and women. The adidas store is minimalist in design -- all the walls and furniture are black or white, and the in-store signage is through text tickers, video and interactive screens.

Also located in the mall are the Grand Canyon Experience, which offers a wide assortment of gift items and sundries, a Houdini Magic Shop and the United Artists Cinema, the only first-run movie theater on the Strip.

If chocolate and Coca-Cola don't satisfy your cravings, the Showcase Mall has a La Salsa restaurant and a food court featuring everything from Starbucks to Wendy's.

You also can stop in to the Internet cafe near the food court to check your e-mail. It's open 24 hours and charges 17 cents per minute.

If driving, you'll want to park in the mall's parking structure; it costs $3 and, the easiest access is on the fifth floor, where the pedestrian bridge crosses into the mall.

-- Staff Report