As former Las Vegas mayor and preeminent civic booster Oscar Goodman notes, “investment in entertainment remains paramount” to maintain global visitor appeal. Judging by the kaleidoscope of new attractions coming into the market—several over the top even by Vegas standards—it’s a priority the city has enthusiastically embraced.
Expected to open in late 2013, the LINQ is Caesars Entertainment’s new $550 million outdoor dining, retail and entertainment district in the heart of the Strip. Providing the wow factor is the High Roller, eclipsing both the London Eye and Singapore Flyer as the world’s largest observation wheel. Rotating once every half hour, the 550-foot-tall wheel features 28 glass-enclosed cabins, each accommodating 40 people.
This April, MGM Resorts International announced plans for its own entertainment district. Anchored by a new 20,000-seat arena, the project, targeted for completion by early 2014, will transform the Stripside facades of MGM’s New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts into an outdoor plaza featuring new bars, eateries and retailers. Extending the new outdoor experience will be a public park leading to the arena.
There is much more. Complementing the billions going into new meetings, conventions and business infrastructure, major investment dollars are sending the city’s entertainment stock sky-high. From mega-watt nightclubs to exciting eateries to dazzling theatrical shows, the head-spinning new enticements hitting Vegas will assure its place as one the world’s top playgrounds. PageBreak
Dinner and a Show
Is there a better product match-up than Las Vegas and Cirque du Soleil? Each expanding globally, each pushing the boundaries of entertainment, it’s an acrobatic partnership made in heaven. Currently staging seven unique shows in Vegas, including CRISS ANGEL Believe at Luxor Las Vegas and the surreal Zarkana at ARIA Resort & Casino, Cirque du Soleil’s eighth project, Michael Jackson ONE, takes up exclusive residency at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino this summer. Following the top-grossing Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World, this is Cirque du Soleil’s second creative collaboration with the Jackson estate.
Also made to measure for Vegas is Blue Man Group, which debuted a turbo-charged new show at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino last October. Each evening, 45 minutes before show time, the troupe weaves through the casino floor performing Percussipede, a “musical centipede” of musicians, robots and puppets, before commencing its signature interactive performance in the resort’s theater.
“We wanted to have fun, take risks and do something different,” says Blue Man Group co-founder Chris Wink of the new show. “It’s an over-the-top experience you can’t find anywhere else on the Strip.”
All this high-adrenaline excitement can build quite the appetite, and there’s no place like Vegas when hunger strikes. Located next to the Viva Elvis Theater (featuring Zarkana) at ARIA, American Fish is a great seafood choice from Michael Mina, the Egyptian-born celebrity chef behind Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay and his eponymous eatery at Bellagio.
Another serial restaurateur, Gordon Ramsay, opened his self-titled Pub & Grill concept at Caesars Palace last December, adding to his eponymous Steak restaurant at Paris Las Vegas.
Inspired by the Heraean Games, ancient Greece’s first athletic competition for women, Heraea is a new American restaurant and sports lounge at Palms Casino Resort. Opened in February, the chic eatery is part of an ongoing $50 million property refresh, which includes the remodeling of all 428 rooms and suites in the Ivory Tower, completed in December, and additional culinary and nightlife options.PageBreak
Pump Up the Volume
Drawing comparisons to Ibiza and other international clubbing destinations, Las Vegas, as The New York Times recently observed, is now the center of the electronic dance music scene in the U.S. Confirming this coronation was the opening in April of Hakkasan Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Reportedly costing $100 million, this 80,000-square-foot, five-level temple becomes the city’s biggest nightclub, Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant from the international Hakkasan brand included.
Vying for the mega-club crown is downtown’s Krave Massive, updating longtime Strip mainstay Krave. Billed as the “world’s largest gay nightclub,” the 80,000-square-foot venue is located inside Neonopolis, a former multiplex movie theater reborn as a mall complex. Las Vegas is ranked second with New York City behind San Francisco for LGBT tourism in the U.S., and on the top 10 list globally.
With eight nightclubs and lounges spanning three of the city’s most popular resorts, The Light Group is collaborating with Cirque du Soleil (also partner on GOLD Boutique Nightclub & Lounge at ARIA) on the new Light nightclub, opening at Mandalay Bay this Memorial Day weekend.
The pool party and “dayclub” scene in Vegas gets splashier every year. At Wynn Las Vegas, Encore Beach Club, transforming into Surrender Nightclub when the sun goes down, offers versatile options for groups, including VIP functions in its bungalows, cabanas and other intimate spaces. Featuring 32,000-watt subwoofers and lasers, the daytime parties at Marquee in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas are boom-boom to the max, while the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesars Palace is a family-friendly choice. Newcomer Bagatelle Beach & Supper Club is a stand-alone Mediterranean-style pool club concept on the Strip.
At the Mirage, which features an aquarium in the lobby, Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat is available for after-hours events. The Tank at the Golden Nugget is a $30 million pool complex complete with a shark tank, three-story waterslide and private cabanas.
Opening soon in Henderson, Nev., southwest of the Strip, the new Cowabunga Bay water park will offer 30 group- and family-friendly attractions, including a 35,000-square-foot wave pool, second in size only to its counterpart at Mandalay Bay.
