LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Nubile women caress each other as they swim in a huge, see-through fish bowl; two male dancers indulge in a long, lingering kiss and a nearly nude female trapeze artist groans with simulated sexual pleasure.
The master of ceremonies is a drag queen cabaret singer who croons, “Sex is beautiful,”

Welcome to the latest hit act in Las Vegas, a town that has now dropped any pretense of being there mainly for fun-filled family weekends.

Sex and commerce have always been close in Vegas and even the world-famous acrobats of circus troupe Cirque du Soleil is now getting into the act.

The desert gambling oasis has hit a winning streak over the last few years with new erotic shows and risque nightclubs.

Cirque du Soleil, a staple of the Las Vegas strip for a decade with its classy artistic shows that cost up to $100 a ticket, has now stripped most of its lithe troupe down to G-strings for “Zumanity,” which debuted this month for an open-ended run.

“Zumanity” is billed as “another side of Cirque du Soleil,” whose amazing acrobatics and New Age artsiness are a highlight at the 1,259-seat theater at the New York, New York casino, owned by casino operator MGM Mirage.

Vegas is the perfect place to combine art, sex and money under one big top. Says Cirque’s Creative President Lyn Heward: “It is a place we can leave our money, and also part of our soul.”

Las Vegas tried a decade or so ago to become family friendly. In the last few years it has dumped that plan, embracing adult entertainment.

“It is not Sin City but Skin City,” Heward said.

Las Vegas is brimming with luxury spas and adults-only playgrounds, such as topless pools at Mandalay Bay and Caesars Palace.

A new expensive strip club opens every few months, and casinos have their own erotic shows from “La Femme,” a show dubbed “the art of the nude” at MGM Grand, to “Midnight Fantasy” at Luxor, “X” at Aladdin and beyond.

Treasure Island casino, famous for a naval fight in a lagoon built on Las Vegas Boulevard, has lowered its black flag, renamed itself T.I. (short form for “Treasure Island”), fired its pirates and plans in October to launch a battle of “sirens,” according to travel Web site Vegas.com.

Zumanity also must compete with two other Cirque du Soleil shows and a third one in the works. None of them are nearly as racy, though.

“Zumanity” is still evolving. It failed to wow some early audiences, and Felix Rappaport, head of the New York-New York casino which hosts the show, said some tasteless acts were taken out, such as a scene of bound and gagged men hanging from the ceiling that had sadomasochistic overtones.

But audiences are still pouring in. The two nightly performances over the last month have helped raise casino revenue by 30 to 40 percent.

“People who go to see Zumanity have money,” Rappaport said.