The Rotchfords and Kerricks have been to Vegas several time and I am not sure there are pictures for each trip, especially in the early years. This would have been before cell phones. Carrying a camera in and out of casinos were not allowed years ago. We also learned, after the first trips, it was nice to rent a car to run up and down the strip. The sidewalks were always like traveling in a heard of people, some drunk some not. Add in the heat and lack of a breeze, it was much nicer to do valet parking at the casinos. The only cost was a couple dollar tip.

At any rate, this trip was to see Celine at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. More about that later. We stayed at the Luxor Hotel & Casino, a 30-story pyramid topped with a 315,000nwatt light beam shooting into the sky. Located on the south end of the Strip, it was one of the most recognizable casinos in Vegas. The vibrant Egypt theme covered the 4400 guess rooms, 10 restaurants, six shows and exhibits, two incredible pools and a spa. 

We stepped into Buca di Beppo, next door to the Excalibur, for a wonderful relaxing Italian lunch. If you have not eaten at a Buca di Beppo, you should if you get the chance. They serve family style helpings of fantastic authentic Italian dishes

On 15 March 2011, Celine Dion began a three-year residency and Fred wanted to see her. The new show featured 31 musicians, consisting of a full orchestra and band. We heard that Celine had canceled a couple of shows before we arrived due to Celine having an inflammation in her vocal cords. We did not know the status of our show. It wasn’t until we arrived to find the show had been canceled We now had to find something to replace the canceled show.

Meanwhile, we had ticket to see Jubilee!. This was a show Fred picked. Over the years, it had been very easy to travel together. We like the same things and usually no one had strong feelings about what we saw or did. As it turned out we were REALLY surprised once we got into the theatre and the show started. It turned out to be a topless show. But once the shock wore off, we were in for a real treat. It was a spectacular revue that opened to the turn of 10 million dollars in 1981, with a cast over 100. It now had been pared down to three female singers, three male singers, 18 male dancers, 23 topless dancers, and 19 female dancers. Within the female covered and topless dancers, they were further categorized as “short” and “tall” dancers. A “short” dancer was between 5 ft 8 in and 5 ft 9 in and a “tall” female dancer was between 5 ft 10 in and 6 ft 2 in. The dancers did not seem tall because the stage was three and a half stores high.

The feathered headdresses worn by the showgirls weighed up to 35 pounds, had between 20 and 2,000 feathers on a single costume and the were the size of a baby crib. The cost of each of the showgirl costumes in the “Red Feather” scene that closed the show, set to a medley of Cole Porter standards, were $7,000 apiece. The rhinestone-studded tuxedos worn by the men were $10,000 each. It was a truely fantastic show.

New York New York Hotel and Casino was a Big Apple themed building built to resemble the New City skyline. The hotel several towers configured to resemble New York City towers such as the Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building and in front of the hotel is the Statue of Liberty, Museum of American Art, the Main Immigeration Building the Main Immigration Building on Ellis Island and Grand Central Terminal. Of course, it all seems so small compared to the real buildings.

One of the shows at the Excalibur was the Tournament of Kings. It was advertised as Las Vegas’ ultimate dinner and a show experience. The show took place in a 900 seat theater in a round arena, The story was a tale of King Arthur with knights fighting while proving their chivalry. The show contained special effects and pyrotechnics. While the knights fought, we had a three-course meal using the original utensil, our hands. I have always found this form of dining to be rushed, as the servers travel fast up and down the isles throwing food on your plate.

We arrived at the Wynn for our next show and had dinner at ZooZaCrackers Deli. It was named for Charlie Meyerson, a Wynn famiy friend and close business assocciate. The menu consisted of New York style sandwiches served with a short distance of the casino floor. The Deli was kind of homey, with large booths and comfortable chairs. The food was good but nothing to say I have to go back there again

The Wynn was build for $2.7-billion and was named after casino developer Steve Wynn and covered 215 acres and was 614-foot high hotel with 45 floors, and 2,716 rooms. With the adjacent Encore it was ranked the world’s seventh largest hotel. When we walked into the Wynn, we were greeted with a magical scene of beautiful lights, colorful balls along the walkways. There was so much to look at your senses could easily be over loaded but it was just a fun feeling all over.

As we made our way to the theater for our show, we passed an interesting wine restaurant. The walls were wine holders, that was a lot of wine!

Another restaurant had these funny little light at the entrance.

To replace our Celine tickets we at Le Rêve – The Dream at the Wynn. The Dream takes place in an one million gallon aqua theater in the round with no seat more than 40 feet from the stage. The story of a girl, The Dreamer, took us into a thrilling acrobatic fantasy workd through a suspenseful dream sequence.

We decided to get tickets for the VIP section. We were seated in plush, overized chairs at the top of the theater. At first, we questioned that this should be the VIP, since we had always been in the front row for VIP. After a little time we realized this was the best seats for an all encompassing perspective of the show.

In front of each of our seats, there was what looked like a small TV. Just before the show started scenes of the performers preparing for the show came up on the screen. We were able to watch the underwater and behind the scenes from the HD video monitors during the entire show.

The VIP Indulgence package our own waitress who served chocolate covered strawberries, truffles and champagne .

These are just a few pictures of the spectacular colorful show.

Steve and I arrived back at the Kansas City Airport, from Vegas, in time to meet Pat, Steve’s sister, when she got off her plane from Daytona. It had taken some planning but we didn’t have to wait but a few minutes, until we were off the a Kansas City casino for an afternoon of slots.