In between everything, she fell in love with Las Vegas. "It's just
so lit up and beautiful; it feels like Disneyland for adults," she
says. "I've had the pleasure of driving to Vegas a couple of times,
and when you drive into it at night, it's just gorgeous. You feel
like you're in the middle of a pinball machine." Here's where
Jennifer Love Hewitt plays in Las Vegas.
So tell me about your first time there. The first time I was
in Las Vegas was a while ago. I think I was maybe 12 or 13. I
remember going to Circus Circus and how cool I thought it was
because you could win all these toys and stuff like that. We stayed
at the Flamingo Hilton. While we were checking in, my mom went and
put a few quarters in the slot machine just for fun. Then we heard
screaming, and my older brother and I were like, "That's our mom's
scream!" We had not even finished checking in yet, and my mom had
won $2,500 on three quarters! My mom has unbelievable luck in Las
Vegas.
Does that lucky streak run in the family? I don't have any
luck. My mom has all the luck when it comes to gambling. But one
time I won $2,500 on a Slingo machine at Paris Las Vegas. I will
never forget it because I was so excited, you would have thought I
had won a million dollars. They came over and counted out
twenty-five $100 bills in my hand. So my mom and I went up to the
room, and we took all the money we had won and threw it around on
the bed. We have some silly picture of me lying on a bed in Las
Vegas with all of our winnings.
How much money did you have to put in the Slingo machine before
you hit the jackpot? I think, like, $20. But I don't gamble
with more than $200 in Vegas. That is my limit. I bought everyone
dinner. And I bought a pair of Prada shoes.
Where should we stay? What I like about the Four Seasons of
Vegas is that it's very, very private. It's really hidden. If you
want to go and chill out and not deal with the hoopla of Vegas
right in the lobby of your hotel, it's great. It has its own
little, private entrance into the Four Seasons part of things, but
when you're ready to party, you can come out the secret entrance of
your hotel and be right in the middle of it, which I think is
genius. They should have more of that in Vegas, because the thing
about Vegas is it's absolutely a blast, but it's exhausting. Nobody
goes to Vegas for 10 days; I mean, you would just die. It's just so
crazy, and you're always going, and there's always something to do
- so it's like sensory overload.
Where should we stay if we want nonstop sensory overload?
The Palms has these really cool suites. I was in the hot-pink
suite, where everything was done in a very '80s style. It had this
huge living room and this big shower thing that was kind of in the
middle of the room and all these disco lights, so you could feel
like Donna Summer when you were in the shower. They also have a
basketball suite that we got to see. It has a basketball court in
the room, and everybody gets a jersey when they check in. It has
two bedrooms, and everyone has their own locker. It's just crazy.
They have amazing places at that hotel. I also love the Bellagio. I
haven't stayed at the Wynn yet, but I went there the last time I
was in Vegas. You feel like you're in a palace. I didn't go see any
of the rooms, but we went and saw a show there and ate dinner at
their steak house, SW Steakhouse, which was really good.
You struck it rich at Paris Las Vegas. What are your other
favorite casinos? Anywhere that has a Wheel of Fortune is the
most fun. It's the amusement park of slot machines. People talk to
you on the machine, and they applaud for you, which is exciting
because when you're gambling, you want to feel like people are
rooting you on. I like the New York New York because you feel like
you are really there. You look around and feel like you are
somewhere else. The machines are great, and it's really fun. And
you can go grab a slice of pizza in between if you want, and I
really enjoy that. I love the Bellagio casino. And I did gamble at
the Wynn, and that was really neat. It was just beautiful. Their
blackjack tables were really pretty.
What do you do in Vegas during the day? I probably go
shopping for a while, and we usually lie by the pool.
Okay, which pool? The Mandalay Bay, which is next to the
Four Seasons and has the best pool. It has these really neat cabana
things where you can cover up if you want shade, which, if you're
in Vegas, most of the time you do, because it's too hot. It's just
a really nice pool. Some of the other pools are supercrowded, and
you just feel like you're at a rock concert more than you are at a
pool. The Mandalay Bay's pool is really nice and relaxing.
Let's back up before you get poolside - where do you shop in
Vegas? Louis Vuitton [at the Wynn] is literally my version of
heaven. I don't know how to describe it - it's just huge. They have
all of their bags and everything. I'd probably go to the Caesars
Forum Shops first because they are really fun, and it's a good
place to start. They also have a Louis Vuitton, and they carry more
clothes there than they do at the Wynn. Then, I would probably go
to the Aladdin and go to the little shops in there, just because
they have really silly, fun stuff to buy. It has more of a market
feel, and you don't spend as much money as you would at the
Bellagio or Caesars shops. But you can go home with a bunch of
really fun stuff for your friends. The stores at the Wynn and the
Bellagio and Caesars just have a glamour about them that I think is
really neat. Vegas is really fun, but not all parts of Vegas are
glamorous. The stores at those three hotels really make you feel
like you're on Rodeo Drive. I would go to the Bellagio and go to
the Prada store, which is my favorite store to go to there. I would
probably cry about how much money I spent at Prada, and then I
would probably go after that to the Wynn. I normally buy an outfit
from the Prada store to wear that night, so I would probably try to
find a new purse or a pair of shoes to go with my new outfit.
