Date: Sept. 27, 2020
DOWNTOWN GRAND OPENS ITS NEW GALLERY TOWER
The Downtown Grand recently celebrated the grand opening of its new eight-story, 495-room Gallery Tower, which began construction in January 2019. It is the first new hotel tower constructed in Downtown Las Vegas in more than a decade with Circa’s hotel portion soon to follow when it opens in December.
The Gallery Tower derives its name from the property’s art collection which includes works in varying sizes and mediums by local and internationally recognized artists. The centerpiece of the Gallery Tower’s art program is “Transmigrations,” an interactive, augmented reality-based art installation exclusively available to guests staying in rooms in the Virtual Pad collection. Using a proprietary hotel app on an in-room iPad, guests can view and interact with the augmented reality features of the artwork located just outside of the hotel room window.
Redefining the intersection of 4th and Ogden, the Gallery Tower has a new entrance to the casino floor and offers a boutique hotel experience for the modern traveler within its seven guest floors. The assortment of room configurations includes three new 1,500-square-foot penthouse suites, 47 studio units, 20 one-bedroom suites, 313 Superior style rooms, and 112 Virtual Pad rooms, and brings the property’s total inventory to 1,124 hotel rooms.
Other resort changes feature and expanded fitness center, digital kiosks inside the new porte-cochere to allow contactless check-in and check-out for guests with prior reservations, and a direct connection to the Citrus Grand Pool Deck from the new tower.
TIVOLI VILLAGE HOSTS HOLE19 MINI-GOLF BAR POP-UP
Tivoli Village has added a popular traveling attraction, Hole19 Miniature Golf Bar Pop-Up, to its retail, dining, and entertainment experiences. The six-week pop-up experience with 1900s British flair will be available through Nov. 1 at the center of Tivoli Village on the second floor at 420 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 240.
Hole19 Las Vegas offers nine custom built holes on an indoor course designed for friendly competition with a look of an overgrown clubhouse. The pop-up has a full bar with themed hand-crafted cocktails, beer pong tables, Jenga, and a variety of other boardgames and video game consoles.
Best to make reservations at vegas.hole19bar.com. There are 24 tickets available per hour with staggered entry times. Tee off times can take place up to 45 minutes after the selected time slot. Hole19 is open Wednesdays for all ages and Thursday through Sunday for ages 21 years and older. Tickets are $20 plus $5 processing fee and drinks are separate.
Hours are Wednesdays 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Thursdays 4 p.m.-11 p.m.; Fridays 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturdays noon to midnight; and Sundays noon to 10 p.m.
Hole19 Las Vegas follows strict health guidelines…mask wearing, social distancing, and temperature check at the door.
GUN PARTS SCULPTURE GOES ON DISPLAY OCT. 1
An original sculpture by Las Vegas artist David Fay titled “On Second Thought” utilizes 600 decommissioned guns and ammo and goes on display in downtown Las Vegas near Park on Fremont on the third remembrances of the Oct. 1 massacre. The figure is a take off on Rodin’s “The Thinker” sculpture. It stands 6 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. In remembrance of the victims from the event, 58 bullets are embedded in the shoulders of the statue. In addition, 1,100 bullet castings line the wooden frame at the base, which approximates the number of rounds fired by the gunman.
MOTORSPORTS RACING NEWS
South Point and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) announced a multi-year extension of the hotel’s sponsorship of the annual fall NASCAR Cup Series race. The sponsorship extends a longstanding partnership between LVMS and South Point owner Michael Gaughan which dates to the speedway’s construction in 1996.
Hometown racer Kurt Busch finally won the South Point 400 in the NASCAR playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which was his dream. To celebrate, the NASCAR Cup Series driver and Las Vegas native soared above the Strip with Maverick Helicopters.
SAVORY BITES & NEON LIGHTS IS DINING-AIR TOUR COMBO
Maverick Helicopters and Lip Smacking Foodie Tours in partnership are offering the ultimate fine-dining and helicopter night flight experience with Savory Bites & Neon Lights.
Foodies who book the Savory Bites & Neon Lights package will enjoy a culinary journey inside some of the Las Vegas’ most renowned restaurants including The Cosmopolitan’s innovative supper club experience, Rose. Rabbit. Lie., elevated American fare at Blue Ribbon, inventive Asian cuisine at Momofuku, and romantic Italian ambiance at Scarpetta, as well as Mastro’s Ocean Club inside The Shops at Crystals. With reserved, VIP seating at each venue, attendees are treated to a variety of signature dishes and optional handcrafted cocktails. The five-hour excursion begins at ARIA and includes a guided tour with insider stories and tips about Las Vegas along the way.
Following the epicurean portion, a limo coach transports guests to Maverick Helicopters’ terminal for a 15-minute aerial experience with bird’s-eye views of Strip landmarks.
Tickets for Savory Bites & Neon Lights start at $299 per person. For more information and to book a reservation, visit either company’s website or call 702-405-4300.
NEON MUSEUM INTRODUCES LOW INCOME ACCESS PROGRAM
The Neon Museum has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits to visit The Neon Museum for a minimal fee of $3 per person, up to four people per party, with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 500 museums across the country.
Las Vegas is a hub city for Museums For All with four museums participating in the program. Las Vegas is also in the top 20 cities in terms of the number of participating museums. More than 500 institutions located nationwide represent 49 states participate in the initiative.
PLAZA COMMEMORATES BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Led by its CEO, Jonathan Jossel, the Plaza will commemorate October as Breast Cancer Awareness month with special offers at Oscar’s and in its bingo room, the only one in downtown Las Vegas, to benefit the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Supporting breast cancer research is personal for Jossel, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor for more than 15 years. Jossel is one of 25 local leaders raising money for the ACS Real Men Wear Pink campaign to support ACS’ mission.
