BRETT’S VEGAS VIEW
Date: Nov. 7, 2021
FEEL GOOD BRANDS OPENS BIG TOP FOOD COURT AT CIRCUS CIRCUS
Las Vegas-based Feel Good Brands has opened a new multi-million-dollar Big Top Food Court at Circus Circus on the Strip. The new quick-dining multi-unit eatery offers a collection of America’s most distinctive dining brands.
Encompassing nearly 15,000 square feet, the expansive, newly constructed eatery was one of the most extensive construction projects at the property in decades. Construction of the new dining outlets included structural changes to the building taking a portion of the property previously outside and bringing it inside, repurposing existing retail space and the actual expansion of the property’s footprint.
Located adjacent to the casino floor, the new food court at Circus Circus offers a variety of dining options, including Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, Pick Up Stix, Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, and Einstein Bros.® Bagels. Those dining options join the already successful Krispy Kreme, which is a brand first brought to the Western United States by Feel Good Brands in 1998.
Hours of operation are Sunday–Thursday 7 a.m.–11 p.m. and Friday–Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
HOUSE OF BLUES HAS NEW DESIGN FOR ITS RESTAURANT, BAR, ETC.
After a $4.5 million renovation, House of Blues at Mandalay Bay has a new look. The overall appearance of the venue provides a completely different, contemporary experience, while honoring the diverse roots and music history of the famed venue. House of Blues Restaurant & Bar reopens with a timeless distillery-style vibe, while House of Blues Box Office, Music Hall entrance and Gear Shop also underwent a full renovation to match the brand-new look and feel.
The remodel of the restaurant and bar now resembles a warehouse distillery complete with modern touches throughout including corrugated metal, aged steel, wood millwork, brick walls, riveted metal panels and a copper still.
The restaurant and bar also feature artist murals and folk art installations from the House of Blues art collection. The renovation boasts expanded patio seating overlooking the property with enhanced visuals of the performance stage, in an open design, drawing in guests straight from the casino floor.
While the venue looks different, the renovations and enhancements were designed to meet the needs of today’s discerning patron while respecting brand’s rich history.
JON LOVITZ HAS NEW LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY AT LAUGH FACTORY
Comedy legend Jon Lovitz has a date specific residency at the renowned Laugh Factory inside the Tropicana. He will be performing Nov 22-24, Nov 29-Dec 1, Dec 6-8, and Dec 27-29, with additional 2022 dates to be announced. Lovitz will perform at 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. General admission is $49.95.
Over the past 35 years, Lovitz has become one of the best-known comedians. He began his career with the famous improv group The Groundlings in 1982. After appearing with the group on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” and debuting one of his most famous personas, “Tommy Flanagan of Pathological Liars Anonymous,” Lovitz secured his position among the comedy elite and joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1985.
Known for his distinct voice, Lovitz has had many voice-over roles, appeared in more than 60 films including “A League of Their Own,” “The Wedding Singer” and “Rat Race” and has sung at Carnegie Hall three times. The multi-faceted entertainer is a rare performer who began a successful acting career before making his mark as a stand-up comedian.
Celebrating its nine-year anniversary at the Tropicana Hotel, Laugh Factory Las Vegas continues to book comedy stars in shows nightly at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.
MAGICIAN DAVID GOLDRAKE’S SHOW EXTENDED AT NOTORIETY LIVE
Master illusionist David Goldrake will continue mesmerizing audiences in “M Is for Magic” at Notoriety Live at Neonopolis through spring 2022. The six-month extension at the downtown location has him performing his magical spectacle Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $24.95.
Goldrake launched his resident “M Is for Magic” show at Notoriety Live in February 2021. He will celebrate its 150th performance at the theater on Thursday, Nov. 18 with a VIP red carpet affair and special show debuting his latest additions to the production. The performance is open to the public with a limited number of tickets on sale.
As an in-demand magician, speaker and actor with the ability to speak seven languages fluently, Goldrake has performed internationally for more than 20 million spectators including celebrities, royalty and Fortune 500 companies while touring in more than 35 countries. He has been the recipient of several honors including the Mandrake d’Or award and the Merlin Award. In 2017, after only six months of performing his first-ever Las Vegas residency, “Imaginarium” at the Tropicana, he was voted Best Magic Show by readers of the “Las Vegas Review-Journal.”
