Shared from American Way

It’s easy to think you know Las Vegas, given its flashy starring role in myriad TV shows, boxing matches and blockbuster movies. Ever since Frank Sinatra made his film debut in Las Vegas Nights in 1941, thrill seekers, dream chasers and gonzo journalists have descended upon the city, all hoping to strike it rich and/or engage with its menagerie of personalities—casino bosses, showgirls, whales, tigers and assorted Elvi—if only for one night. But there’s more to Vegas than its glitz and its gaming.

To get to know the town and really find its riches, we follow a quartet of locals who love the city and know its backstories, its hidden gems, its classic haunts and its new enclaves of creativity.

Michael Shulman
Writer and man-about-town notes:

"...As the Spring Mountains range in the distance turns dusky pink, we decide to end our jaunt at the place where many of our greatest nights have drawn to a close—Piero’s restaurant. “I’ve always loved Piero’s because you’re likely to see everyone from Ann-Margret to the Rolling Stones,” Shulman says as we enter.

Piero’s is like a scene out of a movie, specifically Casino, which was filmed here. “My go-to dishes are the burrata salad and the bone-in veal chop Parmesan,” he says. “They don’t make my favorite dish anymore, although if I call ahead of time, the chicken cordon bleu magically appears.”

If he can conjure a long retired classic, it only reaffirms my early assumption that Shulman is the guy with one of the golden keys to this glorious city—both literally and figuratively."