All Over the Map: You don't have to always follow the advice of experts......
Editorial: Musings on my first real Pride event...

This issue is all about Vegas, baby!

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the opening of Bette Midler’s fabulous The Showgirl Must Go On when it opened in February (thank you Caesars Palace!), and I thought it would be fun to explore Vegas a little more. I used to go there a lot as a kid with my parents, but had never really had the opportunity to spend time there as an adult.

So thanks to the fabulous help of the tourism and convention bureau in Vegas, I got to spend a fantastic weekend there.

Everywhere we went, my friend Dave and I were treated like kings, from the stay at the beautiful all-suite Venetian (www.venetian.com) to the shows we saw (LOVE and Mama Mia), to the restaurants that hosted us for meals — Diablo’s at the Monte Carlo, Rao’s at Caesars Palace, Le Burger Brasserie at Paris Las Vegas, Corsa Cucina at the Wynn, Sunday’s Sterling Brunch at Bally’s Las Vegas (champagne in flutes and sushi at lunch!) and the exquisite Shanghai Lilly in Mandalay Bay. I also got to get my day spa on at the Qua Baths and Spa at Caesars, and enjoy a relaxing massage at The Spa at New York New York.

The highlight of the whole extravaganza? Meeting one of my lifetime idols, the Divine Miss M of course!

A couple weeks after I went, our very own Neil Cohen got the Vegas treatment and saw the new Phantom the Vegas Spectacular and SPAMALOT.

They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but we had such a great time, we can’t wait to share our experiences with you so you can head to Vegas and experience it all yourself! And there is no better time to go there than now, as the trifecta of Cher, Bette and Elton John rotating at Caesars is about as gay as can be! Even Bette jokes about it in her show!

A HUGE thanks to all the places in Vegas that hosted Echo, including the Flamingo, where Neil stayed. We can’t wait to go back for Cher!

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