In an exclusive interview, The Paw Print’s Elizabeth Axelrod sat down with Mrs. Rebecca Finotti to discuss her summer getaway to Las Vegas.

Elizabeth: So I heard you’re going to Vegas this summer. Can you tell me about it?

Finotti: Yeah! Every year, my husband and I like to escape there. There are no time limits. You can find something to do at all times. The pool is really nice, and we can kind of go there and escape and nobody knows who we are.

Elizabeth: When do you plan on leaving?

Finotti: That is a conversation I keep having with my husband. He wants to go at the end of June, and I want to go at the beginning of June.

Elizabeth: It is funny because my cousins are also going to Vegas this year, so it seems like a popular vacation spot this year. How do you normally get to Vegas?

Finotti: We fly. We just have somebody drop us off at the airport, we fly out there, and then we do not even need a car there. We just take a taxi to our hotel.

Elizabeth: Why do you choose to go to Vegas every year?

Finotti: Because it is so fun! There’s entertainment, there’s pools, the food is fantastic! A lot of people know my husband so anytime we go out, everyone talks to him and I never get time to myself. And even in Vegas we run into people sometimes. But for the most part we can go out there and just be ourselves.

Elizabeth: I heard from a lot of people that it is super fun, and I had a family member that lived there for a while, so he’s told me plenty of stories about all the things you can do there. How long do you plan on staying?

Finotti: I like to stay for seven days.  My husband does not like to be away that long, but I’m hoping for seven days.

Elizabeth: What are you most excited about?

Finotti: Relaxing by the pool.

Elizabeth: How will your usual vacation be different this year because of the pandemic?

Finotti: I think we might have to wear face masks at the pool maybe, unless you’re in the pool. And then I do not think that the nightlife is the same where you can’t have large gatherings of people. We like to go dance, and I do not think we will be able to do that. And I even think that the casino part is really toned down, so you’d have groups of people hanging out or in the sports book and I think it’s just going to be really subdued.

Elizabeth: Other than that, what other thing did you normally want to do that you cannot do this year?

Finotti: Parties and weddings. And I really want to travel to Europe and we cannot do that. We kind of just have to stay within the United states.

Elizabeth: What is one of your favorite memories from your previous trips?

Finotti: Just not having a plan for the night, and kind of stumbling on different bands.

Elizabeth: So just walking around and finding new things to do?

Finotti: Yeah! And meeting new people. The one thing we were cutting through Caesar’s and Matt Damon was premiering one of his movies and we did not even know so we just walked right by and we saw Matt Damon on stage. And then later on, my husband’s friends with Desmond Howard, and he is friends with Matt Damon and he was in Vegas at the same time. That’s a fun story.

Elizabeth: Sounds like it! Do you have any traditions when you go there?

Finotti: Oh yeah. We eat at the same restaurants.

Elizabeth: I was going to ask if there were any particular restaurants you enjoyed going to.

Finotti: So there’s Mon Amis in Paris, and it feels like you’re in France.

Elizabeth: My dad used to travel a lot and when he went to Vegas, he also went to Mon Amis and brought back for me a little souvenir which I still have which is pretty cool.

Finotti: Yes! And in the evening you can sit across from Bellagio, and they have a fountain show, but I like going there for brunch because I just like the menu. And there’s a certain slot machine that I play right there that I win on.

Elizabeth: Everything sounds like so much fun there, but what is your least favorite part of the trip if there even is one?

Finotti: I hate the airport when we fly Southwest. That section is disgusting. One time we had special tickets to go for Continental into their club level, and that was wonderful.

Elizabeth: Thank you so much for letting me hear about your trip!

Finotti: You’re welcome!