The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino’s claim to fame is built on two things: spacious suites and scantily clad waitresses. (This isn’t where you’d take the kids.) Every room in the hotel is a suite, open and uncluttered, decorated in warm neutrals. Perhaps the size of the rooms is intended to compensate for the frenetic crowds on the lower levels, where every day is a billed as a carnival. The exterior certainly reflects the Mardi Gras madness happening inside; the Rio’s buildings themselves are bright red and purple, with gigantic masks hanging from the ceiling. True to the essence of a Brazilian Carnaval or a Louisiana Mardi Gras, visual overload is the order of the day. On the main floor, the stunning Masquerade Village (recently revamped by Dick Foster Productions) is a roving party of acrobats, mimes and sexy dancers. Dance along on the side, or for a small fee, you can get in costume and hop on one of the floats. The costumes are garish – think Carmen Miranda meets Cirque du Soleil – and that’s part of the fun. Throw on as many layers of beads as you can and move to the sinuous bahia beats.

Samba your way through the lounge and play some slots along the way, but leave time to visit the tropical paradise outside, complete with a sandy beach alongside the lagoon. You don’t have to be tall and tan and young and lovely to visit the Rio’s Ipanema Beach (although it certainly helps). Waterfalls, Jacuzzis, and poolside beverage and food service will help you relax and gear up for another night of reckless abandon inside. Although Las Vegas is famous for catering to guests with a Y chromosome, the Rio Hotel and Casino bucks the trend. Their Ultimate Girls Night Out package includes access to the Flirt Lounge, designed by women for women. Here, feather boas are used as decor, and the combination of eggshell yellow and violet lighting creates a less manic version of the Mardi Gras color scheme, with circular eggplant-colored banquettes that give you an unobstructed view of both fellow patrons and the shirtless waiters.