GLITTER GULCH; LAS VEGAS SKYLINE GETS NEW SILHOUETTE.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

Las Vegas - It's the place where everything new today is old tomorrow.

In case you haven't been keeping tabs recently on Glitter Gulch, nothing is the same as it was a year ago, a month ago, probably even a week ago. The skyline changes constantly as dated hotels such as the Sands are razed and major moguls dream up what they hope are better - and definitely bigger - hotels and attractions.

This desert oasis is even garnering the attention of the major movers in America's trendy scene: Coca-Cola, for example, and Harley-Davidson.

``If you're a frequent visitor to Las Vegas, you're never sure what you might see the next time (you visit),'' said Myram Borders, bureau chief for the Las Vegas News Bureau, noting that hotels - the Sands, Landmark, Dunes and Hacienda among them - are literally there one day and gone the next. ``Somewhere, in a back room, there's some little genius thinking up what he can do to out-imagine the last guy.''

Imagination seems to be what Las Vegas is all about. And the results are what draw 30 million visitors a year to the place - a number that probably will grow with the opening of such attractions as Star Trek: The Experience, where visitors can pretend they're flying around space on the Starship Enterprise.

``Las Vegas was built by gamblers,'' noted Borders, and the same entrepreneurial spirit prevails today. ``They're willing to bet on the come line. They're willing to run bigger risks because the track record is good.''

Here are some of the features new so far in the past year - and some of the attractions to look forward to:

New and open

New York New York: Borders says New York New York is, at 47 stories, ``the biggest of the big to have opened this year.'' The 2,035-room resort-casino at the corner of the Las Vegas Strip and Tropicana Avenue is proof, some say, that you don't have to visit New York City to feel like you're in the Big Apple. After all, the major landmarks - or reasonable facsimiles thereof - are here, among them: the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Park Avenue, Central Park and Times Square. You even can pretend you're at Coney Island. The resort includes a cyclone-style roller coaster, the Manhattan Express, that whizzes about at 65 mph.

Monte Carlo: With its chandeliers, ornate fountains and gas-lit promenades, this 32-story hotel-casino is modeled after the Place du Casino in Monaco. Set near the corner of the Las Vegas Strip and Tropicana Avenue, it has a 1,200-seat theater with turn-of-the-century architecture and 22,000 square feet of shopping.

Sunset Station Hotel and Casino: Think of it as a short visit to Spain. Sunset Station is actually about 10 miles outside Las Vegas, at Interstate 93/95 and Sunset Road in Henderson. At the 448-room hotel-casino, you can ``travel'' to areas inspired by Spanish fishing villages and major cities and take in the Gaudi bar, a spectacle of color and mosaics inspired by the late art nouveau architect Antoni Gaudi.

World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas: When you see the 100-foot Coke bottle at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue on the Strip, you know you've arrived. Zoom up the inside of the Coke bottle via a four-story glass elevator and you'll enter a world where funky tunes rumble out of the Hot Rod garage, and folks sip Cokes at a soda fountain that isn't just your neighborhood shake shack. There's also a storytelling theater, and visitors can test their taste buds on more than 30 varieties of Coca-Cola sodas served around the world. Hours are 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $5 adults, $3 children. Information: [phone].

Harley-Davidson Cafe: If you liked the Coke bottle, you'll get a kick out of the giant Harley-Davidson motorcycle that perches atop the cafe at 3725 Las Vegas Blvd. The place boasts what it calls ``great American road food'' - everything from burgers and fries to macaroni and cheese. Then there are those motorcycle-themed drinks: the Shock Absorber and the Kick Start, among them. And there are the bikes - speciality ones most folks never see - on a conveyor belt that shows off the newest Harleys. It's a three-dimensional place: Expect to take a trek down Route 66 (on a Harley, of course) and relive scenes from biker movies such as ``Easy Rider.'' Hours are 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily; entrees range from $7.95 to $13.95.

