Another good trip to Vegas is in the cards

In Vegas last year, we saw the stage production of "Mama Mia!" a show based upon songs by ABBA. It was great - in fact, so great "Mama Mia!" the movie is out.

What a strange sequence of events - from records to the silver screen by way of the stage. Typically movies produce music, not the other way around.

But it's surely happened before. The most obvious coming to mind is Bobbi Gentry's song, "Ode to Billie Joe," which was made into a movie. It looks to me like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are heading down that same road.

Their music is the basis of the Broadway show "Jersey Boys" and has spread across the country to rave reviews everywhere. Surely if it's as good as I've heard, a movie can't be far behind.

We have a friend who told Ann it was the best show she'd ever seen, bar none. And, if that wasn't emphatic enough, she said her husband liked it so much he didn't fall asleep during the performance and even wanted to see it again.

According to her, that's very high praise indeed.

We're going to see for ourselves. Ann and I are off to Vegas in September. I now have tickets to the show in my hot little hand.

Well, that's not exactly true. I have a confirmation number and receipt with my name on it in my hot little hand. Our tickets are waiting for us at the theater.

They play at the Palazzo, the new sister property of the Venetian. I haven't been there yet, but everything I've heard or read about the place has been glowing.

I know from personal experience the Venetian is wonderful, so I am confident the Palazzo will likewise be outstanding.

This trip will be very different than my July visit. Last month I went by myself and hooked up with my sons, Bret and Bart for the World Series of Poker tournament.

We had no adult supervision whatsoever, so we shot dice at 4 a.m. and ate breakfasts at 2 p.m., without any concept of day or night. It was fun but totally exhausting.

This trip will have structure and be devoted mostly to entertainment. There simply won't be enough time for any extended table action.

Two of the three nights we're there are for shows, and the schedule is somewhat tight. Kickoff time for "Jersey Boys" is less than 4 hours after we land, so I hope USAir keeps their flights on time, at least for that day.

We're spending the third night with Cher at Caesars Palace. According to all reviews I've seen, she puts on an amazing show.

We're looking forward to seeing her. I have always liked her and her music and fondly remember Sonny. Too bad that tree jumped in front of him.

Ann and Jan share September birthdays, so this trip is their combined party. It beats the devil out of clowns, horns, cake and ice cream. No more gathering around the table and singing for us.

On the one night not booked for entertainment, we'll head down to Fremont Street. That's where gritty Las Vegas lives, illuminated by the amazing overhead light show.

Ann particularly wants to re-visit Binion's Horseshoe. The last time we were there, she had a good gambling run. She kept me busy cashing out her slot tickets. I'm willing to be her runner again.

We'll do Binion's, drift through The Four Queens and hopefully roll a few in the Golden Nugget. Beau Parker (DiceCoach.com) highly recommends their tables, so I'd like to check one out for myself.

At the top of each hour we'll step outside for the light show. I never get tired of the spectacle. Call me crude but I dearly love neon and glitter and glitz, and Vegas has plenty of each.

Every trip we take has three distinctive parts for me, all enjoyable.

First comes preparation, which is where I presently am in our September journey.

I love making plans about entertainment and, of course, food. We've been out there enough to have our particular favorites, and that makes the anticipation of what's to come even sweeter.

Obviously, the second part is actually going. That's the big payoff.

Of course, the best laid plans, if we run into interesting things we don't have time for on this trip, we'll make mental notes to add it to our next trip list.

The last part is short and simple. We're sure to have a wonderful 72 hours out there, but by the time we board our redeye back to North Carolina, I'll be ready and anxious to walk into our house and begin explaining to our dogs where we've been.

However sweet the vacation dish, coming home is always the cherry on top.

Otis Gardner's column appears here each Wednesday.