My Web site, Vegas4Visitors.com is celebrating its fifth anniversary in September by releasing the results of the 2003 Readers' Poll. This week, readers choose their favorite restaurants, buffets and nightclubs.

We received thousands of votes from nearly every state in the United States, plus Canada, England, Scotland, Mexico, and Spain! Thank you to everyone who took the time to cast a vote.

Best Overall Hotel

1. Bellagio -- 12 percent. The palace that Steve Wynn built and MGM took over gets top nods in our top category, edging out sister hotel the Mirage, which won this category last year. This graceful-on-a-grand-scale temple to excess is probably the closest a 3,000-room-hotel will ever come to the word luxury.
2. Mirage -- 9.5 percent. I have described the Mirage as a benchmark by which all other hotels in Vegas will be judged. Despite being older, less sparkly, and less flashy than some of its competitors, enough of you still judged it great enough to get the No. 2 spot.
3. Venetian -- 8 percent. Speaking of temples to excess ... The stunning replica of Venice, Italy -- complete with canals, gondolas, and museum-quality art and architecture -- is hard to top. Your votes gave it the No. 3 spot on the list, moving up from No. 5 last year.

Best Downtown Hotel

1. Golden Nugget -- 65.4 percent. The readers showed their wildly divergent tastes by spreading the wealth in every category but this one. Notice that Bellagio won best Strip hotel with only 15 percent of the vote, while the Golden Nugget, the gem of downtown Vegas, won this category with almost two-thirds of the votes cast!
2. Main Street Station -- 8.6 percent. It's hard to compete against a behemoth like the Golden Nugget, but this delightful, turn-of-the-century San Francisco-theme hotel still manages to charm its way into second place.
3. Four Queens -- 5.4 percent. Displacing Fitzgerald's from the No. 3 spot last year is one of the Grand Dames of Fremont Street. The Four Queens has a friendly staff, usually low prices, and decent, comfortable rooms ... what's not to like?

Best Local's Hotel

1. Green Valley Ranch -- 16.5 percent. This was a nail-biter, but Green Valley managed to squeak by Sam's Town by less than half of a percentage point. For a hotel that is less than two years old to have been discovered and appreciated by enough people to vault it into first place is a real accomplishment and proves, as I believe, this is one of the best hotels in the city.
2. Sam's Town -- 16.1 percent. Missed it by that much ... the venerable Sam's Town on Boulder Highway comes a close second. Still, that's a testament to how beloved this longtime locals hangout is among residents and tourists alike.
3. Orleans -- 15.3 percent. Another strong showing -- less than 1 percentage point behind No. 2 -- puts the newly expanded and improved Orleans into the top three, slipping a notch from last year.

Best Rooms

1. Venetian -- 23.5 percent. The hotel bills its rooms as the largest standard accommodations in the world. I don't know about that, but they are plenty big and obviously plenty popular with our readers.
2. Rio -- 14 percent. The hotel calls them suites, and I won't argue, since they have a tendency to get lawyerly about things like that. They are very large rooms, well appointed, and a Vegas4Visitors reader favorite.
3. Bellagio -- 12.6 percent. The rooms at Bellagio aren't quite as big as those at Venetian or Rio, but it's hard to out-luxury these digs.

Best Service

1. Bellagio -- 17.4 percent. Another win for the Bellagio. Or should that be "Wynn"? Customer service was always a top priority for Steve Wynn when he built this place, and it's good to know the new owners MGM Mirage haven't changed that focus.
2. Mirage -- 8.6 percent. The hotel that redefined Vegas more than a decade ago still scores high marks for its professional and courteous staff. I couldn't agree more.
3. Rio -- 7 percent. Now this one is important -- a few years ago, the Rio didn't even show up on the radar in the best service category and, in fact, was legendary for the complete opposite. But Harrah's has stepped in and created a big difference, and the appearance here means things are changing for the better. Kudos.

Best Casino

1. Bellagio -- 8.1 percent. It's gotta be the wood-encased slot machines, right? Whatever the reason, this touch-of-luxury casino won the hearts and minds of readers by only one-half of a percentage point.
2. MGM Grand -- 7.6 percent. Bigger apparently is better, as the biggest casino in Las Vegas comes in a strong second in the favorite casino race.
3. (tie) New York-New York -- 5.5 percent. I think this one is a hoot -- a visual feast of nonstop Gotham detail that is at once authentic and delightfully cartoonish. Apparently you agreed. 3. (tie) Treasure Island -- 5.5 percent. Arrgh, matey. Most of the pirate stuff is going, going, or gone and the hip-and-trendy factor is moving in, so it's hard to tell whether it was the old or the new that captured your votes, but here it is.

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you again to everyone who voted. See you next year.

This Week's Trivia

Q: In what year did Binion's Horseshoe open? ANSWER

The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com

The Full Story

• Binion's Casnio Great, Everything Else Not
• 'Folies Bergere' Gives Taste Of Classics
• Bellagio Tops Several Categories In Reader Voting
• Other News: Elton To Fill Celine's Dark Houses?
• Vegas Q&A: Is The Strip Safe For 16-Year-Olds?
• Vegas Q&A: Do I Really Have To Tip For Drinks?

In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

Plus, don't forget to send me your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!

Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.

Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors

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