Two eventful things happened in 1931. First, the Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the United States national anthem. Secondly, on St. Patrick’s Day, Nevada legalized gambling and the party has never stopped. Vegas has always been a fun break from real life as recounted in Post #350, written back in 2017. I’ve been there only once since (See Post #1220). The Covid threat struck at that time and I’m not so sure that the cough I left with was not related. I certainly didn’t leave with any winnings and the world began to quickly shut down. Our next stop was Arizona as the event cancellations started to take place – No Spring Training, no restaurant dining, no concerts, and no going anywhere without a mask. 

It now seems like a lifetime since we’ve been to Las Vegas, and with Valentine’s Day (See Post #1223) just around the corner, we should be there. It’s where our marriage began nearly 21-years ago in April. There’s a very classy Marriott Vacation Club near the strip that we’ve been anxious to stay at for a short getaway. Flights are always cheap to Vegas but food and gambling is costly. I doubt that we get there this year with friends and family coming to visit and other travel plans in the works. However, I can still dream about Vegas Nights, even though my last memory is a Barry Manilow concert.

My wife wants to see Lady Gaga in Vegas. In October of 2021, after a 652-day Covid hiatus, she returned to the newly minted Dolby Live theater at Park MGM. At the first performance, she’s quoted as saying, “many of you still have your masks on and some of you don’t, and I think it is nice not to judge each other and let’s just try to have some fun … please feel free to take off your masks and dance, just stay six feet away from each other.” The website I just visited listed dates for 2071, but I think that’s a mistake. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta would be 85 with my wife and I  well in our hundreds. Seeing her then may be just as unlikely as getting tickets in the next few years, with performances at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park recently postponed. It’s simply a Las Vegas Dream!