b'BY MICHELLE GRAFFI t happens every yearto National Jewelers editors, and everyone else, we suspect. We all fly out to Las Vegas, run the crazy gamut of breakfasts, appointments, and cocktail parties and, before we know it, its time to leave.When we get home, we bemoan the fact that, after a half-dozen (or several dozen!) Vegas visits, weve hardly seen anything outside the couple of hotels that house the jewelry trade shows. Will that change this year? It remains to be seen, but we hope that at least you, our readersor your family members, friends or significant others who tag alongwill find the time for the fun activities we list here.For this What to Do in Vegas guide, National Jeweler owes a huge thank you to the Las Vegas-based staff of the American Gem Society, as well as AGSs former president and CEO Ruth Batson, for their input. We combined their suggestions with our research to put together a list of activities at both the high end (Go for Bust options) and low end (Go Budget selections), eschewing anything we felt was obvious in favor of discovering activities that even the most Vegas-weary veterans might not know about.Enjoy, and see you in Vegas. GRAB A DRINK AND UnwindWhy not start with the category thats likely toDespite its name, Atomic Liquors has a healthy see the most actionwhere to grab an adult bev- rotating selection of tap beers that, as of press erage or a non-alcoholic drink after show hours.time, include local brews from Nevada beer-mak-The most budget-friendly suggestion would be, ofers like Big Dogs Brewing Company and Joseph course, to take advantage of the free drinks they handJames, as well as drafts from breweries in Missouri, out on the casino floors but, then again, that canCalifornia and Oregon, among others.get expensive quickly if youre not winning. And weThe Velveteen Rabbit, meanwhile, also has a know there are many of you who loathe the casinos. selection of beers rotating around its dozen taps So, were going to suggest establishments thatand does seasonal craft cocktails. Photo by Gianfranco Gorgoni. Courtesy of Art Production Fund and Nevada Museum of Art.appeal to a wide range of tastes, from those who make it their business to sample the local IPAs in every city they visit, to those whose standard order is a Makers Mark Manhattan up (like me).On the budget end of the spectrum, theres Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street and Velveteen Rabbit in the Arts District.Atomic Liquors lays claim to the title of old- Libations on the menu at est freestanding bar in Las Vegas. It has been inThe Chandelier Bar at the operation since 1952 and has notched a not-insig- Cosmopolitan include the cachaa -based Video nificant amount of screen time over the decades. Killed the Radio Star (left) Scenes for 1995s Casino were filmed there, asand the Kiss & Tell (top), was an episode of the original The Twilight Zonewhich is made with mezcal. series. More recently, the bar can be seen in the back-ground of the car crash scene in The Hangover. NATIONAL JEWELER 33'