I have to agree with marysunshine, LV is not what it used to be.

I went there several times in the mid-80s as a grad student purely because it was a cheap get-away. Granted, my tastes were simpler then, but I did stary at Caesar's (then one of the top hotels) and ate at several restaurants and buffets at prices I could afford as a grad student (e.g., VERY CHEAP).

I have now been back twice in the past 2 years, and while there are some cheap deals for top hotels, they are pretty restricted. Any decent or high-end restaurant is no different in price from NY, SF, DC, etc. and the quality is just as variable. And the 'super cheap buffet' -- where have they gone? Not sure I would eat at them, but the buffets I saw were by no mean a bargain.

All said, I don't think LV is a trap. Anyone who goes for gambling should know they can't beat the house, and if they don't it is their fault. The rest of city is gaudy, tacky -- a lot of fun once or twice, but it does not inspire me to keep going back.

As for the restaurant list <from 1984> -- that was the Jurassic Period compared to now. You cannot take those data seriously. I can just as easily say St. Louis was the 4th largest city in population -- in 1920. Doesn't really hold for now.

And I do agree that the title of 'best restaurant city in the world' gets thrown around so much it means nothing. Does it mean
-- 'most # per sq ft? (hah! a laugh -- a town 2x2 blocks with 4 dines would rank high)
-- 'most # per capita'? (so a town can have a lot of fast-food, low-cost chains, and crappy diners and rank high?)

And if we are talking about 'the world' I would agree that foreign, esp European countries would rise to the top. I have never had a bad meal in Italy, from the toniest Milan restaurant to the mommma-and-poppa tavolocaldi in Florence.