Take it from Matt Villano (pictured): Las Vegas is back!
The travel writer and longtime JCK contributor has covered the Sin City beat since 2002 and just returned from a visit to the new Resorts World Las Vegas, a short walk from The Venetian Resort and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, where the JCK and Luxury shows will take place Aug. 24–30.
“Everything is way more upscale,” Villano says of the changes he’s witnessed over the past two decades. “There are almost twice as many casinos now as then. Food and beverage has exploded.”
Below, Villano shares his top five places to eat, drink, shop, and be entertained when you head to Vegas next month. Be warned: It’s a bounty of riches!
Omega Mart at AREA15
Villano insists that if you do nothing else in Las Vegas, you must visit AREA15, an experiential retail, dining, and entertainment district on the west side of Interstate 15 that is home to Omega Mart, created by the arts and entertainment firm Meow Wolf. Tickets must be reserved in advance and cost $45 for adults.
“It is the weirdest and coolest thing ever,” he says. “It’s an interactive art exhibit that’s sort of a commentary on consumption culture and capitalism. It’s this wacky trip into an alternate reality. Walk in and it looks like a supermarket, only the products are ironic and sardonic takes on things we can consume.
“There is this narrative: You get a card, you swipe the card, you have to follow this mystery of what happened to this disappearing girl,” Villano says. “Maybe she was abducted by aliens or maybe not. Essentially, you’re expected to discover these passageways from the front of the supermarket to the back area that’s this cavernous other world.
“There are mirror rooms, slides with lights and sounds, and all these interactive things that totally transform your experience,” he adds. “I spent three hours there and could have spent longer. It’s really hard to explain because it is so many different things.”
Estiatorio Milos at The Venetian
New to The Venetian’s Restaurant Row, this former Cosmopolitan mainstay is heaven for seafood lovers. “It’s a marketplace-type setting,” Villano says. “You get up and look at all the fish and pick out what you want. The model is great for Vegas. It’s the over-the-top type of experience people want.”
Stadium Swim at Circa
At Circa Resort & Casino, the first new resort in downtown Las Vegas in 40 years, all the action is focused on Stadium Swim, the biggest, and likely fanciest, sportsbook in town. (And it’s open for day use to people who are not guests of the resort!)
“It’s a cross between a pool and a sportsbook, and it’s incredible,” says Villano. “What’s so cool is it’s awesome both for geeks like me who love sport betting and pool kids who want to go to the pool, hang out, and be hot all day. Imagine a drive-in movie theater with a screen split up into sporting events, with an amazing pool with a bunch of decks and chaise lounges spread out around it. And because of mobile betting, you don’t need to go to the ticket window. You can hang out at the pool or cabana, and you can gamble on the games without moving. And if you want to ignore the games, you can. The thumping DJ doesn’t detract from the experience.”
Famous Foods Street Eats at Resorts World
Foodies are advised to make a beeline to Famous Foods Street Eats (FFSE), the food court at the first new casino resort on the Strip since Aria debuted at City Center in 2009. Modeled on Singapore’s famed hawker centers, the court has a distinctly Asian vibe, but not all the stalls are Asian.
“One of the restaurants I’m most excited about is this sandwich shop from James Tree,” says Villano. “He has a restaurant called Mozz Bar, and every sandwich is either mozzarella or burrata in a different form. It’s this Asian-themed hotel, and I think Mozz Bar is going to be the most popular stall in the food court.”
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Even though it’s located off the Strip, the former Hard Rock property—now rechristened, rebranded, and redesigned as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, billionaire businessman and investor Sir Richard Branson’s newest baby—is still where the cool kids like to party.
“It’s Branson’s biggest hotel venture,” says Villano. “And it marks the first time a Native American operation has come in to manage a gaming floor. The casino operations department at Mohegan Sun contracted with Branson to run the casino floor at Virgin. Five years down the road, that’s the story: when Mohegan Sun was the conduit for Native Americans to get into the Vegas gaming scene.”
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