Date palm - Phoenix dactylifera  with ripening bunches of dates     photo Judy Holly

Yes, those are real date palms with real edible fruits.

When the Mirage Hotel and landscape was being built, it was one of the first properties to bring in and transplant large old date palms, Phoenix dactylifera, from California date farms. Now date palms can be seen growing all over the Vegas valley.

Date fruits are harvested from September to December and fresh dates can be harvested from a tree in the yard if they are where they can be reached.  If the dates still taste a little bitter, put them in the freezer overnight to hasten ripening and the bitterness will turn to sugars.  See the article below from FAO which gives full details on the different stages of fruit harvest and processing.
 

Interestingly enough the United States produces at least 16% of the worlds dates and more than any other single country. Most date palms are still being grown and produced in the middle east and African countries but California and Arizona are now big date producers.  Dried sweet dates along with other dried fruits are packaged and distributed by growers and distributors in California and make up one of the traditional treats shared and eaten during the winter Holidays.
 

For a little fun and kitchen science, plant the seeds from whole dates that you buy and eat.   The little palm can be grown indoors for a few years and then planted into the garden later.

For a little bit of California date production history, read a little of the interesting excerpts from a book written in 1904 “The Date Palm and its utilization in the Southwestern States” Author Walter Tennyson Swingle.  It can be found on line here.  

Date palms can grow in extreme desert conditions and the China Ranch Date Farm  in Death Valley, that was planted in the 1920's, is still a producing farm.  Phoenix dactylifera can become an invasive weed in some areas and Death Valley rangers have to control seedlings that crop up and crowd out native plant species.                           

          Other interesting site on dates - Food Museum