SOUTHEAST

Ballpark Lounge
7380 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. 101
361-1961
If you've recently been diagnosed with a bad case of spring training fever, check out the Ballpark Lounge, where America's two favorite pastimes -- baseball and beer -- will cure what ails you.
Happy Hour: Daily 2-6 p.m.: $1.25 drafts, $4 pitchers, $1.75 wells

The Beach
365 Convention Center Drive
731-1925
Why schlep all the way down to Cancun when you can just go to The Beach -- the Strip's 365-day answer to "Girls Gone Wild"? With two dance floors, eight full-service bars and more tropical decor than you can shake an artificial palm frond at, The Beach promises coconuts aplenty -- and often delivers.
Happy Hour: Daily 4-8 p.m.: half off all drinks
Recommended or Specialty Drink: Nightly beer bongs and body shots

Casa Di Amore
2850 E. Tropicana Ave.
433-4967
Everyone knows that there are -- wink, wink -- no more wiseguys in Las Vegas, but if there were, they'd probably hang out at Casa Di Amore, a cozy Italian-American cocktail lounge where you're much more likely to eat the fishes than sleep with them.
Happy Hour: Daily 4-6 p.m.: $1 off drinks

The Cavalier
3850 E. Desert Inn Road
451-6221
Tucked inside the rather unassuming Cavalier restaurant is a hip little canteen that dispenses warm food and cold beer for a modest fee. Try the bacon cheeseburger with a draft Guinness; they make the belly full and happy.
Cheap Buzz: $2 drafts, $2.50 wells

Centerfold Lounge
1024 N. Boulder Hwy.
564-7865
Drinks are fairly priced for at this no-cover, no frills topless joint. Expect to pay anywhere from three to six bucks for a bottle of domestic refreshment. If you plan to spend the night bombing your liver, it can get pricey. Then again, remember that you're paying for ambience -- and that doesn't mean the pictures on the wall. Tee hee.
Cheap Buzz: $4.75 domestic bottles

Dew Drop Inn
4200 Boulder Hwy.
458-3184
The Dew Drop Inn is an equal-opportunity country-western bar, which means that it extends the same courtesy to line-dancers that it does to old cowhands. As the sign next to the front door reads, ³Welcome, you are a stranger here but once.²
Cheap Buzz: $1 16-ounce drafts and food during all NASCAR races

Dino's
1516 Las Vegas Blvd. South
382-3894
Billed as ³the last neighborhood bar² in Las Vegas, Dino's is the ideal spot to grab a pitcher and bust a few rounds of karaoke with karao-king Danny G (³Rocket Man² and ³The Gambler² are bar faves). It's also a great place to throw back a few cheap cocktails before meandering over to Olympic Garden across the street.
Cheap Buzz: $7 62-ounce domestic pitchers

The Dispensary Lounge
2451 E. Tropicana Ave.
458-6343
What an apt name: beer is, after all, medicine for the soul. But that's not the only thing The Dispensary offers; its, ahem, unique ambience -- rounded out with candles, a water wheel and retro decor -- is a nice complement to the neighborhood bar's cheap food and suds. Friendly service rounds out the mix, making The Dispensary a place to -- heh heh -- recover.
Cheap Buzz: $2 domestic drafts
Recommended or Specialty Drink: Tea Time (Absolut Citron, cranberry and lemon), $4.25

Ellis Island Casino
4178 Koval Lane
733-8901
Perhaps most notorious for its grueling karaoke schedule, the small bar inside the Ellis Island Casino serves up a microbrew that is well worth immigrating for. Now you'll sing.
Happy Hour: Daily 3 a.m.-9 p.m.: $1 draft beers at the Lounge Bar; 3 a.m. to 8 a.m., casino workers drink free
Recommended or Specialty Drink: $1 Ellis Island Brewery Beer

