Although the "official" kickoff of the pool season is traditionally pegged as Memorial Day weekend, almost all of the party pools will be in full swing by the first week in May.

Unlike the days when you had to be a hotel guest to get into a casino pool, there are now 36 that are open to the public for swimming or partying, which is five more than last year.

There’s usually an entrance fee and the drinks tend to be expensive, but these pools, listed below, will be hopping all summer long as part of Las Vegas’ vibrant "Daylife" scene.

They include Aliante, Aria, Artisan, Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, Cromwell, Downtown Grand, Encore, Excalibur, Flamingo, Golden Nugget, GVR, Hard Rock, Hooters, The LINQ, Luxor, M Resort, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Palazzo, Palms, Planet Hollywood, Rampart, Red Rock, Rio, Rumor, Sapphire, Silverton, SLS, Stratosphere, Sunset Station, Tropicana and Venetian.

Toptional: This year same as last, 11 Las Vegas pools are classified as "toptional," meaning topless sunbathing by women is allowed (if not encouraged): Artisan (Naked Pool), Caesars Palace (Venus Pool Club), Cosmopolitan (Marquee), Encore (European Pool), Golden Nugget (third floor), M Resort (DayDream), Mandalay Bay (Moorea Beach Club), Mirage (Bare Pool), Sapphire (Dayclub), Venetian (TAO Beach) and Wynn (Sunset Pool). Most charge admission fees for non-hotel guests.

Blackjack: A dozen casinos have announced that they’ll deal live blackjack by the pool: Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, Downtown Grand (weekends), Encore, Flamingo, Golden Nugget, Mandalay Bay, Hard Rock, Palms, Red Rock, Tropicana and Wynn. The games at Trop, Hard Rock, and Caesars have the only true "swim-up" tables, allowing you to play while you’re actually in the pool.

Question: Do you know what happened to the "Street Craps" game at the Downtown Grand?

Answer: Like many new games, the public didn’t take to it, which meant few players and little or no profit for the casino. It ran for only a couple of months before it was discontinued.

For more information about Las Vegas shows, buffets, coupons and good deals, go to www.LasVegasAdvisor.com.