EXPENSIVE MINTS: If you haven’t stayed in...

EXPENSIVE MINTS: If you haven’t stayed in hotels much lately, these prices may be an eye-opener: A new Zagat survey shows that Las Vegas has the least expensive hotels on average of any large metropolitan area of the country, at $76.46 per night. . . . Most expensive, says the independent ratings group: New York City, at $162.32 nightly . . . Orange County? It’s the survey’s 17th most expensive, at $122.61 per night. That’s 69 cents cheaper than Dallas.

DUKE’S DAY? There’s a new book out about Orange County’s most famous celebrity, the late John Wayne, with some nuggets his fans will find interesting. Randy Roberts and James Olson say in “John Wayne: American” that the Duke once turned down the “Dirty Harry” role that went to Clint Eastwood. Say the authors: “Harry Callahan was John Wayne.” . . . The law-and-order Wayne, who lived on the bay in Newport Beach until his death in 1979, apparently turned it down because he didn’t want to play a cop “who didn’t play by the rules.”

SWEET SUCCESS: The Cranberries were satisfied as a small-club Irish band until Dolores O’Riordan joined them a few years ago. They zoomed to the top with sold-out concerts and million-selling albums. . . . Guitarist Noel Hogan recently told the Orlando Sentinel: “One week, we were playing to nobody. The next, we’re sold out. And we thought, ‘Oh no, we better learn how to play.’ ” . . . The Cranberries are at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater Thursday night, this time with some tickets left.

IN BETWEEN: Pick the county’s top tourist stops: Anaheim, Buena Park, Newport Beach. . . . Did you add Santa Ana? You should, says Chamber of Commerce President Mike Metzler. He notes the county seat is more than just a pastiche of office buildings, pointing to the Bowers Museum, the 4th Street Latino shopping district and even the Orange County Crazies comedy troupe. . . . It’s the topic of the chamber’s “Town Hall ‘95” cable TV show Monday at 6 p.m.: “Can Santa Ana Be a Tourist Destination?”