Phil Grucci, who designed the New Year's Eve fireworks display, stands atop Treasure Island on Thursday and talks about the show that is set to welcome in the new year -- weather permitting. Photo by John Gurzinski. Click image for enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

Predictions of high winds blowing out New Year's Eve fireworks? The threat of rain soaking celebrators marking the end of the city's centennial?

Las Vegas is betting against Mother Nature's crankiness in planning the party the city was meant for.

"Of course I'm feeling lucky. This is Vegas," Phil Grucci, the designer of the New Year's Eve fireworks show, said as he and workers laid out thousands of fireworks on the roof of Treasure Island on Thursday. Despite the possibility of inclement weather, party planners geared up Thursday for an expected 300,000 visitors.

Winds of at least 10 mph are all that it takes to stop Saturday's fireworks display.

"It'll be pretty darn breezy during the day on Saturday," said Ken Clark, senior expert meteorologist with AccuWeather.com. He said winds could be between 15 and 25 mph, with higher gusts during the day.

Winds will start dying down as the new year approaches. However, he said, "I can't guarantee you it'll be down below 10 miles per hour when midnight strikes."

So where should bookmakers' lines open?

Based on preliminary reports, Grucci said the weather had just a 20 percent chance of canceling the show. "I'll throw the dice with those odds," he said.

Later on Thursday, the weatherman had a more dire view. "At this point, I'd call it a 50-50 shot at best," Clark said.

Clark County's Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management issued a dust advisory for New Year's Eve. But, "whether winds will be strong Saturday night, is a guess at this point," according to a department news release.

And there's no push here. If the fireworks don't happen at midnight, there won't be a show, either in the wee hours of the new year or the following day, said Grucci, who is vice president of the Long Island, N.Y.-based Fireworks by Grucci.

The decision to shoot off the fireworks will be made by the Clark County Fire Department, with inspectors on the rooftops of the 10 casinos that will serve as the launching pads for the display.

There is also a chance of rain, though Grucci said that wouldn't prevent the fireworks from being launched. "We could fire in the pouring rain," he said. "It would just be uncomfortable for the people on the Strip."

The South Coast Casino's recent grand opening ended up with fireworks setting building material on the roof on fire. Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said there's no guarantee that won't happen again, but there will be plenty of "eyes and ears" on the scene to react quickly to any problems.

The display, set to last 8 minutes and 7 seconds, will be themed "Vegas Through the Years: A Finale to the Centennial." It will serve as the culmination of the yearlong 100-year birthday celebration.

The soundtrack will include Vegas icons Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Tom Jones, and Elvis Presley. The 10 rooftops will become piano keys, lit with pyrotechnics, to Liberace's "Chopsticks."

Even without the fireworks, the city is expected to be packed.

The Fremont Street Experience will have live music and entertainment starting at 7 p.m. It will cost $40 to get in to the downtown venue. Cheap Trick, The Gin Blossoms and The Spin Doctors will be performing. Officials also hope to break a world record by getting 12,000 revelers to simultaneously toast shortly before the new year.

The Strip is expected to be closed to traffic as early as 5 p.m.

Authorities said commuters should expect a five-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard to be closed from Russell Road to Sahara Avenue. Partygoers are advised to get to the resort corridor early.

"If you have to get to that area, plan ahead, start early and plan on hitting heavy, heavy delays in that area," Sgt. Chris Jones, a spokesman for Las Vegas police, said Thursday.

The Strip is not expected to reopen until at least 4 a.m., with cleanup work not starting until crowds fizzle out on their own.

"We give them time to leisurely leave the Strip," said Bobby Shelton, a spokesman with Clark County's public works department, which oversees the Strip. "When the crowd starts dispersing, we'll start the cleanup there."

Latecomers can expect few convenient detours. During the Strip closure, streets crossing the affected part of the Strip will be closed, as will eastbound cross-street highway exits from Interstate 15.

Those exits include Russell Road, Sahara Avenue, Flamingo Road, Tropicana Avenue and Spring Mountain Road/Sands Avenue.

Frank Sinatra Drive will remain open. The street runs parallel to the Strip and sits between the Strip in Interstate 15.

"That's one of the reasons we built that, to give people an alternative to the Strip," Shelton said.

But authorities said Strip traffic using Sinatra might make things slow-going.

"It could very well not be a viable option for people," Jones said. "It'll be heavily congested."

Parking could be heavily restricted in the resort corridor, depending on each hotel's own policies.

Jones advised people heading to the Strip to check in advance on parking availability, or use public transportation.