Dear Ones,

Have returned home from just two days in Las Vegas and have to say, it was the perfect January pick-me up destination. I was actually reluctant to leave, which is always the best time to go because now, I m dreaming about going back. This visit was hosted by my old friend Steve Wynn in honor of the opening of his new hotel Encore, but I did get around to see what’s new elsewhere.

THE SHOW’S THE THING: Saw two totally different kinds of shows—Le Reve, one of the many Cirque du Soleil projects—this one playing at The Wynn. I’d seen it about two years ago but since then, the show itself has been changed enormously and the theatre has been re-built. We had what they refer to as ‘VIP seating’ – this is a new concept in Vegas theatres, essentially a business class seat on the perimeter of the deck.

We sat in enormous velvet armchairs with a TV monitor embedded at the foot rest. The video showed back stage preparations and then underwater activities once the show began. For more bubbly, there was a bottle of French Champagne and a tray of strawberries dipped in chocolate all as part of the ticket price. We even had our own hostess, complete with sparkles, spangles and bunny dip. These flashy seats impressed me that Vegas is gearing itself more and more toward service, luxury  and experiential theatre…especially at the Wynn properties.

    We got our Bette Midler tickets online for half-price at www.travelzoo.com. There weren’t a lot of choices (duh) but we had good enough seats in the first balcony. The worst part of the experience was having to forfeit my doggy bag since I went from a dinner with leftovers right over to Caesar’s Forum where handbags are inspected and food must be surrendered. Does someone think I am the lamb chop terrorist?

Cell phones were OK, surprisingly, and were even used during The Rose, with Bette instructing any audience member ‘who hasn’t been to a concert since Jethro Tull’ in how to use the phone to make waves of light.  Her jokes were created for a Baby Boomer audience, her best line was ‘when I first starting doing shows my audience was on drugs. Now they’re on medications.’

    A walk-through Caesar’s really gives you not only an appreciation for the Encore but a huge lesson in the sociology of science, technology and design as they play out in the theatres and lobbies of the various Vegas properties. Le Reve must have been created by someone raised on video games while Bette’s show was a  retro throw back.

LIFE’S A STAGE: Indeed, it’s all theatre in Vegas. Before we went off to see Bette, we dined at Switch at the Encore. The name is derived from the fact that the walls and ceiling of the restaurant actually rotate like a theatrical set. The chandelier moves as if you were in Phantom of the Opera while the walls rise and fall as a complete unit. The carte was more elaborate than in some of the other eateries in the hotel but the specialty was again steak. Having tested Sinatra, Botero and Switch, we voted Sinatra as the best in the hotel and one of the best dinners in Vegas, which is saying a lot.

     When we returned from Bette Midler, we thought we’d have dessert in the hotel but instead went back to Sinatra for a final cocktail—they have a raspberry-lemon-drop that is over the moon. The hotel has its own mixicologist on staff; her job is to create signature drinks for each of the bars. Cocktails are on a resurgence throughout America and Vegas now strives to have the best.

BORN TO SHOP: Because I was indeed Born to Shop, I made the rounds of all the retail in both parts of the hotel. The original shops in The Wynn have changed a bit since the hotel opened; there’s more retail in the corridor where the two hotels connect.

     The hotel stores either represent big  European names (Hermes, Chanel, Rock ‘n Republic)  or are managed by the Wynn team and aren’t that good at their merchandising. The best store in the Wynn galaxy is a jewelry store with extraordinary diamonds that are inventive and unique. This is where I learned about the new trend toward diamond slices…large hunks off the top of a diamond with little to no depth. A pair of drop earrings with a red slice and then a brown slice, 11cts in all, seemed good value at $29,000. All things considered, this is a better deal than the $85 faux diamond encrusted baseball caps.

Sparkly kisses,

SuzyKG