People

The list of the best political hangouts has to start with the Coffee Pub, the nondescript little breakfast-and-lunch spot on West Sahara Avenue that's been a political favorite for years. Deals are done over coffee and omelets, and hardly a day goes by when a player or would-be player doesn't break bread there. (U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley's Las Vegas field office is even located in the same shopping center.)

Second for breakfast choices among the political set has to be the Omelet House at Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive, a Vegas staple on the political scene.

It's not surprising that over at the Hughes Center, a political center of gravity in itself with offices of the Rogich Communications Group, the Jones Vargas law firm and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, there would be a couple of political hot spots. Gordon Biersch, the chain brewery, is the scene of many an after-hours political meeting (and sometimes, they don't wait for after-hours). The beer is good, and the chances of running into a senator or lobbyist aren't that shabby.

Across the way, there's McCormick & Schmick's, the seafood joint that's a staple of Washington, D.C., political life, which has translated its appeal to Las Vegas. Power lunches among the elite are common, and the bar has hosted a politico or two. (Not to mention journalists, who congregate anywhere there's alcohol. The political sightings are just a bonus.)

Up in Summerlin, J.C. Wooloughan's Irish Pub has been called "City Hall West" for all the Las Vegas City Council members and staffers who congregate there. (It's also a favorite of uber-consultant and Irish lass Terry Murphy.) The bar features all manner of Irish beers, and there's plenty of whiskey on hand as well. As a result, reporters love the place, too. (The live music does tend to make the political gossip hard to hear, so go early when there's still a chance to get a seat.)

There's a Starbucks on almost every corner in America, but the Starbucks on Rancho Drive just north of Charleston Boulevard is special. Since so many high-powered political types (including Gov. Kenny Guinn, and lawyer and one-time Senate contender Ed Bernstein) live nearby, it's a convenient meeting place. For the overprice of a cup of Starbucks coffee, there's a very good chance you'll rub elbows with more than one mover and shaker. (Just up the way is the Aristocrat, which used to be big in political circles.)

Again on West Sahara, there's Big Dog's Cafe & Casino, owned by former university Regent and longtime Republican Tom Weisner. There are several brew pubs owned by Weisner around town, but this one seems to be the place the political love to congregate. State Sen. Jon Porter, who is again running for Congress, is just one of the many candidates who have held fund-raisers there, and the Clark County Young Republicans happen to hold their monthly meetings in the upstairs rooms. They, like a certain political columnist who occasionally attends, usually retire to the bar afterward to talk shop over one of Weisner's top-notch amber or pale ales.

Where Sahara meets Interstate 15, there's a string of restaurants, a couple of which have captured the political class' fancy. One is Romano's Macaroni Grill, a chain Italian joint. The food is not spectacular, but the location (freeway close, not too far from downtown or the Clark County Government Center) is ideal. Nearby is Landry's Seafood House, a more popular place that's seen its share of senators break bread and talk shop over clam chowder.

Since downtown is home to City Hall and state and federal courts, you'd think it would be teeming with political stops. (Mayor Oscar Goodman has even mused aloud about opening "Oscar's Speakeasy," populated with martini-swilling bosses and curvaceous Las Vegas women.) But there's really only one place downtown that qualifies, the Triple Seven brew pub in Main Street Station. If you have a city legal question, there's a good chance you'll run into one of the municipal counselors on a lunch break there most days.

One political hangout that seems to have lost its cache is the House of Blues Foundation Room, atop Mandalay Bay. The rooms are luxurious, the bar is well-stocked (if a bit crowded) and the views of the city are unbeatable. But ever since former Henderson Mayor (and ex-Republic Silver State lawyer) Robert Groesbeck was accused of groping a woman in a shoes-on-the-wrong-foot drunken spree there in 1999, the Foundation Room has lost some of its political luster. Well, there's always the myriad golf courses around town to take up the slack. Let's start out at Southern Highlands.