Romance and Roulette: Why Vegas Is for Gay Lovers

Las Vegas might not spring to mind for same-sex loving, but it should.

The rap on Vegas is that it's where straight folks go to reenact The Hangover. Even as we arrived at our hotel, a gaggle of beautiful girls screamed, "Walk of shame!" and snapped a photo of their friend strolling in at 11:30 a.m.

My first visit to the city was not by choice; it was for a convention. Then we celebrated my husband's 30th birthday on the Strip because it was an easy-to-reach destination for friends anywhere in the country. A few trips later, we realized Vegas had become another of those things my husband and I like to do together.

The humdrum of a couple's daily life can be oddly comforting. I like knowing that when I return home from work late on a weeknight, my husband will be there to enjoy a meal with, then maybe we'll watch some television. But while routine isn't particularly romantic, Las Vegas is.

Of all the new places we could travel for our honeymoon two years ago, we picked Las Vegas. The cavern of casinos is so vast it can become whatever you want. On our most recent trip, it was an oasis.

As part of the massive CityCenter complex, the Vdara (Vdara.com) is a mere walkway from the tables at Aria (AriaLasVegas.com). The nearby Cosmopolitan (CosmopolitanLasVegas.com) boasts the gayest aesthetic of any casino, including a pink neon sign above the cashier and a giant, inhabitable chandelier suspended at the casino's center. Inside is the appropriately named Chandelier Bar.