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Sin City is Waiting to Come Roaring Back

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Hasn’t it seemed like we’ve been collectively holding our breath all through 2020? As we’ve put our lives on hold, perhaps we’ve caught ourselves thinking, “I’ll go there next year.”

The good news is that next year is right around the corner. Las Vegas has been taking the year in stride, sprucing itself up and making itself ready for everyone who spent 2020 #dreamingofvegas.

Sin City will continue its reputation as a world-class destination, with something for every visitor. On the Strip alone are more than three dozen fabulous hotel properties, many of which—such as Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, and Harrah’s—are household names, destinations that have adorned bucket lists for decades. Over the years, these veteran resorts have been joined by newer properties appealing to more specialized tastes. This is not your parents’ Vegas!

Consider the Mirage, which boasts a 200,000-gallon tropical aquarium, as well as a life-like tropical rain forest in which to lose yourself. On the other hand, if you prefer sweeping views of the city, look no further than the Cosmopolitan. There, visitors enjoy spacious, residential-style rooms and unique, and private, terraces. Meanwhile, art lovers will appreciate the Bellagio’s legendary art gallery.

And then, there is the incomparable Wynn Las Vegas—the most expensive resort in the world and the final word in luxury. These resorts compete with each other in offering every conceivable amenity. Get your entourage together and have the weekend—or week—of your life! You don’t have to be a whale to live large in Sin City.

Don’t forget that Vegas remains the wedding capital of the world. Many hotels and resorts include a chapel, with no prior appointment required. Naturally, these properties can also assist with a larger ceremony—complete with all the frills. A plentiful array of stand-alone wedding chapels can also be found on and off the Strip, many of which specialize in themed ceremonies. And yes: you can still be joined in eternal union by the King himself (or a reasonable facsimile thereof).

Sports enthusiasts have come to recognize Vegas as not only the world’s premier gaming mecca, but also as an estimable sports hub in its own right. The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels put Vegas on the college basketball map, but this was just the beginning. As of 2016, the Golden Knights have also put Vegas on ice, becoming one of the most acclaimed hockey teams in the country, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2018. And joining these local heroes this year are none other than the legends of the Silver and Black, the Las Vegas Raiders, hitting the gridiron in the brand-new, state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium.

Have you spent the year #dreamingofvegas? Well, get ready. Because in 2021, dreams come true.

A Sin City Super Bowl? And Get Ready for Music!

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The 2021 Super Bowl takes place in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, but it’s the 2024 Bowl that is sparking conversations everywhere. Officially, no city has been scheduled, but early in October both the city and the Las Vegas Raiders tendered an offer to host the event at its state-of-art Allegiant Stadium. With no decision yet taken, a League official has confirmed that the NFL is intrigued, citing the city’s unique mix of glamor and gaming as an enticement for fans. (Our brand-new $2 billion venue won’t hurt, either.)

You don’t have to wait for 2024 for football action. Just in time for the Nevada Day holiday, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels met in-state rivals UNR’s Wolf Pack in the Rebels’ initial season home game–and, naturally, their first at Allegiant Stadium. Because of seating requirements, the limited number of pre-sale tickets vanished within an hour. However, you can catch all the gridiron action at the Strip’s newest and biggest sportsbook.

Located downtown, the Circa sportsbook opened October 28 to great fanfare. For weeks prior, social media was abuzz with details of its opulence. Teaser photos suggested that this was no run-of-the-mill betting parlor. Spread across three stories, early visitors describe the venue as ‘closer to a stadium than a traditional sportsbook.’ Its 78-million-pixel screen, in particular, has received not just rave reviews, but something closer to outright awe. The second-floor Overhang Bar also offers a pristine view of its array of screens, and in a nod to the younger set, broadcasters can get their podcast on in a specially designated area near the sportsbook. Local media are already wondering aloud how (and when) the other sportsbooks plan to react.

