Vegas, Covered

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IT’S A FUN BUT SOMETIMES challenging task to cover Las Vegas. Over four years of existence, Travels has reported on nearly every trend imaginable. Spas. Dining. The pool scene. Buffets. Nightlife. Weddings. History. Guys’ weekends. Gals’ weekends. The return of burlesque. Even museums. And if we were ever stumped for an angle, there was always this one: what’s new.

This month, we’ve gotten around to covering an easy one——shopping. Writer Kathleen Gurnett toured the Strip with an eye to its retail offerings. It may have been by impulse or compulsion, but along the way Gurnett decided the story would be more fun if she paired each mall with a fine wine. Read “Flights of Shopping Fancy” and check out where to find $140,000 Fabergé eggs——and what to drink while they run your credit card.

Our other feature story is a tad more eclectic. Putting a personal favorite pastime to editorial use, I explored the best and the worst of Vegas’ poker rooms. With advice from a couple of real pros, I flopped and turned my Texas Hold ’Em skills on a half-dozen rooms. No bluffing, I’ll show you where and why you should go all in.

A “SAN DIEGO SUMMER GUIDE” is a bonus addition to this issue. Tom Blair went downtown to see what was going on “Up on the Roof.” Yes, that’s the title of a classic by The Drifters. It’s also where the most exciting nightlife is these days. With a view of Petco Park, the rooftop Altitude bar (250 feet up, atop the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter) makes good use of the city’s best asset: perfect weather. Altitude is but one of several new open-air watering holes.

We sent Julia Beeson on a coastal road trip ——one considerably less stressful than most. We asked her to stop in on 10 resort spas, starting just across the Mexico border, continuing through San Diego County and peeking into Orange County. Beeson is already talking about a follow-up piece.

Ron Donoho
Executive Editor
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