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Escape to Sun City

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SUN CITY, South Africa (CNN) -- It's an oasis on the edge of the desert that some compare to Las Vegas.

Like that glittery American town, Sun City has gambling, entertainment -- and newlyweds.

With its location on the edge of the Kalahari, about halfway between Johannesburg and the Botswana border, Sun City is less than a two-hour drive from the country's most densely populated area, making it a convenient weekend escape for many South Africans.

During weekdays, however, the resort town attracts its share of visitors from other parts of the world, particularly Europe.

"We're from Scotland, and we're here because this is our honeymoon," said one visitor.

Courting newlyweds has been one way that Sun City has re-positioned itself in recent years. It also built elaborate new hotels, a second golf course and a simulated beach complete with surf.

In the beginning, the town was all about gaming.

The resort opened with slot machines and stage shows in the independent black homeland of Bophuthatswana in 1979, when gambling was illegal in South Africa.

Today, South Africa's homelands -- created by the former white government as places for blacks to live and govern themselves -- no longer exist and gambling is legal in South Africa, so Sun City has competition for high rollers. The solution: diversify.

"We ... realized that we weren't going to be the only game in town as far as gambling is concerned, so we started to change our profile from being a gaming destination into being a resort destination," said Philip Georgas, chief operating officer of Sun City.

Georgas denies comparisons to Las Vegas.

"Absolutely no comparison to Las Vegas. None. We're strictly a resort. Our contribution to our total revenue, 20 percent is gaming and 80 percent is resort," he said.

After all, there are other things to do in today's Sun City, where even the stage shows have changed with the times.

During apartheid, many entertainers boycotted the place. Some musicians, including American rocker Bruce Springsteen, protested, creating a song and video called "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City."

Today, stars of music, fashion and the movies appear in Sun City. And, if you don't feel like seeing a show or playing the slot machines, you can take a balloon safari.

The hot air balloons won't get you very close to the animals on the ground, but they provide beautiful views of the area surrounding this mecca of fun and games on the edge of the desert.