Vegas Vacation (1997) is the fourth film in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, directed by Stephen Kessler and starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold. This time the Griswold family travels to Las Vegas after Clark receives a bonus at work, hoping for a glamorous and relaxing family holiday. As usual, the trip quickly falls apart through bad decisions, gambling losses, family distractions and encounters with Cousin Eddie, played by Randy Quaid. The film also features Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols as Rusty and Audrey, with appearances by Wayne Newton, Siegfried & Roy, Wallace Shawn and Sid Caesar. Compared with the earlier Vacation films, Vegas Vacation is less of a road movie and more of a Las Vegas comedy built around casinos, stage shows, buffets, weddings, gambling and the city’s exaggerated 1990s entertainment culture.
Vegas Vacation was filmed primarily on location in and around Las Vegas, using several real hotels, casinos and attractions as part of the Griswolds’ holiday. The Mirage Hotel & Casino is the film’s main Las Vegas base and appears throughout the story, including the family’s arrival, casino scenes and material connected to Siegfried & Roy and the resort’s dolphins. Other Las Vegas locations include the MGM Grand, O’Sheas Casino, the Fremont Street Experience, Chapel of the Bells and the YESCO neon sign storage lot, used before the Neon Museum became the established public attraction it is today. Wayne Newton’s real Las Vegas estate, Casa de Shenandoah, was used for the scenes involving Newton and Ellen, while Club Paradise on Paradise Road appears as Club Areola. Hoover Dam is used for one of the film’s most memorable set pieces, where Clark becomes trapped on the dam, and Jean Dry Lake was used for Cousin Eddie’s trailer material. The film captures Las Vegas at a very specific mid-1990s moment, when themed megaresorts, neon signs, casino showmanship and Strip spectacle were central to the city’s image.
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