Once upon a time, to run a successful casino hotel in Las Vegas, all a mobster had to do was throw down a couple of roulette tables, plaster the V.I.P. lounge with cute burlesque girls and hire Jimmy Durante to entertain the crowds twice a night.

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The Las Vegas of today, however, the leisure and entertainment mecca of Steve Wynn and über-celebrity chefs, is vastly different from the post-WWII desert city of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Mormon elders and 2 a.m. deli platters. Hyper-competitive, ultra-glossy and super-luxe (in parts), modern Vegas is a constant re-invention in flux. No city on the planet – Dubai may be the sole current exception – morphs like “The Entertainment Capital of the World”. From tumbleweed town to Frank Sinatra’s personal bordello, infamous target of Hunter S. Thompson’s gonzo trip to the heart of the American Dream to Disney-like antiseptic tera-resort, Sin City is peerless.

To truly develop a canny sense of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, it helps to pigeonhole them into one of three types: Old School (the best of which evince some grungy, loveable Vegas charm of yore, the worst of which feature magicians and illusionists as entertainment); Boilerplate Theme Resort (tr̬s 1990s and still the majority Рthink Cirque de Soleil as requsite entertainment and Food Network chef-run restaurants); and The Future (think Broadway musicals, $10,000 cocktails, Bvlgari, Brioni and Michelin-star chef-run restaurants).

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With over thirty casino resorts on the Strip to choose from, a tidy list of the most notable is useful reference before you roll the dice on one. Check out ten of our faves.

Flamingo
Category: Old School

While the final trace of tangible, mobster-era charisma long fled the Flamingo faster than a ventriloquist’s allure, the old girl is the most venerable property left on the Strip.

Tropicana
Category: Old School

Though also long in the tooth, the Tropicana is a classic and, like all Vegas showgirls that start to sag, got a decent facelift last year. The advent of a new Nikki Beach Club here in Spring 2011 may or may not be a good sign.

The Mirage
Category: Boilerplate Theme Resort

Built with Wall Street junk bond money by developer Stephen Alan Weinberg, a.k.a. Steve Wynn, in 1989, The Mirage was a pioneer property and led the way in the Sin City rebrand of the 1990s.

MGM Grand

Category: Boilerplate Theme Resort

Mike Tyson’s days as a headliner here are long gone but the MGM Grand still has the goods thanks to two Joël Robuchon restaurants and the epic AAA Five Diamond SKYLOFTS.

Bellagio
Category: Boilerplate Theme Resort

With the best free show on the Strip (hint: water), a bountiful buffet that destigmatizes the term, and the best non-free show on the Strip (hint: eau), the Bellagio is a new classic.

The Venetian
Category: Boilerplate Theme Resort

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum left after a seven-year spell in 2008 but The Venetian has a ton of other gawk-worthy features. The city-like resort wins for best interior in the theme category.

Encore
Category: The Future

Encore, a twin of Wynn, is the developer’s most indulgent ego-trip fantasy come to life yet. Collectively, the colossal resort complex holds more awards than any other in Sin City.

Vdara
Category: The Future

The new breed of Vegas hotels evoke more starchitect vibe than theme park sprawl. Vdara, a CityCenter glass tower with a killer spa, is a product of Rafael Viñoly.

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Aria
Category: The Future

The show property of CityCenter is Aria, a 370,000 m² five-star luxury casino resort with monster names like Jean-Georges, Masa, and Viva Elvis.

The Cosmopolitan
Category: The Future

The next realm for Vegas is the Euro hotel style file. Indeed, the press kit for the brand new Cosmopolitan looks like a Balenciaga brochure. While not quite a boutique property Рthe Cosmo has a casino, after all Рthe aesthetical scheme is decidedly unVegas. Extra points for a roster that includes Montreal restaurateur Costas Spiliadis, of Milos fame, and master chef Jos̩ Andr̩s.