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Our favorite places to catch vintage Vegas vibes

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Photo: Wade Vandervort

Due to popular demand, Dita Las Vegas: A Jubilant Revue recently extended its run at the historic Jubilee Theater inside Horseshoe Las Vegas. The Dita Von Teese-starring vehicle continues through June and shifts to four nights a week in March (ticketmaster.com). The success of this new vision of burlesque—which uses classic showgirl costumes from the iconic Jubilee, performed in this showroom for decades—proves there’s an appetite for nostalgic Vegas experiences, and it might be growing.

It’s not the only show that calls back to a bygone era. The Rat Pack is Back is still onstage at the Tuscany’s Copa Showroom Theatre (ratpackisback.com) and All Shook Up at Alexis Park Resort may be the last man standing when it comes to Elvis tribute shows (allshookupvegas.com). We love the vintage variety and all-ages access of Wow: The Vegas Spectacular at the Rio, which opened in 2017 (riolasvegas.com). And don’t forget Vegas! The Show, which sings and dances through the story of entertainment in this town at the V Theater at Planet Hollywood (vtheater.com). It’s also kept our iconic showgirls onstage, where they belong, for nearly 15 years now.

A meal and some cocktails at a classic spot might be the easiest way to time-travel, and not every old-school restaurant has been around forever. Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse at the Flamingo (caesars.com/flamingo-las-vegas) opened in 2020 and celebrates Old Vegas in a colorful and sophisticated way. Barry’s Downtown Prime (barrysdowntownprime.com), found under the Vegas Vickie sign inside Circa, has stylish swank to spare, and it also arrived in 2020. But there’s just something about dining in a place that has seen Vegas change through the years; eating linguine and clams at Piero’s (pieroscuisine.com) like so many celebrities, elected officials and mobsters have done; or feasting on crab cakes and veal piccata at Michael’s Gourmet Room (southpointcasino.com), a dining room that was rebuilt in replica when it moved from the Strip to the South Point.

The Mint Tavern

Plenty of lounges, bars and casinos maintain the magic. Is there any place more Vegas than the Bootlegger (bootleggerlasvegas.com), with its live entertainment, late-night energy and stellar Italian food? What about the Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill (peppermilllasvegas.com), a beautiful snapshot of kitsch? Frankie’s Tiki Room (frankiestikiroom.com) is one of our all-time favorite places to lose track of time, and the Mint (theminttavern.com) has vibes and martinis all its own, right next door to the Golden Steer. Just being on the casino floor at Westgate is a throwback experience, and you can double down by seeing a show at the International Theater where the real Elvis and Liberace did their things (westgateresorts.com). The same can be said for the Plaza Downtown (plazahotelcasino.com), which has evolved and modernized without losing its classic character.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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