POWERSOUL CAFÉ WILL LAUNCH NATIONAL CHAIN IN LAS VEGAS
PowerSoul Café, the world’s first 100% gluten-free, fast-food restaurant chain, with vegan and keto options and real fruit-blended smoothies, will create its flagship location in southwest Las Vegas. The healthy food and smoothie cafe will debut at West Warm Springs and Cimarron Road at Tarkanian Plaza in summer 2022, with an additional six locations planned to open in the same year.
The flagship location will serve as the main kitchen hub for all future local sites. Each PowerSoul Café property will operate 24-hours with self-serve smart food lockers, walk up windows with many sites including a drive-thru window. Stores will range from 500 to 1,250 square feet with various footprints, including: drive thru, inline, casino, sporting arenas and airports. The endeavor anticipates a minimum of 159 stores and thousands of jobs nationwide over the next decade.
PowerSoul Cafe founder Dina Mitchell is a longtime Nevada-based entrepreneur, who popularized Tropical Smoothie Café’s 1,000-store chain from 2000 to 2014 all along the West Coast. With her new venture, every item on the PowerSoul Cafe menu will be certified 100% gluten-free and will have options for meat-lovers and vegans along with choices for those following dairy-free or keto diets.
EIGHT CIGAR LOUNGE AT RESORTS WORLD HELD GRAND OPENING
Epic DJ Steve Aoki and “Crazy Rich Asians” heartthrob actor, Henry Golding, capped off a grand opening week for Eight Cigar Lounge at Resorts World with other guests including Alex Rodriguez, Mike Tyson, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Cudlitz and more.
The architecturally stunning cigar and spirits lounge spans nearly 7,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor space overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. A limited number of exclusive, personal lockers are marked with gold name plates and store cigars and spirits for Eight’s exclusive clientele, including Michael Jordan and country superstar Luke Bryan. The venue is conceptualized by entrepreneur Giuseppe Bravo and esteemed celebrity attorney David Chesnoff and operated by Clique Hospitality.
BARBERSHOP CUTS & COCKTAILS SUPPORTS ‘MOVEMBER’
The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails is a swanky upscale barbershop and speakeasy located inside The Cosmopolitan. They will be supporting “Movember” by donating a portion of proceeds generated by its vast array of high-end men’s grooming services throughout the month of November, which is recognized as Men’s Health Awareness Month. It’s a time when many men grow moustaches and beards to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide.
Reminiscent of days long past, The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails offers haircuts, trims or facials from the some of the best barbers in Las Vegas. Services include expert haircuts and clean ups, beard trims, straight razor shaves and facials, priced starting at $20. A fully stocked and serviced bar is available providing the complete old-school experience.
The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails is a hidden gem inside The Cosmopolitan where cuts and cocktails come together in a setting like your grandfather’s barber shop with a dodgy twist by combing a fully functioning barbershop with a speakeasy-style bar. Prohibition era-inspired cocktails and craft beers are offered whether getting a cut or a shave, or simply enjoying the atmosphere.
The Barbershop is open for cuts 10 a.m.–10 p.m. from Sunday–Thursday; and 10 a.m.–midnight Friday and Saturday. The Barbershop lounge is open 8 p.m.–to closing Sunday–Wednesday, and 6 p.m.–to closing Thursday–Saturday.
Clique Hospitality has conceptualized nearly two dozen dining and nightlife destinations in San Diego, Delray Beach, and Las Vegas since the company was founded in 2014. In Las Vegas venues include The Barbershop and CliQue Bar & Lounge at The Cosmopolitan and Gatsby’s Cocktail Lounge and Eight Cigar Lounge at Resorts World.
KING & COUNTRY WILL HEADLINE ORLEANS ARENA IN MAY
Curb | Word Entertainment recording duo, for King & Country, will bring “What Are We Waiting For? – The Tour” to the Orleans Arena on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, and for the first time performing new songs from their upcoming album. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets start at $19.99.
Made up of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, for King & Country is one of the music industry’s most decorated duos with four Grammy Awards, seven GMA Dove Awards, a Billboard Music Award and nine No. 1 songs, which have produced more than one billion on-demand streams. On March 11, 2022, for King & Country will release their newest album, “What Are We Waiting For?” featuring 13 original tracks with meaningful messages.
Performing around the world, for King & Country has performed in the United States, Australia, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand. The global hitmakers have also collaborated with a diverse list of artists, including the legendary Dolly Parton, NEEDTOBREATHE and Timbaland.
