Ask a Native
Ask a Native
How have you survived so many summers in Las Vegas?
May 17th, 2012
I beg your pardon, sir; you have no idea how many summers I’ve seen. That being said, I’ll admit it’s been enough to offer my three bits of sagebrush advice: Protection, hibernation and hydration! Never leave the house without slathering at least a 15 SPF on your face and arms. If you are the type who tans after a few minutes of trying to score a royal flush, maybe a trip to REI for SPF-rated clothing is in order. Read more »
Ask a Native
Many casinos are renovating rather than imploding. Is this the future of Las Vegas redevelopment?
May 10th, 2012
Revamping tired casinos is an age-old practice (check the mashed-up mess that is the Riviera to see what sometimes passes muster), one that fell into disfavor with Steve Wynn’s dramatic 1993 collapse of the Dunes. Fifteen more demolitions followed, including last week’s downing of the O’Sheas garage. Read more »
Ask a Native
What are your favorite Las Vegas restaurants that have been open at least 25 years?
May 3rd, 2012
While it would be satisfying to smugly name-check all the greats that you missed (my mother loved Lillie Langtry’s at the Golden Nugget, which, she insists, lost its luster when it moved upstairs during a late-’90s remodel, and exists today as the more pedestrian-sounding Lillie’s Asian Cuisine), their number is far too great. Read more »
Ask a Native
I’ve heard old-timers mention a place called Pittman. Where and what was it?
April 26th, 2012
You’ll know Pittman as that quaint 4x4-gun-store-bait-and-tackle-boat-shop speed trap along Boulder Highway, roughly between Gibson and Warm Springs roads. Read more »
Ask a Native
If you could erase a few things from Las Vegas’ skyline and return them to their pre-1990s boom state, what would they be?
April 19th, 2012
My dreamy Lost Vegas mix-tape includes the Desert Inn (now Wynn and Encore), where Frank Sinatra played and performed; the Sands (Venetian) and its lush pool oasis beneath the expansive glass windows of the 24-hour Garden Room Coffee Shop, and the Dunes (now Bellagio), home of the perfectly kitschy Dome of the Sea restaurant. Read more »
Ask a Native
Was it ever safe to ride a bike in this town?
April 12th, 2012
Recent developments, including an east-west road-bound trail system, and more off-roadway recreational multi-use trail systems are bringing bicycling back. And downtown Las Vegas is riding the wave, particularly by making bike commuting easier via bus bike racks and bike storage and repair at the Downtown Transportation Center. Read more »
Ask a Native
What does a Las Vegas student do for spring break?
April 5th, 2012
I suspect you’ll either be parked on your couch playing Zombie Apocalypse (or surfing the Web trying to prepare for one), hanging out at the skate park or trying to “rally your posse” and angle for a free cabana at a hotel pool party. Read more »
Ask a Native
Will Las Vegas ever be a real city?
March 29th, 2012
Oh, no you didn’t. That whiny cliché—“a real city”—is usually uttered by those making unfavorable Euro-centric comparisons of a young Las Vegas to some supposedly amazing burg where everyone spends their days wandering through museums, hanging out at cafés sipping organic, free-trade lattes, bicycling to the farmers market on a fixie. Read more »
Ask a Native
Can you still tour the inner workings of Hoover Dam?
March 22nd, 2012
Guests can still see some of the Dam’s guts, but the tours have changed as a result of heightened post-9/11 homeland security. Gone is the detailed “hard hat tour” that led small groups of adventurous guests deep into the dam’s guts, along narrow interior service passages and through inspection tunnels. Read more »
Ask a Native
Was there once some kind of underground dinner theater at Caesars Palace?
March 15th, 2012
Caesars Magical Empire, trumpeted by a press release as “a perilous excursion through dark catacombs near rippling aqueducts,” opened in mid-1996, and was more an excursion through kitsch than peril. Guests entered via the Chamber of Destiny, a faux elevator “descending” into faux catacombs; despite the illusion, the Magical Empire was not underground. Read more »
