What’s new in Las Vegas
Superstar chefs, high-roller yoga and cool cocktails add to Strip’s allure
LAS VEGAS — Last year Nevada breathed a sigh of relief as the state’s casinos recorded a net income for the first time since 2008. On its face, total revenues of $25.2 billion sound like a lot of people are happily feeding the slots and drawing cards at the gaming tables.
But room rates, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and lavish shows are major drivers of casino revenue as, for quite a while now, a trip to Vegas means more than just gambling.
As tourism climbs in southern Nevada — last year it welcomed 42.9 million visitors, up from 42 million in 2005, which also topped 2014’s 41.1 million — the nongaming attractions of Sin City continue to become more important to the economic heart of the state. That’s why resort casinos continue to invest in fine dining, hotel and guestroom décor, new bars and nightclubs. After all, there are hundreds of ways to lose your shirt in Vegas — some of them might as well be at a champagne-fueled day club.
Here are a handful of new attractions and events.
Popping corks: Vegas’ thriving culinary scene turns even more intense during the annual food and wine extravaganza Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit.
The city’s glittering lineup of chefs, coupled with the world’s top wine and spirits professionals, converges for the four-day bacchanal April 27-30. The festivities — grand tastings, chef-led lunches and dinners, craft-cocktail events, cooking demonstrations and more — are spread liberally throughout Caesars Palace, MGM Resorts, the Venetian, the Palazzo, the Cromwell and the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Expect to run into the likes of Giada De Laurentiis, Wolfgang Puck, José Andrés, Bobby Flay, Alain Ducasse, Michael Mina, Charlie Palmer, Buddy Valastro, Guy Savoy, Gordon Ramsay, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. Events are priced between $80 and $600; vegasuncorked.com.
Raise the bar: Parasol Up, the off-the-lobby bar at Wynn Las Vegas, got a complete makeover recently and now sports a lighter, more lively feel. The cocktail program, too, was shaken up with a selection of creative artisanal cocktails now available on tap. Business-casual dress is requested for this pretty new spot with views of the casino floor. Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; wynnlasvegas.com
Life aquatic: The Palazzo Las Vegas welcomes a social/ sophisticated pool experience called the Aquatic Club. An alternative to the conventional day club, this is a more couture, boutique experience. Servers sport Tory Burch-designed swimwear, and poolside fare comes from Puck. It is open Fridays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Venetian Las Vegas, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; venetian.com
Class in session: Leisure travelers don’t usually go to Vegas to learn something new. But Wynn Las Vegas has launched a series of interactive learning experiences for guests called The Wynn Master Class Series.
The classes tap the resort’s allstar lineup of professionals to lead guests through programs designed to inspire as well as educate. On April 21, become a vintner for the day in a wine class taught by director of wine Mark Thomas and master sommelier Joseph Spellman of Justin Vineyards. On May 4, learn how to be a deejay and lord over Intrigue nightclub from Wynn resident DJ Clutch. May 12: mastering the selfie; June 9: hands-on mixology. Classes are $125-$150. Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; wynnlasvegas.com
Positive energy: Yoga’s supposed to give you a natural high. But yoga at 550 feet? That’s super high. The High Roller Observation Wheel, the world’s tallest observation wheel, is now offering yoga classes within one of the 28 cabins that can hold up to 40 people each.
The yoga session lasts one hour (two wheel rotations) with an instructor and up to six guests per cabin. Sessions, $75 per person (four people required per session), are available 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Private one-on-one sessions are also available at $250 per person or $300 per couple.
High Roller at the Linq Hotel & Casino, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., caesars.com/linq/ high-roller Park it: The Strip’ s newest liveentertainment venue is the 5,200- seat Park Theater at Monte Carlo Las Vegas. Ricky Martin has begun an extended engagement, which will be followed by Cher’s residency and a little Bruno Mars, too. The Park Theater marks the beginning of a two-year transformation of the Monte Carlo, which is being rebranded as the Park MGM and the NoMad Hotel, a smaller hotel-within-ahotel branch of the hip New York inn. Throw in a Vegas outpost of the famed Eataly, and the Park may be the hippest place to stroll on the Strip when it’s completed in 2018.
The Park Theater, Monte Carlo Las Vegas, 3770 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; montecarlo. com
Cheers: The Dorsey has opened at the Venetian. The sophisticated lounge boasts an innovative craft-cocktail menu. Done up in French oak, brass, leather and marble, the Dorsey is at once intimate and upbeat. Cocktails come from bartender Sam Ross of New York’s Attaboy fame. The Venetian Las Vegas, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; venetian.com
Tres Cosmopolitan: The hip Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas just got cooler (if that’s possible) with three new concepts added to the already starry restaurant portfolio. In January, superchef David Chang opened his first Vegas restaurant, an outpost of his famed Momofuku, where guests can dine on pork belly buns, black winter truffle ramen, smothered Katsu Chicken, slow-roasted pork shoulder and mindblowing fried chicken and caviar.
Adjacent to Momofuku is pastry chef Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar bakery stocked with her signature crack pie, compost cookies and cereal milk soft-serve ice cream.
Zuma, a new Japanese izakaya, also recently opened in a dramatic space where diners have three kitchens (main, sushi counter and robata grill) thrilling with bites of seabass sashimi with truffle and salmon roe, soft shell crab spider roll and robata grilled wagyu tomahawk steak. Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
Iron will: Chef Masaharu Morimoto, star of Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” has finally put down his cleaver in Vegas, opening Morimoto at MGM Grand. The lively restaurant offers a menu of Japanese dishes that harmonize with Western flavors. There’s sushi, of course, but so much more: tuna pizza, yellowtail “pastrami,” braised black cod, seared snapper with mussels in Thai curry and Morimoto’s first teppan tables in the U.S., where chefs cook in front of guests. MGM Grand Las Vegas, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; mgmgrand.com
Suite dreams: Vegas is known for over-the-top hotel rooms. Planet Hollywood recently unveiled renovated suites, including the Ultra Boulevard Suites and the Ultra Panorama Suites, offering 180-degree views of the Strip. Both are high-roller options that offer every amenity and plush designs; prices start at $1,500.
On the other end of the price spectrum are the new bunk-bed rooms at the Linq Hotel & Casino: 12 rooms featuring two queen-size beds with a twin-size bunk-bed loft; prices start at $69.
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; caesars.com/planethollywood. The Linq, 3535 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; caesars.com/linq