On August 14, sports betting legends Billy Baxter, Jack Franzi, Jackie Gaughan, Bob Martin, Roxy Roxborough, Scotty Schettler, Jimmy Vaccaro, Billy Walters, Charles McNeil, and Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal were inducted into the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame at Circa.
Located in an enclave inside one of the world’s two largest sports books, the HoF honors bookmakers and bettors who have notably transformed the sports betting industry.
Continue reading Sports Gambling Hall of Fame Launched at Circa
Just opened in late July, Exxcite: The Show is a late-night burlesque-style revue that features six female dancers and a singer. It’s produced and choreographed by Jennifer Romas, well known in Vegas for her topless show Sexxy, which played for years at the Westgate Cabaret, then for a while as Sexxy After Dark at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. This new show is staged in the 300-seat Duomo Theater at the Rio.
Continue reading Exxcite: The Show — Does!
La Popular is a one brand from Grupo Carolo, among Mexico’s most recognized and extensive restaurant groups. The original restaurant is a favorite in Mexico City; the first U.S. venue opened in Roseville, California, in 2022. Since then, two more have opened in California, one in Austin, Texas, and most recently at the Palms.
Spiegelworld is a good name for the Las Vegas-based live-entertainment production company: It’s definitely a world unto itself.
Producers of Absinthe at Caesars Palace, OPM at the Cosmopolitan, and Atomic Saloon Show at Palazzo, Spiegelworld also owns the entire town Nipton, California, 60 miles from Vegas, which it’s in the process of turning into a “circus settlement.” In addition, Spiegelworld operates Superfrico, the “psychedelic Italian” restaurant at Cosmo, and recently-ish opened No Pants at Caesars Palace.
Continue reading No Pants by — Who Else? — SpiegelworldWe arrived on a Friday night right at 6 p.m., thinking we might have to wait in line for 20 to 30 minutes to get into the only downtown buffet, which serves dinner Fri. and Sat. nights only. Au contraire! We didn’t have to wait even 20 seconds. We just walked right up to the cashier, paid, and had plate in hand within a minute.
Continue reading Main Street Station Dinner Buffet — Where Is Everyone?
Even before it opened, we received frequent questions about whether tours of Allegiant Stadium would be available and we understand the curiosity. It’s not every day you get to go behind the scenes of a $2 billion building, let alone one you see on television with 65,000 people in the stands, NFL teams on the field, and celebrity broadcasters in the booth.
The tours depart from the first-level base of the Al Davis Memorial Torch, which rises to the third level of the stadium. Upwards of 20 people were on the tour in front of ours and 25 on ours; they’re definitely popular. Our guide was excellent—full of energy and passion for the building and team, he imparted a steady stream of information about both. After getting your first view of the field, you head to one of the restroom/concession areas and learn that the stadium has 297 restrooms and 1,430 toilets, along with 76 concessions, so people at games and concerts won’t have to miss much while waiting in line for food and bathroom breaks; you also see a video of the “flush test,” in which the plumbing for all 1,500 toilets and urinals was checked.
From there, you go up a level to where the corporate suites and broadcasters’ booth are. The booth is just an empty (carpeted) box; the networks and radio stations have up to 72 hours before games to load in all their sets, electronics, robot cameras, etc. But the view, right at the 50-yard line on the second level, is the best in the stadium. Second-best is from the 127 VIP and corporate suites on two levels that feature luxury box seats and bars and buffets behind them in small rooms; we walked through one of MGM Resorts’ high-roller hangs.
Then you descend to the bowels of the stadium for stops at the Raiderettes exhibit and locker room, post-game press room, and Raiders locker room. Again, they’re pretty much empty, just a few props for the tours, and smaller than you might expect for all the people they accommodate on game days. The players’ locker room, though, is fancy, with black-and-silver décor; you watch a video of Raiders of different eras getting ready for games, then the climax of the tour is a hologram of current coach Jon Gruden giving a rousing pep talk.
From there, it’s right onto the field for your pro-football fantasy. You have five minutes to take a line-of-scrimmage stance, run, do a touchdown victory dance, and/or tackle your husband. It’s interesting to see the Wynn Field Club behind the north goalpost for the highest rollers. As always in Las Vegas, you exit the field right at the logo store. From there, the cheap tickets go through the store and out to the parking lot, while the VIP tickets—tour and a drink—go back up to the main concourse bar.
The tours depart every 20 minutes between 10:40 am and 9 pm, though the number of tours and days is shrinking as the stadium hosts more events. They last 75 minutes and cost $59, or $80 for the drink and view (discounts available for locals and “those who serve”). Make reservations and pay online. Parking is free. Wear walking shoes; you cover a lot of ground. It’ll be fun to watch Raiders’ home games on TV after seeing the stadium from the players’, cheerleaders’, broadcasters’, and high-roller points of view.
