Las Vegas

Sinatra's Town

Las Vegas was Sinatra's town. Not in the sense that he visited occasionally, but in the sense that he fundamentally shaped what the city became. Before Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Vegas was a dusty desert gambling stop. After them, it was the entertainment capital of the world.

As former Nevada Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt-Bono put it, suit-wearing Sinatra "was the spark that changed Vegas from a dusty Western town into something glamorous."

" When Sinatra was headlining, the marquee sometimes read simply: "Guess who?" Everybody knew.

The Sands & the Copa Room

Sinatra's legendary Vegas career started at The Sands, where he and the Rat Pack staged a five-week residency in the Copa Room in the early 1960s that became the most talked-about engagement in entertainment history. Celebrities including Lucille Ball and John F. Kennedy attended, and it was at the Sands that Sinatra introduced Kennedy to Judith Campbell Exner, which became very big news indeed when it emerged that Campbell was simultaneously having an affair with mob boss Sam Giancana.

The Sands was demolished in 1996 to make way for The Venetian, which is rather tragically the most Vegas thing that could have happened to it. But the story of Sinatra's departure is worth telling. After billionaire Howard Hughes bought the hotel in 1967, Sinatra's credit line at the casino was suspended. Drunk and furious, he left the gaming tables, climbed into a golf cart, and allegedly drove it at speed through one of the Sands' plate-glass windows. He moved his act to Caesars Palace, where he headlined at the Circus Maximus for the rest of the decade and beyond.

The site of the Sands is now The Venetian on Las Vegas Boulevard. There is nothing left of the original hotel, but you can stand roughly where the Copa Room was and picture Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford and Bishop holding the room in the palm of their hand while Lucille Ball and JFK watched from the audience. Sometimes the absence of a place tells you more about a city than anything that replaced it.

Caesars Palace & Cleopatra's Barge

Caesars Palace is the obvious choice. This is where Sinatra headlined after his dramatic exit from the Sands, performing at the Circus Maximus throughout the 1970s and 80s. He was performing here when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash in January 1977, and it was here that he celebrated 40 years in showbusiness with a party and the Grammy Trustees Award in 1979. When his gaming licence was restored in 1981, Caesars hired him as an entertainment consultant for $20,000 a week. The man didn't just stay here, he practically lived here.

The hotel has changed enormously since Frank's day, the ancient Rome theme now turned up to eleven with 3,960 rooms, seven pools, and Gordon Ramsay cooking where tuxedoed Italian waiters once served. But Cleopatra's Barge is still there, and the sheer scale of the place still feels appropriately Sinatra. Rooms from around $100 per night midweek, climbing steeply at weekends and in peak season. A mandatory resort fee applies on top.

Cleopatra's Barge, a gold-trimmed replica Egyptian ship sitting inside the casino complete with a golden bust of Cleopatra, became Sinatra's after-hours haunt. After his main show, he was known to wander over and give impromptu performances between the scheduled acts. It still exists and still hosts live music, which makes it one of the more surreal places to have a drink on the Strip.

The Golden Nugget

In 1984, Sinatra signed a contract with Steve Wynn to perform at the Golden Nugget downtown, at which point the hotel scrambled to convert a room into the Theater Ballroom. The conversion happened so fast that on opening night, which Sinatra inaugurated alongside Willie Nelson, there was no dressing room. Frank got ready in the freight elevator.

He performed at the Golden Nugget until 1989, and the hotel has since expanded to include an extra 500 rooms and a three-storey poolside aquarium. The Nugget is still a Fremont Street fixture and worth a visit for the old downtown Vegas atmosphere.

Where to Eat & Drink

The Golden Steer Steakhouse on West Sahara Avenue is the oldest continually operating steakhouse in Las Vegas, open since 1958, and it is the single most essential Sinatra dining experience in the city. Sinatra's favourite booth, number 22 marked with a brass plaque, can be reserved, though you'll need to book well in advance. The reason it became his regular spot is thanks to Sammy Davis Jr., who first brought Sinatra and Dean Martin here because the Golden Steer was one of the few restaurants where the three of them could actually eat together, at a time when many of the Strip hotels still had segregated restaurants. Tuxedoed servers, tableside Caesar salad, flaming bananas foster, red leather booths, and Sinatra on the speakers. Steaks from around $55. Open daily from 4:30pm.

Sinatra at Encore (Wynn Las Vegas) was created in collaboration with the Sinatra family and is the closest you'll get to eating Sinatra's actual favourite dishes, because executive chef Theo Schoenegger genuinely cooked for the real Frank Sinatra. The Veal Parmigiana, the Ossobuco "My Way" with saffron risotto, and Frank's Spaghetti & Clams are all on the menu, prepared exactly as he liked them. Framed photographs of Sinatra line the cream-coloured walls and his voice provides the soundtrack. Fine dining prices, expect $80-$150 per person.

Piero's Italian Cuisine on Convention Center Drive opened in 1982 and became a firm favourite with the Rat Pack in their twilight years. It's also where Martin Scorsese filmed scenes for Casino. And for something completely different, Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street is an off-Strip dive bar that Sinatra frequented precisely because it was working-class and anonymous, a place where he could drink without being Frank Sinatra for an hour.

" If you only eat at one place in this guide, make it the Golden Steer. Book ahead for booth 22.

Build Your Own Sinatra Walking Tour

The best way to experience Sinatra's Vegas is to build your own walking tour. Start with a drink at Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street downtown, then head to the Golden Nugget to see the showroom where Frank got ready in a freight elevator. Grab dinner at the Golden Steer (book ahead for booth 22), then head to the Strip for a nightcap at Cleopatra's Barge in Caesars, where Sinatra gave impromptu performances after hours.

There's also a Sinatra Live! tribute show at the Alexis Park resort, just off the Strip and next door to the Golden Steer, which makes for a convenient double-header. It's an intimate venue with a personal touch, not an impersonation but a tribute, performed in a room with the feel of a vintage Vegas lounge. Check ahead for schedules and tickets.

Where to Sleep

Caesars Palace is the obvious choice for its Sinatra history, scale and the survival of Cleopatra's Barge. The Flamingo across the street is worth noting as the only surviving hotel from the original Ocean's Eleven (1960); Sinatra never headlined there, but it's a piece of Rat Pack film history and rooms are often cheaper than Caesars.

For a more modern Sinatra connection, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas puts you next door to the Sinatra restaurant and in one of the most polished hotels on the Strip. Rooms from around $200 per night.