We recently celebrated my husband’s 60th birthday in Las Vegas. Our previous and only other visit was in the early 1980s. For many people, Las Vegas has always been synonymous with casinos and shows (in and out of the theatres) on Las Vegas Boulevard, or The Strip, as it is more commonly known. This has not changed, although the number and size of hotels and casinos have grown astronomically. We had a wonderful time exploring the new and discovering the familiar on this fantastic trip.

On our first visit to Las Vegas, we stayed at the Dunes. Centrally located and across the street from Caesars Palace, the Dunes was a basic, three-story motel with a casino attached. (Sadly, the Dunes was blown up several years ago.) On our recent visit, we stayed at the Vdara Hotel, a non-smoking, non-gaming hotel in the CityCenter complex with 57 floors and luxurious suites. From our beautifully-furnished suite on the 29th floor, we had a terrific view of the Las Vegas skyline and the fountains at the Bellagio. We appreciated having a quiet place to sleep, while at the same time, having the Aria Hotel and Casino on one side and the Bellagio on the other, so that casinos, shows and a variety of restaurants were close by.
   
Las Vegas used to be known for cheap and plentiful food, most of which was served at large buffets. While there are still a few buffets at a variety of price ranges, Las Vegas has mostly gone upscale with dining establishments. Well-known chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, and Alain Ducasse (to name only a few) have high-end restaurants in Las Vegas now. A good variety of mid-range restaurants are also available, many of which are located in the major hotels.

We had a particularly memorable dinner at the Sinatra restaurant in the Encore Las Vegas. We were given a cozy table for two overlooking a small courtyard and enjoyed delicious Italian food, including the creamiest, most delicious tiramisu I have ever tasted. Italian opera and contemporary music played in the background while we dined, and we were also entertained by a group of male singers. Despite the full restaurant - the majority of patrons attending the Sinatra show that evening - the service was outstanding. Four different serving staff looked after us; they were very attentive and made sure that our water and wine glasses were never empty.

The Peppermill, centrally located between the Stardust and the Riviera, has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to Las Vegas residents and visitors for over 30 years. They have a lounge as well as a casual restaurant, and on our first trip, we went to the lounge one afternoon and ordered a Scorpion on the recommendation of a friend from Calgary. The Scorpion turned out to be a massive, boozy, fruity drink served in a fishbowl with two straws. Thirty years later, I can still remember the startled look on the waitress’s face when my husband ordered it!

On this visit, we were driving up Las Vegas Boulevard one evening on the way back from Freemont Street, looking for a place to have dinner. Much to our surprise, we saw that The Peppermill was still there, so of course we had to stop and check it out. This time around, we did not order a Scorpion, but we did have a delicious dinner. The décor in the lounge is the same red we hazily remember, but the restaurant has a bright pink and turquoise theme, with lots of neon lights, mirrors and pink flamingos on the hanging lamps. Even though the décor was so bright we almost needed sunglasses, the food was fresh, well-prepared and plentiful, and the tasty barbecued rib dinner I enjoyed could easily have fed two people.

Many folks go to Las Vegas to gamble. Thirty years ago, I remember watching people playing the slot machines, and when they won, there would be loud noise and change would come pouring out of the machine. Now, it is all done with chits, and when you win, you take your chit or voucher to a cash machine to receive your winnings.

Most of the major hotels now have affinity programs. Visitors can get free affinity cards for Caesars, MGM, and the other major chains and collect points for money they spend on gambling, hotel accommodation, etc. When affinity members sit at a slot machine and put in their affinity card, a welcome message appears across the screen with their name. As driver’s licenses are used as ID for most of these programs, if it happens to be your birthday, you may also receive a “Happy Birthday” message on the screen, as my husband discovered.

Unfortunately, the smoking policy hasn’t changed in the casinos, but our tolerance of smoking (especially as Canadians) has certainly changed.  Thirty years ago, people smoked openly in casinos, and in many places, they still do. We found in the older casinos on Freemont Street that the second-hand smoke was especially noticeable; however, in the newer casinos, the ventilation is better and there are some smoke-free corridors. And two other things about the casinos that remain unaltered: they’re noisy and if you do even a small amount of gambling, attractive waitresses in skimpy outfits will appear to take your drink order. 

A highlight for many Las Vegas visitors is attending world-class shows. We went to two shows on our first trip to Las Vegas: a musical show at the MGM Grand and a comedy show at the Dunes. In both cases, we purchased the tickets in advance, but when we arrived, we tipped the host in order to get good seats. These days, the number of shows is truly mind-boggling. Cirque du Soleil alone often has as many as nine shows in Las Vegas, and there are many other entertainment and musical extravaganzas on at any given time.

We saw three excellent shows on this trip: Elvis Cirque du Soleil show at the Aria; the Jersey Boys show at the Palazzo; and the Dance with Sinatra show at the Wynn. The Elvis show was the most spectacular from a staging perspective, and as one of our waiters pointed out, the Cirque du Soleil shows are generally better in Las Vegas because they are able to create more spectacular sets when they aren’t taking the show on the road. We pre-booked all of our show tickets (with confirmed seats) online the week before we left, and by waiting until then, we were able to get some good discounts. Most of the newer hotels have large, comfortable theatres and patrons are allowed to bring in drinks as well as popcorn and other snacks.

One gets a completely different view of Las Vegas by leaving The Strip and exploring the rest of the city. We had more time on our recent visit (five days vs. two), and a rental car, so we had a chance to see other parts of Las Vegas. In our case, this mainly consisted of checking out some of the golf courses. We especially enjoyed golfing at the Siena Golf Club near Summerlin and the Tuscany Golf Club in Henderson. Both of these courses are well-maintained, have friendly staff and reasonable rates. 

Getting off The Strip also gives visitors the opportunity to explore some different shopping options (including the outlet malls), or nearby natural areas like the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Many tourists also go to the Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon, both of which can be visited on day trips from Las Vegas.

As we discovered, Las Vegas has grown and expanded dramatically in the last 30 years. If you haven’t been there for a while, it is definitely worth considering for a future vacation. There was an effort in the 1990s to make Las Vegas more family-oriented, but the focus is still largely aimed at the adult market. Some people feel three to four days in Las Vegas is plenty, which may be the case, if you are staying on The Strip. However, if you book tours or have a vehicle and can explore other aspects of Las Vegas and the surrounding area, you can easily extend your stay to a week or more and have a wonderful vacation.

FEBRUARY 2012 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND