Gaming Traveler | Dolphin trainer or stripper for a day

Las Vegas has always been a place of fantasy, or at least altered reality. But with legalized gambling becoming more common and travelers becoming more sophisticated, even Vegas has to stretch to offer the exotic.

In some cases, that means allowing folks to pretend they are something that would ordinarily be beyond their grasp. Say, an animal trainer, or an exotic dancer, maybe even an astronaut.

Here are several Las Vegas experiences, at various price levels, that can take you far from the casino floor.

Sea what you're missing. The Mirage resort's Dolphin Trainer for a Day program allows participants to become acquainted firsthand with these marine animals.

The dolphin habitat adjoins the Siegfried and Roy Secret Garden, a mini-zoo that displays some of the former magicians' famous white tigers and other extraordinary animals.

At the marine habitat, tourists can see Atlantic bottlenose dolphins interact with their trainers, and for $500 can be trainers themselves.

"They get to do most things trainers do," curator Jim Hudson said. "We integrate the participants in the formal dolphin trainer day.

"A lot of it is tactile; there's a lot of petting," he added. "The animals enjoy it, and the participants love to do it. They get to feed them, there's a lot of physical activity with toys and balls and moving through the facility."

The program is not cheap. Participants can bring along a friend to shadow them and take photos for an extra $150.

So what do you get for that $500?

The day begins at 9:45 a.m. and continues through 3:15 p.m. There's a continental breakfast and gourmet lunch, but the real value is in learning about and working with the dolphins.

After an orientation to learn basic commands and hand signals, participants get a behind-the-scenes tour of the habitat and put on wet suits. While there's plenty of contact with the animals, don't count on swimming alongside the dolphins. About the closest you'd come is being in waist-deep water.

The program is limited to four people and is conducted six days a week (closed on Thursdays). Minimum age is 13. Participants get a photo, a trainer certificate, admission to the zoo and habitat, and a souvenir polo shirt and hat. For $75 more, get a photo CD.

While it's certainly a pricey day, few folks are ever disappointed, Hudson said.

"People say they didn't realize how wonderful it would be," the curator said. "They didn't anticipate the feeling they would have after being with the animals . . . wonderment and exhilaration."

For information: 702-792-7889; reservations may be made up to 11 months in advance.

Ready for take off? For $40, you can be a stripper for a day, or at least learn the moves.

In the otherwise G-rated atmosphere of a shopping mall, the Desert Passage adjoining the Aladdin casino-hotel - soon to be rechristened Miracle Mile Shops and Planet Hollywood casino - Stripper101.com promises to bring out the "inner bombshell" in participants. Lessons are for women only.

For 75 minutes, ex-dancer Trixie Lovett shows students such basics as how to stand - legs just so, hands on hips, a spokeswoman says - right through to pole-spinning and lap dancing. Participants wear workout clothes; there is no nudity.

Classes are limited to 15, and participants must be at least 18 years old (21 to consume alcohol). Classes are Tuesday through Saturday, starting in the early evening, and advance ticket purchases are suggested. The basic class is $40 and includes admission, a drink and an "official license." For $60, you also get a T-shirt and photo. A popular bachelorette activity, the class offers regular-session discounts and private classes for larger groups.

For more information and to buy tickets, go to www.stripper101.com.

The final frontier. Being an astronaut takes years of training, not to mention more than a passing familiarity with physics, math and engineering. OK, so you have neither the time nor the credentials, but you do have $3,500.

Take a trip with Zero-G, a self-described space entertainment and tourist company. Commercial weightless flights (FAA-approved) on board a modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft are scheduled to begin April 21.

Zero-G has been offering flights to the public since 2004, mainly in Florida. Already flying out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it has 12 scheduled dates in Vegas this year - six flights each day, departing from Signature Air Terminal at McCarran International Airport.

Travelers are outfitted with flight suits and embark on a 90-minute journey that includes 15 parabolas. Gravity levels include Martian (one-third gravity), lunar (one-sixth gravity) and weightlessness, with fliers bouncing around inside the padded fuselage. Zero-G's "astronauts" have been 12 to 85 years old. Participants get to keep their flight suits and an in-flight DVD, attend a post-event party, and gobble all the floating M&Ms they can snatch out of the air. For information, go to www.Go

ZeroG.com or call 1-800-937-6480.

For a promotional film, see http://video.google.com/videoplay?

docid=-1808925740998663902&pr=

goog-sl.

Comings and goings. The Monty Python-inspired musical farce Spamalot, which has been in previews, is scheduled to debut at the Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday. The show will hit the stage six days a week, dark on Thursdays. Prices are $49 to $99. For information, go to

www.montypythonsspamalot.com.

The Stardust Casino, like some former Vegas landmarks, was imploded on March 13. It was demolished to make room for a $4.4 billion hotel-casino-retail complex called Echelon Place. I note the passing of the Stardust with some nostalgia because it was where I stayed on my first trip to Las Vegas 30 years ago. The Stardust - all purple, red and blue neon - was edgy and sophisticated back then, and although it had long since settled into quaint, it remained quintessential Las Vegas. For YouTube video of the implosion, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ube59-dTdBE.

Next week: Senior Traveler

April 8: Online Traveler

April 15: Game Traveler

Starting April 15, Game Traveler will appear on the third Sunday of the month, and Hip Trip will appear on the fourth Sunday.EndText