Showing a Lot of Skin City

Summer, as it is traditionally defined, begins on the summer solstice, the date on which the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky during our Earth's annual journey around the sun.

But you know what?

Forget that.

As far as Las Vegas tourism boosters are concerned, summer started Thursday, and neither astrophysics nor pagan holidays are going to get in the way of the message:

Vegas is fun.

Vegas is cheap.

Vegas really needs your money.

There were also lots of women in bikinis. You might've heard something about that.

The official count, according to a representative from Guinness World Records, was 281 bikini-clad women, enough to set a record for World's Largest Bikini Parade.

"Only in Las Vegas could this take place," said Mayor Oscar Goodman, who was joined in proclaiming the beginning of summer by Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign on the south end of the Strip.

"People want, and people need, some down time," Brown said.

"The price is right," Goodman said. "And everybody needs a break."

Playboy's Holly Madison joined them and introduced the parade's warm-up act, a fashion show celebrating the history of the bikini.

Then it was off to the main event -- the bikini processional on the other end of the Strip at the Fashion Show mall.

Madison and two Jubilee! dancers headed the parade, which started at the corner of Fashion Show Drive and Las Vegas Boulevard.

The line of women stretched down the block.

Amateur paparazzi gathered on the balconies of the mall's restaurants, snapping pictures and recording video, while the professional media gawkers did the same from the street and sidewalk.

Then police stopped traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard so the parade of flesh could safely get to the other side.

That stoppage led Florida retirees Mike and Reba Bezner to get off a bus and walk.

"We thought there was an accident," Mike Bezner said. Instead, they found themselves looking at woman after scantily clad woman strutting by in bikinis of every style and color.

And wouldn't you know it? Mike forgot his camera.

"I was also disappointed that I didn't have any sunscreen, factor 50," he said, to help out those poor women walking around in the sun. "I didn't want them to have any sun damage."

There was no existing record for a bikini parade, said Danny Girton Jr., an adjudication executive with Guinness who, in his coat-and-tie getup, was the best and most completely dressed person at the parade.

"I've been to record attempts in Dubai, in Asia, all throughout South America, and this one certainly stands out in my mind as showing a lot of great energy and resourcefulness," Girton said.

To make it a challenge, Guinness set a minimum of 250 participants with each one wearing a different bikini. While there were women of all shapes, sizes and ages, there was a definite tilt toward Vegas' hottie caste, with many participants recruited from talent agencies or the party pools at the resorts.

"It's not about who has the most beautiful body. It's not about who has the most beautiful face," said Autumn Rogers, a parade participant who operates the mechanical bull at Cadillac Ranch. "This is just something that we can all do to get together to represent Las Vegas."

Participants were paid $100 and got to keep their bikinis, which were provided by various retailers at the mall. The women also got a pass to one of several Strip pool parties.

The event cost the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau about $100,000, said spokesman Vince Alberta. The benefit, or return on investment, will be measured by the "earned media" the event garners.

"That, historically, is multiple times the initial investment," he said.

The parade, timed to coincide with the beginning of the pool scene season and National Tourism Week, might become an annual event.

"Based on the excitement, the energy, the buzz ... that is under consideration," Alberta said.

The solstice might be a month away, but summer weather has arrived. Temperatures crept well into the 90s Thursday under a brilliant sun, and forecasters say the mercury could pass 100 degrees this weekend.

Tourism numbers, meanwhile, have not been sizzling.

In March, visitor volume was down 6.5 percent compared to the previous year. The average daily room rate was down 31.6 percent, convention attendance was down 30 percent. Gaming revenue dropped 12.3 percent on the Strip and 9.8 percent in the county overall.

Tzigane Osborne, a Rockhouse bar employee, aspiring model and parade participant, hoped the event sparked interest in Las Vegas. The Rockhouse is still crowded on weekends, she said, but business drops during the week.

Osborne was clearly jazzed at the finale of the parade. All the bikini girls and a gaggle of photographers gathered in the plaza in front of the mall.

"Doing the whole walk, with all the cameras -- it was a lot of fun," she said. "I had a good time."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.