Oscar’s steakhouse inside the Plaza’s glass dome, will donate $3 to ACS for every cosmopolitan cocktail purchased in the lounge or dining room during the month of October. Oscar’s is currently open Thursday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. and offers happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Plaza’s bingo room, which has six daily bingo sessions, will sell commemorative pink capped daubers featuring various cancer awareness ribbons for $5 with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to ACS.
CANNABIS-AND-CAMEL THEMED DAY TRIP
Suited for the cannabis lifestyle, Desert Ranch Experience by Camel Safari is introducing Canna-Camels, a day trip from Las Vegas for adults 21 and older. This experience includes round-trip transportation, exclusive discounts from select Las Vegas cannabis dispensaries, complimentary snacks, an exotic animal tour, drive-through safari, and free time to chill out in authentic Mongolian gers.
At the dispensary, guests receive exclusive discounts on cannabis products before boarding a climate-controlled van for a scenic, 80-minute drive to Desert Ranch Experience and full barbecue-style lunch.
The adventure includes three hours at Desert Ranch Experience, including a drive-through safari around the 176-acre property and up-close encounters with exotic animals such as camels, alpacas, armadillos, a llama, porcupine, two-toed sloth, hedgehog and more.
In the privacy of authentic Mongolian gers, guests can unwind. These circular, tent-pole shelters feature colorful, one-of-a-kind artwork handcrafted in Mongolia, comfy handmade beds, and air conditioning.
Canna-Camels experiences can accommodate groups of two to six. Packages start at $249 per person. To book online, visit cannacamels.com.
HALLOWEEN DINNER WHODUNIT
A Touch of Mystery known for producing murder mystery dinners will hold its annual Halloween whodunit at Lawry’s on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 29-30 at 7 p.m. The theme for the musical mystery is “The Family Reunion.”
William Johnson is returning from his honeymoon around the world and has requested his family join them in Las Vegas for a surprise celebration introducing his young bride Ashley, who is the age of his youngest daughter. The plot will thicken and intertwine with a three-course dinner and the cast engaging guests in conversation even while dining.
Reservations are available online; cost is $115 inclusive. Due to Covid-19 restrictions tables will be at least six feet apart and available for parties of two to six.
DINING NEWS
The National Day Calendar has October as National Pasta Month, and Carmine’s inside The Forum Shops will celebrate with a menu special. From Oct. 17 (National Pasta Day) through Oct. 24, Carmine’s is bringing back the Capellini Marechiara Pasta Special with green lip mussels, littleneck clams, shrimp, scallops, Italian hot peppers, pomodoro tomatoes, roasted garlic, basil, parsley, Carmine’s white wine and finished touch baby arugula for $54. Serving four to six people, it will be available for dine-in, takeout and delivery.
PT’s Wings & Sports, The STRAT’s prime spot for sports viewing, has added several new menu selections, including appetizers and entrées with Southern flair, new desserts and hand-crafted cocktails. The updated menu also features a variety of new pizzas.
The gaming area is now open at Via Brasil Steakhouse at 1225 S Fort Apache Road.
SOLUS SUSTAINABLE HYDRATION EXPANDS
Local company Solus Sustainable Hydration keeps climate change in mind. The company, which is the only of its kind in the United States, uses regionally-sourced spring water in specially-designed reusable glass bottles offering both still and sparkling bottled water with a milkman-style of delivery to reduce the carbon footprint and create a sustainable drinking water option for Nevadans.
The company has already been helping restaurants and hotels decrease single-use plastic with its milkman-style of delivery for premium bottled spring water. Now they are expanding service to select neighborhoods.
Solus Sustainable Hydration started production in its custom plant in North Las Vegas in late 2017 to service the local hospitality industry. The company controls all aspects of production beginning with sourcing it from a spring in the region and tanking it to its production facility. From there, the closed loop system is in effect – first putting the water through one final filtration or through its carbonation process then bottling it in its custom bottles where it is safety sealed. Solus then delivers the water by the 10-bottle crate to hotels and restaurants, and now select residences. Once the water has been enjoyed, Solus will pick up the bottles and begin the process again.
Couple interesting facts: Reports indicate humans consume one million bottles of water per minute with only 23-percent getting recycled. It is estimated 32-percent of the 78-million tons of plastic packaging produced makes its way into the ocean. Each bottle of Solus Sustainable Hydration has roughly 800 uses before getting recycle thus reducing the average carbon footprint.
REGARDLESS OF THE PANDEMIC, THE BIRTHDAY SUIT EXPANDS
Husband-and-wife team Jason and Stacey Laricchia opened their waxing salon The Birthday Suit in 2011. They now have three locations with the opening of their Henderson location off Eastern Ave. at 2980 St. Rose Parkway #140.
Explaining THE company’s success, “From day one, I tried to make The Birthday Suit reflect what I would look for in a waxing salon,” said Stacey Laricchia. “You want to get in and out, but you also want to feel comfortable like you’re at home and taken care of with the best service.”
Recognizable to its customers is the new location’s signature loft-feel design, including the reception desk, comfortable waiting area, children’s lounge, and four private treatment rooms.
Continued success is allowing The Birthday Suit to expand into franchising opportunities available in Nevada and beyond.
ABOUT TOWN
The Neon Museum has been receiving positive recognition. Recent honors include “Las Vegas Weekly” newspaper’s the Best Museum in its All-Time Best of Vegas Awards; the 2020 Travelers’ Choice award from TripAdvisor; and in the top ten of “USA Today” 10BEST readers’ choice awards.