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Last year, F1 held a single race in Las Vegas, the Grand Prix. This year, two more "support" races have been announced: the Ferrari Challenge with races on Friday and Saturday nights. That's partially to create more excitement in the traditionally tamer second year, but also to put the circuit's track through a couple of test runs, in order to avoid last year's mishap over a manhole cover. In other F1 news, all 60,000 free tickets for the race's fan festival on the vacant lot across from the Wynn, 30,000 each Friday and Saturday nights, have been distributed. F1 also announced that it will install an ice rink on the roof of the Paddock building for the weekend. "You would never see us do that anywhere else," said a race spokesperson. But Vegas being the Vegas, the intent is to "create more of an entertainment proposition."
A story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this morning lists rates for rooms at the hotel-casinos with views of the Tropicana on the night of October 8, when the Trop's two towers will be imploded in unison at 2:30 a.m., preceded by a fireworks show. Rooms at OYO next door that face the Trop are fetching $549-$567. That's a bargain compared to rooms at MGM Grand across the street, going for $1,550. New York-New York and Excalibur are sold out, with 6,000 rooms between them. And the price hikes aren't limited to rooms with a view; Bellagio's rates are as high as $700 for the night. It should be noted that October 8 is in the middle of the annual G2E gambling conference in Las Vegas, so that adds to the price pressure for premium rooms on the Strip.
Shania Twain has announced nine new shows that will end her “Come On Over” residency, which launched in May, at PH Live at Planet Hollywood. First, PH Live is the new name of the Bakkt Theater, formerly Zappos Theater, Axis Theater, Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts, and Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Now then, Twain's new dates are Jan. 22, 24, 25, 29, and 31 and Feb. 1, 5, 7, and 8; the last show is the night before Super Bowl 2025. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
Now that Bally's Corp.'s only presence in Las Vegas is about to be imploded (the Bally's-owned Tropicana closed in April), the company has formed a partnership with the Palms that gives Bally Rewards members a Las Vegas destination for deals and perks. As such, members can now earn and redeem loyalty points at the Palms, in addition to the 16 Bally's-branded casinos in the country.
Yesterday morning, Circa Survivor broke the 10,000-entry threshold, hitting the guarantee and ensuring that Circa's mega football contest will have more than $10 million in prize payouts. Last year’s record-setting Survivor contest guaranteed $8 million; with 9,267 entries, the prize pool ended up being a then-record $9.27 million. The new record total prize will be known after the 2 p.m. deadline on Saturday. So far, Circa Million looks like an overlay. As of Monday morning, there were 4,210 entries, short of the 6,000 needed to reach the $6 million guarantee. It's not expected that Circa Million will attract the other nearly 1,800 entries by the deadline on Saturday.
In June, the country-music Giddy Up Festival was announced to take place at the Downtown Events Center Oct. 18-20. It was to be the first country-music festival since the Route 91 Harvest Festival on October 1, 2017, and headlined by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elle King, Josh Turner, Megan Moroney, Chase Rice, and Lauren Watkins. Over the weekend, it was abruptly canceled, with the organizers saying they "couldn't move forward with the event." No explanation was given. All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
This year's Vegas Kickoff Classic college football game between USC and LSU, playing each other for the first time in 40 years, is being touted as having broken Allegiant Stadium's attendance record. It attracted a total of 63,969 attendees and they all got their money's worth with a nail-biter that wasn't decided until the closing seconds of the game (USC took the honors, 27-20). However, the capacity of the stadium is 65,000, expandable to 71,000 or so for major concerts (with standing room only on the floor in front of the state), and Garth Brooks' concert at Allegiant in August 2021, the first major musical event to appear there, was reported at 68,000 attendees, so as is often the case in these claims, there is some discrepancy. That said, the Kickoff Classic is one of the most attended annual events of them all. In 2021 for the inaugural game (the BYU Cougars defeating the Arizona Wildcats 24-16), the official attendance of 54,541 was the largest crowd ever to watch a college athletic event in Nevada history and, believe it or not, this year's 63,969 Kickoff fans were 1,400 more than attended the Super Bowl in February.
Workers are gearing up for the major road project of changing out the panels on 1,075 signs on the freeway between the Henderson Spaghetti Bowl (where US 95, the 215 Beltway, and Lake Mead Boulevard converge) and the Kyle Canyon Road interchange on US 95 north of the city. The Interstate 11 signs will be added along that stretch starting in the next few months and the $3 million effort will require seven to eight months to complete. That will extend the new I-11, which is already official and signed from the Arizona border at the Boulder City bypass that opened a few years ago, up to Kyle Canyon, a total of 30 and a half miles. Ultimately, I-11 is planned to start in Nogales, Arizona, and continue along the existing I-19, I-10, US 93, and US 95 routes all the way to Reno.
This comes as no surprise, but the three months that make up the meteorological summer, June through August, were the hottest on record in Las Vegas. The average daily temperature over the 92 days was 96.2 degrees, smashing the record set in 2018 of 93.7, according to the National Weather Service. In addition, the average high temperature over the three-month period was 107.6, beating the old record of 106.2 set in 1940; the average low temperature was 84.8, more than two degrees higher than the previous record of 82.3 set in 2018. The rest of the tally: The official weather station at Reid International recorded 36 days of 110 or hotter, 69 of 105-plus, and 86 of 100-plus. It was also unseasonably dry during the monsoon months, the airport registering .13 of an inch of rain, compared to nearly three inches last year and nearly two in 2022.
Fontainebleau's Oasis pool deck is an expansive six acres on Level 3 and hosts seven pools, four bars, and two restaurants; the LIV Beach dayclub itself is 35,000 square feet spread over two stories. Though open only to hotel guests, visitors have had access to the pool area on Sundays via the Oasis Movie Club, which ends this evening for the season. In addition, a 2,300 square-foot area poolside for gambling is open to the public, with four blackjack tables. Now comes word that a crap table has been added to the mix. This casino is open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Typically, September temperatures drop from hot to pretty hot, descending from average highs around 99 in the beginning of the month to 88 at the end. The average lows make the nights comfortable enough to eschew air-conditioning for all but the hottest-blooded; they start out at 76 and go down to 65. Still, summer remains for three of the four weeks, so the record high is a sweltering 114 (September 6, 2020), with four more days above 110, nine at 108 and 109, and the record highs above 100 every day of the month. But it can also cool way down, with the record low at 43 degrees (September 27, 1948) and 12 other dates in the 40s. Normally, nearly a third of an inch of rain falls, the eighth driest month of the year.