Four Mile Bar
3650 1/2 Boulder Hwy.
431-6936
The Four Mile Bar is urban, dilapidated, retro, cowboy chic. In other words, it's a classic Boulder Highway dive complete with antique photos, a tiled ceiling and big front windows for throwing people and things through. Also, Friday night is karaoke night (but please don't sing Hank Williams unless you can really hit the high notes).
Cheap Buzz: $1.75 15-ounce draft, $2 wells, $5.25 domestic pitchers

Hofbrauhaus
4510 Paradise Road
853-2337
Sure, the Hofbrauhaus serves up an impressive selection of wursts, schnitzels, bratens and strudels, but the real attraction is the beer -- tasty ales and lagers imported directly from Bavaria. Check out the indoor beer garden, which is not exactly a garden (the trees and sky are fake) but is definitely a nice place to guzzle down a few liters of the golden delicious.
Happy Hour: Sun.-Thu., 4-6 p.m.: 20 percent off bar tab, one free pretzel/person

Hurricane Bar and Grill
10420 S. Bermuda Ave.
407-8976
The Caribbean-themed Hurricane is more Club Med than "MTV Spring Break," which is absolutely fine for those who feel they've outgrown Jell-O shots and wet T-shirt contests.
Recommended or Specialty Drink: The Hurricane, a powerful concoction of pineapple juice, 151-proof rum and novelty umbrellas

Mickey's Cues & Brews
7380 S. Eastern Ave.
361-2060
Mickey's is clean, bright, even cheery -- with nary a bent cue stick or torn felt. Grab a table for four bucks an hour, chalk up a cue and start bustin' some balls. Um, the ones on the table.
Cheap Buzz: $2.75 Bud Light bottles

Office Six Bar and Grill
2570 E. Tropicana Ave.
454-0770
Even the bartenders will tell you that there's nothing special about the Office Six; it's just your basic beer and highball joint (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Cheap Buzz: $1.50 drafts

Photo by RANDY CARR

The Rum Runner
1801 E. Tropicana Ave.
736-6366
The Rum Runner may be Las Vegas' greatest bar for one simple reason: free van rides. Let's just say you feel like getting blotto but don't want to go through the hassle of finding a designated driver to haul around your drunk ass. Call 596-7959 between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m., and -- voila! -- the Rum Runner will pick you up. And as long as you're not a Bears fan, this Packers-obsessed bar will even take you back home.
Cheap Buzz: $1.75 draft

Sawbucks
3246 E. Desert Inn Road
735-3832
With notoriously loose poker machines and a nice happy hour special, Sawbucks is the ideal place to wile away a dog day afternoon. And who knows, you might even walk out with an extra sawbuck or two.
Happy Hour: Daily 3-6 p.m.: $2 wells, wines and domestics

Thirstbusters
697 N. Valle Verde Drive
454-9200
The sign outside Thirstbusters advertises 120 different beers, and the west-side casino/bar keeps its promise, serving up everything from Kirin Ichiban to Pilsner Urquell to Xingu Brazilian Black Beer. If you've got deep pockets and a robust liver, you can even earn a spot in Thirstbusters' ³Beer Battalion² by imbibing all 120 beers in 365 days or less.
Happy Hour: Weekdays 3-6 p.m.: $1.50 drafts, $1.25 wells, $1.25 house wines; daily 1 a.m.-9a.m.: $1 drafts, $1 wells

Tramps
4640 Paradise Road
735-3888
Tramps may be a gay watering hole -- it is, after all, situated in the heart of Paradise Avenue's ³gay triangle² -- but it's also a goth bar, a hipster bar and a cool place to catch a DJ, a drag queen or a Sunday night rock show.
Cheap Buzz: $2.50 drafts

Whiskey Bar
inside Green Valley Ranch Station
2300 Paseo Verde Parkway
617-7560
New York/L.A. upscale bar impresario Rande Gerber, hubby of supermodel Cindy Crawford, designed this plush haven inside Green Valley Ranch Station -- and it shows. The indoor-outdoor party spot draws the hip 'n' famous with an eight-acre outdoor playground featuring covered divans, misters and a killer sound system.
Cheap Buzz: No cover Fri., Sat., Mon.-Wed.