Las Vegas

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ANDRE AGASSI IS A VEGAS BOY, born and raised. But not from the bright lights, roll the dice side of town. More the Vegas of close-knit neighbourhoods, churches and schools, the Vegas that the 33-year-old tennis veteran says taught him that anything is possible.

His first taste of pro tennis was as a ball boy for tournaments at Caesars Palace.

Although he once blazed across the court in long hair and day-glo clothing, Agassi is now as down-to-earth as the next guy, living in Vegas with his wife, retired tennis star Steffi Graf, and their two children. Although he still travels to tournaments a lot, he has already left a legacy to his hometown: the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised more than $35million for children’s charities, and the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, which educates some 250 students. Here’s a weekend in the city where Andre Agassi learned to win.

Where do you go first after getting home from a tournament or appearance?
‘A good restaurant, because Vegas has come so far in their cuisine and dining options. I love Nobhill at the MGM Grand. For steak, I love Delmonico at the Venetian. Go for the filet, charred medium. With the family, go up Summerlin to a place called Sedona. Actually, I’m a partner in it, and it feels like home to go to the place that you helped create.’ .

Old vegas

You’re also part owner now in the Golden Nugget. ‘Yeah, I’m involved with some friends that I grew up with, which is exciting. I’m second generation here, and the people I’m involved with are third generation Vegas. The Nugget is a lot of fun because it’s such old Vegas.’

Do you have any other favourite hotels/ casinos?
‘It’s hard to get nicer than the Bellagio. That said, every hotel offers its thing. Caesars Palace now has Celine Dion camped there. You’ve got Mandalay Bay, which has an incredible bar and lounge at the top called The Foundation. There’s a deck there overlooking the city. The Hard Rock Hotel has The Joint, with incredible music acts.’

What else should every visitor know about Las Vegas?
‘Vegas has been the fastest-growing city in America for more than 30 years. It’s a city of great vision. The community believes that if you actually believe in something enough, you can create it and make it happen. It’s perceived as an adult Disneyland. But the community of people who actually live here is strong.’

Most people think of the Strip when they think of Vegas, but there’s also a lot of activity downtown, right?
‘Downtown is a place where you can park your car and walk around and experience that old feeling of just stepping two feet off the street into a casino that basically has no doors. And the lights are incredible.’

Where do you go then to get away from all the glitz?
‘There’s a lot to be offered in the outskirts - the Red Rock Canyon, going hiking and biking. If you’re on the Strip, you’re probably about 35 minutes away from Red Rock. There are trails all back through there with waterfalls and beautiful red rock and great hiking.’

Tell us a great local spot that people don’t know about.
‘Out where we live, there’s this place called Desert Shores, with little lakes. There is a real cute French eatery called MarchÈ Bacchus on the lake where you can sit outside. You would never know you were in Vegas. Jaden, our two-year-old, entertains himself by feeding the ducks while we’re eating.’

What are your favourite golf courses?
‘Shadow Creek is pretty amazing. You just can’t believe the terrain. The thing that blows you away about it is that it’s in the middle of the desert. There has been such a big boom in courses here. There’s Bali Hai, a great course right on the Strip.’

I bet your wife likes all the spas. Which ones are the best?
‘There is a great one at the Bellagio, and Canyon Ranch has a spa at the Venetian.’

Is there a place the two of you go for a special evening?
‘We think a great evening out is to get some good sushi, so we go to Nobu. We take our time and pick through a lot of different flavours and tastes.’

Any other restaurants to recommend?
‘Seablue at the MGM is amazing. It’s a fish restaurant. Emeril’s is fantastic. There’s also an old French restaurant downtown called Andre’s. We used to go there when I was young, and I still go back.’

Where can you get a great meal for $25 or less?
‘Twenty-five dollars would be an expensive meal at most of the casinos. As far as being able to fill your stomach as cheaply as possible, there’s probably no city in the world that offers more. You can go to all of these $3.99 buffets, where their only goal is to get you in the door.’

Which shows do you like?
‘You’ve gotta see O. It’s incredible. O is a Cirque du Soleil show, but it’s done in water. You find it so amazing that you are sitting in the middle of a showroom with a stage basically made out of water. Another show I love is Danny Gans. He does impersonations of hundreds of legendary performers .’

What do you remember about growing up in Vegas?
‘A lot of times when I was with my mum, whether we were going to get dinner or go shopping, we needed money from Dad, who was working. So we would pull into the old MGM Grand Hotel, and at eight years old I would go running through the casino to the Jubilee showroom, where he worked helping to run the show and where they had all the naked dancing ladies, the follies kind of chorus line type stuff. I knew all the captains and maitre d’s and used to just wait for my dad. He would give us some money and I’d go running back out, go to the grocery store, and go home. As a little boy, it felt strangely normal.”

More churches than most

Could you ever live in a normal town?
‘We have an industry here: the gaming and tourism industry. But we also have more churches per capita than most of the cities in America. We have 27 high schools. It’s a very narrow perspective to think that a person who was born and raised here had an abnormal upbringing. It’s like thinking if you live in New Orleans, that you’ve gotta get drunk every night.’

So, how did growing up in Vegas affect you?
‘Caesars used to have the Alan King Tennis Tournament, and I was a ball boy there. Caesars would give $50,000 to the winner. They would pay in silver dollars that they brought out in a wheelbarrow. Obviously, that was for show and you would get a cheque. I remember watching the greats win, and they would bring the wheelbarrow out. It was sort of symbolic: This is a dream world, a dream life. But it only happens if you have the backbone and strength to dream it. Las Vegas made me feel I can dream.’