FEATURES

By Matt Kelemen

Scuba diving the world’s oceans and seas is the most otherworldly experience one can have without leaving the earth’s exosphere. Diving sites where sharks abound add suspense to that sense of otherworldliness, but Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay now provides a dive in the desert with no danger of becoming dinner for razor-toothed predators. The Undersea Explorer VR Experience takes viewers on a voyage to the bottom of the sea, where several shark species are encountered.

First there are jungle habitats, aquatic environments, touchable stingrays and a shipwreck to explore. Meet a submerged Johnston’s crocodile in the ancient sunken temple and learn how they hunt and hold prey with their 70 dagger-like teeth. Get winked at by a large Komodo dragon without being consumed in entirety by the voracious reptile. Encounter a Burmese python with a seize-andsqueeze mentality and witness piranha from a safe distance.

Exotic underwater life in the tanks such as zebra sharks swim in harmony with beak-bearing parrotfish and teeth-grinding French grunts. Queen triggerfish crowned with protective dorsal spines reside in reefs with fierce-fighting sergeant majors and French angelfish.

The shark tube leading to the touch pool offers a dynamic and dramatic visual experience. Hammerheads swim up and over the glass enclosures, enabling views of every angle of the graceful fish’s anatomy. The “kings of sting,” as mounted wall placards dub them, rule the pool where a very gentle one-finger touch is allowed. These rays have their stingers trimmed, so it is not necessary to learn the pain-alleviating “stingray shuffle” before an encounter.

It’s possible to lose track of time while zoning out on the cylindrical sea jellies tank. Nearby, lionfish get a brightly lit habitat fit for spectacular royal scale patterns. Starfish of all sizes room with a giant Pacific octopus skilled at hiding in plain sight.

The grand finale is the viewing area designed to resemble a shipwreck with windows providing views out to the “ocean” floor. Several species of sharks swim about, with bowmouth guitarfish and sawtooth sharks having the fanciest faces. Visitors can sign up to feed Shark Reef’s residents or to swim among more than 30 sand tiger, sandbar and white tip reef sharks if they are certified divers.

That would require getting wet, though. The Undersea Explorer VR Experience allows for a dry dive in a 36-seat motion-platform theater. VR headsets provide 360-degree virtual vistas that allows audience members to “dive” with the inhabitants of Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. It feels very real as tiger sharks get up close and personal, then interact with an diver. Hold on tight as a GoPro helps simulate the feeling of hanging onto a hammerhead’s fin for a minute-long ride.

People with a history of motion sickness might want to check out the aquarium first, but if the vertiginous author of this article did not experience any adverse effects it should be fine for most everyone.

Mandalay Bay 702.632.4555

Immerse yourself in the depths without getting wet at Shark Reef Aquarium

Jersey Shore reality TV star Vinny Guadagnino is back in Las Vegas, returning to the Chippendales stage at the Rio for this third run as guest host of the iconic male revue through April 10. After a long time away, the show returned to live performances and wild audiences last fall, and “The Keto Guido” is the first guest star to bring back his own unique spark to the sexy, funny production. While he’s been busy filming for TV over the course of the last two years, nothing can replace the feeling of entertaining fans live onstage for this budding performer.

How does it feel to be back in Las Vegas, getting onstage at Chippendales again after such a long time away?

I had no idea if it was ever going to come back, if the world was ever going to come back like before, or what things would survive and thrive. They didn’t have to call me back and they did, and it’s definitely flattering and an amazing feeling.

You recently sold your house in L.A. and you’re back home in New York, so it must be cool to have such a fun reason to get back to the West Coast.

Vegas is kind of like a second home. New York pulled me back

Rio, 702.777.2782

Vinny Guadagnino

brings his style to ‘Chippendales’

By Brock Radke

again, because my family is there, and I have a lot of business there. But Vegas is perfect because I can do the show, go out to the coast and get my fix, and pop into L.A., and Vegas is so chill. It’s more my speed. L.A. can get a little wild. In Vegas, the Strip is crazy but there’s so many other (things to do) like go hiking and take in all the surrounding nature. I’m excited to ride my bike out there.

You’ve been biking and of course you’ve famously been jumping rope on Jersey Shore, which your castmates tease you about. But isn’t it all part of a fitness regimen to keep you in shape for Chippendales?

I like to keep in shape for my mental health, too, since it has been a such a stressful time. I picked up a lot of new activities during (the pandemic) like those, and running through the woods, and making a nice meal for myself every night. Staying home was almost like training camp for me, then when the world opened back up, I started to put on weight again. So maybe I have to lock myself down again in order to get back in shape. With the jump rope, it seems like everybody makes fun of what I do at first, but then all of a sudden, it’s popping. First it was keto, then jump rope.

