Ever since our daughters were about five, one of their birthday gifts has been a “date” with Daddy, consisting in dinner out and a movie of their choice. As you can imagine, in the early years dinner was usually at a family-style restaurant and the movie was usually animated. As the girls got older, their restaurant choices became more sophisticated, and the films they chose ranged from romantic comedies to horror flicks (Dad likes those, too!). These special evenings allowed one-on-one time for each girl with her father and gave her a chance to practice her social skills and see how a young lady should be treated (and behave) on a night out. The practice continued all through the high school and college years. Now that Sarah is married, Harry has just Jenny’s birthdays to honor in this way. Because she goes to school in Chicago, they generally celebrate her January birthday on her spring break. This year was the big one — 21 — and so another family tradition is being upheld. “Date night” becomes an entire weekend in Las Vegas, complete with big entertainment, fancy restaurants and gambling. From the phone calls I’ve gotten in the past few days from there, I would say the weekend has been a success. Of course, with the economy in the state it’s in, there are bargains to be had everywhere (almost), and Harry and Jenny got a lovely room at The Palms along with a $50 food voucher and a bunch of other freebies. Jen decided the voucher would go towards an indulgent room service breakfast their first morning there. They also took advantage of the Mirage‘s $29.99 three-course fixed price menus at several of that hotel’s restaurants (dinner at Kokomo’s one night and at Onda Ristorante the next), and Harry also enjoyed a free pre-dinner winetasting at Onda (Jenny is not much of a drinker; a fact I can happily live with). All this left them extra cash for gambling. Only thing is, as far as I can tell, neither one ventured very often beyond the penny slots (that’s my wild and impetuous pair!). Harry noted that when he was in Vegas four years ago with Sarah, the penny slots were to be found only in the smaller (okay, he used the word “dumpy”) casinos, but now they are massed in great numbers all through the big, showy places, too. Jenny did manage to spend some of her birthday money at the Fashion Show Mall  — shopping is more her game, anyway — and they both were “blown away” by Cirque du Soleil’s Love at the Mirage. The stage is as much a performer and executes nearly as many acrobatics as the live gymnasts do, they said. They debated viewing Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, but decided instead to check out the Bellagio fountains and stroll the Strip. No celebrity sightings this trip, although word was that Paris Hilton was in town to “officially” celebrate HER birthday (copy cat). Late last night dad and daughter concluded their wild time together in Sin City by indulging in a banana split for two at The Palms’ 24/7 Cafe. Jenny headed back to school early this morning, but Harry will stay on until tomorrow. He plans to take in The Watchmen at the IMAX theater at The Palms and, who knows, might hit it big on the penny slots! Now, of course, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so perhaps I’ve gotten a very whitewashed version of the weekend, but I AM confident that my big little girl and her boy-at-heart dad had a very good time there together. Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader