Velvet ropes can be measured by the mile in Sin City. Overstuffed black suits with earpieces and clipboards guard the doors to the trendiest nightclubs and lounges. Pulsing lights, throbbing music, and aerial acrobats await inside. But what if a group of guys and gals just want to toss back a pint or half-dozen, tell a few stories, have a few laughs, and make new friends. Where can you score some craic and not worry about the law?

For a growing number of Las Vegas visitors and locals alike, Irish pubs are fulfilling their desires for fine food, libation, live music and plenty of craic (“lots of fun”). New pubs have been popping up all over Vegas to meet this demand, each more authentic than the next. It used to be that Guinness on tap and a few shamrocks above the door was enough to be an Irish pub, but no more. The ante today for a great pub is “Made in Ireland.” The Irish Pub Company in Dublin has designed and built three of Vegas’ newer pubs with an emphasis on putting into proper perspective the elements of a great Irish pub – drink, food, music, and staff.

Nooks, crannies, and “snugs” aren’t just for breakfast muffins anymore. They are the cozy booths and corner tables where Irish eyes are always smiling. Pub tradition in Ireland began in the kitchens of many a home where friends and neighbors gathered, men in one corner, women in another, to eat, drink, and warm away the Eire chill. Sociability is the most important aspect of the Irish pub. Cead Mile Failte! (a hundred thousand welcomes) is the refrain that greets many a pub newcomer.

J.C. Wooloughan's in the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa has been setting the standard for Irish pubs in Vegas since 1999. It was the first pub in Vegas that was built in Ireland and assembled here. In it you find represented a cross-section of Irish life, with a strong flavor of horse racing. One corner is devoted to replica racetrack betting booths, another to an import/export shipping area, a third has a nautical section, and in the back a raised section patterned after Abbey Theatre and Gaeity Theatre, the two most famous in Ireland.

The centerpiece of the pub is the actual Winner’s Circle from the Fairy House Racetrack in Dublin. Adjacent to it, atop the bar, is a near life-sized statue of Shergar, one of the world’s most valuable racehorses. Winner of the English and Irish Derby’s, she was horse-napped in 1983 and held for $3.1 million ransom. Unfortunately, she was never seen again.

Slainte! (“To Your Health”) But seriously, an Irish pub is all about the drink. Publican Declan McGettigan is proud of his selection of 32 single malt triple-distilled Irish whiskeys, especially the beguiling 36-year old Knoppogue Irish whiskey ($50 a shot) rumored to have been distilled in secret for more than three decades, and Midleton, considered the finest in the world. Ask him for a nip of the Paddy he keeps in the office for the ultimate Irish whiskey experience. Don’t miss the sing-a-longs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8pm to midnight. 221 N. Rampart, just south of Summerlin Parkway; (702) 869-7725.

It’s been said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but two other pubs in town really are. Fado Irish Pub in the Green Valley Ranch Station Casino and McMullan’s Irish Pub on Flamingo Avenue next to the Orleans also were designed and built by the Irish Pub Company and assembled in Vegas. Fado is the Vegas installation of a chain of 10 across the U.S. designed to blend old Irish pub tradition with a new era of tavern tradition. Here, as in several other pubs in Vegas, guessing the number of gold coins in the pot o’ gold is a popular St. Patrick’s Day tradition. Fado may have the longest celebration of any of the Vegas pubs…seven days. 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway @ I-215 and Green Valley Parkway in Henderson; (702) 407-8691; www.fadoirishpub.com.

McMullans is the newest of the authentic pubs and is decorated with artifacts from three hotels the McMullan family owned and operated on the coast of Ireland since 1908. Real family photos and the toys the children in the photos played with add a warm homey feel. A broad selection of Irish dishes labeled “McMullan’s Family Secrets” provide a taste of Ireland, and despite the United Kingdom’s reputation as a locale of questionable cuisine, these dishes are worth your spirit of adventure. Find a “snug” or bench in the section of the pub away from the video poker bar to preserve your experience, or step outside onto their large patio and toast the Strip skyline. 4650 W. Tropicana Avenue, (702) 247-7000; www.mcmullansirishpub.com.

Last, no tour of Irish pubs would be complete without sighting a leprechaun, and Jack’s Irish Pub in the Palace Station Casino has their own in-house Celtic elf. Going by the name “Irish,” this little grey-beared old man with a cane has been known to join the band for a jig. 2411 W. Sahara, (702) 367-2411; www.palacestation.com.

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig (Happy St. Patrick’s Day)!