You were working on several different projects before the pandemic, including podcasts and stand-up comedy. What’s the status?

I moved to Manhattan specifically so I could work on my comedy and be more immersed in the (environment). I’m doing a little bit of open mic stuff, more underground style. Comedy is not something you just jump into, but I’m getting pretty comfortable and definitely working on it. And I’m hoping to restart a podcast I’ll do in New York, too. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do some (comedy) while I’m doing Chippendales in Vegas because you know there are plenty of great comedy clubs there.

You’re a veteran at this point with Chippendales, but what were your first impressions of the show?

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I first got here, but I loved it from the beginning. If you sit down for one show, you realize it’s more of an interactive, fun, comedy-type of show where everyone is just having a good time. It definitely is a staple show of Las Vegas and every time I tell people to come, they’ve never had a bad time.

Surf and turf at One Steakhouse

By KEN MILLER

FEW CITIES DO LOBSTER JUSTICE LIKE LAS VEGAS

If you’re visiting Las Vegas, odds are you plan on having lobster at least once. After all, this city has perfected many of the niche food groups that most Americans love (shrimp cocktail perhaps being the most famous), and lobster is right near the top of the list. The only unanswered question for most of you is: Where are you going to have it, and in what form?

Therein lies the real challenge, for Las Vegas offers lobster in so many forms it’s nearly impossible to know where to start. Luckily, we here at Las Vegas Magazine have eaten all over the city and have had every conceivable version of this tasty crustacean. So allow us to take you through some of our personal highlights.

Let’s start with the absolute classic, one you’ve no doubt had regardless of where you come from: Surf and turf. (Are there three more mouth-watering words when visiting a classic steakhouse?) No more of that frustrating choice of steak or lobster. This is the best of both worlds! One of downtown’s finest restaurants features a fantastic version—Barry’s Downtown Prime at Circa Resort & Casino. This eatery is already one of downtown’s hottest spots, and this dish is no doubt a big part of that, featuring a sautéed 8-ounce filet mignon (medium-rare, please!) and a Maine lobster tail served with roasted garlic aioli and red wine sauce. Another great restaurant, David and Michael Morton’s One Steakhouse at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, serves up its own killer version of almost the same combo. Fans of One’s former iteration, MB Steakhouse, will have some idea of the treat they’re in for.

Next up is the single lobster tail, so appetizing with the meat popping out of the shell, ready to dip into melted butter. Again, you can find this one almost everywhere, but we’d recommend making it part of a meal at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse at the Golden Nugget, a wonderful accompaniment to one of the property’s world-class steaks.

Elsewhere on the Strip, you’ll find all sorts of wonderful variations on the lobster tail. One of my personal favorites is the 2 1/2-pound Cantonese lobsters at Catch at Aria. This is a serious dish with serious flavor, with the lobster divided up into succulent bites and served with sake, oyster sauce, scallions and garlic. So amazing!

And Harvest at Bellagio, a restaurant that stresses sustainably produced proteins, serves up a stone-oven-roasted Maine lobster with citrus and seaweed butter. Like everything else at Harvest, it’s unforgettable.

Then, of course, there’s the lobster roll, a favorite of New Englanders, and no place in Las Vegas does this popular dish better than Lobster ME, which has two outposts in Las Vegas—at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort and at The Venetian and The Palazzo. Everything is served deli counter-style, and there are

Lobster tail at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse

Lobster mac and cheese at VooDoo Steakhouse

Lobster bisque at Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak

Lobster tacos at Nobu also some other lobster-based delights you’ll want to sample while you’re here: Lobster crab fries, lobster grilled cheese, and a “lobsicle”—a 4-ounce Maine lobster tail on a stick! For a true Vegas moment (especially if money is no object), we highly recommend the “One Pounder,” which is exactly what it sounds like: a full pound of Maine lobster meat. Sure, you’ll probably say that sounds like a lot, but let’s be honest: You’ll eat every bite and love it!

And what’s a story about lobster without mentioning the seafood tower? It seems almost inconceivable to experience Las Vegas without indulging in at least one. There are so many great versions of this up and down the Las Vegas Strip, but the version at Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse, a nod to the city’s mobster era at Flamingo, definitely bears mentioning. It’s a terrifically displayed collection of seafood delights, with lobster (appropriately) towering over the rest.

