Caliche is not your friend. (Robin, I will concede your Las Vegas cred, you hit the issue squarely on the head.)

Still, it is possible to find property that allows for a wine cellar. After all, there are plenty of in-ground swimming pools and a few privately-owned wells that are pretty deep. They were dug somehow.

Within all of these relatively recent subdivisions, there are smaller, discrete enclaves of gated communities, 55+ residential areas, etc. Mostly, kids are allowed, except in the retirement and 55+ communities.

Henderson is huge. The most recent upscale developments are very distinct from one another. Anthem is "behind" Seven Hills, in the southeast. Black Mountain is in the southeast. Southern Highlands is in the extreme southwest corner. All of these areas are fairly recently developed. Anthem is the most expensive and has one of Nevada's highest per capita incomes. So, bring money.

I can't give you any meaningful restaurant recommendations without knowing what your preferences are--type of cuisine, budget, ambiance, etc. The casinos do offer a lot of really good dining options, which in turn forces the non-casino restaurants to up their game.

Thanks. Interested in Anthem because the best schools are basically right there...
Also, would be good for the kids to be the poorest kids in the neighbourhood.
As far as restaurants, literally like all cuisines - love pho, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian. My favourite LV spots at the higher end are Joel Robuchon and Andiamo. Not a fan of the Bellagio restaurants.
BTW, is there any decent poker at the Henderson casinos - Green Valley and Station, I believe?

I just moved out of Anthem after 6 or 7 years of living there. The house we rented was about a 250k house (at the time. no idea how much they've gone up in the last 1-2 years) so you don't need to have a lot of money to be able to afford a house in a lot of the communities. Probably 50/50 in regards to gated vs ungated. The new Inspirada community next door to Anthem is definitely a lot more kid and family friendly. Definitely nice and quiet but I got tired of the commute to work every day and anything that required going back "to town." It took 10 minutes just to get from my house to the freeway. I live in Southern Highlands now and that location is so much better.

1. The best schools in Henderson/Las Vegas are a relative concept. (I used to interview candidates for an Ivy League university, the best public school candidates generally had relocated to Las Vegas from elsewhere recently.) That said, I would not recommend the highest priced, trophy home communities. There are advantages to a gated community for sure, but look for one which is kid-friendly. You can find them in Green Valley, along with relatively good public schools. Las Vegas never put value on top flight education, in Henderson Greenspun Middle School and Green Valley HS are decent. (There are decent private schools in town as well that do offer good educations, but I can't speak to those like Bishop Gorman.)

2. Sunset Station dropped poker . GVR spreads the only poker I know of in Henderson. However, it is a pretty fast drive, little traffic, to go west to South Point from Green Valley.

3. For high-end restaurants, you generally will roam outside Henderson. There are quite a few middle end spots open across a variety of cuisines. Eater Las Vegas is a pretty good source, or ask Gobbo on 2+2.

4. Emophobic brought up a real drawback about Anthem, the traffic and time to drive anywhere else from there would be maddening.

Thanks, Gzesh. Based on research, they seem to have put some effort into improving the school system recently. We are hoping, between GATE and IB, to be able to get away with public schools.
We are basically retiring, so commute times are not too relevant, aside from trips to hike, restaurants and casinos (and, I guess, schools).

Didn't GVR permanently close their poker room too?