Q:

My son has asked to celebrate his 21st birthday in Las Vegas, and, as a frequent visitor, I thought it might make for an entertaining father-son trip. Looking at the calendar while planning the trip, I was struck by an interesting question: Will he legally be 21 at midnight in our time zone back on the east coast (9 p.m. local time), or will we have to wait until midnight local Las Vegas time, 3 hours later?

A:

We checked with both Metro and some random hotel security officers and, as suspected, they all go by the date of your birth, not the hour, so your son will have to wait until midnight in Las Vegas to enjoy his first legal adult beverage, or to hit the tables and machines.

If you're anxious for some adult fun prior to that, you could always check out any of our fair city's all-nude strip clubs (aside from the Palomino, which serves liquor) -- since they can't serve booze, the door policy is 18+. Why not get him a copy of Topless Vegas as a fun and useful gift that will help him navigate Sin City without getting ripped off?

UPDATE: 02-06-2012  A reader comments:

"I had personal experience with today's "Question of the Day", regarding whether a person turns 21 Nevada time or "home" time. Several years ago we were at the Frontier the day before my daughter turned 21. At ll:00 p.m. a security guard stopped her and asked for her ID.  He said even though she would be 21 in an hour she would have to leave the casino until then.  I tried to explain that she was already 21 in Ohio, where she was born. He said it didn't matter and that she would have to leave until after midnight.

"The ironic thing was that she had been going to Vegas with us for years, starting as a teenager, and was always around us in the casino (never touched a machine) but this was the first time she was ever stopped and asked for an ID."