Greetings from Las Vegas. This is Day 9 of our trip report, covering Wednesday, October 20, 1999.
"It's Happening in Henderson." That was the theme of the 22nd annual
tour of major development trends in Henderson, the fastest-growing city in America.
Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Henderson, the three-hour
bus tour, at a cost of $20 a person, sold out several weeks ago, just after
I called from Boston to make our
reservations.
The event kicked off at 8:00 a.m. with a continental breakfast served on the plaza adjacent to Henderson's City Hall and Convention Center. It was a lovely way to start the day, with coffee, juice, bagels and cream cheese, and various pastries. At 8:30, the 200 or so guests boarded four buses to start the tour. The buses were very comfortable sightseeing vehicles, with plush seats, airline-style overhead lights and air-conditioning vents, and a lavatory in the back. Our bus had a tour guide from the city's Community Development Department, who delivered a thorough, lively and informative narration as we toured the city.
Each guest was given a three-ring binder filled with all types of facts and statistics about Henderson. It also included maps and a detailed list of the 157 locations we would pass or stop at on our route.
This tour gave us more knowledge and information about our future home city than we could ever gain ourselves without expending a great deal of energy. We saw schools, houses of worship, housing developments, industrial parks, casinos, medical facilities, parks and playgrounds, shopping centers, police and fire stations, public buildings and much, much more.
Midway through the trip, we stopped for refreshments at the Arroyo Grande Sports Park, which has a collection of beautiful ball fields. At this stop, soft drinks and juices were provided by Ocean Spray's Cranberry World West and bottled water was provided by The Reserve Hotel-Casino.
I think the highlight for most of us came late in the tour, when we were driven around Lake Las Vegas to see the million-dollar homes and lavish resorts going in there. The expensive homes in Seven Hills weren't anything to sneeze at, either.
At the conclusion of the tour, we enjoyed box lunches prepared by a local caterer.
The lunches were a choice of turkey, roast beef,
ham-and-cheese, and veggie sandwiches on croissants, along with cookies, nachos
and soft drinks.
Guess where we went next! Back to Sun City Anthem, of course, this time to wield a tape measure in our model so that we could plan the purchase of some of the furniture we're sure we'll be putting into the house.
Next we visited another of Anthem's three residential communities, this one the family oriented Coventry Homes development, where we picked up some useful decorating ideas.
Then it was back to The Rio for dinner. This time we tried the new São Paulo Café, Rio's successor to the Beach Café as its 24-hour coffee shop. The café is located on what looks to be a minor restaurant row linking the casino with Rio's new convention/meeting facilities. If walking from the casino toward the convention area, you'll first pass Buzio's seafood restaurant on your right. Next comes Mein, on your left, a noodle restaurant opening sometime in the next two weeks. Then, also on your left, is the São Paulo Café, followed the new Star Deli, also on the left.
São Paulo Café is larger than its predecessor, has lots of comfortable, tasteful seating, and offers an expanded menu while retaining many of Beach Café's old favorites.
The daily special we enjoyed at São Paulo Café was one of the better meals we've had during our stay. Rotisserie-cooked over an open flame, it was sliced leg of lamb with roast potatoes and crisp grilled asparagus. With a salad and a basket of bread, it was an excellent deal for $7.95, covered with our package's $20 food credit for this venue.
A couple of things you may want to know about The Rio:
Folks tend to be so distracted by all the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas resorts that they often fail to note some of the beauty right under their noses. The Rio, for instance, owns an extensive collection of paintings, etchings and photographs, all originals by contemporary artists. If you keep an eye out, you will see them in many places at The Rio. There are several, for instance, on the walls of the São Paulo Café, and several more in the corridor connecting the casino and meeting areas. Each artwork has a small label beside it, identifying the work's title, artist and date.
Some of you have probably seen, or at least heard about, the traveling exhibit of artifacts recovered from the site of the Titanic sinking. The Titanic exhibit arrives at The Rio starting on November 5. It is here for an indefinite stay, occupying the space that formerly hosted the Treasures of Russia exhibit on the mezzanine level of Masquerade Village.
After dinner, we drove over to take a look at the new Paris Resort that we've heard so much about. We entered the self-park garage from the back, off Audrie, and were soon descending the escalator to a really lovely ersatz Parisian street, lined with seemingly authentic French shops, restaurants and bars, etc. We thought this thematic execution was superb, and you should really enjoy your visit to this evocative resort.
The Parisian street flows smoothly into the casino, and it was there that we could see what folks have been reporting about the crowded nature of the gaming area. It is a circular casino, with the gaming tables in the center and banks of slots radiating out to the periphery. The spacing of the machines is fairly decent in most areas, but in others, especially where the machines are near the pedestrian walkways at the outer edges, there's a lot of slow moving and elbow jostling.
A couple of lounge areas host live performers. Paris Las Vegas has wisely decided not to curtain off or otherwise enclose the performers, so gamblers and non-gamblers alike are able to enjoy the musical numbers, almost all of which have a French theme. Roz did find the music rather loud, and she thought the sight of three legs of the resort's Eiffel Tower, anchored to the casino floor and poking up through the ceiling, was somewhat off-putting.
I found a jacks-or-better quarter video poker machine and, even though it had only an 8/5 schedule, we gave it a try. On our second $20, I drew a straight flush and managed to hang on for a net $10 win, our only gambling of the day.
Paris Las Vegas seems to be especially beautiful at night, outside on the Strip. The resort's café, Mon Ami Gabi, has the only true sidewalk dining on the Strip as far as I know. From the sidewalk, the view of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc., is gorgeous, as is the viewing of the Bellagio water show across the street.
A romantic end to an interesting Day 9.
--Best wishes from David ...in Las Vegas
