When the President Goes to Vegas: Hail Obama?

Travel Blog  •  Alexander Basek  •  06.02.09 | 10:20 AM ET

Inside Caesars Palace. Photo by Alexander Basek

It’s easy to ignore the language surrounding hotel stays. Spas have therapists and there’s a concierge or a butler for your pillow and your bath. In fact, it gets to be difficult when you need something but don’t know whom you’re supposed to talk to about it. Does an order for ice fall under the purview of the cooling concierge or the cocktail consultant? We may never know the answer.

So, when the hotel/real-world language does sync up, it can be kind of jarring. Take the Presidential Suite. Outside of the Waldorf-Astoria, I always thought of it as some kind of linguistic filigree, but it turns out, sometimes a President does stay in a Presidential Suite. In this case, President Obama was holed up in the Presidential Suite at Caesars Palace last week, while in Vegas for a fundraiser. He even bragged about getting “upgraded,” but, well, I somehow doubt he was browsing the Harrah’s Hot Deals tab before his visit and then got lucky when they put him in a nice room. (Though you should! It’s a great way to find cheap rooms at Caesars and the Flamingo.)

Nonetheless, Obama was the first sitting president to stay at Caesars Palace. Presumably, he was also the first person to stay in the Presidential Suite who hadn’t had a great run at the tables in order to get into that room. Or that’s what the government would like you to think. Post-presidency, maybe we can look for Obama on the Celebrity Poker Tour?


Alexander Basek is a food and travel writer based in New York City. He is the Best Deals reporter for Travel + Leisure. His writing has also appeared in the New York Post, Time Out New York, and Fodor's.


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