Andre Agassi learned to win in Las Vegas. He just plays a different game than most of us. The Olympic Gold Medalist and professional Tennis Champion was raised in Las Vegas and he still lives there today. He is a local favorite and since he has retired from Tennis in 2006, he has been spotted all over town enjoying his free time with his wife and children.  He even has a Preparatory School named after him in Las Vegas.

His father is from Iran and was also an Olympic athlete. His father was a boxer and after moving to America, he became interested in the game of tennis. He taught Andre’s two older siblings the game, but they didn’t take to it the way that Andre did. Andre Agassi’s father became so involved in the game that he hung tennis balls over Agassi’s crib in order to train his hand-eye coordination. Agassi’s father taught him to play tennis when he was very young and Agassi was sent to a tennis academy in Florida. Even though his father could only afford to send him for a few weeks, the director of the school let him stay for free because the teachers were so impressed with his talent. He started playing professionally at the age of 16. Agassi had back problems late in his career which eventually forced him into an early retirement.

Since retirement, Agassi has become involved in several charities and has donated over $100,000 to the Democratic Party. Andre Agassi dated famous singer Barbra Streisand in the 90’s. Agassi later married actress Brooke Shields. They were married for only two years and had the marriage annulled. Agassi met Steffi Graf in 1999 at the French Open and they later married and had two children. They still live in the Las Vegas area yet they have several vacation homes throughout the world. Agassi’s main focus is the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation which was founded in 1994. The foundation was created to help at-risk kids get off the streets and into youth centers to help keep them away from crime.

“It gives children with no opportunities in life a little hope and we do that through education mostly,” said Agassi in a 2006 interview with Larry King. “We clothe over 3,000 children a year but sort of dealing with all the needs of children we realize we're sticking Band-aids on the real issues. The issue that exists is you have to give a child a chance to make better choices for themselves. So, we built a school that is bringing these children up to speed inside a year in the most poverty sort of economically challenged part of Las Vegas."

Agassi also created Child Haven, Las Vegas’ only residential community for abused or neglected children. It is no wonder that he is considered a hometown hero, considering all the charitable things he’s done for the Las Vegas area. Agassi is proud of his town and he loves having fun on the strip, as much as he loves helping out the residents who live outside the strip. He is part owner of the Golden Nugget. However, Agassi admits that some of his favorite dining options are at rival casinos.

“I love Nobhill at the MGM Grand,” said Agassi in an interview with dialaflight.com. “For steak, I love Delmonico at the Venetian. Go for the filet, charred medium. With the family, go up Summerlin to a place called Sedona. Actually, I’m a partner in it, and it feels like home to go to the place that you helped create.”