Meanwhile, as Vegas establishes its allure as a prime sporting destination, music remains–as ever–embedded in the city’s entertainment DNA. As attendance restrictions are loosened, live music is poised to make a roaring comeback. In December alone, the “Queen of Country Pop,” Shania Twain, commences a ten-day residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, while acclaimed country duo Brooks and Dunn are set to perform several concerts at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

With residencies restarting all around the Strip, can arena shows be far behind? Look no further than February 2021, when country legend Garth Brooks brings his crack band to Allegiant Stadium. On Saturday, February 27, get ready for the King of Country to bring you a songbook that appeals across generations of fans. Don’t just take our word for it; Billboard has certified that Brooks is the only artist to score top-10 hits in the 1980s, 90s, 00s, 10s–and now in 2020 with his current single “Dive Bar.” His Sin City appearance (rescheduled from August) is certain to reignite the Vegas concert season with a bang!

Circa Opens with the Largest Sportsbook in the World this October

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These times may be uncertain but, as ever, Las Vegas continues to set the pace as a world-class tourist and gaming destination. Look no further than late October when Circa opens as the first downtown hotel and casino erected in over four decades. Running at 1.25-million-square-feet, this property will set new records for grandeur.

Circa will feature lucky 777 rooms and a 35-story hotel tower, the tallest building north of the Strip, that promises tremendous views of the Strip and beyond. While the hotel is not planned to open until late December, its three-story sportsbook opens for business on October 28.

As with so much of this property, the sportsbook’s opening is much expected and promises gaming on a grand scale. How grand? Once open, it will be the world’s largest sportsbook with seating for 1,000 patrons who can watch all the action on a mammoth 78-million-pixel high-definition screen. Bettors will also appreciate the venue’s in-house broadcast studio, the Vegas Stats and Information Network, offering-to-the moment, expert analysis from athletes, broadcasters, and industry professionals. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision the sportsbook becoming the 2021 destination of choice for super-fans of the Super Bowl, March Madness, fantasy football draft parties and more.

The property was designed with the glamor of old-school Vegas in mind. The hotel will feature rooms that — while sleek and modern — also boast retro touches reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s. Another, and greater, nod to the past lies in its noteworthy decision to limit most of the property — including the sportsbook — to adults 21 and older. This suggests that Circa is actively reaching out to a selective clientele, one enamored of the spirit of the Vegas of decades past when the city was a Disneyland for adults—dressed up and headed out to place bets at the Hilton Superbook.

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden Invites You “Into the Woods.”

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Las Vegas often marks its seasons by the presence–or absence–of heat. As an all-season destination, Sin City has few traditions to mark the arrival of autumn, but one is cherished by locals and visitors alike. The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden offers five extravagant exhibits each year to celebrate the arrival of a new season, including the Chinese New Year. Its Fall 2020 exhibit, “Into the Woods,” opened September 15 and offers a journey through a place that most would never associate with the Strip—a magical forest.

This seasonal tradition dates back to 1998 with the opening of the Bellagio Hotel. This year, attendees can explore a virtual forest featuring colorful mushrooms, a grizzled old tree sculpted into a friendly grimace, buzzing fireflies and more—all painstakingly sculpted from an array of flowers, plants, and trees. Visitors looking for the inside conservatory are often surprised to find this world within a world just a short distance from the front lobby.

This year, a family of foxes aboard a magical sailboat greets the visitor. Travel further, and a large hand-hewn tree comes into view. Called the “Talking Tree,” on closer inspection, travelers will find that it also is home to an elaborate, flower-festooned tree house. Spanning 14,000 square feet, “Into the Woods” also features four winged faeries (and their faerie home), bears playing in a harvest of pumpkins (and, naturally, a honey pot) and much more.

While justly famous for its legendary fountains, these “Woods” are sure to delight both children and adults. This Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden exhibit is one of the most popular offered by any strip property and remains free to the public, 24 hours a day. Get there early, as there are bound to be numerous visitors.

Bills Mafia – NFL in Las Vegas

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#BillsMafia is wild, y’all. The official Buffalo Bills fanbase, #BillsMafia, might just be the most passionate and dedicated group in the NFL. Seriously. Not many other teams’ fans have to brave zero degrees at kickoff games, or games where players struggle to see other players on the field, or even games with wind so strong the goal posts have to be secured several times. Even fewer fanbases would show up to those games for a team that has gone 6-10 five times in the last decade, with one season at a whopping 4-12 record. #BillsMafia though… They throw on seven layers under their zubaz pants and head to private lots, Hammer and Grass, or shell out the money for Tailgate Village in Orchard Park, New York—New Era Field. Every. Single. Sunday. So where did this fanbase come from?

