Reflections on Las Vegas 2022

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“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” may be a popular saying, but this hasn’t been true for many years. What happens in Vegas is now on Instagram within the hour and for good reason.

Las Vegas is a place where there is something for everyone no matter what you are passionate about; from Car Wash Conventions to some of the most beautiful hotels in the world, Vegas has it all.

The massive amount of options has the positive effect that there is always something to do and, in many cases, something that you wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else in the world. But this also comes at the considerable expense of extreme decision fatigue.

With all the choices we had, we are thankful for what we chose, and here is our highlight reel.

Shows

Shin Lim & Colin Cloud – Limitless

With arguably the best sleight-of-hand magic in the game, I was amazed by trick after trick at Shin Lim.

While Shin’s magic was incredible, his storytelling was still a work in progress. Thankfully for the crowd, Colin Cloud, the hilarious and quick-witted real-life Sherlock Holmes (self-proclaimed), was the perfect accompaniment to Lim.

We left the theater with bellies full of laughter and dumbfounded by the magic.

Cirque Du Soleil “O”

“O’“ truly is a must-see show with its jaw-dropping acrobatics, hilarious clowns, incredible soundtrack, and the most impressive aquatic stage imaginable.

Sitting in the theater, seeing the orchestra playing on both sides of you while smelling lighter fluid as a man runs across the stage on fire, is a memory I will fondly hold on to.

“O” had me laughing, amazed, intrigued, and enjoying myself from start to finish.

Simply put, you should go.

Cocktail Bars

Beauty and Essex

By far the most unique cocktail bar we went to in Vegas. Beauty & Essex daylights as a pawn shop/jewelry store in the Cosmopolitan hotel. You walk into a small 20ft X 10ft store and are asked if you have a reservation, which makes you start wondering what is in store.

Going through a non-descript door in the back of the shop, you are welcomed by an incredibly stunning, dark and moody, restaurant that can only be described as prohibition meets luxury, with Gothic chandeliers setting the mood and giving just enough light to read the menu.

The highlight was a Ferris Wheel of deserts which included everything from cake to decedent fudge brownies to perfect pistachio macaroons.

Vanderpump Cocktail Garden

While the show may be filled with drama and no real substance, this place was the opposite.

From first stepping into the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, it truly felt like you were transported out of Caesars Palace and into a different world.

The cocktails were as delicious as the servers were great.

Casa Fuente

This unassuming cigar bar sits at the bottom of an escalator inside the Caesars Forum Shops. With a massive walk-in humidor featuring Arturo Fuente Cigars and a bar featuring some of the best cocktails I have ever had, with hands-down the best Mojito I have had in my life- and I’ve had it many times.

As a bonus, this place attracts some of the most interesting people, so you never know who you will sit beside, like a Forensic Engineer who is in Vegas to get his racing license.

Restaurants

Lago

Views overlooking the Bellagio fountain, delicious food, and multiple on-staff sommeliers make Lago one of our favorite restaurants in Vegas.

The cocktails are perfect, the food is incredible, and the atmosphere is world-class.

Do yourself a favor and go to Lago in the Bellagio.

Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Hell’s Kitchen.

The food was absolutely amazing, and the service was some of the best we have ever had.

I am still tasting the Butter Basted Scallops of a Fresh Pea Puree, Perfect Beef Wellington, and his signature Sticky Toffee Pudding.

However, Hell’s Kitchen itself was kitschy. You walk in and the first thing you see is merchandise with Gordon’s face on it. This seemed out of place and took away from the experience. While you are sitting down to pay an arm and a leg for your meal you are confronted by TV’s playing the most outrageous moments on the show. It just didn’t quite match.

If you are looking for a more encompassing atmosphere, I recommend his restaurant Steak in the Paris hotel.

Wynn Buffet

The second you step into the Wynn, everything changes. The chaos of the strip is replaced by a calm elegance, one that makes you wonder why you don’t spend all of your time here.

The Wynn Buffet was one of my favorite experiences on this trip. The Buffet, like the hotel, had a refined elegance to it. You were not here because it was the cheapest way to get all you can eat. You were here for an incredible meal.

The Wynn truly redefines what you think a buffet can and should be.

The Venetian Hotel

In a word, WOW.

The Venetian spared no expense in recreating the beauty of Italy in a hotel.

The architecture, the rooms, and the canals (and the cannoli) all reminded us of the beautiful Venice. The downside, which is discussed below, was the enormous size of the hotel and being overwhelmed by so many options.

The Venetian may suit you perfectly if you like Italian architecture and endless choices of where to eat and what to do.

Traveling in a Covid World

This was our first time traveling internationally since Covid, and the constantly changing rules made me and my wife nervous. We found it confusing to know which requirements to follow before flying.

Do you follow the airlines? The Canadian Embassy in the US? The US Embassy in Canada? The CDC? The Nevada State website? Or the company that is trying to sell you tests? Or the Reddit forum with the most upvotes?

