Nov. 3, 2007

‘Gay Vegas’ Can Teach Anyone a Thing or Two

By Donald Pile & Ray Williams

We have just read one of the finest travel books ever written about gay life in a city and for gays traveling to any city in the country. Steve Friess’ new book, Gay Vegas – A Guide to the Other Side of Sin City, (Huntington Press), is a MUST for any gay person traveling to Las Vegas.

We have gone there more than 25 times in the last 33 years and we thought that we knew all about gay life in Las Vegas, but Friess’ new book has educated us much more on where to go, where to stay, what to see and where NOT to go. Friess tells it exactly how it is – the good, the bad and the different, with a great honest description of the comings and goings in Las Vegas. He explains about some of the awful casinos, the dreadful restaurants and the bad shows and rates them all.

Then he tells about the “best of the best” and the must-do and must-see things in Las Vegas. Any gay person going there, whether for the first time or not, should purchase this book. It deals with lodging, restaurants, shows, gay nightlife, shopping and gay weddings. Friess has lived in Las Vegas since 1996 and was originally from Long Island, New York. He and his partner, NBC producer Miles Smith, co-host The Strip podcast, a weekly Vegas-centric celebrity-interview program found at TheStripPodcast.com.

Friess and Smith wed at the Palms Hotel-Casino in March and live with their two Chihuahuas, Black and Jack. Friess is a former contributing writer for The Advocate, and has also covered gay topics for USA Today, the New York Times, Newsweek, among other periodicals. If you can’t go to Las Vegas, read this book and you will think that you are there! Friess writes so directly and tells about all aspects of the city.

There should be an informative book like this written about all the great gay cities in the country. Friess loves his city and it shows! He has certainly done his research and pulls no punches. This book will save you a lot of time and money the next time you visit Las Vegas.

(On a side note: Kansas City’s own Wes Winters entertains at the Liberace Museum weekly in Las Vegas.) As always, when we write anything about Las Vegas, we like to remind everybody to remember the words of Liberace, “No one will believe in you unless you believe in yourself!”

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