Among the findings: for the first time, more people (50 percent) cited entertainment over gaming (48 percent) as the primary reason for their trip to Las Vegas. Also, among people with a propensity to gamble, the number of trips to Las Vegas over a five-year period has decreased from 11 to seven; those trips to Las Vegas have been replaced with trips to other, closer-to-home gaming locations throughout the country.

As a result, convention authority marketing efforts will increasingly re-position Las Vegas as an entertainment resort destination unparalleled in the world, as new properties and attractions come on line in the next 24 months. The "new" Las Vegas, part of a continuing evolution of the destination, will increasingly be marketed as a resort with a combination of shopping, dining, special events, entertainment and gaming that can't be found anywhere, said Manuel J. Cortez, president and CEO of the LVCVA.

"Las Vegas has always been known for its casinos," Cortez said, "but the other amenities that are here now, and those on the way, take us to the next level. The finest restaurants, shopping, and resorts anywhere in the world can now be found in Las Vegas."

Cortez said the marketing strategy, which also involves more aggressive efforts to pursue the corporate meetings market, is the result of several factors. Among them: the new properties opening up, and the restaurants and retail space included in them; the increasing number of non-gaming amenities found here; and the LVCVA's research findings.

"Las Vegas long ago lost its monopoly on legalized gaming in this country, and the past 10 years have been a period of unprecedented growth for us," said Cortez, who pointed out that Las Vegas' visitor volume and room inventory have nearly doubled since 1988. "But the competitive environment continues to change dramatically, and we must keep changing and improving our product as well."

Cortez pointed out that, in the next 24 months, five major resort destinations -- the Bellagio, Paris, Venetian, Mandalay Bay and the new Aladdin -- will open in Las Vegas, adding 20,000 hotel rooms to the city's current room base of 106,000 rooms. (Four Seasons Hotel will make its foray into the Las Vegas market with a 400-room property inside the Mandalay Bay.)

"The amenities here now, and those that will be included in the new properties, enable us to keep broadening our markets," said Rossi Ralenkotter, the LVCVA's vice president of marketing. "Las Vegas as a one-dimensional resort destination is truly a thing of the past."