In our case, we got lucky, and most of them pointed to the same thing. You needed the following:

• an International Covid Vaccine passport
• ArriveCAN
• A negative Covid test 24 hours before your flight into Canada, observed by an authorized party.

For the Covid test, we went with an observed online test through Rapid Test and Trace. This process was seamless, and they were professional, polite, and enjoyable. The entire testing process was done within 30 minutes. We used a Rapid Antigen test from the Pharmacy, performed the test on a webcam, and then they emailed us a copy of the approved negative test.

Note: I appreciated Westjet providing disinfecting wipes for our seats and that everyone had to wear a mask. It still makes me a little cringy when someone is coughing and sneezing over my shoulder.

The Opulence of Las Vegas

If I had to describe Vegas in one word, it would be opulent. Everything about Vegas is designed and built to capture your attention. This results in beautiful architecture, from hotel design to shopping malls, to restaurant layouts.

Hotels

The Vegas strip is filled with so many incredible buildings that it quickly becomes normalized.

If any of the hotels were taken and put into another location, it would be the most stunning hotel.

However, in Vegas, it is just another one on the strip. This results in the beauty and craftsmanship is easily lost.

Casinos

I am not a big gambler; by Vegas standards, I would not even register on the scale. I’ll spend $10-$20 a day knowing that it is a cost I am willing to pay for entertainment with zero chance of a return.

The incredible thing about walking through the casinos is realizing how much money is changing hands every few minutes. There are literally 1000s of slots and tables that take people’s money and occasionally give it back.

It blows me away to think of the limiting beliefs and the scarcity that so many of us feel towards money when millions of dollars are being exchanged daily in Vegas alone.

Shopping

When it comes to having the finer things in life and keeping up with the Joneses, Vegas is at the top of the list.

I found in cities like London or Florence, there was extreme wealth and grand stores, but they were spread out and surrounded by ordinary people and regular stores. On the Vegas strip, it is concentrated and impossible to escape.

• If your bag doesn’t have LV on it, you stand out
• If you are not wearing a watch that costs more than my car, you stand out
• If you aren’t spending ridiculous amounts of money, you stand out

The consumption of Vegas

This experience made me question just how much money people have.

Do they have so much that dropping $600 on a bag or $10 grand on a watch is no big deal, or is this just how they enjoy spending their money?

We all have a different rating for how we value experiences and consumer goods. I would much rather spend money on a show or incredible meal than on a new pair of shoes. But for some people, the status that those items bring must be worth the price.

The interesting thing is how the people traveling to Vegas have changed. The first time I went to Vegas was seven years ago, and from what I can recall, there were many beautiful people dressed well and ready to enjoy spending their hard-earned money. This time felt different. Instead of the beautiful people dressed well and ready to enjoy a fantastic night, it seemed to be full of people just looking to consume anything and everything.

Consume food, drinks, pool parties, everything they could get their hands on.

There is a saying that if you hang around 5 rich people, you will become the 6th. If you hang around 5 healthy people, you will become the 6th. But the opposite is also true. There was so much consumption happening in Vegas; of literally everything, it seemed normal for me to desire that same level of consumption. Cookies for breakfast (in my defense, they were from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and were the best cookies I have ever had), to paying the equivalent of $41.50 Canadian for a single cocktail.

It was a powerful lesson on how quickly things become normalized. For good or for bad.

The Second-Largest Hotel In The World And Decision Fatigue

This was my fourth time visiting Vegas, and after not traveling for a while, we wanted to fancy it up by staying at the Venetian Hotel.

The main reason for this is we originally had planned a trip to Italy which got canceled due to Covid, and the Italian architecture at the Venetian felt like a nice treat.

It wasn’t until we arrived and had to take multiple different elevators just to get to our room that we realized just how big the Venetian was. After a quick search, Google let me know that it was the second-largest hotel in the world, with 7,092 rooms. This meant that there were more options than we knew what to do with.

Instead of feeling free from so many choices, it was overwhelming and created severe decision fatigue. Every time we thought about going to a place for dinner, we had to accept that there were dozens of other places we weren’t going to.

Even choosing which pool to go to (talk about first-world problems) became filled with a fear of missing out and wondering if one of the other pools would be better.

In my opinion, the majority of the benefit of traveling to Vegas is being surrounded by so many options in Food, Activities, Shopping, Shows, and anything else you could imagine. However, the main downside with Vegas is the endless choices and feeling like there is always something better that you could have chosen.

Summary

Our trip to Vegas went as well as anyone could have hoped. We all tested negative for Covid, and flights were smooth except for a 2-hour delay on the way home. We got plenty of sun, were thoroughly amazed by the magic and Cirque show, and dined on some of the best food we have ever had.

With that, the desire for Vegas has been thoroughly fulfilled, and instead of wanting to go back, we truly felt the lack of culture, health, and nature on this trip.

Currently, Italy is pulling at us. Where we can eat delicious food while experiencing a slower and, in many cases, more intentional lifestyle.

I would love to hear, in the comments below, where some of your favorite places are to travel to and why.