Another version that will satiate everyone at the table is the monster version served at Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian, piled high with not only lobster tails but oysters, red king crab legs and

2 1/2-pound Cantonese lobster at Catch

Lobster salad at Estiatorio Milos

poached shrimp. This might just end up being your entire meal.

Now we start getting into some of the more off-the-beaten-path lobster options out there. For instance, if you’re a big brunch fan (and if you’re visiting Las Vegas, we would certainly hope so!), head over to Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson and to Bottiglia Cucina & Enoteca, where as part of your overall experience, you can enjoy a delicious lobster Benedict—butter-poached lobster, Parmesan creamed spinach and spiced hollandaise sauce.

Another option we see popping up on more and more menus is lobster mac and cheese. Needless to say, this is one menu item we always order when we see it, for every restaurant tackles this item differently. We’ve yet to have one we weren’t crazy about. We’d start with the version at VooDoo Steakhouse at Rio, as much for the side dish itself as for the ridiculously cool views from 50 floors up.

How about salads? There’s a splendid lobster salad at Estiatorio Milos at The Venetian. This Greek restaurant celebrates the sea’s bounty, and this is one of the restaurant’s most popular offerings.

And what’s a salad without a soup? Again, there are plenty of lobster bisques to sample up and down the Strip, but we’re seriously partial to the one created by Top Chef Tom Colicchio at his Craftsteak restaurant at MGM Grand. Flavored with tarragon, it’s so creamy and decadent.

Finally, taco fans can rejoice that Nobu at Caesars Palace has a seriously ampedup version. Now go get your lobster on!

Surf and turf at Barry’s Downtown Prime

Lobster tail at Delmonico Steakhouse

By Matt Kelemen

Portugal. The Man and alt-J play with many different styles

As of mid-February, with weeks to go before the start of their co-headlining tour that stops at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Sunday night, the members of alt-J and Portugal. The Man had yet to meet. The bands are both on Atlantic Records, are arguably the preeminent practitioners of art pop on their respective sides of the Atlantic Ocean and chose band names that beg explanation as well as slightly extra attention to punctuation and capitalization.

The latter is a small thing to ask considering the attention both bands pay to composition and recording. Their baroque

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas 7 p.m. April 3, starting at $49 plus tax and fee. virginhotelslv.com

alt-J pop and rock foundations are sympathetic to a spectrum of musical styles, with England’s alt-J layering vocal harmonies and experimenting with effects while Portland’s Portugal finding the perfect sonic space to inhabit where indie rock, modern dance-pop, and psychedelia meet.

What alt-J keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton refers to as a “two-month long blind date” brings together two complementary acts who were both practically blindsided by success but retained clear creative visions afterward. As Portugal bassist Zach Carothers indicated during a Feb. 17 interview with Unger-Hamilton for online publication Consequence, fans tend to love both bands.

Portugal. The Man has a slightly longer history. Carothers and multi-instrumentalist John Gourley began making music together as high-school students in Wasilla, Alaska, during Sarah Palin’s second term as mayor. By 2004, they had formed Portugal. The Man, expanded it to a quintet and relocated to Portland where they quickly set about recording demos and arranging tours. They released their eccentric, eclectic debut album Waiter: “You Vultures!” through Fearless Records in 2006.

One year later, alt-J formed at Leeds University, taking the name from a PC keyboard command for a triangle symbol. It would become a trio when guitarist/bassist Gwilym Sainsbury left in 2014 but began making music in their dorm rooms as a quartet featuring art majors Joe Newman on vocals and guitar and Thom Green on drums, and literature-focused Unger-Hamilton. Debut album An Awesome Wave demonstrated a mastery of layering and pastiche, with a palette of music influences from acoustic and analog to amplified and digitized. Tracks such as “Breezeblocks” and “Tessellate” garnered enough attention and acclaim to earn alt-J a prestigious Mercury Prize.

Latest album The Dream shows more progression in an avant-garde direction, with innovations in combining vocals and instruments with amps and effects leading to adventurous sounds and iconoclastic songs. Portugal just released latest single “What, Me Worry?,” an homage to Mad magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman. It’s imbued with the spirit that fired up Portugal’s 2017 monster hit “Feel It Still” but feels completely fresh, testifying to Portugal’s ongoing evolution and penchant for not taking things too seriously.

Neither Portugal. The Man or alt-J are likely to lead with egos when deciding who plays first. It’s more likely they’ll make guest appearances during each other’s sets than attempt to blow each other off the stage. That quest belongs to Los Angeles trio Cherry Glazerr, which opens the Virgin concert show as special guest.

Portugal. The Man

WITH SPECIAL GUEST COLIN CLOUD