THE FRONT YARD AT ELLIS ISLAND HOLDS BOURBON DINNER
A Bourbon Dinner will be held at The Front Yard at Ellis Island on Monday, Nov. 15. The five-course prix fixe menu dinner curated by Executive Chef John Alers will have bourbon pairings led by “Bobby G” along with education on menu items and whiskey flavors. Tickets are $70.
HOUSE OF BLUES WELCOMES CALIFORNIA PUNK ROCK GROUPS
Legendary punk band Pennywise will bring their trademark sound to House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, alongside special guests The Adolescents and Get Dead, Saturday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for this all ages show start at $29.50.
Hermosa Beach’s Pennywise while remaining outside the margins of the mainstream are a staple of the SoCal radio airwaves and worldwide festival circuit.
At this point, three decades since the band’s DIY beginnings, Pennywise classics like “Same Old Story,” “Alien,” “Homesick,” and “Bro Hymn” are as fundamental to punk rock and hardcore as stage dives and guitars.
One of Southern California's best-loved hardcore bands, the Adolescents helped establish the blueprint for Orange County punk. Although their music was the most standard issue of the three, the Adolescents’ blazing energy and quintessential teenage snootiness gave them an instant connection with their audience. Their original lineup was only together briefly but managed to issue a trio of influential albums. Founding bass player Steve Soto remained the sole constant member until his death in 2018. The group reconvened in 2001 with Soto and vocalist Tony Reflex leading the charge and went on to release five more studio albums.
Get Dead started out performing together in 2007 after their respective bands called it quits. Eventually they attracted the attention of NOFX frontman Fat Mike who produced the band’s first full-length, “Bad News,” and their new full-length, “Honesty Lives Elsewhere,” and released both on his label Fat Wreck Chords. This fivesome from San Francisco focus on the music rather than gimmicks and trends.
COMEDIAN TREY KENNEDY WILL MAKE RED ROCK A TOUR STOP
Comedian Trey Kennedy will bring his “The Are You For Real? Tour” to the Red Rock Ballroom inside Red Rock Resort on Friday, April 1, 2022, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $30.
Kennedy, a born and raised Oklahoman, never expected to enter the entertainment industry. While attending college at Oklahoma State University, he found fame on the mobile app Vine, amassing more than 2.5 million followers. He was a top creator on the app for more than three years and through this experience discovered a passion for entertainment. Kennedy has now continued his social media success on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook with a combined 10+ million followers. He is currently creating content and podcasts across his social media while traveling the road performing for sold out crowds everywhere.
NEW ART EXHIBITIONS OPEN AT CITY HALL
Three new art exhibitions are now open to the public at Las Vegas City Hall at 495 S. Main St. Galleries are open Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. An opportunity to meet the artists of the Grand Gallery ceramic exhibition will be available at a free reception Monday, Nov. 15, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Grand Gallery on the first-floor lobby features “The Extended Family Dinner” showcasing 24 ceramic artists from across Southern Nevada who were commissioned to create dinner place settings. This exhibit runs through Feb. 22.
“A Passionate Life: Public Employees Art Exhibition” is in the Chamber Gallery on the second floor and runs through Jan. 13.Every year the city of Las Vegas presents an exhibition of artwork created by Nevada public employees. This year, participants were asked to submit artwork that conveys their passions outside of their work in public service.
The First Street windows of City Hall have the “Fading Light/Shifting Landscapes” installation by Megan Berner, which is running through April 15.The exhibit is a series of digitally printed fabric pieces made from images using photographic transfers and cyanotypes of Nevada desert and Arctic landscapes. The artist explores the way landscape shifts in the changing light over time with an interest in liminal spaces, both internal and external.
KEVIN COSTNER VISITED WITH WAYNE NEWTON
Last weekend Kevin Costner & Modern West rode into Sunset Station Casino with their Tales of Yellowstone Tour on the eve of the premiere of season four of the hit TV show. The Academy Award-winning actor recounted stories from his career and performed songs from the band’s original catalogue. Following the show, the “Yellowstone” star met and took photos backstage with legendary entertainer, “Mr. Las Vegas” Wayne Newton, who took in the sold-out show alongside family and friends.
BOB WEIR OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD JOINED SAMMY HAGAR ON STAGE
Last weekend, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar was joined on stage by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and founding member of the legendary Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, during the third night of the sold-out “Sammy Hagar & Friends” residency at The STRAT. Hagar and Weir performed with Hagar’s Band, The Wabos, featuring guitarist Vic Johnson, drummer David Lauser, and bassist Mona Gnader.
