Dinner and a show. What else would you expect for a night on the Strip?

A fat bankroll, perhaps.

A routine idea of mixing and matching some Best of Las Vegas® favorites turned into a challenge. The notion was to suggest a few dinner-and-show packages in three price ranges.

It proved, um, interesting. Let's just say $100 doesn't go as far as it used to.

To be fair, a couple of different realities are in play here. If you're here for vacation, chances are you either saved for some big nights on the town, or you will spend more time in the shops or nightclubs that compete for the show dollar.

If you live here, show prices might keep you from packing too much into one night. Casino shows are merciless when it comes to starting within five minutes or so of the advertised time. Burger drive-throughs can save the day.

If a trip to Danny Gans' show (Readers' Pick: All-Around Performer) at $80-$100 per ticket is followed by a visit to PT's Pub (Readers' Pick: Bar Food) or even Taco Bell (Readers' Pick: Tacos), that's just real life in a really unusual city.

But for visitors and the otherwise curious, here are a few ways to keep a dinner and show in the same few blocks, and in the same pricing ballpark.

$50 per person

This was really tough. And we hope you enjoy The Second City comedy troupe at the Flamingo (Readers' Pick: Bargain Show). At $35.44 per ticket, it's the rare show that leaves you a little dough for dinner.

One idea is to hike from the Aladdin, where a scenic P.F. Chang's China Bistro (Readers' Pick: Asian Restaurant) would do the trick if you go easy on the wine and appetizers: Most entrees are in the $9 to $11 range.

There's also an Outback Steakhouse (Readers' Pick: Steakhouse) on the second floor of the nearby Casino Royale. But except for the people-watching, it's not going to make your "Things We Did in Vegas That We Can't Do at Home" list. And $15 is a tight budget for the Outback.

You might want to scarf down fast food and keep the laughs going with a midnight set by Cook E. Jarr (Readers' Pick: Lounge Performer) next door at Harrah's Carnival Court; the cover is $5 for men, $2 for women.

There's always the usual "locals date" of a comedy club. A $14.25 ticket for Laugh Trax at Palace Station (Readers' Pick: Comedy Club), leaves plenty to splurge for dinner throughout the casino, including Guadalajara Bar & Grille, the readers' runner-up for Best Mexican Restaurant in a hotel.

$75 per person

There's a little more breathing room here, but not as much as you might think. Buying a $50 ticket to see Rita Rudner (Readers' and Our Pick: Comedian) at New York-New York leaves spare change to cross the casino to Il Fornaio (Readers' Pick: Italian Restaurant), where pizzas are $10-$12 and pastas are $10-$17.

Il Fornaio also can be combined with a reasonable walk north to the Monte Carlo for Lance Burton (Readers' Pick: Magician) at $54.95-$59.95. So could dinner at the Monte Carlo Brew Pub (Our Pick: Microbrewery).

Or, a New York-New York food court run would conserve drinking money for post-Burton music and magic with Michael Close (Our Pick: Magician) in the Monte Carlo's Houdini Lounge.

Here's a budget-buster worth stretching this random limit for: A Harrah's promotion that combines Clint Holmes (Readers' and Our Pick: Singer) with a limited -- three-choice menu -- at either the Range Steakhouse, Asia or Cafe Andreotti for $89.70, tax included.

$150 per person

Sadly, a $300 night on the town isn't going to buy you hot-tub limo rides and champagne, at least not if you're going to see "O" (Readers' and Our Pick: Production Show). After spending $93.50-$121 for a ticket, you're going to be squeezing the dinner budget as tightly as in the other categories.

But cheer up. Without leaving the Bellagio, $29 will see you through either Cafe Bellagio (Readers' Pick: Coffee Shop) or the hotel's buffet (last year's winner and this year's runner-up by a two-vote margin), though you're pushing things with the $31.95 buffet on a weekend compared with $24.95 on a weeknight.

You could catch the free Bellagio fountain show (Readers' Pick: Attraction) while hiking across the Strip to Le Cafe Ile St. Louis at Paris Las Vegas (Our Pick: Coffee Shop) or Aladdin's Spice Market Buffet (Our Pick: Buffet), where dinner is $19.99. Or take the tram to the Monte Carlo Brew Pub.

There's always the peanut butter-for-dinner plan, leaving room for a post-"O" visit to Jimmy Hopper (a two-vote readers' runner-up for Lounge Performer), a trendy nightcap at the Bellagio's new Caramel lounge or a tram ride to Close at the Monte Carlo.

So there you go. Whew. Next year, remind me to tackle Best Place to Go When Price Is No Object instead.