See David Copperfield but skip the bouillabaisse

Last week I interviewed Seth Grabel, a very talented magician, who now calls Boulder City home. He’s featured in this week’s edition on page 2.

In talking with him, it got me thinking about the first time I was truly amazed by a magician, that being David Copperfield.

As I often do in this column, indulge me as I take a step back in time. Please cue up the “looking back” harp music as I take you to 1987.

It was leading up to my senior prom, and while I knew I was going and taking my girlfriend, Jenny, and double-dating with our friends Derek and Sarah, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do.

We knew we were going to the dance, which was held at a location in Las Vegas, and obviously dinner, but did we want to throw in a show? Keep in mind, this was pre-Internet, so making plans was not simply at the tip of your fingers, but rather a matter of letting your fingers do the walking through the handy-dandy Yellow Pages.

Derek and I decided on a restaurant, which I believe was on Tropicana Avenue, not far from the dance location.

We then scoured the entertainment section of the Review-Journal. I don’t recall the exact options that were available but we spotted an ad for David Copperfield at Caesars Palace. Perfect. We were both fans and thought it would be fun for the four of us. By the way, ticket prices were $20. I just saw that you can see his show today starting at $73, which is less than what I would have expected these days.

Tickets for the dance …check

Dinner reservations …check

Entertainment …check

I’m trying to remember if we had to go and pick up the tickets ahead of time because that does play a part in the story ahead.

Prom night. The four of us headed to the dance. And that term is used loosely. I think we danced one song just to say that we did. Pictures were then taken. Now, off to eat.

We had made dinner reservations early enough in the evening to allow us plenty of time to eat and then make it to see David. So we thought.

We got to the restaurant, and it was nice but when four teens walk in wearing gowns and tuxes, needless to say, we stood out. Where was YELP when you needed it to find out dress attire? I recall the place being packed. The service was good and the staff was extra nice to us knowing it was prom. But my guess is that the cook/chef may have been a high school rival because it took forever to get our food. With each passing minute and still no food, the chances of us making it to Caesars in time, quickly disappeared. (Pun intended).

We considered many options: 1) Just leaving and heading to Caesars. 2) Eating and enjoying our dinner and skipping the show. 3) Taking the food to go. That last option was quickly erased because Derek wanted to try bouillabaisse. If you’re not familiar with it, please look it up. You will quickly realize why that is not an eating-in-the-car menu item.

To their credit, the girls were great and suggested we could go to a concert some other time. But the fact that Derek and I were seniors, we wanted everything to be just right.

Finally, our food came and we scarfed it down. We had a slight buffer in terms of how long it would take to get to the show before doors closed. We decided, why not try? What did we have to lose?

We got to Caesars and those who have been there know it’s not a small place. We finally made it to their showroom. The doors were open but no one was in line. We asked at the ticket booth if we were too late. They said no. So, in dress shoes and heels, the four of us high-tailed up to the main showroom. It was packed. I tried to be cool and slip the guy at the door a few bucks. I truly hope it was paper bills that I gave him and not a handful of change. He took us down one level, then another and another. Finally, we’re at the floor level, just feet from the stage. In what appeared to be a very classy act, the casino set up long tables in front of the stage to accommodate the different schools celebrating prom that night.

The 60s group the O’Jays, best known for “Love Train” opened and were great. Then Mr. Copperfield took the stage and blew us away. A true legend.

So, my advice is to never give up hope, wear sensible shoes when running through a casino, and skip the bouillabaisse.