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Looking Back at 20 Years<br />
By: Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker /<br />
Out & About<br />
When I was a little girl my parents would<br />
drive our family to Iowa every summer to<br />
visit my grandparents. My dad’s parents were from the Ukraine and<br />
spoke little English, while my mom’s<br />
parents had descendants who travelled on<br />
the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock.<br />
My grandparents couldn’t have been<br />
more different! Fortunately, our route to<br />
the Midwest always included Las Vegas,<br />
and just a day or two there was enough<br />
for my brothers and me to cool off with<br />
mom in a motel pool, while my dad played<br />
the nickel slots. We loved Vegas!<br />
Although much of my adult life was<br />
located in Southern California, by the time I reached my senior years<br />
and had completed a career in PR and advertising, I was ready for a<br />
change, and Vegas was beckoning.<br />
In 2003, “The Vegas Voice”(Senior Life) made its debut as a senior<br />
publication, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Las Vegas<br />
was modestly renaming itself as the “Entertainment Capital of the<br />
World”, and featured performers, like Celine Dion, were dazzling sold<br />
out crowds on the “Strip” for what would turn out to be an amazing<br />
16 year run.<br />
Celine became one of Vegas’ most favorite super stars, while others<br />
like Wayne Newton were also appearing in literally hundreds of live<br />
shows in new and redesigned hotels And 2003 really became a banner<br />
year when Las Vegas gained its own hit television series.<br />
Appropriately called, “Las Vegas”, this<br />
comedy drama focused on day-to-day<br />
activities behind the scenes in real casinos.<br />
Starring Josh Duhamel, James Caan, and<br />
Vanessa Marcil, this TV show became a real<br />
crowd pleaser and ran for five seasons.<br />
Another interesting development<br />
occurred when seniors who previously<br />
thought of Vegas as a favorite weekend<br />
getaway, started seriously looking at the city<br />
as a possible retirement haven. Several top developers got the message<br />
and started designing for seniors and retirees.<br />
Over eighty major developments have already been constructed for<br />
local seniors who have a wide variety of interests and health needs. And<br />
more are in the planning stages.<br />
Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker is an award winning writer &<br />
travel agent. She can be reached at Merryman2@aol.com.<br />
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