Lakeside at Wynn Las Vegas has this week introduced a unique dry-aged fish program to its extensive seafood menu. The program marks the first of its kind on the Las Vegas Strip.
12.11.2023 - 03:33 / forbes.com
I’m a U2 fan. So when tickets went on sale on April 27 at a new, not-yet-open dome-shaped Las Vegas entertainment facility called The Sphere, I went to the Ticketmaster Web site. I ended up with four seats for the Irish band’s October 27th show. Tickets in the near-nosebleed 400 section were a reasonable $140, including Ticketmaster’s notorious fees.
When you buy tickets for a concert six months away, a lot of things can happen in the meanwhile.
We were supposed to fly to Israel on October 9, returning to Los Angeles October 23. Unfortunately, the brutal Hamas assault on Israel changed everything, postponing our trip.
Instead, we decided to explore six National Parks in the Southwest, including Zion, Mesa Verde, Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Bryce. We ended up in Las Vegas for the U2 show.
We stayed at the Venetian, where we learned that the Sphere was a short walk away. We enjoyed the Grand Canal Shoppes and restaurants. And by leaving our car in the Venetian lot, we avoided the Sphere’s already-notorious parking. Self-parking on site was reportedly $100, valet parking $125. As a casino hotel executive told me, “Oh great now we have two arenas in Las Vegas with no parking.”
Although competition from nearby lots may be driving down prices, Casino.org reported that Sphere set “a new record for Las Vegas parking, which up until seven years ago was free everywhere on the Strip that a concert was ever staged.”
High costs appear de rigeur for the Sphere. I learned that even “cheap seats” like my $140 tix were going for over $350 on resale sites like StubHub. At the show, 100-page programs sold for a stiff $60.
The $2.3 billion Sphere reportedly suffered cost overruns, and with just $7.8 million in revenue lost $98 million in the quarter ended September 30. (The just-opened venue had only two events in the quarter.) Still, CEO James Dolan of MSG Entertainment was bullish on the Sphere. He announced more U2 shows, bringing the total to 36 at the 18,600-seat arena. Future artists, new Spheres in new cities, and, inevitably, higher tickets prices, were hinted at as well.
The Sphere is Las Vegas’ latest wonder. Standing 366 feet tall and spanning 516 feet across, it is the largest spherical structure in the world. Most passers-by will encounter the Sphere from outside, dazed by its bright lights and ever-changing images. The Exosphere, the exterior of the Sphere, is the world's largest LED screen, comprised of 580,000 square feet of LED light panels.
After dark, the Sphere transforms into spherical objects like an eye, an astronaut helmet, and an ad for the U2 show.
A British newspaper, concerned about MSG bringing a second Sphere to London, quoted a Las Vegas local calling it “a sun on earth.” But
Lakeside at Wynn Las Vegas has this week introduced a unique dry-aged fish program to its extensive seafood menu. The program marks the first of its kind on the Las Vegas Strip.
The carefree lifestyles of the French Riviera and the Las Vegas Strip have come together by way of the LPM Restaurant & Bar. The brand new eatery has officially opened its doors at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas this week. The restaurant and bar aims to transport guests to Côte d'Azur by way of a modern French-inspired menu and has already been celebrated by World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Las Vegas, the Official Host City of Super Bowl LVIII, has launched a petition on Change.org urging football fans to encourage excessive celebration during the city’s first foray into hosting the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The petition was accompanied by a music video featuring former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Grammy-nominated artist Tobe Nwigwe. The petition is a nod to the fact that while professional sports often restrict excessive celebrations, they are always encouraged in Las Vegas. “Whether you are on the Strip, in the stadiums, or just here for a good time, Las Vegas will forever be the home of excessive celebration,” reads the petition in part.
Every year is a big year in Las Vegas, with tourism records being broken regularly. But by any standards this is really big year–we just saw the debut of the super high-profile F1 race, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and just before that, the opening of the world’s most technologically advanced music and performance venue, the Sphere, kicking off with a run of U2 concerts that has already been extended twice. The first ever Sin City Super Bowl is coming in February, but before that there’s one other huge happening–the December 13th grand opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, an entirely new mega resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Learn more about how seasoned travelers combine their dream destinations.
With less than three months to go until the Super Bowl LVIII touches down in Las Vegas, the destination has launched a new campaign urging football fans to ‘celebrate excessively’ during its inaugural stint as host city.
Forget underground vaults filled with cash — the next high-tech ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ caper in Las Vegas may be breaking into the dry-aging room below the new Peter Luger Steak House at Caesars Palace. “There’s well over one million dollars of prime steaks in that locker,” says Daniel Turtel, Vice President of Peter Luger Steak House. “Though it would be a lot harder to walk out of the casino carrying 35lb. short loins than stacks of chips.”
Tourism to Las Vegas has made a strong recovery from the pandemic, with visitor spending hitting a record $79.3 billion in 2022.
This weekend, F1 fans can expect a visually enthralling experience, as custom real-time content tracks across the world’s largest LED screen of the Sphere, as part of the official broadcast for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The newest new thing in Las Vegas is the glow dome, the Sphere. Some 18,000 fans a night have made the pilgrimage to see U2 at the Sphere since September. Yet when the band shot their new music video, “Atomic City,” U2 went to downtown Las Vegas, founded 1905, to film in front of the Plaza Hotel and its Carousel Bar.
This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2024—find more travel inspiration here.
Maybe this inaugural Formula 1 race in Las Vegas isn’t going to be the boon that people thought it was.