The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy: Wild-animal trainers and entertainers Siegfried and Roy opened their own garden at the Mirage Hotel, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., where royal white tigers and white lions roam. For lovers of sea creatures, there's also the Dolphin Habitat. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Wednesday, when the exhibit is closed. Admission is $10, which includes entry into the Dolphin Habitat (the dolphin exhibit is open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays for a fee of $5; children under 10 are free. Information: [phone].

The Forum Shops at Caesars: Think of the world's most chic shopping boulevards - Madison Avenue, Rodeo Drive, Via Condotti, Rue Faubourg St. Honore - and you'll get the idea for this newly expanded complex at Caesars Palace, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Everyone - from Gucci and Louis Vuitton to Lalique and Armani - is here. It's a place where haute cuisine and haute couture combine in

a Roman forum-style streetscape complete with piazzas and fountains. Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Information: [phone].

Coming attractions:

Star Trek: The Experience: Beam us up, Scotty! Set to open before the holidays this year at the Las Vegas Hilton, this promises to be an adventure in shopping. Guests are beamed aboard the USS Enterprise, and hurtle through galaxies on a simulated shuttle before arriving at the Deep Space Nine space station promenade. There, they can spend $12,000 on a Klingon uniform or $9 for a Borg water bottle.

Bellagio: Set to open in 1998, Bellagio is touted to be the end-all in elegance. Three thousand rooms will be set among waterfalls and classic gardens inspired by the village of Bellagio overlooking Northern Italy's Lake Como. And the colorful, acrobatic Cirque de Soleil will be the headliner entertainment at the hotel-casino located at the Las Vegas Strip and Flamingo Road.

Paris Casino Resort: Look for the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe to rise in 1999 on the Las Vegas Strip next to Bally's. Visitors will be able to see replicas of those plus the Paris Opera House, Champs Elysees and the River Seine. There also will be a working French winery on the premises, and, to complete the aura of Paris, French-style gondola rides.

The Venetian: You'll have to wait until 1999, but the mega-resort, which aspires to have 6,000 rooms (it's so far been approved for 3,000), will boast a gondola and canal, as well as replicas of the real Venice's famous landmarks: the Doges Palace, the Campanile, Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco. Some 150 exclusive shops and 30 restaurants, as well as convention and exhibit space, also are planned.

Project Paradise: Like sunnier climes? Project Paradise with its theme of the ancient culture of the South Seas could be just the ticket. The 4,000-room, 42-story hotel will open in fall 1998 on the site of the old Hacienda Hotel.

Revamps:

Numerous hotels are planning renovations and/or expansions, according to Las Vegas News Bureau officials.

Watch out for the Aladdin Hotel to disappear and a new one to rise on the site sometime in 1999.

The MGM Grand is boosting the number of rooms by 2,000 and constructing a Shangri-La pool and spa complex.

Harrah's on The Strip this week will unveil its $200 million renovation that includes a new 35-story hotel tower, a new facade to replace the old showboat, six new restaurants, new retail outlets and increased gaming space, a fitness center and spa and an outdoor carnival-themed court.

The Luxor Las Vegas, famour for its giant black pyramid, recently has completed an expansion that brings the number of rooms to 4,407 - and adds a life-sized replica of the great Temple of Ramses II rising 35 feet into the hotel's atrium. A new $27 million theater for live shows and an IMAX theater also are new.

Circus Circus Hotel Casino is constructing an additional 1,000 rooms.

A Planet Hollywood hotel casino is in the planning stages and is tentatively set to have 3,000 rooms.

The Sahara Hotel Casino is getting a $10 million facelift and a race-car simulator ride called the Sahara Speedway.

Elsewhere:

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. expects to open its 526-room hotel and casino in 1999 in the northwest area of the Las Vegas Valley.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1--4--Color) Glance away and it seems the Las Vegas skyline has changed by the time you look back. New York New York, above left, is one of the newest additions to the Strip. Star Trek: The Experience, top right, is scheduled to open before the holidays this year at the Las Vegas Hilton. At the World of Coca-Cola, bottom right, you can zoom by elevator up into a Coke bottle and sip Cokes at a '50s-style soda fountain.