Behind-the-scenes in Vegas, with ‘Wired’ as guide

By Sarah Feldberg

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 | 6:43 p.m.

Figuring out Las Vegas is a kind of national obsession, the subject of books, movies and long rants by tourists who think they’ve done, seen and learned it all. Here’s a secret: If someone tells you they’ve got Las Vegas by the balls, chances are they don’t have a clue.

Our town’s too complex for any one person to nail it down, which is why Wired magazine recruited a whole slew of inside experts to take its guests on a whirlwind tour of the city this June. From a chat with card counting savant Jeff Ma (straight off the MIT blackjack team) to a helicopter tour of the Hoover Dam and an immersion with the Palms senior security team, the three-day itinerary is packed with activities intended to entertain and educate.

"Basically, we wanted to take the Wired approach to life, as it were, and apply it to a city. Wired decodes things and takes things apart and tries to see how they works," says Alfred Schreiber, chief marketing office for Inside Sports & Entertainment Group, which is partnering with the magazine for the event. The company, he says, specializes in putting together events that “enable people to get inside things, whether it’s the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open or the Grammys."

Dubbed Decoding Vegas, the first such weekend was booked for Sin City because of the natural air of mystery that surrounds the town. "It’s in a class by itself," Schreiber says. "We’re going to get behind-the-scenes and see what makes it tick. We’re going to take it apart and put it back together again."

Of course, getting all nitty gritty insider-y requires a nimble team. The Wired weekend (June 24-26) will be capped at 20 people for $9,500 each, including accommodations at the Palms, fine dining experiences, a gadget demo with Wired Senior Editor John Bradley and a tablet, delivered to after the trip, loaded with video and photos from the look behind the curtain in Las Vegas.