#BillsMafia started virally. They’re a newer group, though the fans have been there forever. One game day in 2010, fan favorite WR Stevie Johnson dropped a pass. A dropped pass wouldn’t normally be that memorable, but Johnson took to Twitter to place the blame with whom he thought was most responsible—The Almighty Father. Hours later, long after Bills fans had exhausted the jokes about the issue, sports writer Adam Schefter tweeted about Johnson’s accusative tweet and Bills fans jumped at the excuse to tease him mercilessly by starting the hashtag #SchefterBreakingNews, tagging historical events such as Washington crossing the Delaware and “Abraham Lincon shot, police on trail of famous actor” with the hashtag. The creators were quickly blocked by the writer, thus creating the new #BillsMafia hashtag for the bad guys of the Bills family. The hashtag was quickly embraced by the Bills team and a movement was born.

However, the ethos of #BillsMafia has been around far longer than the hashtag. Fans like Pinto Ron, AKA Ken Johnson, have been hosting wild tailgate bashes for 3 decades. Pinto Ron is named for the beat up old car he used to drive to every game, which since has been adopted by the organization and now lives covered in Hammar’s Lot. Pinto Ron is best known for his and his team’s uniquely cooked tailgate food: meatballs from a bed pan, pizza from a filing cabinet, bacon on a handsaw, wings from a hubcap, and Italian Wedding soup in a tin watering can. You can also grab a beer from his toilet bowl cooler, or take a shot of 100 proof cherry liqueur from the thumb hole of his bowling ball that travels with him to every away game of the season, as long as you blow from his vuvuzela after. His tailgate culminates in a chaotic ritual-like dance, where fans encircle the Tailgate King and cover him head to foot in ketchup and mustard. The ketchup dance, however, isn’t even the wildest of the #BillsMafia traditions.

#BillsMafia are known for being rowdy. In an effort to curb dangerous party atmospheres, New Era Stadium changed tailgating rules when two fans died in one night after being ejected from the game. Specifically, though, #BillsMafia has an affinity for broken tables and professional wrestling-style slams. There are dozens of videos of Bills fans slamming other Bills fans through tables. There may be some connection to a video of a Bills fan slamming a fan of their rival team, the Patriots, to the ground in the early 2010s, but I never found confirmation of that. The table trend became notable in 2015 and hasn’t stopped. But table slamming isn’t the only unruly tradition Bills fans have. There is also Annie the Tom Brady Corgi, who gets aggressive at any mention of the hated quarterback after years of reacting to her owner’s anger at the mention of him. Annie isn’t the only emphasis on the saltiness of #BillsMafia towards their in-division rival quarterback. Two brothers started a tradition of throwing (ahem…) *adult* toys onto the field, reserved for only games against Tom Brady. 

Speaking of quarterbacks, Josh Allen has gotten his fair share of criticism over the two years he’s started for the Bills. Fan favorite Tre’Davious White once chastised #BillsMafia for dwelling on the 2017 draft pick trade to Kansas City who jumped on the opportunity to draft young phenom Patrick Mahomes II. Buffalo drafted Allen the following year and he’s started at the quarterback position since. Though the Bills ended the season 3rd in the division with a 6-10 record in 2018, 2019 was a completely different story, ending 10-6 in second place behind the Patriots with a Wild Card spot. The playoff berth came for the first time since 1999, and fans braved the below freezing temperatures in the early hours after the team’s return from Pittsburgh to meet them at the airport. Allen took a quick selfie with a fan that literally ended up in a local museum, the @AlbrightKnox. Unfortunately for #BillsMafia, the Bills season ended in heartbreaking fashion—blowing a 16-0 lead to the Houston Texans in an overtime loss, 22-19. But Allen’s future with the team looks bright. 

Hopefully in the future we’ll find the number of Josh Allen jerseys growing to Jim Kelly numbers. Fan favorite Shady McCoy may have left last year, but things are no longer looking bleak for #BillsMafia. Twice in the last 3 seasons have the Bills made the playoffs after nearly a two decade drought. Those winning records are genuine improvements and the Bills are looking more and more dangerous each year. Hopefully for Pinto Ron, Annie the Tom Brady Corgi, and all the fans at the Hammer and Grass Lots, Buffalo can continue to improve and become a serious threat in the coming years. After all, the most fascinating fanbase in the NFL deserves nothing less.