Vegas offers taste of everything
You can’t help yourself. It tumbles off the tongue like quarters from a slot machine.
I’m walking down Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s nighttime on the Strip and I’m soaking up one wow-moment after another. The Bellagio fountains sway like a ballet troupe. Wow. There are rollercoasters, pyramids, real gondolas gliding down fake canals in The Venetian. Wow. There’s a third-sized replica Eiffel Tower outside Paris (the resort that is, though I wouldn’t be surprised to find the entire city here some day). Wow.
New York never sleeps, but Vegas is the city that never stands still. Last year, last month, last week — they’re all ancient history in a town that trades on the now, on the latest new opening, celeb chef, or stellar performer to hit the Strip. Already this year, we’ve seen the world’s first Nobu Hotel open in Caesar’s Palace, Gordon Ramsey bring a steakhouse to Paris, and the announcement of an Asian-themed resort for 2016.
The latest addition looks set to open in time for Christmas — an open-air shopping, dining, and entertainment precinct known as The Linq. Nothing debuts in Vegas without a hook, of course, and The Linq is promising the world’s tallest observation wheel. Once complete, the 168m High Roller will soar above the London Eye and Singapore Flyer (each cabin can hold up to 40 people, and a single revolution takes half an hour).
Phew. I need a pinch to remind myself that I’m in the desert.
I did get a sense of that flying into the McCarran Airport. Helicopter trips to the nearby Grand Canyon take barely a few minutes to whoosh over the suburbs past Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam to a scorched aridity spotted with Joshua trees, too. It’s here, as movies from Rain Man to The Hangover remind us, that the bodies are buried…
The city itself didn’t exist until 1906. That’s when Las Vegas was established, with the opening of the Salt Lake, San Pedro, and LA Railroad. Gambling was legalised in 1931, Liberace made his debut in 1944, Bugsy Siegel built The Flamingo in 1946 (and died in a hail of gunfire the next year), and by the 1950s, Sinatra was singing.
Gambling remains at the heart of most resorts today. I steer clear of the casinos until my last night, when I take $75 (the golden rule: only bet what you can afford to lose) to a blackjack table with a $25 minimum bet. I’m nervous, but the dealer and pit-boss are happy to explain the strategy and rules as I go. Within 20 minutes, I’m sitting on $225.
I get a brief, beautiful taste of addiction. With advice coming from the experts, hostesses bringing free drinks, and no clocks or windows allowing the real world to intrude, I’m being hypnotised by the house. Blackjack requires minimal skill (unlike poker), carries reasonably good odds (unlike roulette), and I feel like I’m only getting started.
At a table nearby, I’m told, a player has just won $2m. A bride in a big meringue of a dress skips along the tiles, asking gents to slip notes into her garter. One gambler wears bejewelled headphones. Nearby, a gaggle of girlfriends play the slots. Then suddenly, or so it seems, I’ve lost $150.
How the heck did that happen?
I play a couple more hands, and walk away. Back in my room, I pick up my phone. I’m astonished to discover it’s 3.30am. Was I really playing for that long?
Gambling may be the quintessential Vegas experience (even if you don’t play the tables, you’ve got to go walkabout among the slot machines and security guards, the pale-faced poker players and ritzy weekend warriors). It’s far from the only one, however. Mindful of its slightly seedy and less than wholesome image, Sin City has made big efforts to upgrade lately, adding surprising depth and diversity to its visitor attractions.
Firstly, there are the shows. Beyond out-front attractions like the fountains, higher rollers, and replica landmarks, Vegas resorts spend big to lure big names to the strip. Go this autumn, for example, and you could catch Elton John or Shania Twain at Caesar’s, David Copperfield at the MGM Grand, or Cirque de Soleil just about anywhere.
Then there’s the food. Resorts have thrown money at celebrity chefs in recent years. Guy Savoy is at Caesar’s, Alain Ducasse at Mandalay Bay, Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand. The city reportedly has more master sommeliers than New York and LA combined.
The high-end ain’t low-price, of course. Though I do get the chance to sample Robuchon’s wares at Atelier (mgmgrand.com/restaurants; tasting menus from $135), where a sharp-suited waiter lays a sliced scallop with sea ursine and chives before me like an engagement ring. It’s meticulously, masterfully French — and yes, it has a Michelin Star.
Lately, resorts like Aria and the Cosmopolitan have been upgrading their spas, pools, nightclubs, and shopping offerings, too. The Linq is the latest manifestation of that, but there’s also high-end stuff at Via Bellagio and Crystals, and a little something for everyone at Forum in Caesar’s Palace — complete with fake blue sky (no, really).
Today, I’m told, just 9% of visitors come specifically to play the tables.
So Sin City is adding layers. But don’t worry — it hasn’t lost sight of the prize. What happens in Vegas still stays in Vegas.
You can still walk down the Strip and spot celebs, wolf packs, hen parties, hairy bikers, hustlers, Buzz Lightyear (OK, he may have been wearing a suit), and club hostesses looking to hit you up with wristbands. All human life is here.
The Hangover franchise is back in town for its latest outing (Stu: “I told myself I would never come back.” Phil: “Don’t worry, it all ends tonight”). But for most of Sin City’s visitors and resorts, it never really left. At Caesar’s Palace, guests still request ‘The Hangover Suite’, and receptionists still politely field what they call Hangover questions.
Don’t expect an upgrade when you ask if Caesar lives there, in other words.
Vegas sweats statistics, but my favourite is the fact that the Clark County Marriage License Bureau is open 365 days a year. There’s no waiting period either — $60 and a passport and you’re all set to tie the knot at one of the city’s infamous wedding chapels.
Weddings and vow renewals are big business. You can get hitched at a drive-thru, in a 1950s diner, wearing Star Trek costumes, beneath somersaulting Cirque du Soleil performers, or with the blessing of an Elvis lookalike. The latter holds court at the Graceland Wedding Chapel, opening his ceremonies with a rollicking version of ‘Viva, Las Vegas!’
“Do you promise to Love Her Tender? And never to have a Suspicious Mind?”
Wow. There’s that word again.
Yes, it’s crazy. Yes, it’s fake. But Vegas is also bloody good fun.
There are no direct flights from Ireland to Las Vegas. However, you can fly from Dublin with Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com), United (united.com) and Delta (delta.com) with a single transfer, usually in New York or Chicago.
Tour America (touramerica.ie) has flights with three nights at the 3-star Riviera from €559pp, departing Nov 22. Trailfinders (trailfinders.ie) has flights plus four nights at the 5-star Cosmopolitan from €999, including a Vegas Nights helicopter flight and Hummer transfer (boo by Oct 4 for select midweek departures Nov 24 to Dec 16).
For a longer holiday, Travelmood (travelmood.ie) has three nights in New York and four nights in Las Vegas from €1,185pp, departing Mar 2014 via JFK.
Maverick Helicopter Tours (maverickhelicopter.com) flies from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon from $504/€382pp. The half-day trip includes transfers, a light breakfast and champagne in the canyon. Sunset flights over the Strip cost from $249/€189pp.
Autumn is a great time to visit Las Vegas, but the combination of air-con, long flights and desert air can dry out your skin — a problem better prevented than treated. Given the long flights and grown-up entertainment, I’d also caution against bringing kids.
For more information on accommodation, shows, events and activities in Las Vegas, see visitlasvegas.com or call the LVCVA’s Dublin office on 01-6319640.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
