In my previous writings I talked about my golf vacations in Myrtle Beach and Disneyworld, which are two excellent options for golf and vacation destinations, there is no doubt about it. I’ve been going back and forth between the two places for about ten years and had a great time, but we were ready for a change, for something different. Where would we go next? I had always wanted to go back to Las Vegas ever since my first visit there in 1976, but never got the chance. I stopped in Vegas for three days on my way home from my honeymoon in Hawaii, my favorite place on the planet, met some friends there and had a blast.
In 2002, my 50th birthday was fast approaching and my partner surprised me with an unexpected gift, a four-day golf trip to Las Vegas. Can there be anything better? I guess maybe a five or six day trip would be better, but she wanted to make sure we didn’t go bankrupt while we were there, so four days was a good compromise. We were staying at the MGM on Las Vegas Blvd., better known as “The Strip,” where most of the city’s famous hotels lined up. From Mandalay Bay, The Luxor, Excalibur, and New York, New York at one end to Circus, Circus, The Riviera, The Sahara, and The Stratosphere at the other, and The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Paris, and Bally’s in between, how do you could you be wrong?
Then there was golf. After reviewing the available golf courses, we chose three places that we thoroughly enjoyed. We played Bears Best, a Jack Nicklaus design and who is my favorite player of all time, as some of you may remember from a previous post, Angel Park, an Arnold Palmer design, and another magnificent golf course, including three courses, The Mountain being my favourite, and last but not least, Bali Hai, next to Mandalay Bay, right on the Strip. The Jacks’ Bears Best course was designed using the signature hole designs of some of his other outstanding golf course achievements to date and reproducing them in the Las Vegas landscape. The green fairways contrasting with the desert mountains and sand dunes in the background made for an impressive site, especially if you had never been to the desert before. Angel Park was also very nice and there was a great view of the golf course and a real putting green (the only one I had ever seen) right off the dining deck and club house. It was a great setting for lunch while we enjoyed the beautiful panoramic view. Bali Hai was as exotic as its name implies. With over two thousand palm trees imported by the course designers, and many thousands of other assorted forms of exotic plant life, complemented by the beautiful white sand bunkers, it added a tropical South Pacific feel to the desert, a unique and fun place to be. innovation to say the least. After 36 holes of golf at Bali Hai, my birthday celebration meal was a real treat. Dine at Wolfgang Puck’s elegant restaurant, “Cili”, located on the premises, in the clubhouse, at the Bali Hai Golf Course. The design and ambiance of the restaurant and clubhouse was a continuation of the tropical theme so blatantly displayed on the golf course. Good food, good wine, dessert and espresso with a touch of Sambuca to top off the meal, which included live piano music in the background, was the icing on my birthday cake so to speak.
After our dining experience at Cili’s, we headed to the casinos. New York City is known as “The City That Never Sleeps,” but Las Vegas is the literal personification of that expression. We walked from one end of the Strip to the other, stopping at just about every known casino in town and every joint was buzzing no matter what time we walked in. New York, New York, MGM, The Bellagio, Caesars, Bally’s and Paris were our favorite stops. I actually won a few grand at the Bellagio, but gave it back at Paris, but you only live once (or do you?; a topic for another time), so having fun should be the priority. It’s just money. Once you fall in love with the casino atmosphere and the lack of daylight and get into a hot race at the Blackjack or Craps tables, it is very easy to transpose day and night. The hours pass quickly and I see many people having dinner at 5:00 or 6:00 am and breakfast at 10:00 pm or midnight for that matter. Since we were golfing, we usually went to bed around midnight and were out by 5:00 am or so the next morning, which is when we noticed the varied eating habits of the regular golfers and the late-night crowd.
As we walked down the Las Vegas Strip, I could almost feel the presence of some of the biggest personalities who frequented Las Vegas in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy, and the rest of the Rat Pack, to name a few. Some. few. I especially remembered Frank because Frank Jrs.’ His face was plastered on the big screen video monitor and he was singing all of his father’s hits and doing a good job. Wayne Newton has lived his entire life in Las Vegas and remains as popular as ever. Las Vegas has perhaps the world’s most high-end entertainment offerings. Wayne Newton, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Celine Dion, Tony Bennett and The Blue Man Group, plus world-class Magic acts and much more, entertain in Las Vegas. No list of famous Golden Age Las Vegas personalities would be complete without mention of perhaps the most well-known and idolized entertainer of all time, Mr. Las Vegas himself, the true “King of Rock and Roll, Elvis.” Presley.” His name is synonymous with the hierarchy of Las Vegas Royalty, they don’t refer to him as the King for nothing. The list goes on and on, but just check online if he’s planning a visit and you’ll notice a dozen or more top-rated shows at any particular time you can choose to plan a trip there. On our next night, we walked the entire Strip again (also known as Las Vegas Boulevard) starting at Mandalay Bay and ending at Sratosphere. We stopped at at least half a dozen casinos, including MGM, New York, New York, Paris, Ballys’ and The Bellagio. The lights were amazing and the water light show in front of the Bellagio was most enjoyable and entertaining. It also kept me out of the casinos for a while longer and saved me some money, which made my time there that much more rewarding.
We revisited Vegas about four months later and got great deals on golf and hotel rooms. I guess they thought they should lower the rates for anyone crazy enough to play golf in 114 degree temperatures. I must say it was tough, but we played and still had a good time, wet wipes and all. It was another wonderful vacation under our belt and it just keeps getting better. If you’re considering Las Vegas for your next trip, I guarantee you won’t be bored. It really is the “City that never sleeps”. You can get some fantastic packages, both for golf and to stay and play at the resorts. Las Vegas truly is the ultimate playground for those 21 and older. Happy holidays and golf to all!
