The beauty of Vegas, baby

Author captures face of the city

Advertisement

Jackie Brett witnessed the old Las Vegas transform into the new. She saw the old showrooms and casinos give way to newer venues. And for the past 30 years as a Las Vegas resident, she has been writing about it all in various tourism publications in the region.

"I saw all the old timers: (Frank) Sinatra, Sammy (Davis Jr.), you name it," Brett said. "Sammy being my favorite."

So when Brett received a call from Beautiful America Publishing Company to write a coffee table book about Las Vegas, she accepted.

Recently released "Fabulous Las Vegas" features 80 pages with sections about Las Vegas and the surrounding areas, as well as dozens of pictures detailing Las Vegas' famous landmarks, scenery and icons. The book not only focuses on the Las Vegas Strip, but includes details and pictures of the Nevada Test Site, Henderson, Boulder City, Valley of Fire and other features of the valley.

Brett said she struggled to balance time for the book with her full-time career as director of advertising and public relations at the Imperial Palace. She said she keeps the two jobs separate so much so that many of the people who work at Imperial Palace have no idea she writes, much less published a book.

"I've been privy to really being here," Brett said.

Local photographer Larry Hanna, who owns Larry Hanna Photography, shot the pictures for the book. "Fabulous Las Vegas" features not only the Strip, but outlying areas as well.

"Too many people think of Vegas as the Strip and don't realize we have recreation areas or the beauty of the desert," Hanna said.

Hanna said he enjoyed shooting for the book because he was able to take more of the photographs he wanted to without an art director looming over him. Hanna has been living and taking pictures of Las Vegas for 30 years. He met Brett at about that time, when he took some head shots for her modeling career.

The book is different from others because the author and photographer know Las Vegas, he said.

"I think one thing that sets us apart is that we're locals," Hanna said.

Professionally, Hanna said he mainly takes publicity photographs for casinos.

"When I was younger, I enjoyed the glamour of Las Vegas. Now I like to take shots of the architecture inside and outside," he said.

Brett said she first became interested in writing about Las Vegas with the now-defunct publication Panorama. Although she graduated with a degree in communications, Brett had not written much before.

"It was a very rough beginning when I first began writing," Brett said.

She minored in theater in college and said she had never lost her love for the stage. She started out by writing show reviews. Her very first was for a Bill Cosby show in which she said she thinks Clint Holmes was the opening act.

As Las Vegas' focus changed, so did the subjects of Brett's stories. Now, she finds herself more frequently writing about restaurant openings and retail stores than celebrity acts.

"Not everyone gambles," she said. "I think gambling accounts for about 40 percent of the economy."

Brett said she tends to write about the trends that people find interesting in Las Vegas.

"People have a ferocious hunger for information on Las Vegas," Brett said.

Brett said she did not have to conduct much traditional research for the book because of how long she has lived in Las Vegas, but said the Internet was helpful for history.

"There's nothing like having lived it," Brett said.

When Brett arrived 30 years ago, it was not "love at first sight."

"I told my mother I would never live in such a decadent city," she said of her first visit to Las Vegas. "It took me a few years before I fell in love with the desert."

Although she said she loves the city, Brett said she misses many things about the old Las Vegas. Brett said Imperial Palace, along with the Tropicana and the Sahara, is part of the older city.

"We're the dying breed," she said. "Most of us will be leveled. It's more history for me to write about."

Brett said she is always interested to see how big events will affect the Las Vegas economy. Notably, she paid close attention to how the city was impacted by the opening of Atlantic City in the 1980s, Desert Storm, and Sept. 11.

"Las Vegas can be one of the hardest hit first," she said. "But we are always the first to come out of it."

Brett attributes Las Vegas' success to its marketing strategy.

"Las Vegas sells fun," she said. "People come here with the mind-set that they will have fun. If we could all live each day with the attitude people have when coming to Las Vegas, we could all have more fun in life."

Brett will host a book signing for "Fabulous Las Vegas," July 15 in the Reading Room at Mandalay Bay, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

"Fabulous Las Vegas" is available in softbound or hardcover at local bookstores, hotels and gift shops in the Las Vegas area. The book also is available online at www.beautifulamericapub.com.