Where would you wear the new outfit? Let's start with
dinner. I absolutely love the atmosphere at Prime Steakhouse at
the Bellagio. It just feels kind of old-school, and I love all the
dark wood and everything. I love the food, and the people there are
just great. I also love Olives at the Bellagio, because you can sit
outside and see the fountain and hear the music and watch the
people go by. It's really fun, and the food is just amazing. And
there's Little Buddha. It's at the Palms and has really good sushi
and Chinese food. It has a cool little atmosphere - it's done all
in red and black. I actually had my birthday there.
How did you celebrate? We had dinner at the Little Buddha,
and it was really yummy and everybody really seemed to like it. I
had never been to the Palms before, but they were lovely enough to
invite and host 14 of my family and friends for my birthday. My
best friend, Jenny, and her husband got to be there and my mom, my
brother, my sister-in-law, my great boyfriend, and a couple of
people from Ghost Whisperer got to be there. It was really
great because we were in the middle of working and it was right
before the end of the season, so it was fun to get away for the
week.
Where did you go after dinner? Rain, a club at the Palms. It
was really fun. We went dancing there, which was really awesome.
It's a very chill club atmosphere. They have this floor kind of in
the back of the place where, if you stand over it, you can see all
down the Vegas strip, which is kind of scary. They play really good
music, and I would highly recommend that as a place to go. And if
people are like me and not really into the crazy, crazy scene, I
would definitely suggest Rain.
Aside from your birthday at Rain, what is another great way to
spend a night in Vegas? I've been dancing at Studio 54, which
was fun, but that was a really long time ago. I'm not really a big
party person, so somebody else would probably come up with
something more interesting. I really just like to go to dinner, and
I like to go to the shows. I like to see as many of the shows as I
can. Cirque du Soleil's O is amazing. We also saw Le
Rêve last time we were there, which was incredible, and
everyone should go see that. Cirque du Soleil is like being in a
dream you've had that's just a little off. It's the most beautiful
thing you could experience. What these people can do with their
bodies and how they do it to the music and the way that they do it
is just truly extraordinary. O is one of my favorite shows
because it's all done pretty much underwater. I really want to go
back to Vegas to see Love, the new Beatles one they have.
It's a new Cirque du Soleil production involving the Beatles music.
Okay, it's probably coming up on dawn now. Where would you go
for breakfast? Denny's is always a good choice for pancakes.
It's just good! Especially when you wake up tired from being in
Vegas, or if you've been up. When you're exhausted from all the
noise and all the atmosphere, there's something very calming and
childlike about just getting up and throwing on your comfy clothes
and going to Denny's and having a big stack of pancakes. The other
place I love to eat at in Vegas is Café Gelato at the Bellagio.
It's a breakfast place where you can get crepes in the morning, and
they have panini and ice cream and gelato and stuff like that. It's
toward the back of the hotel. The Nutella-and-banana crepe is
really good - very decadent. They also have really good
ham-and-cheese panini.
What's your best memory of Las Vegas? I was touring with my
band, and we took the tour bus into Vegas just for fun. We had been
on the road for a while, but we finally had a break in the
schedule. We pulled up to the hotel in our big bus, sort of late at
night because I had performed somewhere in L.A. earlier in the day.
We all got out and immediately bought big, funny, gold Elvis
glasses and took pictures of ourselves in them. Then we went in and
gambled and hung out. The next day, we lay by the pool a little bit
and gambled a bit more, then got on the bus and came back. There is
something very freeing about Las Vegas and fun and silly. You can't
really go to Vegas and be serious. It's a city where people feel
like they can go and let loose, and nobody's going to judge them.
She Said …
What Jennifer Love Hewitt loves about Las Vegas
LODGING
Bellagio (very expensive)
(888) 987-6667
Circus Circus (expensive)
(877) 434-9175
Flamingo Las Vegas - formerly Flamingo Hilton (very expensive)
(702) 733-3111
Four Seasons (very expensive)
(702) 632-5000
Mandalay Bay (expensive)
(877) 632-7800
New York New York Hotel & Casino (moderate/expensive)
(702) 740-6969
The Palms (very expensive)
(702) 942-7778
Paris Las Vegas (very expensive)
(702) 946-7000
Wynn Las Vegas (expensive)
(888) 320-9966
DINING
Café Gelato, Bellagio (inexpensive/moderate)
(702) 693-8133
Denny's (inexpensive)
(702) 736-6265
Little Buddha, the Palms (Chinese/sushi, expensive)
(702) 942-7778
Olives, Bellagio (Mediterranean, expensive)
(702) 693-8181
Prime Steakhouse, Bellagio (very expensive)
(877) 234-6358
SW Steakhouse, Wynn Las Vegas (expensive)
(888) 352-3463
SHOPPING
Aladdin Resort and Casino
(877) 333-9474
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
(877) 427-7243
Louis Vuitton, the Wynn)
(877) 321-9966
Prada
(702) 866-6886
The Shops at Via Bellagio
(702) 693-7111
NIGHTLIFE
Cirque du Soleil's Love at the Mirage
(800) 963-9634
Cirque du Soleil's O at the Bellagio
(800) 963-9634
Le Rêve, Wynn Las Vegas,
(702) 770-9966
Rain at the Palms,
(702) 947-8833
Studio 54, the MGM Grand,
(702) 891-7254,