Living Local — Is the “Best of Las Vegas” Any Good?

Last Sunday, the annual “Best of Las Vegas” appeared as a “Special Advertising Feature” in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

At least they’re calling a spade a spade.

The R-J has been compiling the “BOLV” for 38 years. In the beginning, it was very fair. The newspaper put a ballot in a Sunday newspaper with all the categories, both best and worst. They tabulated the votes for the top prize, then had local experts (including Anthony Curtis and myself) make “staff choices” for the various categories. Yes, some establishments purchased 100 copies of that issue of the paper to load up the ballot box, but for the most part, it was all on the square.

Successive R-J owners realized there was gold in those hills, as well as online shortcuts. Categories were expanded to over 300, covering every type of Las Vegas business or service. Staff picks and Worst categories were eliminated. Now, there are three levels of awards for each category — Gold, Silver, and Bronze, creating almost 1,000 awards.

Sometime in the early summer, the R-J takes online nominations. Anyone can nominate and Las Vegas establishments interested in participating make sure they’re nominated in the categories that work best for them. El Cortez (which won several awards again this year) isn’t going for “Best Dim Sum” and the MGM Grand knows better than to chase “Loosest Slots.”

For the next couple of months, the nominees encourage their customers, supporters, and even employees (especially through eblasts) to vote and there are no limitations on the number of times anyone can do so.

In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, the R-J does explain the entire process on one of the first pages of the publication. I’ve seen other “best lists” that don’t explain the process, which is especially troubling when you notice that the results overwhelmingly favor existing advertising.

So is the “Best of Las Vegas” a valuable tool? I wouldn’t sign up for an R-J subscription just to gain access to the online results, but if you’re already a subscriber, the annual publication or online list can be a useful resource to keep handy. If you’re happy with your favorite casino, your nearby bar, your barber, or your divorce lawyer, don’t consider going elsewhere just because they’re not “BOLV” award winners. But if you’re looking for new places to drink, eat, gamble, and explore, or for new experts or whatever, the businesses and establishments that win the “BOLV” awards are a good place to start.

Yes, they probably made an extra effort to get into the “BOLV,” but that action does say that they’re interested in your patronage and they already have a loyal client base. You may want to back up your research with Yelp, Google, or other third-party reviews, but at least you’re aware of new choices. I didn’t go through every category, but in reviewing those categories and winners I’m familiar with, I didn’t see any that were outrageous.

Would I have given the “Best of Las Vegas” award in certain categories to other establishments not listed? Of course. But I don’t feel that any of the winners was wide of the mark.