Brett’s
By Jackie Brett Jackie is a freelance public relations specialist and writer specializing in the Las Vegas entertainment and travel scene. Her writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers nationwide and on numerous websites. Email: jackiebrett@cox.net
RESORT NEWS
Video game developer Atari plans to build video-game themed hotels in the US with one in Las Vegas. Downtown Grand opened its new eight-story Gallery Tower and property art collection. The centerpiece is “Transmigrations,” an interactive art installation available to guests in rooms in the Virtual Pad collection with artwork outside the window. There is also a new casino floor entrance. Operations for weekend stays, Thu.-Sun., at Planet Hollywood started last month with the resort opening its newly branded William Hill sportsbook. Tropicana Las Vegas, now a DoubleTree by Hilton and a Penn National Gaming destination, reopened with “Legends in Concert” showgirls.
After nearly a decade at The Cosmopolitan, Mediterranean seafood restaurant Estiatorio Milos is moving to The Venetian’s restaurant row this year in space formerly occupied by Aquaknox. Primarily Prime Rib with some new menu items and Baja Miguel’s cantina reopened at South Point. Joy of Hot Dog, Corner Bar Management’s kitschy, neon-lit trailer serving over-thetop hot dogs, reopened in the Fremont East Entertainment District, with a new a 30-foot art installation “Electric Dandelions” with firework effects. To Be Frank, a new ghost kitchen serving specialty hot dogs and sausages, is open for delivery, takeout and catering Mon.-Sat. 5 p.m.midnight at downtown eatery Every Grain, which closes its lunch business at 2:30 p.m. Letty’s De Leticia’s Cocina replaced the El Sombrero Café Mexican dining place since 1950 at 807 S. Main Street. Local restauranteur Leticia Mitchell added a 19-seat front patio and is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Street artists transformed the building’s exterior. Tailgate Social, an all-day sports-obsessed bar by Clique Hospitality, is coming to Palace Station in November with 30 high-definition TVs, billiards and approachable meals and bites.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cultural British icon Morrissey rescheduled his five-night residency “Morrissey: Viva Moz Vegas” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Aug.-Sept. 2021. R&B singer Usher will begin a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on July 16, 2021, with 12 performance dates set. The Sahara’s new two-story Magic Mike Live Theater under construction is preparing for the 2021 premiere of Channing Tatum’s “Magic Mike Live Las Vegas.” Nearly 50 percent larger than the former showroom at the Hard Rock Hotel, the venue will feature new amenities including zip lines, a QR code-based ordering system and full bar adjacent to the entrance.
DINING • BEVERAGE
With an industrial design, Victory Burger & Wings Co. opened at Circa Oct. 28 overlooking the world’s largest sportsbook with a 78-millionpixel sportsbook screen, 16 TVs and a designated radio booth. Restaurant operators are thirdgeneration owners of Detroit’s 103-year-old American Coney Island. Esteemed Taiwanese dumpling and noodle house Din Tai Fung with more than 170 restaurants in 13 countries opened its first Las Vegas location at Aria in October.
Maverick Helicopters and Lip Smacking Foodie Tours are offering the fine-dining and helicopter night flight experience Savory Bites & Neon Lights. The culinary journey visits The Cosmopolitan’s Rose. Rabbit. Lie., Momofuku and Scarpetta, as well as Mastro’s Ocean Club inside The Shops at Crystals followed by an aerial trip over the Strip. Buddy V’s Ristorante reopened with menu updates, new hours and a new happy hour in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian after a renovation this summer. CraftHaus Arts District, a local brewery taproom downtown, celebrated its first anniversary and has opened a new extended seasonal outdoor patio for al fresco dining and sipping space on California Ave.
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Olive Garden’s eighth local expansion will take over third-floor space at the Showcase Mall above Target on the Strip. El Cortez downtown has reopened its intimate Parlour Bar where there is a happy hour daily. Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar will hold its exclusive Italian wine and white truffle dinner on Nov. 19.
ABOUT TOWN
When the Hard Rock’s former Vinyl venue opens at the new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Jan. 15, 2021, it will be rebranded as 24 Oxford, which is a nod to the first Virgin Record Store opening in 1971 at that address in London. The Joint showroom will also be renamed. The Wee Kirk Las Vegas Wedding Chapel downtown, the city’s oldest continually running one, was unexpectedly after eight decades demolished by a new private owner.
Nightmare Toys is a new year-round horror and Halloween warehouse-sized shop in downtown’s Arts District with the building’s façade painted by a local artist, featuring horror icons. Topgolf Entertainment Group has partnered with Rovio Entertainment, creators of the Angry Birds franchise, to launch the newest familyfriendly Angry Birds gameplay, now available in Las Vegas. Las Vegas artist David Fay’s original 250-pound sculpture with a “Thinker”-like figure titled “On Second Thought” utilizing 600 decommissioned guns and ammo is on display near Park on Fremont honoring the Oct. 1 massacre. The Moulin Rouge sign, originally displayed in1955 at the first major racially integrated casino, has been re-illuminated at The Neon Museum Boneyard. The weekly Friday farmers’ and artisan market started up again at Tivoli Village 3 to 8 p.m. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is scheduled to host two NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events in 2021 on April 16-18 and Oct. 29-31. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada transitioned the RTC Bike Share program to a completely online and mobile pass purchase. www.lvfnbpro.com
